Feel the Burn (Dragon Kin #8)(47)

“You’ll sit here. By Annwyl,” Izzy said, tapping the chair.

Gaius cringed. “Do I have to?”

“Of course. She’s the queen and you’re a king. Grandmum will be up here with you as well.” She leaned in and whispered, “But don’t worry. Annwyl mostly reads at these things. And Grandmum is too busy sniping with Ghleanna about . . . well . . . everything to bother paying any attention to you at all.”

“Excellent.” He took Izzy’s hand and kissed the back of it. “As always, General Iseabail, it’s been a delight. You’ll have to save me a dance tonight.”

She giggled. “I will!”

“Izzy?”

Izzy cringed before plastering on a big smile and spinning around to face her mate, Éibhear the Contemptible. He stood behind her, his untrusting gaze locked on Gaius, his small team of Mì-runach warriors behind him. The lot of them were covered in travel dirt, wearing the heavy fur coverings of the Northlander.

“Éibhear!” Izzy cheered. “You’re home!”

The youngest offspring of Queen Rhiannon nodded at his mate, but kept his angry gaze right on Gaius.

“Prince Éibhear,” Gaius greeted.

“Iron scum.”

One of the Mì-runach, the one they called Aidan the Divine, quickly pulled his overly large friend back. “Isn’t this nice?” Aidan asked. “We’ve come just in time for a feast in honor of your mother’s ally.”

“I don’t give a battle-f*ck who he is.”

Aidan gave Éibhear a shove and said to Izzy, “Why don’t you take your mate upstairs, General, and get him cleaned up for the evening.”

The blue-haired dragon snarled at his friend. “But I’m not done here.”

Izzy grabbed her mate by the collar of his chain-mail shirt. “Oh, yes, you are.” She pulled him away with that strength she was known for, and Aidan gave Gaius a smile he could only call “perfectly royal” in its attempt to soothe the situation. But before he could add words to that smile, one of the other Mì-runach next to him complained, “I’m hungry.”

Aidan glared at his friend. “Then get food.”

The Mì-runach thought on that for a rather long moment before nodding. “Yeah. All right.”

“That was Caswyn,” Aidan said. “And this is Uther.” He pointed to the last Mì-runach standing next to him. “Who’s going to walk away now.”

“I am?”

“Yes.”

Uther shrugged. “Yeah, all right.”

Once his friends were gone, Aidan let out a breath and greeted Gaius with, “My lord.”

“Aidan.”

The Mì-runach turned toward the stairs just as a seething Brannie stormed past him, gesturing with two fingers at her equally seething brother Celyn.

“Hello, Brannie,” Aidan happily greeted.

“Shut up!”

Aidan watched her stomp away before Gaius heard him sarcastically mutter to himself, “I’m just so glad to be back.”

Kachka glanced at her sister, then turned back to the female holding up the exceedingly bright pink gown.

“Get away from me,” she told the female.

“If you would just—”

“Get awayyyyy from me, She-demon!”

Keita the Viper stamped her bare foot. “Why won’t you at least try it on? This color would look divine on you!”

Kachka nearly had her blade pulled from her scabbard, but Elina caught her hand and held it in place.

With her free hand, Elina reached over and took a bright red patch from Keita’s hand. “Here. I will wear this. Happy? Yes?”

“At least one of you has some style!” the royal snarled before storming out of the room.

“What does that even mean?” Kachka demanded.

“I do not know. I stopped asking.” Elina removed her simple—but completely useful!—black eye patch and replaced it with the ridiculous-looking red one.

“You are actually going to wear that?” Kachka asked, unable to hide her disgust.

“Do you want her to go on and on about that dress, sister? Because she will. Trust me. She will.”

Slamming her sword back into the scabbard, Kachka walked out of the room and down the stairs, her sister right behind her.

Most of the tables were already filled and the food was being passed around. Big platters of ribs and sliced roast boar and roasted potatoes. All of it smelled good.

So Kachka reached over and took a rib from a plate, before heading to a free chair beside Gaius. Deciding she wasn’t done annoying him, she sat down, tossing the now-clean rib bone behind her.

“Barbarian!” she heard roared at her, and Kachka looked over her shoulder to see the Dragon Queen.

“What?” Kachka asked when the queen continued to glare at her.

“You hit me with that rib bone.”

“Then you should move quicker.”

Gaius snorted. “You lot are killing me.”

“That’s my seat,” the queen announced. Then she . . . waited? Kachka didn’t know.

Pointing at an empty seat at another table, Kachka said, “Go over there.”

“That is not my seat, peasant. You’re in my seat.”