Last Dragon Standing (Dragon Kin #4)(70)

“Looks like you’ll be going back earlier.”

Izzy bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn’t smile. “Oh?”

“Yeah. But before you go, I think there’s something you should know first.”

“And I think you should stay out of it,” Addolgar snapped.

“Shut up, brother.”

Izzy began to panic. “Is everyone all right? Is Mum—”

“She’s fine, Izzy. She’s fine.” Ghleanna handed the leather to her.

“When you get back, give this to Annwyl. Tell her it’s the fourth bit like this that we’ve found. She’ll understand.”

“All right.”

Ghleanna placed her hand on Izzy’s shoulder. “But about your mum…”

“Is she coming back for the celebration?” Keita asked, slowly pacing around the room with her niece still in her arms. The entire time the babe’s gaze never left Keita’s face.

“They all are. Ghleanna, Addolgar, all their offspring. Some of your father’s cousins who work the desert borders will hold the line in the west until after the celebration.” Talaith watched her for a moment, then asked,

“I’m glad you came back, luv. If nothing else, I know Izzy will be overjoyed to see you. She writes about you often.”

Keita couldn’t help but smile. “Does she?”

Talaith snorted, rolled her eyes. “You are joking? She’s adored you since the first time you two met and you said in that cultured lilting voice of yours, which none of your other siblings have, ‘Well, by the gods, isn’t Briec’s daughter absolutely beautiful.’” Talaith sneered and added, “Suck up.”

“I wasn’t lying, your daughter is beautiful. Besides, it worked, didn’t it?”

They both laughed until Talaith’s youngest daughter suddenly focused her intense gaze on the door.

“Should I be flying her to safety?” Keita asked when all on the other side of the door remained quiet.

“No. It’s merely this incredible sense she’s had since birth to know when her cousins are nearby.”

As if on cue, the nursery door opened, and Fearghus walked in.

“You came to see Briec’s offspring before mine?”

“Her mother led the way. You, however, were too busy laughing at Gwenvael.”

He snorted. “Well, that was funny.”

“Where are they?” Keita asked, trying to see over and under his excessively wide shoulders by moving about. “With the nanny?” Her brother snorted again. “They lost her hours ago. They tracked me down themselves.”

Fearghus looked over his shoulder and said, “Well, get up here. Meet your Aunt Keita.”

Keita watched as two sets of eyes—one a vibrant green, the other an endless black—peeked over their father’s shoulders.

So sweet, she thought. They’re shy.

At the sight of her, those green eyes rose, and a filthy little boy raised himself up, his hands firmly placed on Fearghus’s left shoulder. He sized Keita up with one long glance—and grinned.

Keita blinked, her gaze going to Fearghus, who quickly stated, “I won’t discuss it. I just won’t.”

“Yes, but—”

“Not discussing!” he barked.

And that’s when the child on the right launched herself at Keita, a small wooden training sword tight in her meaty little fist.

Thankfully, however, Fearghus was fast and caught hold of his equally filthy daughter by the back of her shirt.

“What have I told you about random attacks?” he asked the black-haired toddler. He sounded so bored by the question that Keita felt certain he’d had this discussion with her nearly every day since her birth. Disturbing enough, but the fact that the girl continued to swing her sword at Keita while snapping tiny baby teeth—definitely, much more disturbing.

“Is that normal, brother?”

“It’s about to get stranger still,” Talaith warned.

“And how is that possible?”

To answer the question, Talaith’s daughter reached out her tiny hand toward her cousin, then placed it against Keita’s chin. A moment later, Fearghus’s daughter instantly relaxed, her sword lowering to her side.

“She didn’t like you holding her cousin,” Talaith explained, “until she got her cousin’s approval, that is.”

Taking a step back, Keita asked, “What in all the hells has been going on here?”

“We don’t know,” Talaith said on a yawn. “Though we’ve all asked ourselves that question often enough.”

“But we had to stop,” Fearghus continued. “Because to be quite honest—”

“—we were getting a little bit terrified by it all.”

“But on the plus side,” Fearghus quickly added, “none of them has a tail.”

“Or scales.”

“So superficially they seem quite normal.”

Keita frowned. “And that’s fine with you?”

Fearghus and Talaith exchanged glances before answering together, “It could be worse.”

Branwen the Black was busy braiding her older brother Fal’s hair when she saw Izzy. She looked well enough, even though one of their cousins had tossed Iz into Branwen’s mum’s tent. Branwen knew it for the compliment it was—that the Cadwaladrs thought Izzy tough enough to stand the abuse they’d dole out to any young dragon—but that didn’t mean Iz liked being tossed about. Then again, Branwen didn’t like it much either, and she could fly.