The Dragon Who Loved Me (Dragon Kin #5)(107)

“What’s wrong?” he demanded when he saw that they were al crying.

“See?” Edana said. “You have him now. And he’s not half bad.”

“But he’s not you lot.”

“But now you can have your own hatchlings . . . not just Mum’s.” Breena wiped her eyes and sized up Vigholf. “He looks like a right good breeder.” Both mother and son’s eyes grew wide at the turn in the conversation.

“But I’l probably just have males,” Rhona complained. “They never breed females in the Northlands.”

“You’re a Cadwaladr, luv. The Cadwaladrs always have females. We’re sure of it.” Nesta motioned to Vigholf. “Tel her you’l have female offspring.” When Vigholf did nothing but gawk, Nesta snarled, “I said tell her.” Shaking his head, Vigholf took his mother’s hand and walked away.

Rhona didn’t actual y blame him for doing that, though.

When his mother doubled over in laughter, Vigholf final y had to stop walking.

“It isn’t funny. They’re all like that.”

“But . . . but . . .”

“Mum! It’s not funny!”

“Oh, yes it is.” She wiped tears from her eyes and gazed at her son. “She’s the perfect choice.”

“She hasn’t agreed to anything.”

“What more of a sign do you need?”

“She didn’t say the words, ‘I’m coming with you, Vigholf. I wil stay with you forever, Vigholf.’ Just discussing my breeding capabilities does not mean much with this group, Mum.”

“Och!” His mother waved her hand at him. “You always have to hear specifics.”

“When we’re talking about the rest of my life and future happiness . . . yes! I do!” Briec walked into the room his daughter shared with her twin cousins. Ebba stood next to the window, staring out, probably watching the bonfires of bodies they’d had over the last few days to get rid of the dead.

Without even looking at him, Ebba turned to the twins and said, “Come. I believe Sulien has something for you both.” The twins, apparently knowing that Sulien was a blacksmith, ran out of the room screaming. Ebba fol owed, closing the door behind her, and Briec sat down on the bed beside his baby girl.

She was drawing on parchment, but when he sat down, she reached over and began braiding his hair.

“You sent me a gift while I was away, didn’t you, Rhian?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Do you know what kind of gift it was?”

Fearghus had final y explained to Briec how bad his injuries had been from that boulder to the back. And Briec had seen enough battle wounds to know that he never should have survived what his brother had described to him. But Briec had survived, which made him realize that his strange dream—not real y a dream.

“It was to make you feel better.”

“And it did. Very much so. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiled up at him, and he ignored his desire to just pick her up in his arms and hold her.

“Did someone give you that?” Briec asked. “The thing you sent me to make me better?”

“No.”

“How did you know it would help me?”

“I just knew.”

Interesting and a bit terrifying. “What else can you do?”

She shrugged. “I can draw.” She held up the picture she was working on. It was a drawing of a horse and it wasn’t half bad.

“Yes. You can. Anything else, though? Can you do anything I couldn’t do? Or your mum? Or your cousins?” She looked up, squinting her eyes. Her “thinking” face he would guess. “I can go places.” Briec’s heart dropped. “Go places?”

“Like Lord Ren. I can travel. Sometimes I can send things away. Like those bad men. Didn’t tel Mommy about them, though. She’d have been upset.” Wel , that was most likely an understatement.

“You didn’t tel her about the bad men?”

“Uh-uh.” She went back to working on her drawing. “They were here to hurt me and the twins.”

“So you sent them away?”

“Uh-huh. Afterward.”

“After . . . what?”

“After the twins were done.”

Briec flinched. This was getting worse and worse.

“After they were done doing what?”

“Stopping the bad men from hurting us.”

“How did they do that?”

“With their swords.”

Aye. Worse and worse.

“And then you sent the bad men away?”

“Back to the other bad men beyond the gate. I knew if Mommy saw them lying there she’d be sad and I hate when she’s sad.”

“So do I.”

“But Tal y was mad at me because I sent the swords with them and now she doesn’t have her sword.”

“I’m sure Sulien wil give her and Talan new swords.”

“Good, because she stil complains.”

“The twins talk to you?”

“In my head.”

Gods. It had taken him and his siblings years to hone the skil s necessary to communicate with each other simply by thinking. For Rhian and the twins to be able to do it after only a few years . . .