The Dragon Who Loved Me (Dragon Kin #5)(37)

That’s when Keita said, “Lovely battle today, you two. You both kil so nicely. Oh!” She snapped her fingers and cheerily added, “And don’t drink the water from the lake on the south side.”

“Why—”

Rhona tapped Vigholf’s chest with her hand, cutting him off. “Again I have to say, don’t ask. Just do what she says.”

“Choose someone else!” Bercelak bel owed from the other side of the closed door, startling them al .

“I wil not, Low Born! I choose whom I like from my army even if it is your niece!”

“Choose one of my other nieces, Rhiannon. But a Dragonwarrior. One who is ready for this. Not Rhona!”

“Who says she’s not ready?”

“Me! Addolgar! Her mother!”

No one looked at Rhona. Not that she blamed them. And when she heard the door open and close again, she wasn’t surprised that Vigholf had made his escape.

But then she heard, “Oy!” And realized it was Vigholf.

Oh, no. No, no, no.

“First off, you two,” he nearly roared, “we can hear you through the bloody door. And second, she is ready.” What?

“How would you know, foreigner?” her always-welcoming Uncle Bercelak snapped.

“Because I’ve been fighting by that female’s side for five bloody years. Can you say the same, Fire Breather?” he sneered and silence greeted the question. That’s when Vigholf finished with, “She’s ready. Now let’s get this over with.” Vigholf walked back in, slamming the door behind him, and stood behind Rhona once again, his arms crossed over his chest. She didn’t look at him. She didn’t dare. She wasn’t sure what her response would be. Rage at how he’d spoken to her queen and the queen’s consort? Gratitude for having faith in her skil s? Or mortification that he’d had to fight her battle for her?

Honestly, her feelings and response could go in any direction, so she silently stood her ground when the queen and her consort returned.

Bercelak looked more annoyed than usual—which said much, since looking annoyed was his usual state.

Standing to Rhona’s side, Bercelak snapped, “Soldier!”

Rhona straightened her back, raised her chin. “Sir.”

“You are to head into the west, leave tonight, on foot, let no one see you. Especial y since it seems that bitch Vateria has some sway over the Tribesmen.”

“Aye, my lord.”

“You are to find the missing queen—Annwyl.” Gods, Annwyl was missing? “And return her to her troops. Her legions are heading to the Euphrasia Val ey as we speak to join with our dragon forces. Do you understand your orders?” Although Rhona wanted to immediately answer, “Aye, sir,” as she always did, she knew she had one question. A question she felt the need to ask.

“Sir . . . I’m traveling into the west. Do you mean the Quintilian Provinces?” Bercelak paused, then answered, “Aye, Sergeant. It’s believed that’s where Annwyl was headed. Morfyd can tel you more. She stayed behind while the army advanced without her. Stop at the camp first. Anything else?”

What was there to ask? To say?

“No, sir.”

“For your own sake, Sergeant, I’d keep as low a profile as possible. Travel as human as much as you can, and do nothing . . . foolhardy. You have one mission—bring Annwyl back. Alive or dead. Understand?”

“Aye, sir. I understand.”

“Then go. And may the gods of war protect you.”

With a quick bow of her head to the queen, Rhona walked out of the room in search of her father.

“They’re sending you to do what?” Sulien demanded of his eldest daughter.

“Don’t make me repeat it, Daddy,” she muttered, digging through his chests of excess clothes, uniforms, and armor. “Just help me find something that wil let me blend in with other travelers.” She motioned to what she wore. Standard protective gear with the Dragon Queen’s colors and seal on it. “Can’t blend in this, now can I?”

“Not in the bloody Provinces you can’t.”

“Scream it a little louder. Don’t think they heard you in the Desert Lands.”

Sulien gripped his daughter’s shoulders and turned her to look at him. “Why are you doing this?” he demanded.

“It’s my orders.”

“To head into the Provinces and end up crucified?”

“Not if I can get in and out without being noticed.”

“If you’re going to rescue that mad bitch, you’l be noticed al right.”

“Those are my orders—”

“Gods, girl! Stop saying that!”

Rhona sighed. “What do you want me to say? Do you want me to lie to you? Tel you what you want to hear?”

“That would be a start.”

Rhona smiled and he saw himself in that smile. Of al his offspring, Rhona was the one who took so much after him. She had his face, his strength, and his skil s. From the beginning he knew her place was behind a forge of her own, not fighting wars to prove something to her mother.

He adored Bradana more than words could say, but if there was one thing they’d always fought over, it was his Rhona.

It wasn’t that Sulien thought his daughter didn’t have what was necessary to be a soldier or even one of those bloody Dragonwarriors. But having what was necessary and having your heart in it were two vastly different things. From the time Sulien had met his mate, he’d known what she was. A warrior. Without a doubt. It was in her eyes, in the way she walked, in the way she lived. She was a warrior and would take no less from this world.