The Dragon Who Loved Me (Dragon Kin #5)(72)

“The Dragon Queen,” Rhona murmured. “I’d heard she’d blessed Annwyl with this gift, but I’ve never seen it in action before. A dragon’s flame can never hurt her now.”

Annwyl shook her hair back and said, “Ready to talk? Or are we going to keep playing these games, Rebel King?” And, from that dark cavern, the Rebel King stepped out. He was younger than Vigholf thought he would be. Much younger. Not even two hundred winters, Vigholf would guess. His scales the color of steel, his size that of any big Northlander dragon, his white horns curving around until the tips nearly touched his mouth. Long, steel-colored hair nearly reached the floor, different from the way most Irons wore it, and an eye patch covered the hole where his right eye should be. A scar that stretched from his forehead to where his snout began tel ing the tale of that loss. And the King wasn’t alone—a platoon of wel -armed humans and dragons stood behind him, ready to defend him to their death.

“The Mad Bitch of Garbhán Isle,” the Rebel King growled. “Come to die?”

“No. But you won’t be the first one to try. To succeed even.” She grinned and even in the pale light of the torch Izzy stil held as she returned to Annwyl’s side, they could al see the cocky and crazed smile of the royal. “But I’l only come back anyway. . . .” Rhona dropped to the ground behind Annwyl, and Vigholf behind Branwen and Iseabail. The Rebel King studied their smal party. “Three dragons and a human girl? That’s al you bring to fight me?”

“I’m not here to fight you. I’m here to secure your assistance.”

“I know of your war, Southlander. I know your mate fights Thracius in Euphrasia and you fight Laudaricus in the Western Mountains.”

“You know of it, but you do nothing to help either of us. To end this war and take Thracius’s rule. But if you help me, you can be emperor of the Provinces. Or king. Or whatever you cal yourself.”

“That does sound nice, doesn’t it? Tragical y, though, not something I can do at the moment. But because I’m feeling benevolent, I’l al ow you and your friends to leave alive. Now go.”

Rhona felt a brief moment of elation, but it was quickly squashed when Annwyl re-sheathed her swords and fol owed the Rebel King into the dark cavern he’d just come out of. She pushed past his human and dragon soldiers, ignoring them al in her pursuit.

“Shit,” Vigholf muttered, watching Iseabail and Brannie fol ow right after their queen.

Sure, they could walk away. But they wouldn’t. It wasn’t in their nature. Their stupid, stupid nature. So they fol owed after the mad queen and the evil king.

“You can’t just walk away from this,” Annwyl told the dragon’s back.

“I can, human. And I am.”

“Why? Are you afraid of Thracius? Is that it? Are you weak?”

King Gaius’s tail slammed down right where Annwyl was standing. Thankful y, she was spry, managing to jump out of the way before it landed.

“I find you irritating, human. You don’t want to irritate me.”

“Why? What wil you do? You won’t even fight your uncle. Because you’re weak.”

“You grab Izzy and Branwen,” Vigholf whispered. “I’l grab the nut.”

The Rebel King spun around, Iseabail and Brannie ducking his long, spiked tail.

“Do you real y think you can play this game with me, Queen?”

“I have nothing to lose at this point.”

“Don’t you?”

And that’s when human soldiers grabbed Iseabail, a dragon in human form grabbed Brannie, and Rhona and Vigholf were surrounded by wel -

armed dragons and humans who came at them from behind.

“If you don’t think I’l kil them al , human, you’re sadly mis—”

“She’s hurting her, you know,” the queen said.

Confused, Vigholf glanced at Rhona, but al she could do was shrug, exasperated.

“Every day,” the queen went on. “Every day she hurts her more and more. And soon she wil be so broken . . . it won’t matter if they let her go.

Because she might as wel be dead anyway.” Annwyl stepped forward, moving closer to a dragon who clearly didn’t like her. “And whose fault wil that be, Gaius, the Rebel King? Whose fault?” She smiled, but it wasn’t one of her pleasant, slightly off ones. It was a mean smile from a very mean royal. “It’l be yours because you’ve done nothing to help. You’l have kil ed her because you’re sitting on your fat ass in these stupid caves doing nothing. Tel me, Iron, how wil you live knowing al that when they send her crucified body back to you?” It was a low rumble, like an oncoming earthquake or one of the volcanoes near her father’s home just before it erupted.

And gods, did the Rebel King erupt.

Roaring in rage and pain, he grabbed hold of a startled Annwyl and flung her to the ground. Vigholf dashed forward, barely catching her before her brains and body could be decimated against the cave floor. Then the king sucked in air and Rhona yel ed, “Izzy! Move!” The human girl dove behind her cousin seconds before they were hit with a blast of flame so mighty it shoved Rhona and Vigholf back, knocking Annwyl from his arms, and Brannie into Izzy, both young females squealing.

Annwyl flipped across the cave floor, landing facedown. The Rebel King marched forward, shifting as he did, his eye patch adjusting to his human size. Gaius Domitus snatched a spear out of one of the human soldiers’ hands and stalked over to the queen. Vigholf tried to stop him, but dragons held him back, and another two held Rhona, so that al they could do was watch.