The Dragon Who Loved Me (Dragon Kin #5)(97)

After several hits Éibhear flew back, unleashed his flame, and charged forward—and straight out a mil ennium-old cave wal that had withstood everything but the rage of a Cadwaladr male. Because, at the moment, that’s exactly what Éibhear was.

Vigholf and his troops were closing in around the Irons from one side, while Meinhard was closing in from the other. Fearghus, Ragnar, and Gaius were pushing them back from the center. And although this battle was turning, it would stil be a chal enge to get to Thracius. He was surrounded by a mighty legion of Elites and it wasn’t like he couldn’t fly away if he wanted to. They would give chase, of course, but that didn’t mean they’d catch him.

But none of that mattered. Right now it was about stopping the overlord here and now.

They kept moving forward, fighting off the Irons, pushing them back. They were near Thracius, and Vigholf could see that Gaius was readying his attack. Yet Thracius motioned to his guards, ready to move to a new location or run completely, his wings unfurling.

But that’s when Vigholf saw her. The young She-dragon casual y easing her way into the midst of Thracius’s protective guard. She wore no armor. Had no weapons. And was female. She’d gone out of her way not to be seen as a threat. And it seemed to have worked. No one noticed her at al —until she suddenly made a mad dash and threw herself at Thracius’s back, her black-scaled forearms reaching around his neck.

“Good gods,” Vigholf whispered. Then he yel ed out, “Branwen! No!” But Thracius merely grabbed the She-dragon and tossed her off him. She went flipping head over tail into the other soldiers. And Fearghus ordered his troops to move in to help his young and very foolish cousin.

Vigholf motioned to his troops to move in as wel when he realized that what Brannie did was nothing but a distraction. Because the real problem for Thracius—who was busy ordering his soldiers to “kil the insolent whelp!” he’d just tossed aside—was stil on his back. A brown-skinned woman raising some dragon’s large and extremely cumbersome battle-ax above her head and bringing it down where Thracius’s wing met his spine.

Blood spurted from the overlord’s wound and he roared in pain. But, he was also unable to fly away. Now he was trapped.

Vigholf raised his shield, about to give the next command to strike the overlord now, while he was at his weakest point, when they al heard the explosion. Rock and debris flew out and over them from a cave wal ; fire burst from the opening. Vigholf briefly thought that the Irons had set up more explosions within their cave and that the Hesiod Mountains would meet the same fate as the Polycarp Mountains. But there was something rushing at them from that cave opening. Something that broke free of ancient and mighty cave wal s and was moving fast.

“Vigholf!”

He heard Rhona’s voice and looked to the newly created opening she was flying through. “Stop him! Stop him!” Vigholf looked back and that’s when he realized what that something was. It was Éibhear. And Vigholf knew from experience—there’d be no stopping him.

But Izzy . . .

“Iseabail!” Vigholf screamed out. “Iseabail! Move!”

Whether she heard him or not, Vigholf didn’t know, but she dropped the ax, bolted up the raging dragon’s back, over his head, and dived off his snout and onto the back of another dragon before sliding off and disappearing into the battling crowd.

Thracius looked moments from going after her, but he heard the roar—they al did—and turned in time to see Éibhear the Blue ram into him, the pair tumbling off the hil Thracius had stood upon and right into the heat of battle.

Vigholf flew up and he saw the pair fighting on the ground. Rhona sped toward them, Celyn behind her, but Vigholf caught her and held her. Celyn automatical y stopped beside them, and they watched as Éibhear got the overlord onto his back. First he struck him, several times, with the warhammer he held. But he got bored with that and tossed it away, taking the sword Thracius had barely managed to brandish and slamming it into the overlord’s skul . He pul ed the sword out and rammed it in again. Then again. Then a few, oh, dozen times.

And they al stood or hovered there. They al watched. Northlander, Southlander, Sovereign, Rebel—they al watched.

After some time Éibhear tore the head from the overlord’s neck, lifted both the head and body high into the air, roared in rage, and tossed them in separate directions.

Panting, he looked out over at the waiting armies, his talons curling into his claw, tight fists shaking with unused anger. He may have just kil ed the overlord, but clearly the pup wasn’t done. And that’s when Ragnar yel ed out, “Attack!” Vigholf released Rhona, pushed her away from him. “Kil them al . Leave none to remember this day.” He grinned at her. “We’l remember it for them.”

With that, they separated and they al went to work.

Chapter 35

Izzy and Brannie col apsed by some cave, both panting and barely able to move.

“Of al your ideas,” Brannie told her, “definitely the most stupid.”

“It worked, didn’t it? He was only going to fly off before they could kil him. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for something new to kil .”

“That bitch Vateria’s stil out there, cousin.”

“That’s not our problem. Gaius and his sister wil have to deal with her.”