“What about your own kin, female?” Bercelak asked Braith.
“You mean the kin who just turned on the Queen and made me into a walking target?” Braith asked, her attention still on those chains.
“No. I was thinking more your mother—”
“Is dead.”
“I know,” Bercelak snarled. “But if I recall, your mother has sisters, aunts—”
“No. Going to my Penarddun kin is not an option,” she said simply.
Shalin leaned forward. “Braith, dear, why ever not? The Penarddun She-dragons are very loyal . . . to their daughters.”
“My mother’s kin made it perfectly clear to me after she died that they wanted nothing to do with me.”
“Did you ever tell them how you feel?” Shalin asked her.
Braith winced. “I’m not good at that sort of thing.”
“Your mother passed years ago,” Bercelak told Braith. “Are you trying to tell me that in this instance they won’t—”
“Yes. I’m telling you they won’t . . . ahaaaaaaa!” she abruptly crowed, startling everyone at the table. She held up her still-cuffed hands, but now the chain between the cuffs was in two distinct pieces. “Got it!”
She’d pulled the steel chains with her fingers until she’d broken them apart. Something that amazed every Cadwaladr in the room.
Addolgar looked at a shocked Ghleanna and Bercelak, then back at a smiling Braith. “You do know that dwarves made those chains, don’t you?” he asked.
Braith studied the chains she’d separated with her bare hands. “So?”
“So?” Bercelak snapped, his head wound briefly forgotten. “Dwarves, female. The ones who share the caves with the Volcano dragons. They make chains that can’t be broken by anyone, especially dragons.”
“Well, these are pretty old.”
“It’s dwarf steel. It doesn’t matter if it was made at the time the gods were born.”
“Your point?” Braith demanded of Bercelak.
“I don’t know what my point is!” Bercelak exploded, but he immediately seemed to regret it, his hand going to his head. “Gods, my head hurts.”
“Sorry about that,” Braith muttered, cringing at his wound.
Bercelak stared at Braith for several long moments until he said, “Arranz.”
Addolgar nodded. “Aye,” he said to Braith. “Those are Arranz’s chains. He won’t be happy you broke them.”
“Not the chains, you twit!” Bercelak yelled. “What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” Addolgar thought a moment and added, “I don’t think.”
Maelona put another cool cloth against Bercelak’s head and that seemed to calm him.
“Take her to Uncle Arranz’s cave is what I’m trying to tell you.”
“Oh. Oh! That’s an excellent idea, brother.”
“No, Addolgar.” Braith looked at Bercelak. “I appreciate what you’re all trying to do, but I can’t let any of you get more involved than you already are.”
Addolgar was reaching for the back of Braith’s head when Ghleanna snapped, “Addolgar! Don’t you dare do that again!”
Braith looked over just in time to see Addolgar snatch his hand away. “Really? You were going to do that again?”
“You’re not being logical.”
“So you ram my head into the table?”
“If necessary!”
“You can’t help what your father has done, lass,” Brigida noted, almost kindly.
“Who said I want to?”
“It’s plain on your human face,” Brigida said. “But you can’t let your loyalty to blood stop you. Your mother wouldn’t.”
“What do you know of my mother?” Braith snapped.
Addolgar leaned in and said very low, “Careful here. She turned one of our cousins into a lizard once when he questioned her at a family gathering.”
“I knew your mother,” Brigida stated. “Knew your grandmother, too. Strong females, like you. With a streak of honor leagues wide. And you’re just like them. You let your father get away with this and you’ll never forgive yourself.”
“Who said I was letting my father get away with anything?”
“You will be if you go to the Queen yourself. She’ll take your head and won’t even bother to look for your father because she’ll have gotten her revenge.”
“How? He feels nothing for me.”
“Do you think Addiena will care?”
“Why are we bothering with all this?” Bercelak demanded, his forehead still swelling. “If she’s not going to listen to reason, then let’s take her back to the Queen as she wants and let her deal with it!”
Brigida’s head snapped around, her steely gaze locking on Bercelak. Black smoke snaked from her nostrils, and Bercelak immediately threw up his hands.
“Fine. Fine,” he said quickly. “Do whatever you want.”
Braith briefly closed her eyes. “Please don’t bicker about this.”
“We will if you don’t let us help you,” Addolgar promised. “At least let us take you to Arranz. He’s no big fan of the Queen either, so he’ll be more than happy to help.”
“You’ll be safe there,” Ghleanna added. “His cave is like a maze and our cousins enjoy tormenting anyone who tries to enter. You’ll have no fear of anyone tracking you down there.”
“This doesn’t seem right,” Braith hedged.
“It’s all we can do right now, child,” Brigida explained. “At least until we come up with something else or we track your father down.”
“Which I will do,” Addolgar promised. “He tried to kill me. It’s the least I can do for him.”
Finally, Braith relented. “All right. I’ll do as you ask.”
“Good,” Brigida said with a nod. “Now, you’ll need one of Arranz’s kin to accompany you. Take that one with you.” She motioned to Addolgar. “And the one with the thick neck over there.”
Ghleanna’s hand went to her throat. “Me neck isn’t thick.”
“Thick like a tree trunk,” Brigida muttered.
“It’s graceful. This neck is long and graceful.” Powerful legs landed on the table and Ghleanna crossed her arms over her chest. “Graceful,” she growled, appearing to fight an instinct to yell.
Addolgar shrugged at Braith. “Me sister’s graceful.”
“Yes,” Braith replied, her eyes briefly crossing. “I can see that.”
Chapter 8
With the chains broken, there was no point in forcing Braith to sit around at dinner with the cuffs still on, so Addolgar removed them.
She rubbed her wrists and nodded a thanks while food was brought out from the kitchens.
Addolgar retrieved wine from the side table and poured Braith a chalice full. He sat down while she sipped it and watched his kin eat, argue, and laugh at dinner.
“You all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Everything will work out, Braith. I promise.”
She gave him a smile that was clearly forced and said, “I know it will. I’m just tired.”
“You must be hungry, too.”
Braith studied the platters of meats, roasted potatoes, and still-warm crusty bread. “No. I’m not.”
“Addolgar,” his mother said to him, her small hand resting on his shoulder. “Why don’t you take Braith upstairs to get some sleep? It’s been a long day for both of you.”
When he looked into his mother’s face, she frowned a bit and motioned to the back hallway with a tilt of her head.
Taking the hint, Addolgar stood and waited for Braith to follow. She placed her chalice on the table, thanked his mother, and followed him up several flights of stairs to his room. He held the door open for her and Braith stepped in.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
Braith did no more than nod before she crawled onto the bed, dropped her head to the pillow, and closed her eyes.