What Bram had muttered in his sleep the previous evening came back to her, but she brushed it away and said, “All that proves is he’s odd.”
“Not at all. I know that look. Me mate has it for me when I get home fresh from a battle. He likes those scars, Ghleanna. He likes them a lot.”
Aye. Crazy. Every one of her kin was absolutely stark raving mad.
Bram was digging through his travel bag and walking, trying not to trip on anything, when he realized that he was surrounded by Ghleanna’s younger brothers.
He slowed to a stop. “Is there something you lot—”
“No, no. Keep moving.” Adain shoved Bram forward while Cai and Hew nervously looked back at Ghleanna and Addolgar. “You, uh. . you like our sister, yeah?”
What in holy hells was going on with everyone?
“Sorry?”
“You,” Adain pushed, “like our sister. That’s what Addolgar says.”
“Well, I don’t see—”
“All we want to say is that if you want to, you know, take a run at her — we won’t rip your arms and legs off.”
“Take a run—”
“Our sisters call it the Gauntlet. Most blokes aren’t good enough for ’em, you see.”
“Human or dragon,” Hew added. “Don’t matter. They’re mostly idiots.”
“But you’re not bad,” Adain confided. “And the females like the pretty ones.”
“I don’t—”
“Look, all we’re saying is that if you want a shot at her, we won’t stop you. The last bastard she was with — he hurt her.”
Cai whispered, “She don’t like to admit it, though.”
“Right, but you, you’re supposed to be real nice. Feeble maybe, but nice.”
“I am not—”
“So maybe you can take her out sometime. Or buy her something a female would like. Flowers or whatever.”
“And,” Hew insisted, “tell her she’s beautiful.”
“She is beautiful.”
“Yeah. Tell her just like that. Like you mean it.”
Bram stopped walking. “I do mean—”
“Good, good.” Adain patted his shoulder. “We’ll leave you to it then.”
The brothers walked off and Bram, confused and becoming more and more terrified by Ghleanna’s kin, went back to digging through his bag. And that’s when he finally heard it. A bird. A crow specifically. Cawing.
Bram looked over at the trees on the other side of the beach they walked on. The crow cawed again, his wings spread out wide from his body.
“What is it?” Ghleanna asked him.
“Someone’s following us.”
“Aye. We know.”
Surprised, Bram again looked at the brothers. Although they were still talking, they all had their hands on the closest weapon.
“You’re not going to panic on me and run, are you, royal?”
“My, you do have a high opinion of me, Ghleanna. It’s very heartwarming.”
She laughed and shook her head. “No insult meant. Simply wanted to be sure I didn’t need to chain you to me.”
“To stop me from running away? Not necessary.” Bram gave her a small smile. “However, if you find other reasons to chain me to you, feel free.”
Ghleanna stumbled a bit. “Wait. What?”
But before Bram could elaborate on his request — in detail — Hew yelled out, “The trees!”
The Cadwaladrs moved in unison and with purpose, all of them surrounding Bram, their shields up and locked together, their weapons ready to strike.
“Watch your right, Hew!” Addolgar yelled out. “Look to the trees, Cai. Adain, send a call out. See if any of our kin are nearby. Tell them where we are.”
“I don’t see anything.”
“All you need to know,” Ghleanna reminded Cai, “is that Addolgar and Hew did. Now shut the fuck up and hold formation!”
Then there was silence. A painful, bloated silence that had Bram panting lightly so that when he needed his flame, he could unleash it as he’d been trained to do since hatching.
They waited, the moment growing more and more tense, but not once did any of the Cadwaladrs move. Not once did they even flinch. Even the younger ones who, according to Cadwaladr Code were still too young and untrained to be on their own.
And, just when he thought perhaps Cai had been right and there was nothing for Addolgar or Hew to see, a dragon in full armor dropped right in front of them, the beach and trees around them shaking.
“Shift!” Ghleanna yelled and Bram shifted to his natural form at the same time the Cadwaladrs did. It was all that kept him from being crushed to death, too.
“Shields!” Addolgar yelled and with a slam against the ground, their shields changed from human-sized to a size fit for enormous warrior dragons. “Weapons!” Another slam, this time to the base of their weapons, which had the deadly implements expanding in size. He knew that the Cadwaladrs had some special blacksmith among them, but gods, what a creation.
“Ghleanna!” Addolgar ordered, “Protect the royal!”
And as soon as Addolgar’s words left his snout, the first strike came.
With the open sea to their backs, Ghleanna felt relatively sure the traitors — because that’s how she thought of them — would be coming from one direction. They could try to come at them from the sea but they’d be quickly seen and dealt with by the Fins.
No. Approaching by land was safer and quicker. Besides. . there were many of them. She counted at least twenty. And all of them trained soldiers of Rhiannon’s army. Soldiers Ghleanna had fought with, drunk with, raided small towns with. And yet, without a word, they were striking at the Cadwaladrs and the peacemaker.
For that betrayal alone, Ghleanna would make sure this beach would soon be called Red Sands.
The traitors advanced and Addolgar raised his lance. “Steady on, Cadwaladrs. Steady.”
The first traitor, a youngster who only recently got his Corporal armor, struck first, his impatience being his undoing as so often happened with those young warriors not trained by other Cadwaladrs.
Addolgar saw the opening and struck, his lance piercing right under the forearm — a major artery. The young warrior’s screams echoed out and the rest of the traitors attacked.
Ghleanna moved back, pushing the royal with her rear. He didn’t speak but she didn’t feel him shaking or trying to fly away in a panic. Good. She didn’t have time to track the fool down if he fled.
Her brothers fought bravely but, when more traitors came, they were forced to break formation. They did their best to keep their enemies away from Ghleanna and Bram, yet it was impossible to do it without risking their own lives. She wouldn’t have that.
When several went for Cai, Ghleanna used her battle axe to strike them down. Cutting one from shoulder to hip and the other from one leg to the other. Once she’d finished them off, she stepped back again to shield the royal.
“There are more, Ghleanna,” Bram told her, not once raising his voice. Never showing fear. “Coming from the north.”
She nodded. “Cai! Hew! North!”
When her two younger brothers turned, shields and weapons raised, Ghleanna sensed another dragon landing to the right of her and the royal.
She spun, pulling back her axe to strike, but she froze at the last second, her shock making her foolish and causing her to stop in mid-swing.
“Feoras?” she asked, unable to hide the emotion she felt at the sight of him.
The green dragon grinned wide — and slammed his sword into her chest. The last thing that went through her mind was that the only reason he’d missed her heart was because the royal behind her had pulled her to the side at the last second.