Good gods, what was he going on about? Or maybe she didn’t want to know.
Deciding there were worse ways she could be spending the night—like in a room with her brothers—Ghleanna stopped worrying and went to sleep.
It was the first good sleep she’d had without the help of ale in six bloody months.
Chapter 6
“Wake up!” a voice boomed, shocking Bram into wakefulness. “The two suns are nearly up and we must face the day!”
“Shut up, Addolgar,” another, sweeter voice said from beside him.
“Don’t have all day, sister. We need to get on the road. Many miles to go.”
“I am quite aware. Now piss off!”
“Suit yourself.”
The door slammed shut and the body that sweet voice belonged to burrowed in deeper beside Bram.
“Uh . . . Ghleanna?”
“Just another five minutes,” she softly begged. “Just another five.”
But in less than five minutes—more like ten seconds—Ghleanna jerked away from him, wide dark eyes gawking.
“What are you—” she began.
But Bram quickly cut in, “I was here first.”
“You . . . oh. You were.” She closed her eyes, shook her head. “You got a bit clingy when I stretched out last night.”
“Did I?” Bram sat up, ran his hand through his hair. “Sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize. And you weren’t . . . I mean, your hands didn’t go . . . I mean . . .” She let out another breath. “You were quite proper is what I mean to say.”
“Good. Good.” He threw his legs over the side of the bed. “Then we can forget it ever happened.”
“Right. Good idea. It never happened. We were both just . . . tired.”
“And all that snoring.”
“Right! The snoring. How could anyone expect us to sleep with that lot snoring away? We had to sleep together. It was necessary.”
“Although,” Bram admitted after a moment, “it was quite lovely, wasn’t it?”
“Aye,” she replied, her voice soft. “It was.”
“Thank you for that.”
“And thank you. That’s the best I’ve slept in—”
The door swung open again, cutting off Ghleanna’s words. “Oy!” Cai yelled into the hallway. “Addolgar did see ’em in bed together! Who knew the little bastard had it in him?”
Hew stuck his head in. “They still have their clothes on. What’s the point of being human if you’re going to do it with your clothes on? Playing with the flesh is the best part.”
“Maybe they got dressed quick.”
“Nah. I bet they just slept.” Hew shook his head. “Boring.”
“Not everyone’s like you, Hew. Running around, f**king anything that moves.”
“Let’s go!” Adain yelled from out in the hallway. “I want to eat!”
The door slammed shut and Bram closed his eyes, trying to remember that this would all be over soon enough.
“That was a bit awkward,” Ghleanna sighed.
“Of course it wasn’t. We’re dragons. We don’t have all those weak sensibilities like humans.” He waved toward the door. “That was nothing.”
“Come on, you two whores!” Addolgar bellowed from the hallway, most likely waking up the entire building, and if not, the brothers’ laughter probably did the trick. “It’s time to eat! Let’s move, move, move!”
“Okay,” Bram told her. “Now that was awkward.”
After a quick morning meal in the pub, they’d gotten on the road as the two suns rose, heading toward the ocean and the port where they’d meet the boat that would take them into the Desert Lands. As they walked, Ghleanna kept thinking about what had happened that morning. Waking up in Bram’s arms—even fully clothed—had been . . . strange. Mostly because she’d been so comfortable. She’d never been that comfortable in a male’s arms before.
Maybe it was because the royal seemed so non-threatening. He was Bram the Merciful, after all. He never ate humans and was always running around trying to create alliances and truces with their kingdom’s enemies. He’d never been in a battle in his life and hadn’t even noticed the one right outside his own castle gates.
He was definitely not the kind of dragon she ever saw herself with. As a warrior from a warrior clan, she’d always been with other warriors. Then again, she’d rarely stayed the night and when she did, she never slept in those warriors’ arms. And Ghleanna was even less comfortable with human males.
But Bram . . .
She shook her head, confused. Annoyed. But surprisingly refreshed, as if she’d had a full twelve hours of sleep.
“You all right, sister?” Addolgar asked her after a few hours on the road. “You’ve been very quiet today.”
“Aye. I’m fine, brother.”
“Is it the royal?” he asked, his voice low so only she could hear. “Should I break him in half for you?”
Ghleanna smiled. She’d always been very close to Addolgar. They’d spent a lot of time together killing things in battle and weren’t very far apart in age. And it always warmed her heart how protective he was of her, although she was often the last one who needed that protection.
“No. That’s not necessary.”
“If it becomes necessary, you simply say the word.” They walked on for a bit and Addolgar added, “He’s not terribly weak, though.”
“What?”
“The royal. He’s not too weak, I don’t think. And he doesn’t look weak. His human body’s not very large but it probably helps him blend in more with the humans. And as dragon he’s a tolerable, average size.”
“Your point?”
Her brother shrugged. “Maybe you should see all that’s in front of you rather than just a small piece. I wanted a She-dragon tiny and soft, like a kitten. And yet my mate is everything but. And I adore that about her.”
Ghleanna sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on with you and Mum, but it is a very sweet thought, brother. Still, I think I may be too much She-dragon for our peacemaker. What kind of do-gooder like him would tolerate how many times a year I go out and kill things for sport and profit? I’m rarely home and when I am home, I’m usually recovering from battle wounds and working with one of our blacksmiths on new weapons I want to try out.”
“You give him too little credit, I think. Besides”—Addolgar leaned down and whispered in her ear—“when he doesn’t think you’re looking, he stares at your scars.”
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 f**k 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.