"But I could have."
"And I could have killed many over the years, but I haven't. Mostly."
"It's not the same, Iz."
"What's different?"
"I have no control." Her hands fluttered around. "Over any of . . . of . . . this."
"Your Magicks?" Izzy moved closer. "What did you mean to do to Talwyn and Talan?"
"I didn't want them to start fighting. Again. For once Daddy was being reasonable and they were ruining it. So I only wanted to push them away from each other. Just a few feet."
"And they went flying."
"Talwyn got the worst because she pissed me off the most . . . and she was closer to an open door." She covered her face with her hands, but Izzy could still hear her words clear enough. "And if it had been anyone but Talan and Talwyn, they probably would be dead. Their brains dashed-"
The sobbing started again and Izzy went to her sister, pulled her into her arms. "It's all right, luv. I'm here. I'm home. We'll figure this out together."
And her sister gripped her so tight that Izzy knew she owed that big blue bastard for insisting she come back.
Dammit.
Talaith had gone to a nearby village to see a woman who would be giving birth soon. All was going well, but it was the woman's first child and she was, not surprisingly, nervous. Besides, Talaith wanted father and daughter to work these little issues out on their own. Briec had to learn to listen to Rhi, and Rhi had to learn to stand up for herself without tears and foot stamping. Although Talaith was no royal, her daughter very much was. And, truth be told, if she could learn to manage her father, gods knew she could manage anyone.
Dismounting her mare, Talaith nodded at her armed guards. "We'll return to the village tomorrow. Sometime after first meal. I'll see you then."
"As you wish, my lady," said the older guard. He took the reins from Talaith and headed to the stables with his companions.
Briec had insisted on Talaith having guards if she was going to be "gallivanting all over the land helping others birth more future running snacks for my kin." Not exactly how Talaith would put it, but she had laughed.
She headed up the stairs to the Great Hall, hoping not to find father and daughter in yet another screaming-crying match. That did nothing but give her such a headache. But when Talaith walked through the big doors, she stopped and gazed at her twin nephew and niece. Morfyd was busy sewing up a gash on Talan's arm and Talwyn had a block of ice from the kitchens pressed to the side of her head.
"What the hells happened?"
The twins looked at each other and then away. "Nothing," they both muttered, which meant it had been something. If it was nothing, Talan would gleefully make up some lie to start trouble while Talwyn would wander away, bored.
Talaith took a quick look around. No Rhi. No Briec. Not liking that at all, she stalked back toward the war room, where Briec and Fearghus had been spending much of their time lately. And not even thirty feet away from the door, she could already hear the bloody fighting!
eibhear had finally gotten Briec in a nice chokehold after knocking Gwenvael out completely and possibly breaking a couple of Fearghus's ribs. He was about to twist Briec like a piece of rope when he heard footsteps approaching. He knew from the lightness of the steps that it was definitely not Annwyl. And the quickness told him it wasn't Dagmar. That left Talaith and Morfyd.
He scented the air. A human female. Talaith.
Lifting Briec up, he tossed him across the room, trying not to smile when his brother hit the wall, then the floor, gasping out, "Bastard!"
Then he smeared some of the blood from a cut on his head farther down his face and quickly sat on the floor. He'd just rested his back against the wall when the war room door flew open.
Talaith took one look around, her dark gaze finally resting on eibhear. She frowned, probably confused by his Ice Lander look.
"eibhear?" she finally asked.
"Talaith," he said softly.
She gasped and rushed to his side. "Oh, eibhear! What did they do to you?"
"Us?" Briec demanded, trying to pick himself up off the floor-and failing. "You're blaming us for this?"
"Quiet, lizard!" She studied the wound on eibhear's head. "You poor thing. I can't believe your brothers did this to you."
"I'm all right, Talaith," he said . . . weakly. "Really."
"Let's get you out of here." She took his arm and he let her help him off the floor. With one hand on his forearm, the other on his back, Talaith led eibhear through the door. Although he did manage to look back at Fearghus and Briec-not Gwenvael, since he was still out cold-and smile.
And that ball of fire that slammed into the wall right outside the door but missed him and Talaith? That only managed to make him smile more.
Izzy decided more walking was in order for her sister because exercise always calmed Izzy when she was upset. But she'd forgotten that her sister . . . not much for exercising. Less than five miles in, she was already whining.
Stopping to face her, Izzy asked, "Are you panting?"
"Think we can slow down a bit?" Rhi asked, her hand pressed to her chest. "Maybe you can carry me?"
"Aren't you a little young to be so . . . weak?"
"Could you say that with any more distaste?"
"Aye. I could."
Izzy heard footsteps approaching-many footsteps-and she pulled her sword, motioning Rhi to get behind a large boulder. And, as she'd been trained, Rhi followed orders without complaint.
Soldiers wearing the armor of the Elite Guard came through the trees. They were younger men, and their unadorned shields told Izzy they were still in training. In other words, they hadn't yet left Garbhn Isle to be royal escorts.
She also doubted they had any idea who she was because she didn't recognize them at all.
Plus, she didn't have on her military armor, nor her bright red surcoat with the Queen's crest of two dragons. Instead, Izzy only wore chain mail, worn leather boots, a dark brown cape, and every weapon she could fit on her body.
It was the weapons that probably worried the young soldiers. The one at the head of the small group called out a warning and the soldiers dropped their shields so they created a sort of wall.
"Speak!" one of them demanded. "State your purpose!"
Izzy? she heard her sister whisper in her head, as if these human males could hear her as well. They couldn't and Izzy shouldn't be able to either, but Rhi had been talking to her this way for years, sometimes over a thousand leagues away. It was something that took Izzy a while to get used to.
It's all right, she assured her sister. Stay where you are.
Izzy took several steps toward the soldiers and they immediately pulled their weapons, their bodies tensing behind their tall shields.
Gripping her sword in both hands, Izzy pulled it back and readied for her attack, the soldiers following suit.
"Hold!" a voice ordered and the soldiers were pushed aside as a warrior walked past.
The red-headed soldier urgently said, "My lady-"
"Stop calling me that," the Queen of Garbhn Isle ordered her men.
"Sorry, my . . . uh . . . Annwyl."
Annwyl the Bloody crossed her arms over her chest and gazed at Izzy. "You dare come to my lands and challenge my guard?"
"They look like they need a challenge. You'd be better off with a loyal squire. Someone young, perky, and good with your horse."
"Perky?" Annwyl laughed. "You were never perky, you lying harlot!"
Izzy shrugged. "It depends on your definition of perky."
"My definition is not Izzy." Grinning, Annwyl walked toward her, arms thrown open. Izzy slid her sword back into her holster and threw herself at Annwyl, the pair hugging and laughing.
"I'm so glad you're home," Annwyl said. "It's been ages."
"Ten moons is hardly ages."
"It is to me." Annwyl stepped back, looked her over. "A new scar. From a battle axe?"
"Angry raccoon in my tent."
Laughing again, Annwyl gripped Izzy's forearm and Izzy turned her hand to grip Annwyl's. And, as Izzy often did, she used her thumb to trace the outline of the mark burned into Annwyl's flesh. A brand placed there by Annwyl's mate, Fearghus. The dragon's way of Claiming his partner for life. Annwyl wore her brands on both forearms-and, Izzy had found out while she was Annwyl's squire, on her inside thighs-Talaith wore hers on her lower back, and Dagmar's was right on her ass. Something the family still teased her about. Yet of all the brands Izzy had seen on her mated kin over the years, it was her grandmother's that Izzy secretly envied. Rhiannon's went from the base of her foot to just below her chin, winding around her entire body as a small dragon would. And when Izzy was younger, dreaming of the day some dragon worthy of her would Claim her as his own, she'd planned on a similar mark.
"Gods, I missed you, Iz."
"And you."
Annwyl turned to her guards. "You lot, this is Izzy. But you can call her General Iseabail of the Eighth, Fourteenth, and Twenty-sixth Legions."
Color drained from the soldiers' faces, their eyes growing wide.
"General, sir!" said the one who'd been speaking from the beginning. "We apologize, sir. We didn't know-"
Izzy waved all that away. "I didn't announce myself and I'm not wearing our colors, so I'd expect you to err on the side of caution when it comes to protecting our queen."
"Thank you, General."
Annwyl hugged Izzy again, then asked, "Why are you here?"
Izzy pulled back, gazed at her queen. "I was told I was requested."
"Requested? By me?"
She shrugged. "I really didn't know, but I knew it wasn't Mum because she usually contacts me herself if she needs me to come home." As a practicing witch, her mother was able to talk to Izzy directly using only her mind, just like Rhi could, the distance between them meaning nothing. But, and Izzy appreciated this, her mother didn't contact her that way often. Instead she wrote to Izzy regularly to fill her in on the day-to-day events of life at court and saved contacting her through her mind for emergencies and such.
"Well, I didn't send for you. I wanted you to concentrate on those ogres."
"It's been handled. Their leader is dead. I left my next in command to round up and execute any stragglers."
"Good. But that's honestly all I've needed from you the last few months, Iz."
"I didn't send for you either, Izzy," another voice called out.
The queen blinked, her gaze still locked with Izzy's. "Why is your sister hiding behind that boulder?"
"At first it was for safety. But now I can only imagine she's hiding out of fear of telling you the truth."
"The truth?" Annwyl sighed, her eyes briefly closing. "What did the twins do now?"
"Nothing!" Rhi rushed around the boulder, her hands twisting together in front of her. "It was my fault. I promise."
"It's never your fault," Annwyl said.
"But it was this time. I . . . I overreacted."
"Which meant The Girl was doing something."
Rhi stomped her tiny foot. "You always accuse her! And it wasn't her fault!"
"You do always accuse Talwyn," Izzy reminded Annwyl, making sure not to laugh when her queen rolled green eyes skyward.
"Fine," Annwyl said with a very heavy sigh. "It wasn't The Girl's fault. You just overreacted to . . . nothing?"
"It doesn't matter. I overreacted. Badly. I think I hurt her."
"Hurt her how?"
Rhi used the tips of her fingers to comb loose silver curls behind her ears. "I used Magicks to . . . to . . . throw her and Talan. He hit the Great Hall wall, but Talwyn went out the door and into the buildings across from the courtyard."
"I see." Annwyl stared down at her niece, her face very stern. "And tell me true, Princess Rhianwen . . . did my daughter's hard head damage my wall?"
Izzy snorted and quickly looked off. Rhi, however, was typically appalled. "Aunt Annwyl!"
"What? It's a valid question. You know that girl's head is as hard as her father's. Do I need to call in the stone masons again?"
"I don't understand this family!" Rhi charged before she stalked off. Poor thing . . . she stalked off often around her kin.
"Nicely handled, my liege."
"I still say it was a valid question. Stone masons cost money, you know."
Talaith was gently wiping blood from eibhear's head when Rhi stormed into the Great Hall.
Talaith turned, watching her daughter head up the stairs.
"What's wrong?"