Page 16 of Dragon Mine (Dragon Kings 2)
Chapter Seven
“Want to talk about it?”
Vaughn blinked and looked at Varek, who stood beside him. “What? No.”
Varek raised a brow. “I’m no’ sure keeping whatever is wrong to yourself is a good idea.”
As if on cue, Rhi and Con came out of the shadows, heading toward the fire. Vaughn was thankful because the last thing he wanted to do right now was talk about Eurwen. Especially when he wasn’t sure what to think.
He’d spent most of the day wandering the forest, and the other half flying around Zora. He’d seen many dragons, but he hadn’t approached them, and they hadn’t come near him. He also hadn’t seen Eurwen again. It had been nearing dusk when Varek used the mental link and told him where he and Jeyra were living.
Vaughn sat back while Varek introduced Jeyra to Con and Rhi. Though the two wore smiles, they didn’t come as easily as usual. Something had happened with Eurwen. Or had Brandr been involved? Vaughn felt for his friends. He knew the couple had endured a great deal since learning about their twins and seeing how their children hadn’t wanted to see them. There had been such hope in Con’s and Rhi’s eyes this morning. That was gone. Replaced by pain and distress.
“Shite,” Varek said as he looked between Vaughn, Rhi, and Con. “What happened to you three today?”
Rhi accepted a mug of wine from Jeyra. “Let’s just say that it’s going to take longer than I realized before we can have a cordial discussion with Eurwen.”
“Did you get to meet Brandr?” Jeyra asked.
Con shook his head as he accepted his wine. “Apparently, our son doesna want any Dragon Kings here.”
Varek and Jeyra exchanged a look before Varek said, “He wasna too pleased with my being here, but he didna tell me to leave.”
“I think that was before Eurwen created the doorway,” Vaughn said.
Rhi swallowed the wine and nodded. “Precisely.”
“Does that mean we have to leave?” Jeyra asked Varek.
Con sat on one of the six cut tree stumps around the fire. “None of us wants a war, and I think that’s exactly what Brandr expects. If we’re asked to leave, then we’ll go. Peacefully.”
Vaughn turned his wine mug in his hand. “I agree. For the moment, we’re allowed to stay. Let’s learn what we can in case we’re no’ allowed to return.”
“That bloody well can no’happen,” Varek stated. “The other Kings need to experience this.”
Rhi put her hand on Con’s shoulder as she stood beside him. “You have to understand where Brandr and Eurwen are coming from. This is their home. They rule this place.”
“And they’re worried we’re coming to take it,” Vaughn said.
Jeyra snorted as she grabbed the wine jug and refilled her mug. “That’s what I’d think if I were them.”
“That’s no’ what we’re doing. Is it?” Varek asked with a frown.
Con turned his head and kissed Rhi’s hand, looking up at her before saying. “No. That isna what we’re about. Eurwen was right this morning. We had our chance, and I bungled it.”
“That isna only on you, Con. We all did,” Vaughn said.
Con’s black gaze met his over the dancing fire. “The responsibility lies with me. I ordered—”
“That’s bollocks,” Vaughn interrupted. “You lead us. We follow your orders, but you know as well as we do that if we hadna believed in you and agreed with you, we would have made our thoughts known.”
Varek said, “Hear, hear.”
“Besides,” Jeyra added. “The past is the past. Nothing can change it.”
Rhi leaned down to kiss Con’s forehead before sitting beside him on a stump. “I agree. Unfortunately, it’s the past that has turned our children against us.”
“How long are you staying?” Vaughn asked.
Con shrugged as he stared into the fire. “Until we’re told to leave.”
“What about you?” Varek asked Vaughn.
Vaughn blew out a breath. “I’m no’ sure.”
“I thought you found what you were looking for,” Rhi said.
When Vaughn looked up, both Con and Rhi were staring at him, knowing looks in their eyes. “I might’ve been wrong.”
“This might be your only chance. Be sure before you do anything hasty,” Con advised.
Varek leaned forward to rest his forearms on his knees. “I feel like I’ve missed something.”
“You have,” Jeyra said with a teasing laugh.
Con caught Jeyra’s gaze. “I admit, I wasna sure what to think of a woman who went out of her way to have a Dragon King captured on Earth and brought here. Now that I see you and Varek together, I understand. Whatever might have driven you before, you did it so the two of you could be together.”
Jeyra smiled as she looked at Varek. “That’s right. Otherwise, we never would’ve met, and I wouldn’t know what it means to love a Dragon King.”
“I think it’s time we hear your story,” Rhi said to Jeyra.
Con nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Over dinner. With more wine,” Varek added with a wink.
Vaughn watched the two couples with a smile. The Dragon Kings might live like billionaires because they were thanks to Dreagan Industries, but they didn’t need such luxury. Varek and Jeyra lived in nothing more than an elaborate tent, much like the Bédouins used. And they were happy.
Their meal of venison might have been prepared with magic, but sitting around the fire out in the open was something that each of them not only enjoyed but craved. Vaughn missed the simple life.
When each of them had their plates and were eating, Varek began his story about waking up chained and being carried into a cell.
“When I was alone, I tried to use my magic, but I couldna,” he explained.
Jeyra shrugged. “I thought it was because of the manacles I put on him. Supposedly, they stop anyone with magic from using their abilities.”
“It took some convincing, but I got her to trust me,” Varek said with a smile directed at his mate.
Jeyra leaned forward and kissed him before looking at the rest of them. “Things just weren’t adding up. I knew he wasn’t the dragon who killed my family, but I wanted justice. I needed it. Unfortunately, in my search for it, I uncovered things that I wasn’t meant to find.”
