Page 14 of Dragon Mine (Dragon Kings 2)
Chapter Six
Eurwen wasn’t sure what had just happened with Vaughn. She had taken to the sky to try and clear her head after her conversation with her parents. Then, she’d seen Vaughn. It had been impossible for her to put off talking to him even a moment longer. She couldn’t remember a time when she had been so nervous and edgy.
Finding him naked had shifted her emotions to something more…wanton. After the dream she’d woken to that morning, she needed release.
And she needed it with Vaughn.
Unfortunately, everything had gone wrong the minute she opened her mouth to talk. No matter what she said, it’d come out nearly the opposite of what she wanted to say.
Eurwen thought about following him, but she was too upset. First, her talk with Con and Rhi had gone sideways, and then the same had happened with Vaughn. She was no longer sure of herself or her thoughts.
With one last look at where Vaughn had disappeared into the forest, Eurwen turned and jumped into the air as she shifted. She started toward her cottage at Cairnkeep, then realized she didn’t want to be alone. She needed to talk, and only one individual would truly understand what she was going through—Brandr.
She changed directions to look for her brother. The problem was, he hadn’t wanted any Dragon Kings here. Especially their father. All Brandr would do was tell her, “I told you so,” and that wasn’t what Eurwen needed, either. She started to turn around to fly back to her home when she spotted Brandr with the generals. Curious, she continued toward them to discern what her brother was up to.
By the time she reached the group, the four dragon generals were gone. Brandr stood in human form with his arms crossed over his chest, his long, black hair pulled back in a queue, his black eyes watching her.
“I’m surprised to see you,” he said when she landed. “I thought you’d be cozied up to Con and Rhi.”
She ignored his smirk as she shifted to her human form and flicked her long hair over her shoulder.
His eyes narrowed, the movement identical to their father’s. “You’d better no’ be here to try and convince me to talk to them.”
“I’m not. They’re having a look around.” Eurwen wasn’t sure why she didn’t tell her brother the rest of it. Maybe because she wasn’t in the mood for his smugness. She needed someone to lean on, and he was all she’d ever had.
Erith had been amazing and did her best while raising them, but the goddess had her hands full with leading the Reapers. While Eurwen got along with the other dragons, it wasn’t easy being friends with those you ruled. She was never sure if they were friendly because they genuinely liked her or simply because of who she was.
“Sis?” Brandr asked with a frown as he dropped his arms and walked to her. He studied her face as he put a hand on her arm. “What is it?”
Eurwen shrugged in an attempt to brush off his question, but the concern in his eyes caused the dam to burst and the tears to fall.
He pulled her against him and held her as she cried. “Did they hurt you? What did Con say? I know he must have said something to make you cry. Or was it Rhi? Bloody hell. I knew they should no’ have come. I’ll force them out right now.”
“No. No,” Eurwen said as she lifted her head from his shoulder and sniffed. “That isn’t it. I mean, we did have words, but they didn’t hurt me.”
Brandr gently wiped the tears from her cheek. “Then who did? Tell me so I can kick their arse.”
“I could do it myself, thank you very much,” she said with a smile.
His lips softened into a grin as he gripped her shoulders and stared into her eyes. “I know you can. That doesna mean I can no’ get my own hits in.”
“I have to tell you something.”
He grew serious as he nodded. His arms dropped to his sides. “The cliff?”
“Yes.”
They flew together to a cliff near Cairnkeep. It was the spot where they had landed the first time they came to Zora and shifted. It was the spot they used to settle arguments, plan, and talk about anything important.
Eurwen landed and shifted before lowering herself to the ground. Her legs dangled over the side as she gazed out at the vast mountains where the varied greens of the trees and grass met the vibrant blue of the sky. Even after all her years on Zora, it still managed to take her breath away.
Brandr settled beside her. “You’re leaving.”
“What?” she asked in shock as her head jerked to him. “No.”
Relief swept over his face as his shoulders sagged. “Thank the stars.”
“You thought I was leaving?”
“You brought our parents here, then came to me crying.”
She pressed her lips together and glanced at the mountain range. “I am upset about my conversation with them, but I’m disappointed in myself. I thought I was past the anger that ruled me for so long.”
“You mean my anger.”
She cut him a dark look. “It was both of ours.” Eurwen sighed. “What I need to tell you doesn’t involve our parents.”
“Just say it. Whatever it is, it’ll be all right,” he said, squeezing her hand briefly to show his support.
Eurwen lowered her gaze to the ground. “Do you remember when we first began visiting Earth?”
“Aye,” he said with a wry twist of his lips.
Her gaze lifted to his face. “Then we started going alone.”
A small frown furrowed his brow. “Aye.”
“We had rules.”
“We did.”
“I broke one.”
Brandr stared at her in silence for a full minute. “What happened?”
“I was in Norway.”
