Page 72 of Dragon Mine (Dragon Kings 2)
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Vaughn surprised Eurwen once more. He was patient, kind, and understanding. He hadn’t pushed her, despite what he wanted. He accepted what she could give him right now. It was enough for her to figure things out. Though she knew what little she had given would only last for so long before he would likely force her to make a decision.
And that’s what she didn’t want. She didn’t want to have to choose between her brother, the dragons, Zora, and…the other.
Ugh. She couldn’t even say it. Why? What held her back?
You know why.
Her subconscious knew just where to hit to land the best punch. Eurwen might not want to admit it, but she was afraid. Terrified, actually. The only one who really knew her was Brandr, and he had to like her. They were twins. They were all each other had had for so long. No matter how many times Eurwen visited Earth and saw others interacting, she couldn’t imagine herself in one of their places.
All she knew how to be was the person she was here.
Suddenly, a loud roar split the air, interrupting her thoughts. Both she and Vaughn jumped to their feet. Without a doubt, the sound was a dragon in agony. She didn’t say anything to Vaughn, just started running, shifting mid-step before taking to the sky. She was surprised when she looked over and saw the teal dragon next to her.
“That sounded some distance away,” Vaughn’s voice said in her head.
She nodded as she called Brandr’s name through their mental link. When he didn’t answer, she flew faster in the direction of the roar. She began to worry that it was Brandr who was hurt.
A peripheral glimpse of gold caught her attention. Eurwen glanced to her other side to see her father coming up alongside her. Vaughn was a big dragon, but Constantine was even larger.
He nodded, and she returned the gesture before saying to both Vaughn and Con, “Something didn’t feel right when I came through the doorway today. It only lasted a second, but that’s all it took for me to sense it.”
“I’ve no’ felt anything,” Con said. “Then again, I’m still learning this realm.”
Vaughn’s eyes briefly met hers. “I was too busy looking for you to sense anything, but there are a lot of new sensations here. Like Con said, I’m still learning, too.”
Eurwen had hoped one of them might have felt something as she had. A knot of worry began in her gut. “Brandr felt it. Apparently, it’s something he’s experienced before.”
“He didna tell you?” Con asked, concern clouding his voice.
Eurwen shook her head.
They flew for several more minutes before the mountains gave way to rolling grassland. Eurwen saw the dragons circling overhead and recognized two as Brandr’s generals. She shared the information with Constantine and Vaughn.
“Don’t interfere,” she warned them.
As they drew closer, the two dropped back, allowing her to approach the dragons first. When she saw the dragon general, Nundro, lying unmoving on the ground with Brandr beside him, the band around Eurwen’s chest lessened. At least, her brother wasn’t hurt.
The dragons circling moved away as she approached. She tucked her wings and dove from the sky, only to spread them once again to stop her descent and land softly upon the ground before shifting to her human form and rushing to her brother.
“What happened?” she demanded.
Brandr didn’t even look her way. When she reached his side, she saw the massive wound that split open Nundro’s yellow scales on his side. Her brother tried to stanch the blood.
“Brandr,” she urged.
He glanced at her. In that second, she saw his fury, resentment, and apprehension. “I doona know.”
She gathered magic in her hands and joined it with his, but it didn’t seem to do any good. Nundro moaned in pain, his breathing growing shallow.
“Let me help. Please,” Con said from behind them.
Eurwen looked over her shoulder to Con then at Brandr. She could tell her brother wanted to refuse. “This isn’t about us. This is about a dragon. Con can save him.”
“I wish for nothing in return,” Con said before Brandr could allude to such a thing.
Finally, Brandr’s lips flattened as he removed his hands and stepped away. “Fine.”
Eurwen looked around for Vaughn and saw him circling with the other dragons overhead. That’s when she realized that they weren’t just there for protection. They were searching for whoever had done this. She glanced about. There were no hiding places in the open fields, and they were far from the border with the humans. So, what could it have been?
When Con lifted his hand, she focused on him. Erith had told her all about Con’s magic. Every dragon was born with individual magic, specific to them. Con could heal anything but death. Since Eurwen had never seen him use his power before, she wasn’t about to miss it now.
Con didn’t make a great show of it. He simply put his hand over the wound and concentrated. Eurwen’s gaze slid to Nundro’s gaping injury and saw it slowly mending itself until it was gone entirely. Constantine then lowered his hand and took a step back. Nundro lifted his head and looked directly at Con with his purple eyes. Their words were private, but Eurwen knew the general was thanking her father.
The dragon then got to its feet and faced her and Brandr. Eurwen felt a soft nudge in her mind. She opened a channel to hear Nundro say, “That was closer than I want to admit.”
“What happened?” Brandr asked.
The general shook his great head. “I didna see or hear anything. I was returning from following the mortals when the pain shot through me. My wings wouldna work, and I began falling. I landed here.”
Eurwen glanced up at the other dragons. “Was anyone with you?”
