Page 10 of Dragon Unbound (Dragon Kings 3)
Cullen clenched his teeth. He wanted to help, but it was apparent they didn’t want it. And it wasn’t as if he could force them to accept his aid. He turned to Tamlyn. “If you change your mind, let me know.”
Tamlyn didn’t reply. Jenefer glared. Sian had her hands clasped behind her back, but she moved her right hand and gave him a little wave and a tentative smile. At least she didn’t hate him. Cullen turned and started the long trek of steps to the outside. Everything within him told him to stay, but he couldn’t. There was too much contention. Even if Tamlyn had agreed, Jenefer wouldn’t have made things easy.
Cullen felt their eyes on him as he squeezed through the door. He paused, wondering if he should stay regardless. The ruins belowground looked immense, and there would probably be another exit. His gaze looked to the side through the invisible wall to the quadrant he was supposed to guard. He might want to stay and help, but he couldn’t. Not yet, at least.
He was irritated and angry. Physical activity was just what he needed to burn off some of it. Cullen chose the steepest part of the cliff and began to climb. He could’ve jumped to the top without much thought, but the exertion would be better.
When he reached the summit, sweat covered him, and his breathing was labored. Yet, he still looked for a fight. He glanced toward the forest, half hoping soldiers would appear so he could take his fury out on them. Unfortunately, his wish didn’t come true. They had returned to pick up their dead, however.
Cullen glanced down the canyon. The doorway was hidden, but he knew it was there. He pivoted and walked through the barrier to dragon land. How odd that he had just been thinking about how great it was not to have any humans around on Zora. He’d been ecstatic that Brandr and Eurwen had ensured the mortals kept to their parcels of land instead of encroaching as the humans had done on Earth.
Now, all he could think about was a Banshee who risked her life to save children from being sacrificed.
“Cullen?”
He sighed as he came to a halt at the sound of Con’s voice in his head. Dragons spoke through a mental link. “Aye. I’m all right.”
“What happened?”
“I’ve discovered something you, Brandr, and Eurwen should know.”
There was a beat of silence. “We’ll be right there.”
The link disconnected. Cullen ran a hand down his face. As much as he resented the humans for their part in the dragons having to be sent away, he couldn’t stop thinking about the bairns. Those children were defenseless. How could anyone do such a thing to them?
Cullen shifted to his true form and spread his wings. He jumped into the air and flew to the top of the mountain. It was his favorite place. He had a beautiful view of the area he guarded. It would also be a good spot to await the others. His gaze slid to the canyon, but he didn’t let it linger.
It wasn’t long before he spotted his friends in the distance. Cullen returned to human form, calling his clothes to him once more. He was surprised to see Vaughn instead of his mate, Eurwen. The three Kings landed and shifted in quick succession.
“Please tell me you saw the evil,” Brandr said, his gaze penetrating.
Cullen looked into Constantine’s black eyes and then at Rhi’s son. “No’ the foe you’re wanting, no.”
“What happened?” Con asked.
Cullen looked between father and son. Both had black eyes, but Con had short, wavy, blond hair while Brandr had long, black hair like his mother’s. “It was quiet as it has been. I was doing patrol at dawn. That’s when I saw the woman and child racing from the forest,” he explained and pointed to the woods.
“I take it someone was after them,” Vaughn replied.
Cullen met his Persian-blue eyes and nodded once. “About a dozen armored men.”
Brandr didn’t bat an eye. “We doona meddle in the affairs of humans.”
“I wasna going to allow a woman and a bairn to be run down and killed,” Cullen stated.
Con glanced at Brandr before turning his attention on Cullen. “I take that to mean you intervened.”
“Aye. I used my power and covered the area with fog to give the lad and woman a chance to escape.”
“That better have been all you did,” Brandr warned.
Cullen slowly turned his head to him. The urge to punch him was high, but he was a guest on Zora. This wasn’t Earth. Cullen had to remember that. “As a matter of fact, it wasna. I fought them.”
“Do you want to start a war?” Brandr bellowed, his black eyes flashing with fury.
Vaughn’s anger was palpable when he asked Brandr, “And you condone the murder of a child and a defenseless woman?”
“We don’t get involved,” Brandr stated, his nostrils flaring. “They stay on their land, and we stay on ours. I doona give a shite what happens over there. I thought if anyone could understand the things Eurwen and I put into place, it would be the Kings. Now you want to make the same mistakes you did on Earth here. I willna let it happen. Zora willna be another Earth. The dragons willna lose another home.”
Con calmly said, “That will never happen. I gave you my word, son.”
“Good. Then take care of Cullen,” Brandr ordered.
Cullen’s hands fisted. “You—”
Con put a hand up to stop Cullen. Then he faced Brandr. “First, every Dragon King who is willing to risk their lives to fight your foe is dozens of millennia older than you. Second, we’ve been through more than you can possibly imagine, so I willna be taking care of anyone. The Dragon Kings know what to do.”
A muscle ticked in Brandr’s jaw.
