Lailoken raised his free hand to stop her. “There is no need to fear there. In fact, if your mother understands that change is for the better, I’m sure something beneficial to all can be worked out.”

“But how?”

“Don’t worry about that. We’re not in this alone, you see. And we’ve made sure our…friends are well aware of what your concerns and demands might be.”

“And who are these friends, my lords?”

“That will come out in time. For now, my lady, you simply need to understand that your chance for true glory and power is nearly upon you.

Are you ready for that?”

Keita nodded her head and stepped back. She glanced around again before saying, quite simply, “Proceed as you wish, my lords. I am ready for whatever the world has in store for me. Now go…with my blessing.”

“Thank you, my lady.”

The two males bowed low before the princess, and she returned the gesture with nothing more than a small bow of her head. Without another word, she walked off, heading toward one of the fields surrounding the human queen’s stronghold. Once she was gone, the two Elders stared hard at each other before they turned away and headed off in opposite directions.

Keita stood and stared off at nothing but trees and more trees, her hands tight in front of her, her breath coming out in short pants. When Ragnar found her, he didn’t touch her.

“Keita?”

“They dare approach me so close to my kin? They dare come here to do it? I thought they’d send for me. Or send some messenger.”

“They’re feeling safe.”

“They shouldn’t. They shouldn’t feel safe at all.”

“Keita—”

“I should have struck them down when I had the chance. I should have alerted Fearghus. He would have torn them to pieces before they could ever hope to fly away.”

“And what purpose would that have served?”

Keita closed her eyes, trying hard to control her rage. “They approached me here, Ragnar, with my kin no more than a few hundred feet away.”

“You need to get control,” he said calmly. “You need to remember why we’re doing this. Why we’re taking this risk.” Ragnar was right. If she let her rage loose now, she could ruin everything. Gillivray and Lailoken were minor players in this game.

Puppets, who would probably be killed long before any real fighting began.

She didn’t think they wanted war either, but that’s what would happen before Queen Rhiannon ever gave up her throne. Yet Keita still held out hope that she could stop a war. That she could stop the Irons. That she could stop them all.

It took her a moment, but she realized her breathing had returned to normal, her hands no longer clenched tight, and her body no longer shaking.

Ragnar also held her now, his arm around her waist, his cheek pressed into the back of her head. He’d soothed her growing rage with only that.

“You need to tell your mother,” Ragnar reminded her.

“Not yet.”

“Keita, you promised.”

“I know, but I was actually lying to her.”

“You’re going to test her patience.”

“My mother has no patience. But I do. We wait to tell her. This has not played out yet, warlord. Not yet.”

Finally smiling, she reminded him, “I made you promises for tonight.”

“And they can wait.”

Understanding deep in her soul that time was short, she knew that nothing that could ever mean anything to her could wait.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Keita turned in his arms, her body much too close. Too close if he was going to be the bigger dragon here.

“That’s very sweet of you,” she said.

“I’m known for being very sweet.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I could be.”

“No, you couldn’t.” She giggled. “But I like you despite all that.”

“Thank you. That’s good to know.”

Her hands slid around his waist, her leg wrapping around his calf.

“You hold yourself back from me.”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“Why give you everything when you made it clear you will not take it?”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand you Lightnings. The first female you meet, you’re ready to settle down and have little hatchlings with.”

“No, Keita.” He brought his hands up and cradled her face. “It’s not that easy. You are hardly the first female I’ve met. Definitely not the first female I’ve bedded. But you are the first who’s truly caught my interest.

Who’s truly enticed me.”

“It won’t last. Every male gets bored.”

“For Lightnings, life is too hard to allow for boredom. And only a fool would get bored around the females we’ve been known to choose. One gets bored, one lets one’s guard down—and wakes up the next morning with a throbbing headache and a missing back claw.”

“That’s a lovely story.”

“Tragically, for one of my cousins…it’s a fact.” She snorted, briefly buried her head into his chest. “As entertaining a fact as that is, I’m thinking of you.”

“Are you?”

She patted his shoulder and stepped over to a nearby tree. “I can’t do it, you see.”

“You can’t do what?”