Kachka stared at Talaith for a long moment, then asked, “Who are you?”

That’s when Celyn realized he couldn’t take any more. Neither could Brannie. They both stood at the same time, and he said, “My parents are near. They may want to be part of this.”

He quickly cut across the room and went out the door, Brannie right behind him. Once they were down the hall, they both stopped and laughed. Laughed so hard that Celyn slid down the wall and Brannie just stretched out on the floor, rolling back and forth. They couldn’t stop. Even when their cousin Keita walked past them and demanded, “What are you two doing?”

Bram and Ghleanna landed in the courtyard just as Annwyl came stomping down the stairs.

“I’m not apologizing!” she yelled at her mate as poor Fearghus followed her. But he was laughing and having a hard time keeping up.

Bram glanced at Ghleanna and she immediately rolled her eyes. This was why they’d come with Gaius Lucius Domitus. The Rebel King had a strained opinion of Annwyl the Bloody, and Bram had been hoping to get a chance to talk to her in private before reintroducing them. But as luck would have it . . .

“Oh, Bram, good,” Annwyl said. “You’re here.” As usual, whether they were in their dragon form or human, Annwyl seemed to see them all in one way. She simply adjusted her voice so that it could reach their ears if they were dragon.

“My queen, allow me—”

“I want to go to the Outerplains and tear the eye out of one of the tribes’ leaders.”

Good gods, this female! “Perhaps this is something we could talk about later, Annwyl. I think it’s more important that you spend some time with Gaius Lucius Domitus.”

The queen frowned. “Who?”

“The Rebel King? Of the Quintilian Provinces?”

“I don’t know who that is. Am I supposed to know who that is?”

“Annwyl, you must remember—”

“Lord Bram,” the Rebel King gently cut in. “Don’t bother.”

Fearghus, now behind his mate, laid his hand on her shoulder. “Annwyl, why don’t we go to the training field for a bit?”

“I’m queen!” Annwyl snapped. “I should be able to rip the eye out of anyone’s head that I want to!” She glanced over at Gaius Domitus, noticed the eye patch over his right eye, and said with an annoyed sigh, “No offense.”

“Of course,” his sister shot back.

But, not surprisingly, Annwyl missed the tone and she marched off, Fearghus behind her—still laughing.

“I suggest we get the guests set up quickly,” Ghleanna offered.

“I can show them the way,” Var said, quickly sliding off Bram’s back.

Bram nodded at the suggestion and shifted to human. The others followed suit and they all quickly dressed.

Once that was done, Var led Gaius and his sister to the guest quarters that would conveniently keep them out of the castle and away from Annwyl.

With that taken care of, Bram turned toward the castle stairs and, to his great relief, saw Celyn and Brannie coming toward him. Bram had been worried about his son on this trip, but he was glad to see him back and well. Although he was back much sooner than Bram had expected.

Celyn walked up to his parents and stared at them.

“Celyn?” Ghleanna asked. “What is it?”

Then they were both being hugged. Tightly.

Bram looked over at his mate, frowning in question. But all Ghleanna could do was shrug.

“Is everything all right?” Ghleanna demanded. “Have you been hurt?”

“Nah,” Brannie answered for her brother. “He’s just glad you never hacked off bits of him because you didn’t like him.”

Horrified, Bram stared at his daughter. “What?”

While the dragons and their human kin continued to argue over Brigida the Foul, Elina walked out with her sister.

“I’m hungry,” her sister announced.

“There is always food. And servants to get it for you.”

“You enjoy this decadence, don’t you?”

“You will, too . . . in time.”

Disgusted by such a suggestion, Kachka retrieved her bow and quiver from where she’d left them in the Great Hall and walked out to hunt down her meal. Elina also picked up her bow, but she just held it and walked toward the big table in the middle of the hall. As she walked, she collided with a man she hadn’t even seen.

Stumbling back, Elina looked up at him as he looked down. All she saw at first was a patch where his right eye should be. They both stared and, slowly, each moved one way, then the other.

Finally, the man asked, “Just lose it?”

Elina nodded. “Yes. And you?”

“Years ago.”

He glanced down at her bow. “You’re an archer.”

“I was. Now . . . I am not even that.”

“When I had both eyes, I still closed one in order to shoot arrows.”

“But it was my favored eye that I lost.”

“So?” he asked, shrugging massive shoulders. “You will just have to relearn what you already know.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Where are you from?”

“The Steppes of the Outerplains.”

He gave a little laugh. “Then you’ll always be an archer. I’ve seen your people in action. That’s something born in your blood. Plus you still have both arms.”

“I cannot hit side of hut, much less moving target on horse.”