“Ah. Fuck.”
At the cursed exclamation, we both looked up. Several newcomers had arrived and stood at the edge of the bloody carnage.
Vetr and several others from the pride eyed the slaughter with disdain.
They were human to the eye, but I saw the wild flaring of my brother’s nostrils, his dragon eyes sharpening, thin pupils shuddering in aggression as he looked at me. It took everything insideme not to hurl myself at him. Only the warrior in me urged restraint. The odds were not in my favor.
He tsked and shook his head in censure as he surveyed our handiwork, as though he was observing a child’s mess.
“Have you ever heard of discretion?” he asked drolly.
One of the injured soldiers cried out to him, clearly not realizing these were not allies to be beseeched, “Help! Help us!”
Vetr lifted a dark eyebrow at me. It was still a strange thing to see my face reflected back at me. “What say you, brother? Shall I help them? Or shall I do what needs to be done and finish what you’ve started here?”
Tamsyn made a sound of distress and lifted up, f lying away from my side to land before Vetr with a snarl—as though she would protect the survivors herself. A strange turn, given the amount of blood still staining her talons.
Vetr didn’t look impressed … or intimidated as he gazed at her long and hard. “You’ve made your choice it seems, Little Flame,” he said to her.
There was a bright flash and then Tamsyn was her human self again, in all her naked glory. She didn’t shrink away or appear the slightest bit self-conscious in her vulnerable state.
Lifting her hand, she struck a palm across my brother’s face.
“My name is Tamsyn,” she growled out. “Use it.”
I sprang to her side with a growl, baring my fangs, ready to protect her against any possible retaliation.
Vetr, however, did not seem inclined to react. He lightly fingered his cheek. “You’re so dramatic.” A glance to me. “I suppose that is what comes from being raised among humans. Both of you … suit each other.”
I glared at him, wondering if that was his way of relinquishing any designs he had on Tamsyn.
My brother looked to one of his pride members beside him, motioning him forward. Then Vetr quickly undressed and handed his clothes off to him. “Time to clean up this mess.” Next, he addressed me: “Watch and learn, brother.”
Without any explanation, he turned, bursting into his dragon, silvery white like me.
Screams and shouts sprang from the soldiers on the ground.
I squared off in front of him, blocking him from reaching any of the humans still alive behind me. There would be no more killing. He cocked his big, frilled head, holding my gaze for a long moment. Silent and yet not. Words passed between us.
Watch and learn, brother.
Comprehension crept over me.
I stepped aside, letting him move forward, watching him closely. Tamsyn went to stop him. I stretched a wing out to hold her back and shook my head once, conveying that all would be well. I didn’t know how I knew, but I did.
Vetr bowed his great head until his nose almost bumped the ground. Closing his eyes, he exhaled an enormous breath. Thick fog, the purest white I had ever seen, almost sparkling and iridescent, expelled from his nose and lips. It rolled in waves over everything, covering everyone in a dense blanket.
Soon, all fell quiet. No more cries or pleas. Not even the barest whimper.
The fog was so thick, it was impossible to peer through, but I stepped forward, moving closer until I could see that the soldiers slumbered solidly.
In a flare of light, Vetr returned to his human form. With efficient and curt movements, he redressed himself.
“They won’t remember a thing when they wake.” Flinging his cloak around his shoulders, he cast a quick glance at me. “I suggest you change back and don some clothes before they do. I’m sure you can come up with an appropriately plausible story. Bandits abound in these parts, I’m told.” His lips quirked.
I exhaled and transformed myself.
Naked, I stood unflinching as we locked eyes. We’d entered this world together. He’d brought me into the Crags, but we would go no further with each other.
