Trying to hold his temper, Rian answered through gritted teeth while glaring at his brother. “Yes, Roy, I can read her mind. The bond is alive and strong when we are together. There are even glimpses, I guess you’d call them twinges, of recognition while she’s in hell. But, I’m thinking all the evil concentrated in one place, not to mention she’s on a totally different plane of existence, blocks most of our connection. Either way, as soon as we are back together I see everything that’s happened while we were apart through her memories. I feel her emotions, hear her thoughts, the whole kit and caboodle. Audrey doesn’t even try to hide from me. She has no blocks or walls. We have no secrets.”
Rian knew Royce had only the best of intentions and meant no harm, but that didn’t stop his younger brother’s questions from rubbing Rian the wrong way. Thankfully, Royce was too deep in thought to notice the Dragon Leader’s irritation.
None of them meant any harm. They’d all been his brethren going on a hundred and fifty years. But sitting and listening to their thoughts…thoughts in which four people he held in such high regard doubted the woman he loved more than life itself, sucked. Taking a deep breath, he tried to rein in his temper while blocking the barrage of thoughts coming from his brothers and friends, and once again, prayed Audrey was all right.
Rory opened his mouth but was silenced by a look from Royce as the middle O’Reilly son started to speak. “Okay, I can see where you’re coming from. If Kyra was trapped anywhere, heaven, hell…wherever…I would do everything in my power to get her back. But what I don’t understand is why you kept it a secret for all this time? I mean, it’s not like you’re any closer to springing your princess from the Underworld than you were a hundred years ago. Doesn’t make sense that you didn’t come to us for help.”
Rian had his reasons for keeping everything from them and could’ve explained, but he knew it would only result in more bickering and more time spent talking…time he was sure Audrey didn’t have. Instead of telling them that it was all his pride and ego, he admitted yet another sin. “Well, recently I’ve gotten closer to getting Audrey out of the Underworld, but you’re not gonna like what I did or what comes next.”
“Oh, we know what you did, big bro.” Rory laughed, looking satisfied that he’d finally been able to speak but immediately irritated as Brannoc spoke over his next words, effectively cutting him off.
“Maddox has been on the warpath since you snuck in and took the Stone. Says you were the last person he thought would ever steal from him.” Brannoc shook his head and took a drink from his cup. “The old mad dragon is threatening to descale your dragon and neuter you and it doesn’t sound like he’s gonna use anesthetic.” Laughing aloud, he continued. “Man, what were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that this book,” Rian grabbed his duffle, pulled out the journal, and laid his hand on the cover, “says I need a Focus Stone covered in black magic sigils written in the blood of innocent white witches as part of the ritual to save Audrey. I was thinking that I was already in too deep to tell anyone about all of this.” He motioned around the cabin and at the Devil’s Trap on the ceiling. “I was thinking I could get in and get out with the Stone without Maddox knowing and he would just figure he’d misplaced it. After all, he is crazy. I stopped thinking and started praying that I could finally go to the Underworld, bring my mate home, and live a normal life like we’re supposed to do when we find our mate. Lastly, I just acted on instinct.”
He said the last few words while shouting and jumping to his feet. Feeling the need to burn off the nervous energy flooding his system, the Dragon Leader paced and blew out a long, haggard breath.
They are either with me or against me, but one way or another, I will get Audrey out of hell.
Long moments of silence ticked by. Rian was half-afraid to look at his brethren. Something that in all his one hundred and sixty-five years had never happened. He was the assertive one, the leader, the one who hit every challenge head on, never second-guessed, never looked back, only forged ahead—but this was different. Remembering the hundreds of times he’d contemplated telling his brothers about what was happening; the memory of standing on Royce’s front porch with his hand on the doorknob before deciding there was no way he was putting anyone else in danger and turning away floated through his consciousness.
“You have a way to get her out?” Kellan’s raspy voice sliced through the silence. “You believe it will work?”
Nodding, Rian threw the ancient human-skin bound book to his long-time friend, grabbed the Scotch, and downed what was left in the bottle. Unable to sit still as Kellan read, Rian paced the floor. He watched as Kellan opened the book to the long ago marked last entry and read the words that were his mate’s only hope. It seemed like forever before the scarred dragon closed the book and looked up.
“Well, shit.”
“That’s all you’ve got to say? Well, shit?” Brannoc immediately snorted while shaking his head.
“Look for yourself.” Kellan threw the book at his clansman before producing more Scotch from his duffle. Tipping the unopened bottle towards the O’Reilly brothers, the scarred Guardsman raised his eyebrows, silently asking if they wanted more to drink.
“Hell, yeah. Looks like the night is far from over. Fill ‘er up, barkeep.” Rory chuckled.
“I think I’d better keep a clear head.” Tapping the side of his forehead, Royce continued. “Kyra’s listening in. I figured it couldn’t hurt to have a witch in on the plan and besides, she was worried about ya’, you big lug.” He leaned forward and punched Rian in the arm.
“Tell her I said thanks.” Rian felt guilty for making Kyra worry but figured it was a feeling he’d been having for so long, a little more didn’t matter.
“Oh, and I’m supposed to tell you that she owes you an ass kicking.”
Laughing aloud for the first time in a long time, Rian could only nod and thank the Heavens his brethren were teasing him and not marching him to the remaining Elders of their clan for a Tribunal. Watching from of the corner of his eye, he saw Brannoc reread the journal entry for what Rian was sure was the third time. As the best navigator Rian had ever seen, Brann was known for his attention to detail and caution—and this time was no different—but it didn’t make waiting any easier.
Carefully closing the book, Brannoc sat back against the arm of the couch and looked Rian dead in the eye from his seat on the floor. “You know the dragon they’re talking about is Kayne, right? And that Drago is gonna march straight into hell. There will be no stopping him… Oh! And Lance is gonna lose his shit. You…”
“Wait. A dragon? Kayne? Like Kayne—he will be King—oops, he’s not King, he’s a Guardsman—damn, he’s lost maybe dead—Kayne? That Kayne?” Rory’s mouth hung open while his eyes darted from Rian to Kellan to Brannoc and back again.
Royce stood staring at Rian with a questioning look, the buzz of his mindspeak conversation with his mate so loud it was like a hive of bees had taken up residence in the cabin.
“Well, listen for yourselves and tell me who else it could be.” Brannoc read directly from the book. He was attacked, bespelled by evil wizards, separated from his kin, and then imprisoned in human form. It talks about the wizards and the river he’s buried beside, but then goes on to say he is one of royal blood and destined for greatness. He holds the power of his ancestors. Then it talks about him holding the true fire which is what the old guys always told us when we were barely old enough to sip their beer when our mothers weren’t looking.” Brannoc paused, following his finger until he started nodding. “Here is the part that makes me sure it’s Kayne. Once you have found him, you can only free him by calling his given name, a name only those closest to him know. You will be able to summon that information once the Focus Stone is near the dragon’s crypt.”
“Okay, wait, what do y’all know that I don’t? We all just called him Kayne…” Rory left his question hanging in the air because from the look on his face, he wasn’t sure how to finish it or what he was really asking. Rian watched as the others looked around. He was hoping someone else would answer because he was really tired of being the only one revealing secrets in their little group.
Giving in, probably because it was obvious Kyra was yelling in his ear, Royce explained, “Okay, here’s the big, deep, dark, dragony secret,” He wiggled the fingers of one hand in the air and grinned, “Which honestly sounds like less of a mystery since its hinted about in a hundred-year-old journal. Yeah, way to keep a confidence, guys.” He rolled his eyes and gave a sarcastic thumbs up.
“But anyway, Kayne is the offspring of a very important dragoness, Adara—the princess of the Golden Dragons—and the Celtic Sun God, Lugh. Her true dragon mate was killed in battle before they were able to conceive a child. Until she met the Sun God, the princess thought she was to be alone for the rest of her life. The Universe saw the love that the dragoness and the Sun God shared and granted them one year together. If they were to have a child, the Universe deemed that child would be wholly dragon and as such, he was to be raised by his mother and her clan.
“Adara was thrilled when she found out she was pregnant and when Kayne was born, named him something with a bunch a letters in the old language that has special significance to his birthright. All I know is only Maddox and probably Drago ever took the time to remember it; we all just called him Kayne. What’s important is that his given name means Son of the Sun.
Now, Lugh was thrilled too, but knew he couldn’t live on earth with his true love and child. So, he gave Kayne the power to call upon, not only his dragon fire, but also the fire of the sun when it was in righteous defense of those he was sworn to protect or in dire consequences to save his life or that of dragon kin. Of course, there was a hitch, as there always is when the gods give anyone anything. If Kayne was in dragon form, had already called his dragon fire, and someone he had a blood bond with said his given name, well, our boy could go super-nova.
