“When he decided to abdicate his crown to become a Guardsman, his mom commissioned a white witch to mark his forearm with Lugh’s family crest then charmed that tattoo so that anyone in his vicinity was simply unable to remember his real name. I still have no clue how Maddox was able to remember but insanity never has made sense. The old dragon and Drago’s entire Force were thick as thieves, so maybe that’s it. But that’s a whole other can of worms I’m not opening tonight.
“For now, my guess is Adram…whatever the hell you said that Demon Lord’s name was, knows about Kayne and his special birthright but didn’t know he was gone or that we thought he was dead. So putting all the pieces of the puzzle that we have together, I’m just guessing, that’s why he sent Audrey as a trap for you,” Royce pointed at Rian. “He thinks you know Kayne’s real name and the stupid bastard wants the fire of the sun.”
He shrugged and took a drink of his bottle of water. “I mean it’s just a guess. I know you’re the Elder of the Clan and all that bigwig happy horseshit—but you weren’t the night Audrey came to you the first time—and it was just weeks after Drago and his Force had gone missing and no one knew but us dragons. Hell, I still don’t think many know we had no clue what happened to those guys.”
Royce paused and Brannoc started. “Roy makes some good points, Rian. You’ve always had really strong magic. The Chancellor had to have felt it and somehow the bastard knew Audrey was your mate before even you did. That’s the only reason he would have to make a deal with her uncle to kill her father, then let the stupid uncle die and the land just sit and wilt away. I mean, demons usually want souls willing to do anything, and it sure seems like her uncle was just the asshole for that job. But Adramelech let the man be killed. It’s all been a plot to get to you and what you know and the shits and giggles of it all is, you knew nothing and still basically don’t.”
Rian tried to find the bright side in what they were saying, looked for the humor, searched for something positive that would help bring Audrey home, but failed miserably. Then Kellan spoke, and for the first time since his mate had laid the book in his hands, Rian felt real hope. “Sounds like we have a bad guy to kill, a girl to save, and a brother to bring home. Anybody up for a trip to hell?”
Not one to be left out, Rory added, “And then I get to kick some ass for getting left out of the loop, right?”
5
His feet had barely touched the ground of the lair of his clan when out of nowhere, Rian was body slammed by an extremely pissed off, most definitely crazy-as-hell, Maddox MacQueen. The supremely angry dragon screamed like a banshee while sitting atop the Dragon Leader and bombarding him with punch after punch about the head and chest.
“You worthless piece of donkey shit,” Maddox howled as his fist connected with the bridge of Rian’s nose. “I should run you through with a silver blade. You…you…”
Maddox’s assault was cut short as Kellan and Rory lifted him off Rian while trying to avoid his flying fists. No sooner had the mad dragon’s feet touched the ground than he was once again lunging for the eldest O’Reilly brother, screaming obscenities and promising vengeance. Royce stepped in to help corral the crazy one and suffered a fat lip for his trouble. Rian got his feet; the remorse for his actions hurting far worse than the bruises he’d received from Maddox.
Looking at his long-time friend and then the crowd that was gathering on the outcropping they’d landed upon, Rian knew he had a lot of explaining to do. Brushing the dirt from his pants as he retrieved his handkerchief to stem the flow of blood from his bloody nose, the Dragon Leader noticed movement in the bystanders. Pushing through the crowd were Stefan and Marcas, looks of confusion and disappointment etched into their expressions.
And the hits just keep coming. Nothing I don’t deserve.
“Take him to my quarters and have Niall sedate him if necessary. We’ll accomplish nothing with him screaming like a lunatic,” Marcas, the Elder in charge of the Guard, instructed Kellan and Rory.
Then to Royce, he said, “See what you get for trying to be the hero. So like your father.” Shaking his head, he finally turned to Rian. “And you…why did you have to get all of Ronan’s bullheaded stubbornness. He couldn’t have spread it around, huh?”
Not sure what to say, Rian simply stood and stared at the two Elders, waiting for the other shoe to drop. After several long, tense seconds, Stefan spoke, but it was with the voice of an uncle, not an Elder. “I am guessing there’s a decent explanation for what has transpired. All I’ve heard so far is Maddox’s side and quite frankly, I only understand a quarter of it. He was ranting on and on, switching between English, Gaelic, and Latin so many times I was lost. Go clean up and we’ll meet you in the Cave of the Ancients in thirty minutes.”
Rian nodded his understanding and turned to leave just as Royce spoke up. “Stefan? Marcas? I would request to join Rian.”
“As would I,” added Brannoc. “Rory and Kellan would also like to be there, please.”
Spinning on his heels, Rian didn’t hide his shock as he looked at his younger brother and then his old friend. Once again, he was amazed they were supporting his madness instead of kicking his ass.
Thanking the Heavens for his good fortune, the Dragon Leader turned and started towards the Cave of the Ancients. He figured there was no reason to go down the mountain simply to turn around and climb it again for his meeting with the Elders.
“You in a hurry to be told you fucked up?” Royce asked as he jogged up beside him.
“No, just ready to get this crap over with and get to my mate. You heard Adramelech laughing when he pulled Audrey back to hell. He’s a sadistic son of a bitch. I wouldn’t put anything past him. It’s been just over twelve hours and I can’t imagine what he’s putting her through.”
“I’m so sorry, Ri. I wish you would’ve let us help you.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Hindsight’s twenty-twenty. You have no idea how many times I thought about telling at least you and Rory, but something always stopped me. Even with the book, I had no idea what or whom it was talking about. Neither did Eleanor and Elmer. It wasn’t until we found Drago and that bloody stone that it all started to make sense. I finally knew who the dragon was, where he was, and what a Focus Stone was. I was going to tell Audrey when I summoned her but then y’all showed up.”
“Yeah, about that…”
Rian could hear the regret in Royce’s voice, feel it in the air around them. So much so that he cut off what his brother was about to say. “You have nothing to be sorry about. This is all on me. Y’all we’re only doing what you thought was right. Besides, it happened too fast. Adramelech knew before you got there. It was bound to happen. I mean, Audrey’s kept it hidden from him for all these years. It’s my fault that I didn’t get her out of there soon enough.”
Royce’s hand on his shoulder helped but his words meant so much more. “We’ll get your mate, Ri. Don’t you worry about that. Hell ain’t got nothing on the O’Reilly boys.”
Chuckling as they reached the Cave of the Ancients, Rian added, “Well, first I have to survive this,” he motioned to the cave entrance, “and then there’s Maddox.”
It took Royce a few seconds to answer, and when he did, Rian could only groan. “Yeah, and true to form, our younger brother has opened his mouth before engaging his brain. I just heard from Rayne. Lance is already in dragon form with Sam on his back. Guess they’ll be here by nightfall.”
“And it just keeps getting better and better,” was all the Dragon Leader could say as he entered the Cave of the Ancients for what he prayed was not the last time.
Three hours later and feeling like they’d been through the ringer, the O’Reilly brothers, Kellan, and Brannoc exited their meeting with the Elders. The questioning had been excruciating. They went over every detail multiple times in multiple ways to be sure Rian was holding nothing back. Turns out, they’d allowed Royce and the others to be there as character witnesses. Stefan wanted to be prepared. Thank the Heavens it was not necessary.
