“Thank you, Father.”
“Your female did a nice job as well. I’m impressed she’s not some vapid princess.”
“She protected me.”
“Good. Good.” His father scooped his mother up, sat in the chair, and then re-positioned her on his lap, holding her close like he always did. “I like her, if that means anything. She’s a bit rough around the edges, but I think that’s because she had no choice with that bitch of a mother she was cursed with.”
“I agree,” Bercelak replied solemnly. “I just don’t know how to make her happy.”
“You’ll learn that in time. Of course, you may want to see if she hit the ground or not. I just saw her sliding off the ledge under her window.”
Bercelak’s head snapped up. “What?”
A strong hand grabbed hold of her wrist. “Gotcha!” Rhiannon looked up to see Ghleanna smiling down at her. “Almost lost you there.”
“Your sister scared the centaur shit out of me!”
Ghleanna easily hauled Rhiannon back into her room window. “She’s as skittish as a colt, that one. Thought you were leaping to your death.”
“I haven’t become that human.”
“I’m very glad to hear it.”
Maelona shrugged. “Sorry. I had a moment of panic.”
“She has lots of those,” her sister joked.
“No I don’t! I just saw her sitting out there and became worried.”
Kicked open, the door slammed against the wall and Bercelak strode in. “Why were you hanging off the ledge?”
Glancing at Ghleanna, Rhiannon said with forced seriousness, “I couldn’t take it anymore. I decided to end it all.”
He frowned in confusion. “What?”
Ghleanna grabbed Maelona and pulled her from the room. “We’ll just leave you to it, eh?”
The door closed and Rhiannon looked at Bercelak. “Do you really think I’d do something stupid? Do you think so little of me?”
“All my father said was that he saw you falling off the building.”
“If he saw me, why didn’t he help?”
.Bercelak snorted. “My father? Do you have any idea how many times the old bastard’s thrown me off the roof while I was human? For him that’s a test of courage and speed.”
“Your father is . . .”
“Frightening? Horrifying? Disturbed?”
“Interesting.”
Bercelak rolled his eyes and gave a short shake of his head. “Forget him.” His voice dropped impossibly lower as his black eyes locked on her. “Come to me, Rhiannon.”
Stepping around the bed so that it stood between them, she murmured. “Why should I?”
“Because I ordered you to.”
Rhiannon laughed out loud. “As if that means anything.”
Picking up the cuff still chained to the bedpost, he held it up to her. “I see it will be the hard way again this eve.”
“You’ll have to get that on me first, Low Born. And I don’t think you can manage.”
He grinned, apparently more than eager to take her up on her challenge, but another knock at the door had him cursing instead.
“What?”
One of Bercelak’s brothers pushed the door open and looked in. “We need you downstairs, brother.”
“What is it?”
“The queen’s guard are here to speak with you.”
Rhiannon held herself still, unwilling to react to this news, but she saw the color drain from Bercelak’s face. It wasn’t fear for himself but for her that brought that reaction.
“Tell them I’ll be right down.”
His brother nodded and left.
Bercelak turned to Rhiannon. “Come to me, Rhiannon.”
She did without question this time and he put his arms around her, holding her tight. “Stay here until one of my kin comes for you.”
She nodded and felt his lips brush against her forehead.
Then he released her and was gone.
Chapter 10
The full moon had come and gone and still Bercelak had not returned to her.
She knew he’d intended to Claim her on the night of the full moon as custom dictated, but she’d spent the night alone in her room, staring out at the battlements and praying to the dragon gods for her lover’s safety.
His family had done what they could to keep her spirits high, but even she could see how they’d begun to worry as the days passed. Even his father had begun to look serious.
Now she sat in their dining hall, a book in her lap but unread while she stared blankly across the room. Bercelak’s kin kept themselves busy by sharpening weapons, reading, talking, or setting things on fire with small bursts of flame. Still, they always stayed close to her, protecting her as they no doubt had promised Bercelak before he left.
Shalin sat near her studying the book the old dragonwitch had given them, but as far as Rhiannon knew, she still hadn’t found any way to reverse the queen’s spell. Although Shalin did think she’d found the spell the old bitch used on Rhiannon in the first place. At the moment it looked as if Rhiannon might have to kill Addiena in order to break the spell . . . like she had a chance in hell of that. Not with her human and her mother surrounded by her damn guards.
Part of her had given up hope she’d ever be able to shift into dragon again. But that concern paled against her fear of what may have happened to Bercelak.
“Lord Bercelak has returned!” one of the human servants yelled from the courtyard.