A Tale Of Two Dragons

assistance.

“Get your bit of lizard, Addolgar the Cheerful. Let’s get her secured before she wakes up and tears the walls of this ridiculous place down around us.”

And based on what Addolgar had already seen . . . Braith was the one dragon who could do just that with very little effort.

Oh, and as for his battling kin? They were already starting to wake up, which meant the complaining would come soon enough because none of them liked to lose. Especially when they lost to a bloody royal.

Chapter 6

Braith opened her eyes and screamed at what hovered above her, “Gods! Death comes for me!”

The horrifying face of death curled its lip at her and growled, “Well, that’s charmin’.” Death sat back in its chair, hands resting on its knees. “This face is not me fault, ya know?” Death looked off, thought a moment. Its finger traced one of the deep gouges across its jaw. “This one actually is kind of me fault.” She pointed at the other side of her face, where part of her chin was missing. “And this one. A bit of barney at the pub.”

Braith studied the beast sitting next to her bed. There were so many scars on that face and neck. Gouges. One eye was crystal blue, but the other was a milky white and grey. But that was the eye she felt saw beyond scale and flesh to soul . . . so that it could steal it right from the body.

“What are you?”

That milky white and grey eye quickly locked on Braith, the blue one slowly coming along for the ride, sizing her up. “Don’t you mean who am I?”

“No.”

Those disturbing eyes narrowed and that damaged top lip curled. But before further words were spoken, the bedroom door pushed open and Addolgar—that idiot!—rushed in.

“What’s going on?”

“She asked me what am I.”

Addolgar’s brown eyes widened in what appeared to be panic.

“I’m sure she didn’t mean that,” he said quickly. “It was . . . it was the hit on her head,” he offered, nodding desperately at Braith. “She’s mad from that. You should ignore her.”

Death growled a bit, then stood. “I’ll be downstairs with your father,” it told him as it slowly made its way across the room. “Sort this out, boy. The Cadwaladrs don’t need anyone’s problems but their own. Understand?”

“I do.”

“Good.”

Death walked out of the room, slamming the door behind it and Addolgar let out a breath, shoulders slumping, arms hanging down.

“What the hells was that thing?” Braith demanded. “Why are you sending death to my room?”

Addolgar glanced back at the door, his hands lifting, indicating for her to keep her voice down. “That was not death,” he whispered. “That was our Great-Aunt Brigida.”

“Brigida? Brigida the Foul?” He nodded. “I thought she was dead.”

Addolgar shook his head and whispered, “She just won’t die.”

“I heard that, boy!” Brigida’s voice rang down the hall, and Addolgar’s pale human face turned paler. Braith did find it disturbing someone that old could hear a whispered comment behind a thick wooden door, but honestly, at the moment, Braith had other issues to deal with.

“Addolgar?”

He looked up at her, tried to smile. “Aye?”

She lifted her hands. “What are these?”

“Chains.”

“Why am I wearing them?”

“To protect you from yourself.” He seemed to calm down, his uncomfortable smile turning bright and cheerful. “See? I’m here to take care of you!”

Braith sighed. “Addolgar the Cheerful . . . you are such an idiot.”

Addolgar walked across the room and sat on his bed. The bed that Braith of the Darkness was currently on. She looked surprisingly cute on his bed, wearing his shirt and his uncle’s chains, and sporting that big lump on her forehead.

“I know you’re angry,” he told her.

“You threw me into a tree.”

“I had to.”

“You had to? And why did you have to do that?”

“Because if I’d stopped to discuss the situation with you instead, Braith, we’d still be there . . . talking. I didn’t have time for that. I didn’t know if your brothers would be coming back to look for you or if I’d be strong enough to fight them.”

“Addolgar, I’m trying to protect you and, unfortunately, now all of your kin.”

“The kin you just slapped around?”

“They’re still breathing, aren’t they? Because, usually, I don’t allow for that last part. I was just trying to leave. Your family decided to keep me here.”

“Because I’m trying to protect you.”

“I don’t need your protection, you git!”

“And I don’t need yours, brat, but here we are!” Addolgar folded his arms across his chest and suddenly realized something. “You’ve made me angry.”

“I’ve been angry for hours now.”

“We’re not talking about you. You’re Braith of the Darkness. I’m Addolgar the Cheerful. I’ve earned this name, and you’re ruining it by being unreasonable.”

“You throw me into a tree—”

“That was for your own good.”

“—have me attacked by your kin—”

“You brought that on yourself.”

“—and leave me alone with Brigida the Foul, of all She-dragons—”

“She got away from us. Normally none of us would have done that. Not even to our worst enemy.”

“—and I’m being unreasonable.”

Addolgar nodded. “See? You do understand.”

Eyes closing, Braith sighed once more, her head dropping into her open hands. “I can’t believe I once thought you were adorable.”

“Really?” Addolgar grinned. “You think I’m adorable?”

That’s when Braith dropped to the bed, using a pillow to cover her face.

“Wait. Does that mean ‘Yes, I think you’re adorable’ or ‘No, I don’t think you’re adorable’?”

When Addolgar pulled that pillow off her, she refused to open her eyes. She didn’t want to see his handsome face. This whole thing was ridiculous. She didn’t understand what she was doing. What he was doing. What anyone was doing!

“Well?” Addolgar asked her.

Braith finally opened her eyes and found Addolgar leaning right over her. “Well what?”

“Do you really think I’m adorable?”

Braith raised her manacled hands, gripping his chain-mail shirt with her fingers. She lifted her body up by pulling herself closer to his face. Then, while trying to rein in her anger, and failing, she snarled, “I am