"You know the scariest part of all this?" Vigholf asked as he stepped aside to allow the three other M-runachs to follow eibhear.

"What?"

"Since we last saw him, that blue bastard actually got bigger."

Keita lay stretched out on the floor, a book on the topic of poisons in front of her. She went through each kind, trying to find which could best be used to poison the water supply of the Spikes. She longed to return to the warmth of her Southland home for a little holiday, but these constant battles with these ridiculous Ice Landers had made it impossible. Honestly, these Northerners! All they did was fight! Constantly! It was like living with her Cadwaladr kin all the time.

She turned another page. "Oooh," she sighed, when she saw a root that might be perfect for what she needed. But before she could read further, she heard one of the soldiers who guarded her cavern give a warning cry, then the sounds of battle.

Keita quickly got to her claws and swiped up some Ved bark. If necessary, she could force it into a dragon's mouth and end him quite quickly.

An Ice Land dragon stalked through the cavern entry.

"Keita," he said, his voice indescribably low. She was shocked that he knew her name.

The dragon moved toward her, but she quickly raised her empty claw, halting him. "You'll never take me alive!" Then she thought on that proclamation a bit and added, "All right. You can, of course, take me alive. But most importantly, try not to damage this face." She lowered her head a bit and looked up through her lashes. "Or these beautiful fangs." Then she smiled.

The dragon leaned back from her, a look of disgust on his face. At least, it looked like disgust. Hard to tell with all that blue hair in his face. Wait . . . shouldn't his hair be whiter? Or silver? Or something that easily melded in with the snow-covered world of the Ice Lands?

"It's me, you little idiot," the invader said.

She crossed her forearms over her chest. "I can say with all honesty that I've never fucked an Ice Lander before. And I'm not about to start now!"

The invader closed his eyes, sighed long and deep. "It's me . . . eibhear."

"eibhear who?"

He threw down his blade. "Your brother!"

Keita's arms slowly fell to her sides and her mouth opened as she stared at the dragon in front of her. Then she exploded into laughter that rocked the cave walls.

"How do you forget your own brother?"

"Don't blame me!" Keita argued around her hysterical and, to be honest, quite annoying laughter. "How was I supposed to recognize you when you look like the lowest barbarian known to dragon or gods?"

"I've been in the Ice Lands for a decade, you snobby cow! I had to blend."

"Well . . . blend you did."

Disgusted, eibhear turned to go. Sorry he'd ever come. But before he could take more than a step, Keita grabbed his forearm and caught hold.

"I'm sorry." Although she was still laughing. "I'm sorry." She stepped in front of him and wrapped her arms around his chest. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Really? It was a bit hard to tell."

"You have grown quite a bit, baby brother." Her head fell back so she could look up at him. "I can't even get my forearms around you! You're gargantuan!"

"I'm not that big."

"Hopefully you've finally stopped growing or you might cover the world, my handsome, majestic brother."

"You'll not fool me with your centaur-shit platitudes," he muttered, even as he put his own forearms around her and hugged her tight. "No matter how sweet you may act. I know the truth about Keita the Viper."

"Of course you do. You're a prince of the mightiest dragons on earth. I'd expect no less." She rested her head against his chest and sighed. "So . . . what brings you here?"

"Come to kill some cannibal dragon for the Northlanders, then I thought I'd go home for a bit. Since I haven't been in a while."

He felt his sister tense against him. "You're going home? Now?"

"Aye."

"Huh." She pulled away, moved around him. "Does Mother know? Or Fearghus and the others?"

"No. Why?"

"Oh . . . well, I think that there's some very important assignment they need you involved in."

"What assignment?"

"Not sure of all the details, but I'm certain I can find out. But I think you'll need to take care of that first before you return home."

"Really?" eibhear slowly turned so that he could keep his sister in sight.

"Aye. I'm sorry, love. I know how much you want to go home and see everyone. I'm sure this assignment will take no time at all."

"How long, do you think?"

"Two . . . three weeks at most. Then you can be home and we can all spend some time together."

"You're lying, Keita."

Keita gasped and spun around to face him. "eibhear! How could you say something like that to me? Me?"

"Because I know when you're lying. And you're lying. There's no assignment. If there was, my commander would have told me about it. So then my question becomes, why don't you want me to go home? After ten bloody years?"

"Of course I want you to go home. Go! Ignore your duties. I'm sure everyone will be very happy to see you, little brother."

eibhear crossed his forearms over his chest and tapped one talon of his back claw. "Tell me, Keita"-and he knew he was practically begging because he was so damn annoyed-"tell me this has nothing to do with Izzy."

"What? Of course not! That's a ridiculous thing to even ask. What would Izzy have to do with anything?"

Again, he knew his sister was lying. This had everything to do with Izzy.

Little Izzy the Dangerous. At least that's how he'd thought of her when he'd first met her. She'd only been sixteen then. Pretty but awkward. All long legs and gangly arms. And a child. Even worse than that-his niece. No. Not by blood. But his brother had taken Izzy's mother as his mate and the entire family had accepted both mother and daughter as their own. Something that wouldn't have been a problem if Izzy had just stayed that awkward, gangly child. But she hadn't, had she? She'd kept growing, getting stronger and more beautiful nearly every day. Something that probably wouldn't have been a problem if his kin had just left the whole thing alone.

But they hadn't then, and it seemed they wouldn't now.

"Izzy?" Ragnar said as he walked into the cavern, Meinhard and Vigholf behind him. "Is he going to pick her up instead of us?"

Keita flinched the slightest bit, but eibhear saw it . . . and smirked.

"Oh, I'll pick her up," eibhear quickly offered, not even knowing where the hells the woman might be and not remotely caring.

"No, you will not," Keita said, panic in her voice.

Vigholf pointed outside the cavern. "What did you do to the guards, boy?"

"They got in my way," eibhear explained before refocusing on his sister. "And why wouldn't I go to get my dear niece?"

"Because I said so."

"Did you actually tell the guards who you are?" Vigholf continued on.

"Didn't feel like it. And I don't think 'Because I said so' is really a good enough reason for not letting me do you this favor."

Keita's eyes narrowed on eibhear and eibhear narrowed his right back.

"Maybe you could have just asked them to check with your sister before you attacked them," Vigholf suggested.

Letting out a sigh, eibhear yelled out, "Aidan! Are they still breathing?"

"Aye. They are." The three M-runach entered the cavern, Aidan stopping to lean against the entrance wall with one shoulder. "And they still have all their parts. That's pretty good for us."

eibhear looked at Vigholf. "Happy now?"

"Not particularly."

"We will take care of my niece. You can just head home," Keita insisted.

eibhear couldn't help but laugh a little. "Are you really trying to keep me away from her? After all this time?"

"It's not just me, brother, and we're doing it in Izzy's best interest."

"Oh, come on, Keita. That was a long time ago. And I apologized."

"And when did you do that? You haven't seen her in ten years!"

"Five years ago I wrote her a letter and apologized."

"Uh . . ."

eibhear looked over his shoulder at Aidan. "Uh . . . what?"

Caswyn looked at Aidan, and asked, "You didn't tell him?"

"Tell me? Tell me what?"

"It never seemed the right time."

"What never seemed the right time? What's going on?"

Aidan stared at eibhear and finally admitted, "We burned your letter."

Keita gave a shocked laugh as eibhear faced his comrades.

"You did what?"

"Don't get mad. It was in your best interest."

"How was burning my letter to Izzy in my best interest?"

"We could have let it be sent instead."

"Females hate that," Uther felt the need to explain. "A letter. If you can't say it to her face, then you shouldn't bother."

"So we'll go pick her up," Aidan said, winking at eibhear. "You can tell her to her face on the way to Garbhn Isle."

eibhear looked back at his sister. "Guess I'll be picking up Izzy. So we can talk."

Keita's eyes crossed. "Why must you be sooooo difficult?"

"It's in the bloodline."

"That's no longer a good enough excuse!"

eibhear reached over and stroked his sister's cheek. "I'm glad to see you're well, sister." He turned, headed toward the exit. "Where can I find Izzy?"

"You'll find her in the Blathnat Forests fighting the ogres," Ragnar replied.

eibhear stopped, glanced back at the Northland Dragonlord. "Because she'll ask . . . why am I taking Izzy back to Garbhn Isle?"

"I still say you shouldn't be taking her-" Keita began to protest again, but Ragnar covered her snout with his claw and nodded at eibhear.

"Have a good trip. We'll see you at Garbhn Isle in a few days' time."

Not only did eibhear realize that Ragnar didn't answer his question, he also kind of knew that the Lightning wasn't going to answer his question. No matter how many times he asked. So why bother? Instead, he headed off to track down Izzy and do what he thought he'd done five years ago.

Once eibhear and his entourage of dangerous friends were gone, Keita slapped her mate's claw off her snout and spun to face him. "Why did you do that?"

"I don't see the problem, Keita."

"Of course you don't." She swept her claw at the idiot Northland males. "None of you do!"

"Where's eibhear going?" Rhona demanded as she stalked into the cavern.

"These idiots-"

Vigholf frowned. "What do you mean 'these idiots'?"