"The last thing we need is for other dragon kingdoms to think we're here to kill on order."

"So she sends in the M-runach? That seems like a good plan to you?"

"The M-runach have done reconnaissance. We're good at it."

"I can see that. All four of you just . . . blend."

"You'll see." He turned back toward the pub door. "And, while we're at it, if we can manage to get in a little more of that fucking you were talking about-that works for me as well."

"Oh, that was subtle," she complained, following behind him.

"I'm known for my subtlety. That was the other option for my name. eibhear the Contemptible or eibhear the Subtle."

"Did you have other name options?"

"Aye. There was eibhear the Despicable. eibhear the Rude. And eibhear the Murdering Rat Bastard Who Should Burn in the Farthest Reaches of Hell." He stopped just in the doorway, looked down at Izzy. "I think that was my favorite."

Chuckling, she pushed past him. "Of course it was."

Chapter 26.

For three days they rode far south. It wasn't an easy trip. Not remotely leisurely, all of them exhausted and cranky by the time they bedded down for the night-except for that damn dog that never seemed to get tired-and each league they passed led to warmer and warmer weather. It might be fall in Dark Plains, but it felt like summertime the closer they got to the territorial lines between the Southlands and the deserts.

But just when eibhear didn't think he could stand going another mile, Brannie rode up beside him. He reined in his horse, as did she, and she pointed off to the right. "Do you know what's over there?" Brannie asked.

"No."

"Salt mines."

eibhear shrugged. "Do you need some salt?"

She let out that annoyed sigh-it was a sound she'd been making a lot on this trip-and said, "No. But the Queen's troops are there. That means fresh meat, ale, perhaps a bed or a nice cave. Just for a night."

He really did like the sound of that.

"What's going on?" Izzy asked when she reached his side.

"The salt mines are near here. We can get fresh food and drink and a nice place to sleep with my mum's troops."

Izzy gazed at him a moment; then she looked at the rest of their travel party, who now waited expectantly, before she focused on him again.

"You do know I'm human, don't you?"

He was surprised by her question. "I'm aware."

"And you want me to be the lone human with an entire troop of dragons? And aren't the salt mines a sort of prison for your kind?"

"I'm sure the salt mines have whores," Caswyn added while looking around what was becoming more and more barren territory the farther they traveled.

eibhear gawked at him, eyes wide, wondering what the hell the dragon had been thinking.

When Caswyn looked back at them all-and realized they were all staring at him-he clarified, "Not that you're a whore. Just that dragons usually have whores around and they're usually human. So you should feel quite comfortable."

When everyone's mouth opened a little wider, Caswyn sighed and said, "What I mean is-"

"Please stop talking," Brannie desperately cut in. "For the love of all the gods in all the worlds, please stop talking!"

"I was just trying to put her at ease."

"They'll have ale?" Izzy asked eibhear.

"Lots of ale."

She walked her horse around him. "Thank the gods for something," she muttered, and spurred her horse off the road and toward the salt mines.

After stabling their horses in town not far from the salt mines-yes, for the horses' own safety-the traveling party arrived at the main mountain that overlooked the entire borderline between the Southlands and the Desert Lands.

Izzy rode Brannie to the entrance but dismounted once they'd landed. Without waiting for the others, she headed toward the caverns.

"Izzy," eibhear called out. "Wait."

But Izzy wouldn't wait. If she didn't want to become an immediate target of some pushy dragon, she needed to show no fear from the beginning. And entering while riding on Brannie's back, or with eibhear at her side, only ensured that none of the troops would take her seriously.

Izzy walked into the large cavern. It was, she'd admit, a bit overwhelming to be amongst all these dragons who weren't kin or friend. She'd never felt like a tiny woman before . . . until now.

Standing in the middle of the cavern, Izzy kept her hand on the sword at her side. After a few moments, one of the dragons lifted his head and sniffed the air. He looked around the cavern until his gaze moved down to her.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Iseabail the Dangerous," she said loudly so that everyone would hear. "General of Annwyl the Bloody's Eighth, Fourteenth, and Twenty-sixth Legions."

The dragon studied her for several long moments before he finally nodded and said, "Nice to meet ya, lass. Let us know if you need anything."

"Thank you," she replied, feeling a little disappointed. She'd expected more of a reaction. A little something. Did humans just wander into their caverns all the time?

"Izzy?"

She looked up, forced a smile. "Fal. Hello."

Brannie and Celyn's older brother, Fal. Although Izzy considered him family like all Cadwaladrs, she didn't always like him very much.

"What are you doing here?" He grinned. "Had to see me, eh?"

And that was why Izzy didn't like him very much. Ever since he'd found out Izzy and Celyn had been together, he'd been on a quest to get between her legs. It wasn't that he wasn't attractive. He was. But he was also a bit of an annoying prat, too. Not a charming prat like Gwenvael. Just annoying.

"I'm on a trip with-"

"Brannie?" Fal asked, his gaze behind Izzy. He smiled, but it quickly faded and the busy activity around Izzy abruptly stopped. She turned, afraid of what she'd find . . . but it was just Brannie, eibhear, Aidan, Uther, and Caswyn.

Yawning, Brannie stomped up beside Fal and Izzy.

"Fal." She nodded at her brother. "You got fat."

Izzy gasped. "Brannie!"

"He is. Dragons can get fat, you know, Iz. The Cadwaladrs just choose not to." She cut her brother a hard look. "Or should I say most of the Cadwaladrs choose not to."

Fal gripped his sister's forearm. "I need to talk to you."

"What? You need some diet tips-hey!"

Izzy watched Fal drag his sister off; then she noticed that everyone was staring at eibhear and the others. A few leaned over to nearby comrades and whispered, rather loudly, "M-runach." But there was a tone of disgust and fear. A tone she didn't much appreciate.

They were all still part of the same army, still there to protect the Dragon Queen and her subjects. So the M-runach did it a little differently? What did that matter?

"Oy!" Izzy yelled out, as she did with her own troops. "Don't you lot have work to get done? Now?"

"And who the hells are you?" some upstart demanded.

"I am Iseabail the Dangerous," she called up to the rude bastard. "Daughter of Talaith and Briec the Mighty. General to Annwyl the Bloody's Eighth, Fourteenth, and Twenty-sixth Legions." She threw down the horn-handled dagger her father had had made for her many years ago. "And killer of the dragon whose horn that used to be, Olgeir the Wastrel." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Who are you?"

Aidan leaned in and whispered low into eibhear's ear, "I'd initially found her large shoulders a tad off-putting. But I must say that at this moment . . . completely understand the attraction."

eibhear didn't answer him, but instead watched the troops go back to their work. Izzy swiped up her dagger, tucked it back into the holster attached to her sword belt, and marched over to eibhear's side. She motioned him down with a wave of her hand. He lowered himself a bit. "Aye?"

"Why does everyone hate you? Other than the obvious reasons, of course."

Smart-ass. "Because we're M-runach."

"You'd think they'd appreciate what you do for your queen."

"You'd think."

She looked so annoyed by how the others had treated him and his comrades. Whether she realized she was upset for him, eibhear didn't know, but he was enjoying it. Enjoying her. He wouldn't mention that, though. He knew it would only piss her off.

"I'm not discussing it!" Brannie roared as she came stomping around a corner, her idiot brother Fal following behind her.

"You can't just bring bloody M-runach here, Branwen! Not without permission of-"

Brannie spun around and faced her brother, her sharpened tail pointing in his face, dangerously close to his eye. "The M-runach are part of this army, you idiot. They need no one's permission to go anywhere on Her Majesty's territory. And eibhear is your cousin. He's kin. A Cadwaladr by blood. Never forget that, Fal the Tepid."

eibhear leaned down a bit more and whispered, "That name will stick."

"Aye. I'm afraid you may be right." Izzy cringed a bit, but added, "Tragic really, but from what I understand . . . deserved."

"You two going to start braiding each other's hair next?" Uther grumbled. And, when they all turned to look at him: "I'm hungry!"

"We'd best get him fed," Aidan warned. "You know how he gets."

eibhear glanced around. "There's got to be something to eat around here until we can get a proper meal." He pointed across the cavern. "There. Cow's legs."

Izzy looked over. "Good gods, those are cow's legs. They just have cow's legs lying around? Like treats?"

"What would you expect a dragon to eat?" eibhear asked her. "Chicken legs?"

"I guess you have a point, but . . ."

Uther now stood in front of them with a cow's leg, using his fangs to rip meat off the bone. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he sighed loudly. "That's good."

Izzy gazed up at eibhear. "Eww."

Izzy put her hand to her mouth to hide her laugh and keep food from flying out. When it was decided that the M-runach were staying-dealing with Izzy was one thing for these dragons, but dealing with Captain Branwen the Awful was definitely another-a small feast was thrown together in one of the caverns with a long dining table, plates, and utensils. And, in honor of Iseabail, everyone came as human. At least they said it was in honor of Iseabail. Izzy really thought it was more about getting a chance to hang around the human prostitutes in their less intimidating forms.

"Stop, Brannie," Izzy got out around the food she still hadn't swallowed.

"Look at him. All puffed up. I can't believe that's my brother."

They both looked over at Fal. The brown dragon was keeping human prostitutes enthralled with tales of wartime heroism that managed to leave out how many times Brannie and Celyn had been forced to save his rather useless ass.

"What's really tragic is he's not even smart enough to help Daddy with all his peacemaking, politics, and book . . . stuff. He's bloody stupid!"

"Would you stop?" Izzy begged, her voice barely a whisper, her attempts to stop her laughter getting weaker by the second.

"And look at 'em," she coaxed Izzy, gesturing to the women. "Look at 'em all. 'Ohhh, Fal,'" she mimicked in a high-pitched voice. "'You're so handsome and brave.'"

Izzy pushed her nearly empty plate away. It was rare for her not to finish a meal but what could she do? Brannie would have her choke to death!

"But," Izzy whispered, "they are prostitutes, yes?"

"Oh, yes."

"Then is romance really required?"

"It is when you're cheap."

"Ahhh. I see."

Brannie leaned in closer, her voice dropping even more. "Now you see why me mum sent him here. He's hopeless."

"But he seems quite happy."

"Because there's no safer or more boring an assignment then the salt mines."