Izzy's eyebrow went up. "As opposed to us?"

"We don't argue."

"Uh . . . okay."

eibhear leaned in and rubbed his nose against her jaw.

"What are you doing?"

"Nuzzling. Animals do it in the wild."

"See a lot of that in the Ice Lands, did you?"

"Nothing else to do but watch animals nuzzle. You know, when we weren't eating them."

Shaking her head, Izzy tried to slip off eibhear's lap, but he wasn't in the mood to let her go. Although he wouldn't mind if she kept wiggling her ass around like that. It felt wonderful.

"Are you going to release me?"

"No. You might start hitting me again. And your tiny little fists hurt my sensitive human skin."

"You're pathetic," she laughed.

"So my brothers keep saying." He kissed her jaw, moved down her neck.

"eibhear, we can't."

"Why not?"

"We're going to have to go to dinner soon."

"Not for a bit. We've got time." And even if they didn't, he'd make time.

"I have to change."

"Oh. Well . . . let me help you with that."

eibhear released Izzy's wrists but only so he could grab hold of her chain-mail shirt and pull it up over her head. He tossed it on the bed behind him and moved in for the bindings she wrapped around her breasts. He got that off in short order, then wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her in closer, loving how her tits felt pressed against his chest.

"Now kiss me, Izzy."

"This isn't what we should be doing. I thought we weren't going to let this get complicated."

"Izzy . . . I'm M-runach."

"Which means . . . what? Exactly?"

"That when I told you I wasn't going to let this get complicated I was merely lying to get what I want. That's what we do. That's what we're trained to do."

"You were trained to lie? You mean like your sister?"

"No. Keita lies for queen and country, but the M-runach lie for ale and pussy."

"You lot need training for that?"

"It's definitely a skill."

"Oh, well, when you put it like that . . ."

"Just kiss me, Iz." He nipped her chin. "Before I go mad from the waiting."

"All right. But just a small kiss. Just a little one. And then we have to get dressed for dinner."

"Just a small one. I promise."

Izzy began to lean in, but she suddenly stopped, eyes narrowing on him. "Are you lying again?"

"M-runach. Pussy. All we're missing is the ale."

"Ale, eh? Well . . ." She shrugged. "As long as I get something out of it."

"When it comes to obtaining ale, the M-runach never lie."

Izzy smiled and pressed her mouth to his. Their tongues met and Izzy wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her tighter, his hands tracing the lines of her scars while his cock grew uncomfortably hard in his leggings.

Gods, he had to be inside her. He had to be inside her now. He couldn't wait even a second longer.

"What are you two doing?"

eibhear and Izzy froze at the same moment, Izzy's eyes opening wide to look at him even though their mouths stayed fused together. He knew that she wanted to believe they hadn't heard anything. But eibhear knew better. Knew that they had heard what they didn't want to believe they'd heard.

"I don't believe you two," that angry voice went on. "I've been worried sick and this is what you've been up to?"

Izzy pulled back, her hands immediately covering her chest.

"I have to say I don't expect much from the boy, Iseabail. But I thought you learned your lesson after Celyn."

eibhear looked around. They were surrounded. Surrounded by beautiful trees and soft green grass and happily whistling birds. Things that he could not only see and hear but feel. Like the extremely large boulder he and Izzy now sat on.

"Mum-" he began.

"I don't want to hear it, eibhear. From either of you! And Izzy," she went on, "to do this in front of your sister."

Eyes getting impossibly wider, Izzy looked over her shoulder and Rhi waved at her from beside his mother.

"What the hells is going on?" eibhear demanded, helping Izzy as she scrambled behind him to hide from his mother's imperious glare and Rhi's happily curious expression. Tragically, Izzy's shirt had been left behind in that Desert Land chamber, so all she could do was use eibhear's bare chest as a shield. "Why is my niece even here?"

"Do you think it's easy to bring those without any Magickal skills into a sacred space? Even for someone of my amazing skills? Well," she went on before eibhear could bother trying to answer that question, "it's not. And I needed Rhi's help. But little did I know what I would be exposing the poor girl to."

"Mum."

"I mean I expect little from you. . . . You're a male. I'm just glad you can think of and speak full and complete sentences."

"Mum."

"But Iseabail, Daughter of Talaith and Briec, what are you thinking?"

"Me? Why are you putting all this on my shoulders?"

"Because you of all people should know how stupid anything with a penis is! And yet here you are, involving yourself with my son. As if that's acceptable!"

Izzy gasped. "Why wouldn't it be acceptable? We're not blood related."

"Exactly! So you were not born a royal. You were merely a commoner who has been very lucky. And if you think you'll trap one of my useless sons with that common pussy, you're tragically mistaken!"

"Mum!"

"Oh, shut up! Now here. I came to give you this." She threw down a piece of parchment. A rune drawn on it.

"When you don't have your tongue down Izzy the Dangerous's throat, feel free to keep a look out for that rune. You'll most likely find it on those who've already tried to kill you once. And in case you were worried about your cousin Brannie and your three friends, which clearly you were not-they're fine!"

"Mum-"

"Och! You stupid, stupid boy!" She turned away but then spun back again, her dragon tail almost taking off poor Rhi's head. Thankfully the girl was quick and managed to duck in time. "And when you two get back, this whole . . . thing better be done with!"

"Don't you dare try to order me to-dammit!"

One second he was in some lovely grove with a pretty pink sky and the next he was back here, in this stupid chamber. Damn that female!

"Princess Iseabail?" one of the guards asked from the entrance while he eyed them both. "Is everything all right?"

"Uh . . . yes. Yes. Everything is fine." eibhear didn't have to look to know that Izzy was busy grabbing her shirt and pulling it on, using eibhear to block the guard's view.

"We sent you clothes, but no one could find you."

"Uh . . . right. Went exploring. Sorry about that."

"Dinner is about to take place. Should I ask King Heru if you could have more-"

"Time? No. No need." She scrambled off the bed, smoothing the shirt down her unbound breasts. "Let's just go and get our meal. I'm starving."

"Of course." The guard nodded. "Right this way."

He walked out and Izzy went to follow, but eibhear grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "Don't even think of losing your mind over this."

"Too late!"

"I don't care what my mother says or your mother or the mother of all the gods. We do what we want, Izzy. And if that means fucking like bunnies, then that is exactly what we'll do."

"Can we discuss this later?" She snatched her hand back. "Much later?"

Izzy walked out, although he could tell she'd rather be running. Running all the way back to her legions and more killing. Anything rather than face the situation that was right in front of her. Not that he blamed her, but still. She had to know that no matter what happened between them the family wouldn't take this well. She just needed to deal with it.

Back safely in the grove not more than a league from Garbhn Isle, Rhi looked up at her grandmother, who would escort Rhi back to the house now that they were done with their task. But still, something bothered Rhi. . . .

"Why did you say that to Izzy and Uncle eibhear?"

"I had to, it's nothing to worry about."

"But I don't understand, Gram. I thought you didn't mind them being together."

"Oh . . . my darling girl. When you're a mother you'll understand this better, but if you think for a minute that my blessing their union and telling them that it should have happened years ago would bond those two together for a lifetime, you are a very optimistic girl. Instead, it would only make them go out of their way to do the exact opposite. It's what children do to their parents."

"I don't." She scrunched up her nose. "But Talwyn and Talan do."

"Exactly. No, no. This was ugly but necessary. Either I forbid the relationship now or I risk another three or four decades of those two fighting what everyone else can so clearly see."

"You practically called Izzy a whore, though."

"There's no practically there, but I had to make it convincing. But don't worry. Once I know that idiot and my granddaughter have stopped all this foolishness, I'll apologize to her."

"What about Uncle eibhear?"

"He's male, darling. It's best to keep things simple and unadorned for the males. You'll learn that, too, as you get older. Now"-she leaned in a bit-"would you like to go flying with Grandmum before we take you home, so you can watch her toss cows around for no other reason than her own amusement?"

"Sounds unnecessarily cruel."

"Exactly!" Rhiannon used her tail to place her granddaughter on her back. "See? Already you're learning what it means to be part of this family."

Chapter 30.

"Are you not hungry, Princess? Is the food not to your liking?"

Izzy looked up from the food she'd been toying with for the last forty minutes. As eibhear had feared, Izzy seemed to be taking his mother's words hard. Then again, not really surprising. Not only did Izzy adore his mother, she respected her. So what Rhiannon had said bothered Izzy more than if it had come from one of the Cadwaladr aunts who'd mostly ignored her over the years.

"No," she said. "Everything's fine."

"Then what troubles you?"

Izzy glanced at the other three dragons who'd come to dinner in the king's privy chamber: Lord Amsi, a duke from the outer regions of the Desert Lands; Bani, the king's personal healer and friend; and Kafele, the king's head magi.

"Nothing," Izzy finally said.