Dragon Mine

by Donna Grant

  Vaughn knew in an instant that this was one of Con and Rhi’s twins. Nor did it go unnoticed that the doorway leading to Zora from Earth had been set in a valley, causing anyone who came through to look up.

  “By the stars,” Rhi whispered, her voice shaking with emotion.

  Vaughn was thinking the same thing. Was the woman the reason he’d felt such a driving need to come to this realm? Would she recognize him? Would they share the same fiery attraction as the first time they met?

  She didn’t come to them. In the end, Con, his arm around Rhi, started toward her. Vaughn followed several paces behind the couple. The climb was steep and awe-inspiring. The more Vaughn saw of the realm, the more beautiful he thought it was. His heart sighed in contentment, knowing the dragons had found such a planet. No place was perfect, but this world came close. It reminded him so much of what their realm had once been before the humans arrived.

  Before the war.

  Vaughn put all of that out of his mind as they drew nearer to the woman. He didn’t know what to say to her. Thankfully, he didn’t have to since Con and Rhi were there and spoke first.

  “We’ve been waiting a long time to meet you,” Rhi told her daughter.

  Con nodded, smiling. “Thank you for opening the doorway.”

  She didn’t respond. Instead, her sharp gaze slid to Vaughn. It felt as if he’d been kicked by a dragon. He stared into her intelligent, spirited eyes, mesmerized by the various shades of silver. In that moment, in that very instant, he realized that she remembered him and their night together, as well.

  Finally, she broke eye contact and returned her attention to her parents. She took a deep breath and said, “I’m Eurwen.”

  “Means gold and fair,” Con said. “Which you certainly are.”

  Vaughn couldn’t agree more. Now that he knew her name, something else bound them together. The more he stared at her, the more he suspected that his dreams hadn’t been dreams at all. They had been real. Though he hadn’t yet pieced together how that was possible. At least, he had her name now.

  Rhi blinked as tears coursed down her face. “I don’t know where to begin, Eurwen. You know more about us than we do about you. We have so much to catch up on.”

  “What are your intentions?” Eurwen demanded.

  Con glanced at Vaughn over his shoulder. “Rhi and I have come to meet you and your brother. Obviously, we’d love to see the dragons while we’re here.”

  “And him?” Eurwen asked as her gaze bored into Vaughn.

  He moved a step closer. “You know why I’m here.”

  Con and Rhi wore identical frowns as they looked between the two of them. Eurwen broke eye contact with him first. Vaughn felt the dragons before he saw then. They had moved closer as if sensing that Kings had arrived.

  “Where is your brother?” Rhi asked. “We want to meet him.”

  Eurwen showed no emotion on her face, something she likely got from Con. “He isn’t yet ready to meet either of you.”

  “In other words, he didna want us here,” Con said, not bothering to hide his hurt. “I hope both of you understand that what happened was no’ something Rhi nor I knew about until recently.”

  Eurwen nodded. “We do.”

  “What changed your mind about allowing us entry?” Rhi asked.

  “By refusing, we acted like children when we are far from it.” Eurwen jerked her chin and looked beyond them. “Even now, the dragons know who has arrived, without having to be told.”

  Vaughn glanced over his shoulder to see a mass of dragons approaching in the distance as more gathered around them—some on land and others in the air.

  “I didna come to take over,” Con told her. “Neither did Vaughn. None of the Kings who come from Earth will.”

  Eurwen’s lips twisted. “Some things are out of your control. This is Cairnkeep. My home is over the next rise. Come when you’ve finished.”

  With that, she turned on her heel and walked away. Vaughn wanted to go after her. He was happy he’d finally found her but confused and disturbed to learn that she knew him. If so, why hadn’t she come to him on Earth? Before he confronted her, he needed to get control of his raging emotions. Besides, Con and Rhi needed time with their daughter first.

  Vaughn turned and searched for the Teals. The moment he found them, he shifted into his true form and jumped into the air, his wings catching a current. He flew above the other dragons. As he dipped his wing to turn back, he spotted his clan flying toward him.

  A multitude of voices filled his head as the adolescents began talking at once. Then, suddenly, they grew quiet. Vaughn saw why a second later when a dozen adult Teals closed in around him in a defensive, aggressive manner. He took no offense. He would’ve done the same in their shoes.

  He felt a push in his head before a female voice asked, “Are you really the King of Teals?”

  “Aye. Before we had to send the dragons away to keep them alive,” Vaughn answered.

  “You should’ve wiped out those mortals,” said a deep, male voice. “Eurwen and Brandr have made it so the humans here willna try the same things.”

  Vaughn understood their anger, which had most likely been handed down by past generations. Dragons lived a long time, but only Kings and their mates were immortal. And the only way a Dragon King could be killed was by another Dragon King or Queen. “I’m happy to hear it.”

  “Are you here to be our King?”

  The young voice shocked him. Vaughn wasn’t sure which of the dragons it was, but he heard the wariness in the tone. “We’ve only recently discovered that you found a home. We’ve been trying to find you. I can no’ begin to describe the ache of missing all of you on Earth. It’s our home.”

  “Your home,” said another adult female, her anger palpable. “This is ours.”

  With that, the Teals flew off in a different direction. Vaughn watched them, wondering if he should follow. In the end, he decided against it. Hopefully, he’d have time to speak to his dragons again later.

  For the moment, his thoughts were on a particular woman he’d believed he would never find.

  Chapter Four

  He was here.

  He was really here.

  Eurwen had hoped that Vaughn would come eventually, but she hadn’t thought he would be one of the first. It had been everything she could do not to stare at him. Not to rush to him. She had forced herself to keep her attention on her parents.

  Seeing Vaughn once more had caused her knees to go weak. Her blood had pounded in her ears, and her hands became clammy. Need, swift and powerful, coursed through her. The kind that only Vaughn could quench.

  Her stomach had fluttered as if a thousand butterflies were in residence when she looked into his Persian blue eyes. No one had eyes that color. And his mouth. By the gods, his wide lips drove her wild. Her heart skipped a beat when she thought of the hard lines of his jaw. He moved with cat-like grace that belied the untamed, fierce dragon he was.

  She both hoped he followed her to her cabin and prayed that he didn’t. He would no doubt demand information, answers she wasn’t sure she could give. Eurwen’s legs shook from anticipation and nervousness as she walked. Mixed with her emotions about Vaughn were those concerning her parents. It created a maelstrom of feelings that made her slightly nauseous—and wondering if she could get through it all. This was the time she would normally turn to Brandr. But he had made his position clear.

  Besides, he knew nothing about her time with Vaughn.

  Eurwen reached her cottage and walked inside, leaving the door open. Her curiosity was killing her. She desperately wanted to know what Vaughn was doing. It became so unbearable that she finally gave in and turned around. Her gaze landed on her parents without any sign of Vaughn.

  Her disappointment was swift and sharp. She tried to tell herself it was for the best that Vaughn hadn’t followed her, but there was no getting around the hurt that opened like a yawning void. Eurwen swallowed her wounded pride and squared her shoulders
as Con and Rhi reached the doorway.

  “This is charming,” Rhi said from the entryway as her gaze swept the area.

  Eurwen motioned them in. “Would either of you care for anything to drink? Eat?”

  “We’re fine, thank you,” Constantine replied.

  His black eyes watched her thoughtfully, carefully. Eurwen wondered what he thought of her and Brandr. The King of Dragon Kings was someone she had studied for centuries. He was pensive, brooding even, as well as astute and cunning. There was a reason the magic had chosen him to lead the Golds and be King of Dragon Kings.

  As for her mother, Rhi was loyal, spirited, bold, and courageous. While Con thought things through, Rhi leapt before she looked more often than not. They complemented each other well.

  “If this isna a good time, we can come back,” Con offered. “Or, if it’s better, you could come to Dreagan.”

  Eurwen drew in a breath and forced a smile. “My apologies. I wasn’t expecting to see anyone with you.”

  “Every King wishes to see the dragons,” Rhi said with a grin.

  Eurwen motioned to the sofa as she walked to a chair and sat. “I’m sure you have many questions.”

  “Do you no’?” Con asked Eurwen as he led Rhi to the sofa and waited for her to sit before he lowered himself next to her.

  Eurwen wasn’t surprised by his words. “As you know from Erith, Brandr and I have visited Earth many times. We’ve seen both of you.”

  Rhi crossed one long leg over the other. “I hope that didn’t cause you to form bad opinions of us.”

  “Of course, it did,” Con said, though there was no heat in his words.

  Eurwen looked from Con to Rhi, staring into eyes the exact shade of hers. She decided to choose her words carefully. “It’s true that our feelings toward both of you were…not favorable for a considerable time.”

  Rhi blew out a breath and looked toward Con as the two locked gazes briefly. “There is much of our story you don’t know.”

  “That’s true. It’s one of the reasons I created the doorway. Although, I don’t think any child should know everything about their parents,” Eurwen replied.

  Con reached over and set his hand upon Rhi’s. The instant he did, Rhi twined her fingers with his. “We’re verra glad you did open the doorway for us,” Con said.

  Eurwen watched her parents. It was weird having them together after seeing them apart for so long, but the one thing nobody could deny was the love the two shared.

  Rhi nervously licked her lips. “I’m probably going to regret asking this, but why did you hate us? We knew nothing of your existence. Otherwise, believe me, both of us would’ve come for you and Brandr.”

  Eurwen glanced out the window to the mist-shrouded mountaintop. “The first emotion I remember was desolation. Coming close behind that was anger—before either Brandr or I learned to speak. We weren’t sure where those feelings came from or why we had them. It wasn’t until we were older that I asked Erith. That’s when she told me she believed the feelings came from the day things ended between the two of you.”

  “And I went to the Fae Realm,” Rhi said in a soft voice. She looked down at her hand, a tear rolling down her face.

  Con instantly turned to Rhi, a frown marring his face. “Neither of us knew you were with child.”

  Rhi lifted her gaze and met Eurwen’s. “You thought I didn’t want you. That we didn’t want you.”

  “No,” Eurwen said. “Erith made sure we knew the truth of that.”

  “Then why wait so long to let us know you?” Con asked.

  Eurwen leaned forward and looked between her parents. “We all know everything happened for a reason. Con, you broke things off with Rhi because of the other Kings. Rhi, had you remained with Con, you would’ve never become part of the Queen’s Guard. You wouldn’t have discovered Usaeil’s deception—or your true parentage. Brandr and I wouldn’t have known the dragons needed us here.”

  Rhi shook her head. “That still doesn’t explain why you and Brandr had such strong feelings against getting to know us or letting us know of you.”

  Eurwen said nothing.

  “You can no’ possibly know how difficult it was to send the dragons away,” Con said, his face lined with anguish.

  Eurwen had known he would say something like that. And she couldn’t hold back her words. “You had the power to keep the dragons on Earth.”

  “We made a vow to protect the humans.”

  “And look where that got you.”

  “We’re no’ murderers.”

  Eurwen shrugged. “You lost your own kind. You are Kings to nothing and no one.”

  Rhi swiped at the tears on her face, her eyes turning hard. “It’s easy for someone to look back on another’s life and pick apart every bad decision. I wonder, if you had been there during any of that, how would you have reacted? What decisions would you have made?”

  “Do you no’ think I regret all that’s happened?” Con snapped to Eurwen.

  She remained calm during all of it. She had replayed this entire scenario a million different ways, so she knew what to expect. “You forced your dragons to leave their home and sent them out into the universe in hopes they might find a place they could live in peace.”

  “Things turned out well,” Rhi stated.

  Eurwen glanced at the ground and huffed. “Do you think that was by chance?”

  “What does that mean?” Con asked with narrowed eyes.

  Rhi shrugged. “The universe has countless realms.”

  “That’s right,” Eurwen said. “What are the chances they arrived somewhere similar to their world? One that had only one sun and one moon?”

  Con’s shoulders rose as he drew in a breath and released it, all emotion wiped from his face. “How did they find this place?”

  “They didn’t find it. They were directed here,” Eurwen answered.

  Rhi nodded and looked at Con. “Erith.”

  Con’s blond brows snapped together as he jerked his head to Eurwen. “Is that true?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “As both of you know, Erith spent a lot of time on Earth, watching the dragons and the Kings long before the humans or Fae arrived. She didn’t want to leave anything to chance, especially since she knew it was wrong for the dragons to have been sent away.”

  “I was trying to save their lives,” Con said in a low voice.

  Eurwen shrugged. “And that’s where we differ. Brandr and I protect the dragons above anything or anyone else. This was their home first. We won’t allow the same mistakes you made to happen here. Your realm is overrun with humans who are slowly destroying it. How much longer until the magic fades? How much longer can the Dragon Kings remain hidden before you’re hunted? Where will you go when that happens?”

  “It’s our realm,” Con replied. “We willna allow any of that to happen.”

  “Just like you thought the humans and dragons could live together?”

  Rhi got to her feet and looked from Eurwen to Con and back to Eurwen. “Enough. Both of you. Eurwen, you’re an incredibly intelligent woman. You’ve watched things on Earth. You know how Con and the others at Dreagan have suffered. There is no need to rub salt in a wound that will never heal.”

  Eurwen slowly sat back in her seat. “Did you two think you could come here, and everything would be all smiles and roses? When Brandr and I finally convinced Erith to bring us to Zora, things were…horrible. The dragons fought each other to the death. So many died. There was no cohesion. No leaders. Some tried, but since they weren’t Kings, no one listened. What we had to deal with—as children, no less—to restore order among the dragons was unspeakable.”

  Con got to his feet and bowed his head to her. “I’m grateful that you and your brother were able to get control and ensure order once again. I can no’ express my joy at learning the dragons are thriving under my children’s rule.”

  He met Rhi’s gaze in a silent exchange before walking from the cottage.

  Eurwen
watched him go. She had hurt him. Once, long ago, she had wanted exactly that. She’d thought she was past all of that, but obviously that wasn’t the case given her answers and tone.

  “He’s sacrificed everything for the Kings and the dragons,” Rhi said, her gaze still on her mate. “He keeps it all inside, showing only me, but he’s torn to pieces. He shoulders the blame for everything. Even when it’s not his fault.”

  Eurwen blinked back sudden tears, swallowing past the knot of emotion in her throat. “We both know some things were out of his control. The Others, for one.”

  Rhi turned to look at her. “You know of them, then?”

  “Of course.”

  “And you would still skewer your father as you did? Does it not go to show you his misery, his sorrow for all that has happened, that he didn’t bother to name the cause of the arrival of the humans to our world?”

  Eurwen was suitably put in her place. “I wasn’t there to see the battle with the humans. I wasn’t there to see him decide to send the dragons away. He wasn’t here to see the state of this realm or the dragons when we arrived. He wasn’t here to watch the utter destruction.”

  “And me?” Rhi asked, black brows raised. “You didn’t hesitate to tell your father how you felt about him. Is it time for me to learn why you detest me so?”

  Eurwen could only stare at her mother, unsure of what to say.

  “Something had to keep you and your brother away from me. I’m far from perfect. Shall we look back on my life and point out all the things I’ve done wrong? Pick apart all the decisions I’ve made?”

  Eurwen shook her head, tears threatening again.

  “For months after we learned about you, I waited until the day I could finally meet you and your brother.” Fresh tears fell down Rhi’s face. “We knew something had kept both of you from us, but given the doorway, we were sure those things had been laid aside. Apparently, we were wrong.”

  The first tear fell down Eurwen’s cheek as Rhi followed Con out of the house and then disappeared over the rise. Eurwen sank into the chair, confused and shaken by what had just happened. Con and Rhi were right. She shouldn’t have hurled such things at them, not the first day. Certainly, not during their first conversation.