Chapter 35
“I know what you’re going to say,” Brandr said before she could speak.
Eurwen faced him and looked into his black eyes. “Do you now?”
“You’re Vaughn’s mate.”
“Or you could’ve said, he’s my mate. I am half-dragon.”
“I’m happy for you.”
Brandr said the right words, but Eurwen wasn’t sure he meant them. “Are you?”
“I am,” he said with a nod. “You deserve to be happy.”
“So do you.”
He glanced away. “One day, perhaps. Are you living on Earth?”
“I don’t know what we’re going to do. My home is here. Vaughn’s is there. But there has to be a way to work it out. That is if you aren’t going to banish me.”
Her brother smiled at her. “I was never going to banish you. I was angry when I said that. As for where to live, split time between the realms. I can cover things here while you’re gone.”
Eurwen was so surprised that she couldn’t speak for a moment. “You’re all right with a Dragon King living here?”
“He’s your mate, Eurwen. If I refuse him, I refuse you. Mates are as one. And you’re my sister. I willna sever that bond.”
Emotion choked her. She quickly blinked back tears. “Thank you.”
“I’m the one who should be apologizing for putting you in a position where you thought you had to choose. This is your home. You have as much right to make decisions as I do.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat and quickly wiped away the few tears that had escaped. “I’m glad you see that.”
“Sadly, I didna until you were injured. It all quickly came into perspective. I didna realize how I had been acting, but the real factor was Vaughn. He was willing to die for you, and I know he would’ve. There isna a doubt in my heart that he doesna truly love you.”
“And I love him.”
“I have one request,” Brandr said.
Eurwen shrugged. “Anything.”
“Have the mating ceremony here.”
She hadn’t even thought that far ahead. “Here? You know that means the Kings will come to Zora.”
“As they should. We have no right to keep them away from the dragons. They should witness their brethren’s mating. As the dragons here should bear witness for one of theirs.”
Eurwen threw her arms around him and held him tightly. “You’re the best brother.”
“I’m your only brother,” he said as he returned her embrace.
“Which makes you special.” She leaned back and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You will be at the ceremony, right?”
“I wouldna miss it.”
Eurwen gave him one last hug before she stepped back. “As far as this new threat—”
“I agree,” he said over her.
She blinked. “What?”
“We’re going to need help. You and I have done well on our own all these years, but we’ve no’ dealt with a threat like this before. I’m no’ going to allow my pride to stand in the way as more dragons are slaughtered. Or worse, you get killed.”
“Or you,” she interjected.
“We need help. Be that from Erith and the Reapers, the Dragon Kings and their mates, or whoever else, I’m no’ going to deny anyone who wants to aid us.”
Eurwen flashed him a smile. “We’ll find whatever this is and eradicate it from Zora forever.” She frowned then. “Vaughn told me about the generals and the other dragons.”
Brandr’s grim expression returned. “We need to attend the funeral.”
“All of us should,” she said.
He nodded in agreement. The two of them returned to the group and readied for the funeral, explaining how they worked here.
Rhi would teleport Claire and the bairn to their destination while Jeyra rode atop Varek as the rest of them flew.
There had never been anything like this on Zora.
Even when Eurwen and Brandr had first come, the dragons who had died hadn’t been killed as these had. It was like a dagger to her heart.
She wasn’t surprised to see the families bringing the deceased to what had long been called Dragon Valley.
The mystical place was extraordinary. Steep, flower-covered mountains ridged like draped cloth made a near-perfect circle full of lime green moss, forests of rhododendron, majestic flowers of all colors and sizes, and stunning waterfalls.
Soulful mourning roars filled the air as the families laid out their dead on the valley’s floor.
Eurwen was the first to land atop the mountain and shift.
Vaughn alit on her right, while Brandr took her left.
Rhi arrived with Claire and the baby. Varek, with Jeyra on his back, Con, and V each set down.
They stood silently, solemnly as their group watched the families say their final farewells. The chorus of roars was deafening, anger in every syllable. Eurwen glanced at Vaughn.
“You and Brandr should go,” he said. “We’ll follow behind.”
Eurwen looked to her brother. He nodded. Together, they stepped off the cliff and shifted, their wings catching the current. They soared over the dead dragons and joined the roars of anguish.
As they turned to fly back, Eurwen saw Vaughn and then V with Claire and the bairn on his back, Varek with Jeyra on his, and Con with Rhi atop him. At the sight of the Kings, the dragons halted their roars.
Con met Brandr’s gaze and then hers before letting out a thunderous roar.
Vaughn, Varek, and V joined him. She and Brandr let out roars of their own.
Soon, the other dragons echoed. The six of them flew back and forth over the valley, waiting for the families to alert them that it was time.
When the first family did, Brandr and Eurwen released dragon fire on the body, incinerating it.
One by one, they burned the dead dragons, leaving behind charred earth.
Once the funeral was finished, they all returned to Cairnkeep. Everyone went their separate ways. Eurwen and Vaughn once more found themselves without a place to go. No words were needed as they flew to the loch, their favorite place.
They lay beneath the sky as she leaned against his chest, his arms holding her as he rested against a tree. She told him about her conversation with Brandr. They spoke about the funeral and the future between long stretches of silence as they enjoyed just being together.
When the moon hung in the sky, she said, “I’d like to have the mating ceremony soon.”
“I think that would be a good idea,” Vaughn said.
She turned her head to meet his lips. Eurwen looked deep into his Persian blue eyes.
She knew their life wouldn’t be perfect.
There would be difficult times, but she also knew that he would be there for her as she would be for him.
Knowing that no matter what came, they had each other. It was a wonderous, remarkable feeling.
They shared a smile before looking back at the silvery moon reflecting on the loch. She had believed that she would have a lonely life. How wrong she had been. Not only did she have the love she’d never thought would be hers, but she had it with one of the most incredible Dragon Kings.