“No.” He pointed toward the palace. “I’m here to fight for her. Branwen the Awful.”

The Empress looked up at her palace.

Brannie and Keita stood on the palace roof in their dragon forms and on Brannie’s back was a human Ren.

Aidan felt relief flood his bones at the sight of Brannie and he had to fight his urge to fly to her and take her in his arms. A gesture he knew she would not appreciate.

Ren waved and smiled at his mother. “Ma . . . I’m okay!”

“Ren?” The Empress pressed her paw to her chest. “Ren . . . is that you?”

Brannie took to the air and quickly landed next to the Empress.

Ren jumped down from her back and walked toward his mother, barely glancing over at his uncle’s body.

“I see you’ve been busy, Ma.”

“I thought you were . . .”

The Empress shifted to human and threw herself into her son’s arms.

“My beautiful, handsome son!” she cheered, hugging him tight. “My baby!”

“Ma. I’m okay. I’m really okay.”

Pulling back, one arm still around her son, the Empress grabbed his jaw with the other hand, and squeezed until his lips protruded.

“Look at this face,” the Empress ordered. “Look at this beautiful, gorgeous face!”

Ren’s siblings rolled their eyes and exchanged annoyed glances. It didn’t make Aidan appreciate his kin any more, but it did make him grateful he never had to spend any time with them. Ever.

Sadly he didn’t think Ren could say the same thing.

* * *

Branwen shifted to human and turned away from the sight of Ren reuniting with his kin. She didn’t begrudge him that, knowing he’d been through much because of his uncle. But she also knew her own kin were about to go into battle with the Zealots. She wanted to be fighting by their side.

She wanted her own reunion.

“You all right?” Aidan asked, stroking his hand under her chin.

“I got poisoned, but I’m all right now.”

Aidan and his two brethren immediately looked at Keita and the red She-dragon gasped in outrage.

“I didn’t do it! It was on one of the blades of the assassins who attacked us.”

“You sure?” Uther asked.

“I’m positive. Tell him, Branwen.”

“It wasn’t her fault,” Branwen admitted. “But I understand why you’d think it was.”

“Ungrateful,” Keita hissed. “All of you are ungrateful!”

The Empress chanted a spell over the gold torc around her son’s neck and it fell off, allowing the Eastland dragon to shift to his natural form.

“Thank you so much, my dear Keita,” the Empress greeted Brannie’s now-human cousin. “I can’t tell you how much what you’ve done means to me.”

“I know he’s your favorite.”

“He absolutely is.”

“We’re right here,” Fang reminded her mother.