“But look at the bang-up job they’ve done cleaning up for us,” Annwyl argued. “Usually we have to burn all these bodies, which is an awful mess and smell. But look . . . they’re halfway done and they’re just calmly grazing.”

“Annwyl . . . you’ll have to send them back, too. And that includes the baby.”

“But we’ve bonded!” she argued. “And the mother likes me.”

“But you’d never separate a mother from her baby, so we all know that you’ll want to keep both.”

“I like his mother.”

“No. You’ll have to send your demons back to hell.”

“You’re all being unreasonable, but I’ll do it.”

“You can wait til they’re finished grazing, though,” one of Rhy’s daughters said, causing everyone to stare at her. “You lot won’t be the one who has to burn bodies. Me and the grunts will. So let them finish.”

“Lazy,” Ghleanna complained before walking away, the rest of the Cadwaladrs going off to get their work done.

When they were alone, Fearghus gazed down at Annwyl and said, “You went to one of the hells and you came back with an army. That’s impressive.”

Annwyl shrugged. “He wanted our children, and he was planning to use me to do it. You know how that sort of thing makes me.”

“Insane with rage?”

“Exactly.” Annwyl stepped closer and whispered to Fearghus, “My father and brother were down there.”

“What? You saw them?”

“They came for me. To hurt me.”

“What happened?”

“Broke me brother’s arm, didn’t I? And when I dealt with the demon lord, he ran away like the big wanker he always was.”

“And your father?”

“I let the baby eat him since he was basically a corpse anyway.”

Fearghus started laughing. “You what?”

“He apparently was quite disappointed that I fuck a dragon and felt the need to tell me that, which was rude.”

Still laughing, he put his arm around her waist and pulled her in close. “Annwyl the Bloody, you never fail to amaze me.”

“I did tell him that he should get to know his grandchildren and that Talwyn, especially, would adore meeting him.”

Fearghus dropped his head back and laughed loud, some of the soldiers stopping their work to see what the dragon known as Fearghus the Destroyer could be laughing about.

* * *

Ghleanna the Decimator was now the rank of major general of Her Majesty’s Dragon Army. She had been promoted to the position three years ago and was put in charge of the Fifth Battalion.