“That Rhona,” Caswyn said around his snack, “she’s—”

“Taken,” Uther reminded him.

“Yeah, but to a Lightning. Like there aren’t enough worthy Fire dragons for her to find a mate.”

“She must like him. And I hear that’s what counts when ya choose a mate. Liking them.”

“Eh.” Caswyn took another bite. “What about them triplets?”

“Little young, aren’t they?”

“Does that matter to us?”

“Yes,” Uther said quickly, thinking of his own younger sisters. “That matters.”

“All right. No need to get testy.”

Keita and Brannie rolled back the other way with the triplets still behind them. Uther and Caswyn managed to duck just in time to avoid a slashing tail. Sadly, one of the horses wasn’t fast enough and he lost his head, his body dropping to the ground, spasms shaking it.

Caswyn stared at the horse’s body and licked his lips.

That’s when Uther had to say it.

“By the gods, brother! You never learn!”

* * *

“I’m glad you told me everything. Now I know what needs to be done.”

Aidan smiled at his one-time trainer, who had told him in no uncertain terms that “You are a mighty killer, Aidan the Gold, but a soldier of this queen’s army? Never.”

“You can get me out of this?” Aidan teased.

Rhona laughed. “If only I could. But the orders came from Rhiannon and Ghleanna. You’re stuck.” She looked over at her cousins. Now they were trying to choke the life from each other while Rhona’s youngest sisters desperately attempted to tear them apart. “But I do think I know what to do with those two.”

“I’ve already got Uther and Caswyn to deal with. So anything you can do to help me . . .”

* * *

The back of Brannie’s neck was grabbed and she was yanked off Keita. Keita jumped up, claws aiming for her eyes, but Rhona caught a handful of all that red hair and yanked her until she lowered her forearms.

“That is enough!” their cousin bellowed, stopping them both in mid-attack.

Brannie might outrank Rhona the Fearless because she was only a sergeant. And Keita might be a princess. But among the Cadwaladr, Rhona had the highest rank of all the cousins who were the offspring of the offspring of Ailean the Wicked and Shalin the Innocent.

For good reason, too.

Rhona, since hatching, was the most dependable, loyal, and rational of all the Cadwaladr cousins. Often more rational than the elders. She kept them all from doing immensely stupid things with nothing more than sound reason. She didn’t hit unless necessary and didn’t throw anyone into volcanoes unless they really deserved it.

Even Branwen couldn’t say that.

So when she spoke . . . they all listened. Even Keita, queen of the difficult!

“My hair! My precious hair!” Keita screeched, desperately trying to untangle Rhona’s claw from her long tresses. “Let me go, you evil female!”

Brannie, who was being completely calm and had stopped attacking Keita as soon as Rhona had told her to, hysterically laughed at her cousin until Rhona said, “I have weapons.”