Rhiannon found Taliesin near the mouth of the cave. At least, she thought it was Taliesin. The wings were the same color, as was his tail, but both were far larger on the dragon crouched before the entrance to his valley. He watched it the way a cat might a recently discovered mousehole. A twig crunched under her foot as she approached, and the head on its long neck swiveled toward her, golden eyes the size of Rhiannon’s head narrowing dangerously until he recognized her.
The tail swished just like a cat’s, and the dragon’s focus returned to the cave. “Go back inside,” he said in Taliesin’s voice. The pitch was far lower, more like the gravelly ‘impersonation’ Taliesin had treated her to on their journey here.
“Why? What’s happened?”
His neck stretched to peer into the darkness. “Copper told me he spotted a knight scaling the mountain. The Fae confirmed it. He must have gotten a ward against the wisps to get so far so quickly.” His tail thumped against the dirt.
Her heart seized, and her legs nearly gave way. Taliesin’s wing shot out to herd her against him and steady her against his flank. “It’s all right,” he soothed. “I’ll chase him off for you.”
“You’ll get hurt—”
“I’ve had a monster hunter or two stop by in the past. It takes a lot of effort to hurt a dragon and not nearly so much to scare a human.”
“Brodrick isn’t like other humans. Or other knights.” Rhiannon trembled at the memory of the cruelty she had witnessed, and that was nothing compared to the rumors of what he’d done to his foes.
“A few threats, maybe a roar and some posturing with fire, and he’ll be gone. You’ll see. Worse comes to worst, the dragon flees, and a bard makes excuses about how his princess is on another mountain.” Taliesin kept his head held high and his words confident, but Rhiannon could hear the tinge of doubt beginning to creep in.
Rhiannon shook her head. “You don’t understand! Sir Brodrick won’t listen to reason. He never listens.”
Taliesin nuzzled the top of her head with his nose. His hot breath clung to her skin, almost a comfort in spite of the humidity. “I’ll be fine. I’m more concerned about you. Go back inside where it’s safe, okay?”
“I—”
Crunching footsteps on gravel interrupted her. Rhiannon clung to his side. Taliesin tucked his wing around her, casting her into blue-tinged shadow as light passed through the thin membrane. Taliesin’s large head lifted until his neck stretched to its full length, high in the air.
Rhiannon heard metal sliding against leather. Her body shook, and Taliesin’s wing cradled her more tightly against him.
“Sir Brodrick, I presume?”
“Dragon! Surrender the Princess Rhiannon and your death will be a peaceful one.”
A growl reverberated from deep within Taliesin’s chest. The vibrations ran through Rhiannon as well. “Her Highness asked me to send you away, and I suspect she would be quite upset if you murdered me in cold blood, gently or otherwise.”
Metal slid from its sheath. “If you won’t give her up, I’ll take her by force. Have at ye!”
“Stop!”
Taliesin tensed differently than when he’d been ready to strike out at Brodrick. His head swiveled toward the woman he had hidden with his wing. She pushed against the scaley appendage until he lifted it.
“Don’t you dare hurt him!” she shouted at Brodrick.
“Your Highness! Get away from that thing. It’s dangerous!”
The only dangerous one here was Brodrick himself. Rhiannon sucked in a deep breath to steady herself. She forged a few steps forward, steeped with confidence she didn’t feel. “I want you to leave,” she said with all the royal discipline she could muster. “If you harm a single hair—scale—on my husband, I swear I’ll have you and your family stripped of your titles.”
“Husband?!” he roared. “That thing is a beast!”
“He isn’t a beast,” she said, keeping her voice level despite her shaking knees hidden beneath her cloak. “He is my husband, and you are to treat him with all the dignity with which you would treat a member of the royal family.” She avoided using herself as an example. Brodrick had never treated her well.
“Their Majesties sent me to bring you home. Your father, His Majesty the King, may he reign forever, refused this alliance—”
“That doesn’t matter. He made a promise, and I intend to keep it.”
“Rhiannon!”
The way he snarled her name made her flinch back. Worse than a beesting, worse than a flash of his blade, it signaled pain and terrified her beyond measure. She couldn’t let herself tremble. Summoning the royal training ingrained from years of drilling, she drew herself to her full height. “I won’t return with you. Please return to my parents and take that message to them.”
“I’m nobody’s messenger boy. Not even yours, Rhiannon.”
“You will be now,” she said with finality. “Please leave.”
Taliesin rose to his feet. “You heard the lady,” he said, teeth bared. “Kindly leave our mountain before I remove you myself.”
Brodrick’s glare shifted from Rhiannon to the dragon. “Very well. If you won’t come willingly, then I’ll just have to slay this monster first.”
He darted forth, his blade flashing in the morning light. Rhiannon screamed, and Taliesin roared. Unable to dodge with Rhiannon so close, scarlet sprayed with the whistle of the sword’s arc through the air. Even in pain, Taliesin kept his head. When Brodrick dodged around and snatched for Rhiannon, he still managed to catch the sword in his talons. The sudden wrenching of his weapon away from him made Brodrick stumble, giving Rhiannon the chance to duck back into the safety provided by Taliesin’s wing.
Tempered metal shattered into a dozen glittering shards between Taliesin’s claws. Teeth snapped, just missing Brodrick as the man parried with a shield. The metal crunched effortlessly in his jaws.
“You are out of toys,” observed Taliesin with a growl.
Brodrick abandoned the sad remains of his shield. “I will be back.”
“We’ll be ready.” The growl caught at the end in pain. To make up for the show of weakness, flames spilled from his mouth and smoke rose from his nostrils. “Next time I won’t let you off so easily.”