Now that he was with the lad again, he remembered why he'd always sought Cadegan's company while they fought together. What he'd missed most once it was gone.
There was a quiet comfort Cadegan possessed that was contagious. An accepting serenity from within that kept him from complaining or accusing others. Rather, he focused his attention on what needed to be done and what he was doing.
He only hung on to betrayals. And only so that he'd keep from ever trusting his betrayer again.
Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
Cadegan broke out into a run as they reached the castle grounds, leaving Thorn to keep pace.
As he approached the gate, four sharoc confronted him.
"Out of my way!" Cadegan snarled.
They refused to move.
"Gwyn!" he shouted up at the parapets. "You'd best open this gate, or so help me..."
The king appeared right in front of him. He passed a smug look from Thorn to Cadegan. "You're too late, demon."
"Meaning?"
"She's gone."
Thorn watched the horror play across Cadegan's face as he digested those words. "Explain yourself."
Gwyn gave him an insidious smile. "Morgen could never break you. But once I knew you had a woman you were bonded to, it was an easy thing to switch you out with her while you were here. However, I thought it would be more challenging to get her to Morgen, but once you vanished ... easy enough."
"She's with Morgen?"
"That she is."
11
Cadegan turned on Leucious with a furious growl. "You'd best be glad, you goat dick, that I'm too much of a lady to slap you."
The bastard had the nerve to laugh.
Shoving him out of his way, Cadegan started to leave, then turned back. "I want two of your Adar Llwch Gwin," he demanded of the king.
Gwyn laughed at him, too. "You're in no position to make any demands on me. You've nothing to barter or threaten with now."
Before Cadegan could punch the impudent louse, Leucious stepped forward. "That's completely untrue."
"How so?"
Leucious threw his arm out and used his powers to bring Gwyn into his massive paw of a hand. "He has a perpetually pissed older brother who has no compunctions about ripping off body parts you will miss ... and often. Now give him whatever it is he wants, or I'm going to ruin the rest of your life. Might even shorten it to three minutes. Maybe less."
Cadegan snorted. "Trust me, he's good at ruining lives and shedding no tears for it. At all."
Leucious scowled at him over his shoulder.
"Well, you are. Just agreeing with you."
Leucious slung the sharoc away. "Fetch the blah-blah-blue-bluch whatever for him."
"Adar Llwch Gwin," Cadegan repeated.
Thorn rolled his eyes. "Easy for you to say."
"I never understood your reluctance to learn Cymraeg given that shite you speak, that no one else knows."
"Not true. Acheron, Simi, and Savitar all speak it. As does our grandfather."
"Talk to him much, do you?"
"Avoid it like leaking crotch-pox." Leucious frowned even more as he watched Gwyn slam his hand against the stone wall of his castle. Instantly, two of the muscled gryphons broke away from their perches on the parapets and took corporeal form.
"Happy?" Gwyn asked Leucious.
"Delirious. An emotion I usually celebrate by sauteing the entrails of any paranormal annoyance around me." Leucious raked a meaningful glare over Gwyn, but spoke to Cadegan. "And behold, little brother, the gods have gifted me with dinner."
Cadegan had never seen the king beat a hastier retreat.
Trying not to be amused or impressed, Cadegan approached the Adar Llwch Gwin nearest him, and held his hand out so that the beast could catch his scent. "We'll be needing saddles to ride."
The Adar Llwch Gwin he chose raked a most salacious smile over him as the saddle instantly appeared on his back. "Hello, beautiful. Just wrap those long, sexy legs around me and I'll ride you anywhere, any time you want."
Cadegan grimaced at a double entendre that disgusted him. "I'll be using the other one." He slapped Leucious on the arm. "This one's all yours. Go ahead, brother, wrap your long, sexy legs right around his waist and ride him all night long."
Leucious screwed his face up in repugnance.
The Adar Llwch Gwin Cadegan had spurned followed after him. "Wait! Bring that sassy walk back over here. I'm the stronger of the two of us. I can protect you a lot better, baby. C'mon, don't be that way. I can carry you in my arms, on my back. Take me any way you want me, sexy. I am all yours."
"Oh, shut it, Talfryn," the other Adar Llwch Gwin grumbled. "Can't you see she has no use for you." He bowed low. "I'm Ioan, my lady."
Leucious burst out laughing.
Cadegan had never wanted to commit murder so badly in all his long existence. "I swear, Leucious, when I have me body back, I'm going to kick your ass until me boots are oiled with your blood."
And still the bastard laughed.
Ioan scowled. "What's this?"
Cadegan took the reins before he mounted the winged beast. "I'm not really female. This is me lady's body. We're off to save her." He glared at Talfryn. "And you should be saying a prayer of thanks that it's me you're speaking to. Had you taken that tone to her, I'd be strangling the sharoc king over your bleeding corpse for a new Adar Llwch Gwin."
Talfryn sobered instantly.
Until Leucious took the saddle, then he acted as if he were dying. "Och! What are you made of, stone? One word for you, man ... diet. Lay off the brisket and brewskis. Have you missed the e-mail? Steroids are really bad for your equipment."
Ioan sighed heavily. "Forgive him. He spends way too many nights watching the Lifetime Network and WWE. Weird combination, I know, but it keeps him occupied and semi quiet."
Leucious passed an irritated smirk to Cadegan. "I commend your choice of travel. You should work as an airline booking agent."
Cadegan growled low in his throat. "It's worse than trying to have a conversation with Josette. I only understand every other word with her. The three of you, it's every ninth or so."
"He doesn't get out much," Leucious said to their mounts. Then he changed the subject. "All right, brother. Where are we off to?"
"Camelot."
"No." Talfryn froze. "Oh, hell no. Uh-uh. Ain't ever going to happen!"
Cadegan frowned at his protestations. "I thought all Adar Llwch Gwin had to obey their riders?"
Talfryn snorted a hefty denial. "Let me put this into words you can understand.... Them be morons what said that tomfoolery about us, my lord. Morons Morgen hasn't threatened to pull the testicles off of should ever they, perchance, darken her presence again with theirs."
Ioan snorted. "Obviously, Talfryn won her over on their last meeting, and made quite the impression with his most charming personality. I'm sure you can understand her rabid distemper with him."
"Indeed."
Leucious reached down and patted Talfryn in an exaggerated manner. "Now allow me to explain in words you can understand. You will obey my brother, now, or I'm going to make you wish Morgen had ripped off your balls, fried them up, and hand-fed them to you. Trust me. Much kinder than what I will do to you if you continue lipping off."
"To the north, it is." Talfryn took flight immediately.
As Ioan followed him, Cadegan held his breath and prayed that Josette was still safe and unharmed. Over and over in his mind, he relived all the things that Morgen had done to try and beat or pry the information out of him over the centuries. His heart bled at the thought of Josette being put through such hazards.
And as his mind replayed it, a thought occurred to him. "Ioan? How long have you served the sharoc?"
"Longer than I care to recall. Centuries, my lord. Why?"
"I'm thinking they used the same spell to swap me and Josette as they use with changelings. What do you think?"
"Most like
ly. It would be the easiest and quickest thing for the king to accomplish."
And though they didn't use that magick on adults often, they had been known to do so in the past to swap out an elder fairy whose family no longer wanted to tend to them. "Do you know how they do it? How they put the spell into place?"
"Usually a gift is given to the child they intend to swap, and then they use it to administer the spell."
Cadegan considered that. "Gift? Like a bracelet?"
"Could be."
Cadegan cursed himself for his stupidity. He should never have allowed Gwyn to give anything to Josette.
Why hadn't he realized the significance of that earlier? You've been a bit distracted.
Still ...
"Take me to the ground."
Ioan headed down.
Leucious followed after them. "What's going on?"
"I think I know how to save Josette. I need a cluster of purple foxglove and three eggshells from a raven. As fast as you can gather them."
"Can they be conjured?"
"So long as they're real and not made of something else. I think so."
Leucious quickly summoned them and handed it all to Cadegan. "What do we do with these?"
"I need a pot of boiling water, set over a fire."
It appeared instantly. "Are you planning to explain this?"
Cadegan ignored his brother as he quickly broke the eggs and cast out the whites and yolks, so that all he had were the shells. After crushing them in his hands, he threw them into the water first, then added the foxglove and boiled it until it became a thick syrup. "Cool the mixture, please."
Leucious obeyed. "Cadegan--"
"I'm undoing what was done to her. Once I complete this, and if it works, you need to get her out of here immediately. If she's still in Terre Derriere le Voile on the equinox, she will be stuck here forever. Do you understand?"
"Yeah. I get it."
"Swear it to me, Leucious. You will take her from this place, without fail."
"All right, calm down. I swear."
"You will not tarry. You will not allow her to seek me. She is to be taken from here as quickly as you can do so. Understood?"
"Yes. For a hundred thousand times. Yes."
Inclining his head, Cadegan began rubbing the solution all over his body. Once he was fully coated, he lay down on the ground and closed his eyes before he drank what was left of it. He breathed in and out slowly, forcing himself into a meditative state.
And as his thoughts wandered, he conjured an image of Josette in his mind. He saw her teasing eyes as she made love to him, and imagined the sound of her sweet voice in his ear. There was nothing in his life he wanted more than to see her warm and happy.
Forever.
Just as he began to relax fully, he heard an angry, menacing snarl.
Unfortunately, it wasn't Josette. It was Talfryn and Ioan fighting over nonsense again. And it snatched him right back to where he'd started.
Opening his eyes, he glared at them.
"Are you Jo or Cadegan?" Leucious asked.
"I'm the one who hates you most."
Leucious sighed. "Welcome back, little brother."
But the problem was, he didn't want to be back with Leucious. He wanted to be where he was desired.
With Josette.
Most of all he should be where he was needed.
Protecting the only woman he'd ever loved.
Tears choked him as he imagined all manner of ill befalling her. While Morgen's tongue was sharp, it was nothing compared to her physical cruelty. Something Cadegan was used to.
And while Josette, with her courage and grace, could stand every bit as strong against Morgen and her beasts, he didn't want her to suffer. Not for any reason.
And most especially not for the likes of him.
Not to mention the small fact that she carried his memories now. Which meant she knew exactly where the shield was hidden. Something, that in the wrong hands, could end the world as they knew it.
12
Biting her thumbnail, Jo paced the giant cave Illarion called home.
In dragon form, he crouched a few feet away, watching her through hooded eyes. It'll be all right, Jo.
How she wished she could believe that. But with every second that passed without word, her worry fed her insanity. She couldn't stand this wall of knowing nothing. "We don't know where Cadegan is or what happened.... Who has him?"
What had him?
I know, child. Would you like to go look for him again?
"Please." She smiled at the dragon. "And thank you, Illarion. For everything."
Still in his massive dragon form, he gave her a slight bow of his head before he lowered himself enough so that she could climb onto his back. She felt him wince as she took the small saddle he'd conjured for her.
"Are you all right? Am I too heavy for you?"
He laughed bitterly in her head. No, lass. While I know you're currently trapped in Cadegan's body, I'm painfully aware of the fact that you're not really a man. And I was remembering my precious Edilyn who once rode to battle in the saddle where you sit now. She was the last and only female I ever allowed to ride me.
"What?" she asked. Given the note of wounded tenderness in his voice, she had a bad feeling he didn't just mean that Edilyn rode him for transportation alone.
Illarion gave her a sad nod. It's where the legends of the virgin sacrifices to dragons come from. They weren't really our sacrifices. Rather, they were offered to us as hopeful spouses.
Centuries ago, my kind were used as weapons in war. To entice us to fight for them, humans would offer up their sons and daughters to us, to make sure that we had a vested interest in battling in human armies, and for their causes. Many of my kind mated with the strongest of your people and we would fight together in battle as a single unit.
"Was Edilyn your wife?"
In a simple word, yes, but she was a lot more to me than that. She was my best friend and the very air I breathed.
"What happened?"
I failed to protect her.
Her heart wrenched at the agony he betrayed. "I'm sorry, Illarion."
Thank you, lass ... it's the only reason I'm willing to help the two of you, when normally I'd have left you to rot. I know what it's like to live without my better half. It's a painful bit I'd wish on no one. Your courage and resilience reminds me much of my Edilyn. And I want to see you back with your Cadegan.
She leaned forward and hugged him. How she wished she had words to soothe him. But his grief was so deep, it was tangible. "Were you there when she died?"
He nodded. It was both a curse and a blessing. I'd promised her that I would never leave her in this life or the next. That we would always be together, and that no other would ever claim my heart the way she had.
When my kind bonds, we're supposed to die with our beloved. But her people had a sorcerer who'd found the magick to undo ours, so that they didn't lose the entire battle team. So in the end, my body lived on, but my heart and soul went with Edilyn into eternity. I hated her people after that.
The only part of my oath to her I was able to keep was that I was there, holding her hand, when death claimed her. I have never loved anyone save her.
And I never will.
With her head on his neck, she stroked his scales. "I am so incredibly sorry."
Thank you.
Jo took the reins, wishing there was something, anything, she could do to make things better for him. Unfortunately, grief like his wasn't easy to come back from. It could destroy the person who felt it. She'd seen firsthand what it'd done to her family when Tiyana had died. Even now, her heart was broken at the loss. Not a day went by that she didn't think of Tiyana at least a dozen times.
Almost a decade later, they still mourned her.
They always would.
Just like Illarion mourned his precious Edilyn. Poor dragon. Life wasn't fair and she knew that as well as anyone. But it was now clear why Illarion had f
ought so hard for her when there was no reason for him to do so. Why he'd been determined to get her free of first the demons who'd come to claim her, and then Morgen's vicious mandrakes and gargoyles. All of whom had been determined to see her captured and taken to their masters. And all the while, Gwyn had stood back, letting the two groups go at each other and Illarion. She hoped that Lord Switzerland got his comeuppance some day.
Once she gave Illarion the signal that she was secure, he left the cave and took flight.
Jo continued to worry her lip as she scanned the nasty gray scenery for any sign of her Cadegan, and where he might have been taken. Reaching down, she stroked Illarion's scales. He reminded her a lot of Cadegan. It was a pity the two of them hadn't found each other before now. They could have been great friends who watched over each other.
Or committed murder.
Perhaps they were too much alike. The two of them might get on each other's nerves like Amanda and Tabitha did. The twin sisters swore they were absolutely nothing alike, and yet they were so similar, it was more than obvious they'd come from the same egg.
Laughing at the thought as they flew, Jo still couldn't believe Illarion had returned just minutes after Cadegan had been sucked out of the castle. His psychic powers had warned him something was wrong and he'd been desperate to check on them.
But for the dragon's return, there was no telling what would have become of her.
Illarion slowed and rose up like a falcon to hover over the ground so far below. Something's amiss.
Latching on to him with all her strength, Jo scanned the countryside. "I don't see anything."
It's not my eyes that sense it. I feel it. A change in the air. Morgen is launching her army again. Gargoyles and mandrakes are taking flight. They're headed this way.
"What do you think it is?"
Dangerous. In a word. I have no idea why she'd do such. But it doesn't bode well for any of us.
Jo frowned as she caught sight of something off in the distance. "Is that part of her army?"
Illarion turned to look. Not sure. Those creatures were once servants of King Arthur, but have been enslaved by others since his death.
"Others, like...?"
Our friend Gwyn.
"Should we attack them and see if they can help get my body back?"
Are you up to a battle?