Daughter Of The Dragon Princess(28)

"Lily, this is my brother, Killian."

She should have guessed, but not having met many dragons, for all she knew they could have all looked alike.

"And Killian, this is Lily."

Killian studied her, something close to awe in his expression. "Is she the one? Are we going home?"

The longing rang clear in his voice. Until meeting one of them, she'd  found it easy to ignore their existence. She would never be able to do  that again. It made her feel small, as though she didn't matter, as  though she were just some pawn in a larger game, there to do her part.  She shook off the feeling.         

     



 

Killian's gaze ran over her, coming to rest on her right arm where the mark seemed to burn through her clothing.

Without thought, Lily's hands went to the neckline of her T-shirt, and  tugged it down over her shoulder. She turned so her right arm faced  Killian. His eyes widened, his hand came out, and he lightly touched the  golden dragon.

"Princess," he murmured. "You are our salvation."

Great. She didn't want to be anyone's salvation but her own and Mal's.  She didn't want to feel responsible for these others. As far as she  could see, they had brought this down on themselves. She pulled her  T-shirt back up. Mal's hand touched her shoulder, and she glanced up  into his face.

"Thank you," he said. "That was well done."

"You know why I'm here?" Killian said.

"At a guess because Vortigen's getting impatient."

Killian smiled. "You always were the master of the understatement. He's  breathing fire. He wants to know why the delay. It's over two weeks  since you found her. Why are we still here?"

Mal let out a breath. "I'm getting a drink. You want one?"

Lily glanced across at Killian. His eyebrows drew together in a frown,  but he nodded. Mal poured them all scotch. He handed one to Lily, then  held out the other to Killian. "Come on, sit down."

Killian took the drink. "What's going on, brother?"

"Sit and we'll talk."

Mal sank down onto the leather sofa, Lily sat beside him, close, the  long line of her thigh touching his, needing to feel the comfort of his  body next to hers. Killian watched, clearly unhappy, but then he sighed  and took the chair opposite. He sipped his drink and studied the two of  them.

"I'm beginning to see," he said to Mal. "You always did have a thing  about redheads. But this isn't good. Shit, in fact it's a fucking  nightmare. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"First," Mal said, "tell me-how did you find us?"

"It was the sorceress, Cassandra. She sensed your wards. I think she already knew of this place and had an idea where to look."

Mal frowned. "Cassandra? She's still with the King? How can Vortigen trust her?"

"He thinks he's irresistible." Killian shrugged. "Cassandra told him  that the only reason she betrayed you was because she was jealous of  Lily. She didn't want the King to leave her for another, and so she  tried to eliminate the opposition."

"And Vortigen believed that? Is he insane?" Mal ran a hand through his  hair. "Yes, it's likely that Cass knew of this place and I'd bet that  she also knew Weyland." He shook his head again. "I can't believe  Vortigen didn't punish her for her betrayal."

"Oh, he punished her. Beat her close to death and then revived her with  his blood." He was silent for a moment. "You know, I believe he loves  the witch as much as he's capable of loving anyone."

"They make an ideal couple," Mal muttered.

"Who's Cassandra?" Lily asked.

"She's a sorceress. Vortigen captured her over two hundred years ago,  but instead of killing her, he kept her alive, fed her with his blood,  and believed he could control her. He's a fool."

"He is our king."

"He's not my king," Lily said.

Both men turned to stare at her, Mal with a wry smile, Killian with alarm.

Lily shrugged. "Well, he's not. He's a fucking asshole and I can't  believe you guys have followed him for so long. At worst, he's a  monster, and at best, a complete imbecile. What is it with you dragons?  So what if he's your king? Ever heard of a revolution?"

"You don't understand our society," Killian replied.

"Maybe not. But things change. People change. Why can't dragons?"

Killian glanced at Mal. "She doesn't take after her mother, does she?"

"She doesn't take after anyone," Mal said, and Lily could hear the pride  in his voice. She moved her hand and slipped it into Mal's. Killian's  eyes narrowed as he caught the movement. She didn't care.

"So," Killian said, "what's going on here?"

"Lily is my mate."

Killian swallowed the last of his drink, and then put the glass on the table as if giving himself time to think. "Are you sure?"

"Lily is my mate, and she will never belong to Vortigen."

"But Mal, the Dragon Princess must join with the King, a pure dragon. We need them to open the portal, to take us home."         

     



 

"We can open the portal," Mal said.

"What?"

"We stood before the portal at Taryn Carnack, and the gateway opened. I saw Ankesh. We could have passed through then."

Lily watched the disbelief change on Killian's face to something that  looked like jealousy. "How?" he whispered. "Tell me what happened."

Mal told him of the night at the standing stones. "So we can open the portal without Vortigen."

Killian frowned. "He'll never agree to this. He'll never allow the power  of opening the portal to remain in someone else's hands. He means to  take the Princess as his mate. He has always intended that Cara's  daughter would be his."

"My name is Lily," she snarled. "You keep referring to me as ‘the  Princess' and ‘Cara's daughter.' I am actually a person, and my name is  Lily and I am telling you"-she leaned forward staring him in the  face-"that I will never be a mate, I will never be anything, to the  monster that drove my mother to suicide. So, you can just go back to  your dragon friends and tell them that either they sort this out, make  sure we're going to be safe-that Mal won't be harmed-or we disappear and  you can all rot on Earth for the rest of time for all I care." Pausing,  she narrowed her eyes. She needed him to believe she was serious. "If  it were left up to me, I'd gladly see you all stuck here for eternity  for what you allowed to happen to my mother. We would be in Ankesh now,  safe, and you would never get close to us." She paused. "However, Mal  seems to think he owes you something, and it is for that reason only  that we're still here."

Killian appeared shell-shocked, but she thought she also saw admiration  in his eyes and prayed that she'd convinced him that she meant what she  said.

"Never mind her mother," Killian said. "She's like no Dragon Princess I ever remember. What happened to meek?"

***

Mal sighed and tightened his grip on Lily's hand. He was proud of her.  She was so brave, so fiery. How could the dragons of old have not wanted  that in a mate? He'd been undecided as to whether to reveal Lily's  powers, whether it would be more of a strategic advantage to keep them  secret for the moment, but if Kill was going back to speak to the  others, then it would perhaps benefit them to know of Lily's strength.

"That's not the only way she differs from the old days. Lily?" He turned  to her and saw that she understood what he wanted. It was often like  that now; their minds entwined, sensitive to each other's thoughts and  feelings.

Lily raised her right hand and the flames sprang from her fingertips.  She made them dance, leap up to the ceiling, reach out, and tease the  end of Kill's nose. His brother watched wide-eyed. They widened further  as Lily extinguished the flames and vanished only to reappear behind the  sofa, then again, and she was back beside him. He took her hand and  squeezed.

"Things have changed," he said. "They're not as they used to be. Lily's  not a tool to be used by Vortigen, and that's not all. I suspect she has  the ability to change."

"She's a dragon? It's not possible. There has never been a female dragon."

"I swear by the Goddess that she was about to shift. I had to draw her  power into me to prevent it. Like the young ones we used to train."

"This may change things. If they believe me." He sighed. "But, Mal, you know that it won't be that easy."

Killian was right. It wouldn't be that easy. Most of the other dragons  would remain true to Vortigen; it was their way until the old King was  killed. Some would be on Mal's side. Many hated Vortigen as much as he  did. He had to hope it was enough.

"You have to go back," he said to Killian. "Speak to the others. Tell  them that we can open the portal without Vortigen. That I've taken Lily  as my mate and that bond can't be broken. We'll come and open the  portals if they promise us safe passage. If Vortigen will swear it on  the Goddess."