“I have nothing to lose at this point.”

“Don’t you?”

And that’s when human soldiers grabbed Iseabail, a dragon in human form grabbed Brannie, and Rhona and Vigholf were surrounded by wel -

armed dragons and humans who came at them from behind.

“If you don’t think I’l kil them al , human, you’re sadly mis—”

“She’s hurting her, you know,” the queen said.

Confused, Vigholf glanced at Rhona, but al she could do was shrug, exasperated.

“Every day,” the queen went on. “Every day she hurts her more and more. And soon she wil be so broken . . . it won’t matter if they let her go.

Because she might as wel be dead anyway.” Annwyl stepped forward, moving closer to a dragon who clearly didn’t like her. “And whose fault wil that be, Gaius, the Rebel King? Whose fault?” She smiled, but it wasn’t one of her pleasant, slightly off ones. It was a mean smile from a very mean royal. “It’l be yours because you’ve done nothing to help. You’l have kil ed her because you’re sitting on your fat ass in these stupid caves doing nothing. Tel me, Iron, how wil you live knowing al that when they send her crucified body back to you?” It was a low rumble, like an oncoming earthquake or one of the volcanoes near her father’s home just before it erupted.

And gods, did the Rebel King erupt.

Roaring in rage and pain, he grabbed hold of a startled Annwyl and flung her to the ground. Vigholf dashed forward, barely catching her before her brains and body could be decimated against the cave floor. Then the king sucked in air and Rhona yel ed, “Izzy! Move!” The human girl dove behind her cousin seconds before they were hit with a blast of flame so mighty it shoved Rhona and Vigholf back, knocking Annwyl from his arms, and Brannie into Izzy, both young females squealing.

Annwyl flipped across the cave floor, landing facedown. The Rebel King marched forward, shifting as he did, his eye patch adjusting to his human size. Gaius Domitus snatched a spear out of one of the human soldiers’ hands and stalked over to the queen. Vigholf tried to stop him, but dragons held him back, and another two held Rhona, so that al they could do was watch.

King Gaius raised the spear above Annwyl as she lifted her head, flipping her hair back. “So that’s it then?” Annwyl asked, grinning. “You’re just going to let her die?”

“Shut up! ”

“You’re going to let your own sister die at the claws of Vateria?” Annwyl got to her feet. “I’d heard you were smarter than that. Smart enough to know an opportunity when you see one.” Annwyl moved a bit closer. “Let me get her for you. Let me bring your sister back.” The king’s body jerked a bit, his arms lowering. “What?”

“I’l get her. I know you can’t. None of you can. They know who you are. They know your scent. They took her because keeping her controls you.

But once Thracius is back—she dies. But they don’t know me. I can free her. I can bring your sister back to you.”

“You? You go into the heart of the Provinces, into the Overlord’s palace, and release my sister from their dungeons? You?” he said again.

“Why not me?”

“You can’t just waltz in there and save her.”

“What’s your alternative? To hope to see her on the other side when your time comes?” His hands tightened on the spear. “And if you fail, human?”

“And if I don’t? As it is, if you don’t get her out now—you might as wel go ahead and build her funeral pyre. Because you kil ed her.” Rhona only had a moment to rol her eyes, knowing how she would respond to someone saying that to her about her siblings, before the king rammed the spear at Annwyl. But the queen, a true warrior, caught hold of the spear’s shaft with her left hand, yanked the king’s human form close, and punched him twice in the face with her right. Then she unsheathed one of her swords and had it against his throat before he had a chance to register pain from her punching him, or his soldiers even had a chance to move. Clearly Annwyl’s madness only affected her mind, not her battle skil s.

“I’ve been fighting dragons like you for years,” Annwyl told the king. “Warriors that’d be using the bones of you and yours for toothpicks by now.

So think hard and long on what you want to do, Rebel King. Leave your sister to die? Or let me get her out and give yourself a chance at Thracius’s throne?”

She released the spear and stepped away from the king. “But choose quickly. Because time is running out for those I love and for the one you love.”

The Rebel King stared at Annwyl for a very long time until he final y stated the obvious. “You truly are as insane as everyone says.”

“I prefer the term persistent. It has a nicer ring, don’t you think?” Then she grinned and everyone in the cavern took a cautious step back.

Chapter 27

There were times in Gaius Lucius Domitus’s life when he’d wished things were different. That he was different. That he could simply sit back and accept his uncle’s completely brutal and vicious rule like everyone else in their bloodline. Or that he could overlook the way his kind abused the humans they shared their lives with. Or that keeping someone, anyone, enslaved was something he could completely overlook. If he was different, none of these things would bother him in the least.

And, as he’d stared into the crazed green eyes of a human queen with absolutely no boundaries or sense, he realized this was one of those times he wished he was that kind of dragon.