Read Online A Tale Of Two Dragons by G. A. Aiken - Free Book Online

replied, busy counting his freshly earned gold.
    “And explain to me,” Bercelak snarled at the rest of his kin, “why this traitor to our Queen is still breathing?”
    “Perhaps we think she’s too pretty to kill?” one of the cousins suggested with a smile.
    “We don’t have time for your jokes, Kel,” Bercelak snapped back.
    “Thank you,” Braith mumbled as she again focused on the ridiculous chains. “Thank you very much.”
    “This isn’t Braith’s fault,” Shalin told her son. “It’s her father’s.”
    “And I guess she wants to protect him as well.”
    Braith shrugged. “Eh.”
    “We’re not going to hold against Braith what her father has done.”
    “Done with her help, I’d wager.”
    “She wasn’t part of it,” Addolgar cut in. “And she saved my life.”
    “Who cares about your life?” Bercelak demanded.
    Addolgar was silent for a moment before he replied, “I do.”
    Braith studied the dragon who sat next to her. “You had to think about that reply?”
    “Wanted to make sure it wasn’t a trick question, didn’t I?”
    “If she lives, chances are high we all die,” Bercelak reminded them.
    “Not all of us,” another cousin reasoned. “Probably just you lot.”
    “And that suits you, then, does it?”
    The cousin shrugged. “No, but you should be clear.”
    Bercelak closed his eyes, a long sigh escaping his lips. “Why do I bother with any of you sorry bastards?”
    “See?” Addolgar said to Braith. “That could be a trick question.”

    “Would you stop fooling around?” Bercelak snapped, his typically short temper even shorter. In fact, there were newborn mice that were longer than his brother’s temper. “This is serious. The Queen will want her head.”
    “And we will not give that bitch anything.” Shalin looked around the table. “Why are you all staring at me?”
    Maybe because Shalin only let her anger out when it came to the current queen. Addiena and Shalin had a past revolving around Addolgar’s father, and it was something they all understood but rarely discussed. They all knew about Ailean the Slag’s past, but discussing it was something not to be done. Some, like Addolgar, merely snickered at the details of their father’s past. But Ghleanna and Bercelak felt there was nothing funny about the way Ailean had lived his life before making their mother his all those years ago.
    “Mum,” Bercelak kindly said, their mother being one of the few dragons he showed any true respect for. “We can’t just dismiss this. Whether it was Addiena or her mother, this is something that would be considered treachery by any who held the throne.”
    “He’s right,” Braith said softly, her gaze now on Shalin. “I don’t know why my father did this, whether he has intentions of taking the throne for himself or for someone who has offered him more than Addiena. But whatever his reason, this cannot be ignored. It has to be dealt with.”
    “Aye, it does,” Brigida announced as she made her slow way back into the hall. She had her walking stick in one hand and a jug of Ailean’s ale in the other.
    “And what do you suggest, Auntie Brigida?” Ghleanna asked.
    Brigida stopped by Bercelak’s side and began to tap him on the head with her walking stick. With an annoyed growl, Bercelak got the hint and moved out of the chair and into another one while Brigida took his place and slowly settled her ancient human body at the table.
    “I don’t know. But I think until we come up with something, we need to stash Lady Fisticuffs away some place safe.”
    “What about your own kin, female?” Bercelak asked Braith.
    “You mean the kin who just turned on the Queen and made me into a walking target?” Braith asked, her attention still on those chains.
    “No. I was thinking more your mother—”
    “Is dead.”
    “I know,” Bercelak snarled. “But if I recall, your mother has sisters, aunts—”
    “No. Going to my Penarddun kin is not an option,” she said