“No,” Eurwen said. “Erith made sure we knew the truth of that.”
“Then why wait so long to let us know you?” Con asked.
Eurwen leaned forward and looked between her parents. “We all know everything happened for a reason. Con, you broke things off with Rhi because of the other Kings. Rhi, had you remained with Con, you would’ve never become part of the Queen’s Guard. You wouldn’t have discovered Usaeil’s deception—or your true parentage. Brandr and I wouldn’t have known the dragons needed us here.”
Rhi shook her head. “That still doesn’t explain why you and Brandr had such strong feelings against getting to know us or letting us know of you.”
Eurwen said nothing.
“You can no’ possibly know how difficult it was to send the dragons away,” Con said, his face lined with anguish.
Eurwen had known he would say something like that. And she couldn’t hold back her words. “You had the power to keep the dragons on Earth.”
“We made a vow to protect the humans.”
“And look where that got you.”
“We’re no’ murderers.”
Eurwen shrugged. “You lost your own kind. You are Kings to nothing and no one.”
Rhi swiped at the tears on her face, her eyes turning hard. “It’s easy for someone to look back on another’s life and pick apart every bad decision. I wonder, if you had been there during any of that, how would you have reacted? What decisions would you have made?”
“Do you no’ think I regret all that’s happened?” Con snapped to Eurwen.
She remained calm during all of it. She had replayed this entire scenario a million different ways, so she knew what to expect. “You forced your dragons to leave their home and sent them out into the universe in hopes they might find a place they could live in peace.”
“Things turned out well,” Rhi stated.
Eurwen glanced at the ground and huffed. “Do you think that was by chance?”
“What does that mean?” Con asked with narrowed eyes.
Rhi shrugged. “The universe has countless realms.”
“That’s right,” Eurwen said. “What are the chances they arrived somewhere similar to their world? One that had only one sun and one moon?”
Con’s shoulders rose as he drew in a breath and released it, all emotion wiped from his face. “How did they find this place?”
“They didn’t find it. They were directed here,” Eurwen answered.
Rhi nodded and looked at Con. “Erith.”
Con’s blond brows snapped together as he jerked his head to Eurwen. “Is that true?”
“Yes,” she replied. “As both of you know, Erith spent a lot of time on Earth, watching the dragons and the Kings long before the humans or Fae arrived. She didn’t want to leave anything to chance, especially since she knew it was wrong for the dragons to have been sent away.”
“I was trying to save their lives,” Con said in a low voice.
Eurwen shrugged. “And that’s where we differ. Brandr and I protect the dragons above anything or anyone else. This was their home first. We won’t allow the same mistakes you made to happen here. Your realm is overrun with humans who are slowly destroying it. How much longer until the magic fades? How much longer can the Dragon Kings remain hidden before you’re hunted? Where will you go when that happens?”
“It’s our realm,” Con replied. “We willna allow any of that to happen.”
“Just like you thought the humans and dragons could live together?”
Rhi got to her feet and looked from Eurwen to Con and back to Eurwen. “Enough. Both of you. Eurwen, you’re an incredibly intelligent woman. You’ve watched things on Earth. You know how Con and the others at Dreagan have suffered. There is no need to rub salt in a wound that will never heal.”
Eurwen slowly sat back in her seat. “Did you two think you could come here, and everything would be all smiles and roses? When Brandr and I finally convinced Erith to bring us to Zora, things were…horrible. The dragons fought each other to the death. So many died. There was no cohesion. No leaders. Some tried, but since they weren’t Kings, no one listened. What we had to deal with—as children, no less—to restore order among the dragons was unspeakable.”
Con got to his feet and bowed his head to her. “I’m grateful that you and your brother were able to get control and ensure order once again. I can no’ express my joy at learning the dragons are thriving under my children’s rule.”
He met Rhi’s gaze in a silent exchange before walking from the cottage.
Eurwen watched him go. She had hurt him. Once, long ago, she had wanted exactly that. She’d thought she was past all of that, but obviously that wasn’t the case given her answers and tone.
“He’s sacrificed everything for the Kings and the dragons,” Rhi said, her gaze still on her mate. “He keeps it all inside, showing only me, but he’s torn to pieces. He shoulders the blame for everything. Even when it’s not his fault.”
Eurwen blinked back sudden tears, swallowing past the knot of emotion in her throat. “We both know some things were out of his control. The Others, for one.”
Rhi turned to look at her. “You know of them, then?”
“Of course.”
“And you would still skewer your father as you did? Does it not go to show you his misery, his sorrow for all that has happened, that he didn’t bother to name the cause of the arrival of the humans to our world?”
Eurwen was suitably put in her place. “I wasn’t there to see the battle with the humans. I wasn’t there to see him decide to send the dragons away. He wasn’t here to see the state of this realm or the dragons when we arrived. He wasn’t here to watch the utter destruction.”
“And me?” Rhi asked, black brows raised. “You didn’t hesitate to tell your father how you felt about him. Is it time for me to learn why you detest me so?”
Eurwen could only stare at her mother, unsure of what to say.
“Something had to keep you and your brother away from me. I’m far from perfect. Shall we look back on my life and point out all the things I’ve done wrong? Pick apart all the decisions I’ve made?”
Eurwen shook her head, tears threatening again.
“For months after we learned about you, I waited until the day I could finally meet you and your brother.” Fresh tears fell down Rhi’s face. “We knew something had kept both of you from us, but given the doorway, we were sure those things had been laid aside. Apparently, we were wrong.”
The first tear fell down Eurwen’s cheek as Rhi followed Con out of the house and then disappeared over the rise. Eurwen sank into the chair, confused and shaken by what had just happened. Con and Rhi were right. She shouldn’t have hurled such things at them, not the first day. Certainly, not during their first conversation.
She blamed it on being discombobulated by Vaughn’s arrival. But she wasn’t sure that was the truth. She wanted to get to know her parents, but there were still a great many things from the past that she hadn’t let go of yet. The only reason she had opened the doorway was because she’d thought she had released all her anger.