Page 57 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
“Anything else?” Aidan asked, focusing on Candace. He wanted her to feel she could talk to him, so he kept his gaze friendly, and his burgeoning power leashed tightly inside.
She shook her head. “We’re managing everything else so far.”
He was relieved to see some tension leave her face as they spoke. “Don’t hesitate to let me or my people know if you need something.” He paused, looking pointedly between Candace and Paul. “Also, let the people know that when the war begins, they can seek shelter, along with the animals, within the fortress. It will be safer there.”
They could not afford to lose any livestock when they were already depleting a lot to keep their people and incoming visitors fed. One of the underground tunnel entrances had a slope design, so they could be moved to safety that way if necessary.
Paul lifted his chin. “That’s fine for some families, but others want to help with war preparations.”
Ordinary humans could not assist with the complex tasks at the fortress, but there were plenty of other options.Falcon gave him regular updates about what all the nearby towns had accomplished and still planned to do. They sounded ambitious, but he appreciated their efforts.
“Talk to the Norman city council. I’m certain they will be happy to give them jobs, as I’ve heard there’s no shortage of people needed for their projects,” Aidan said, then fed Bailey a bite of food. They were sharing the same plate and had already refilled it once.
His slayer was especially hungry as her body worked to heal her wounds. He was already back to full health and hated that she had to suffer longer. Perhaps he needed to explore a way to share his power so she could benefit from it more. The idea intrigued him.
Aidan placed his hand over her heart and concentrated on feeding his pendragon magic into her. She lurched, but he held her still. “Calm, mate.”
“It’s just…” she started, then sighed.
He’d wreathed her entire body in a golden glow. Everyone watched in awe as all her gashes closed. With her numerous injuries from their battle, it would have taken days for her torecover, but he’d done it in seconds. Even her injured arm was restored to perfection.
“That’s so cool!” Orion said, eyes rounded. “Apa, you have magic.”
He was used to his mother coming home wounded and hadn’t even asked about it. Aidan had preferred to avoid discussing how those wounds came about since he was still too young to understand. At least Orion seemed pleased that his father could fix the injuries.
Phoebe narrowed her gaze. “How did you do that? It’s faster than what a healer can do.”
“I’m not sure.” Aidan shook his head. “It just came to me, and I knew I could.”
“Our brother is full of surprises,” Ruari said. There was no malice in his tone but rather pride. “He’s succeeding where our past pendragons failed.”
“Dear, Zorya.” Phoebe gave him an incredulous look. “You’re scaring the zishkat out of me with this good brother act.”
“It is no act,” he grumbled.
Freya patted Ruari’s hand. “It’s taken years of training to get him to this point, but the goodness was always inside him. He just needed help.”
Aidan probably owed her a pot of gold and jewels for the work she’d done.
“You have my deep gratitude,” he said, smiling at her.
“It’s nothing.” She made a dismissive gesture. “I did it as much for me as anyone else. He was a slothful, annoying, self-centered pig when I met him. It was great fun whipping him into something more amenable.”
Ruari glowered at her.
Phoebe snorted. “Something tells me the whipping isn’t a figure of speech. Zorya knows how often he came running to everyone for help during that first year of your mating.”
Candace blanched. “You mean she actually hurt him?”
“If you met him before,” Bailey began, pointedly glancing at Ruari, “you’d understand why everyone wanted to hurt him—and often did. He could make us angry within the first five seconds of coming near us. Trust me. Freya did us all a favor.”
Ruari gave them a martyred look. “I was simply misunderstood, but my mate saw the real me.”
Bailey choked on her wine. Aidan patted her back as she coughed it out.
“When is Uncle Zoran gonna eat with us, Apa?” Orion asked, cocking his head. “You said he could come soon when we saw him last time.”
Every shifter at the table stiffened.
