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Rhene could easily see that. “Over time, the wolves lost a lot of their powers because we abandoned the old ways. We turned our back on honor too, and it cost us.”
“Dishonor has a price,” Gregor said somberly. “But most people don’t realize it until it comes to collect.”
“If we can get back to the timeline, I have a question. The war was won. They got their wish for independence. Why still go through with the Great Shame, even many years later when their independence was no longer at risk?” Rhene asked.
“Because my father discovered I was a white dragon, would be my guess,” Erwan said. “And he must’ve remembered this prophecy, fearing I would join forces with the wolves.”
“Yes. But there was more. When you were born, your mom’s maid had a vision.”
Erwan frowned. “Lucia? Don’t you mean my aunt Fiona, Baoth’s wife?”
“No, Lucia. She had a vision on the day you were born.”
Another vision? They’d learned about Fiona’s prophetic words from Emma, but she’d never mentioned anything about Lucia.
Erwan blindly sought Rhene’s hand, and he laced their fingers together, squeezing his mate’s hand in quiet comfort. “What was her vision?”
“She said that over time, the king would regret the day you were born.” Gregor’s voice changed, growing deeper. “‘One day, he’ll stand up against his father and make right what was wrong. When the True Alpha rises, so will your son, and he will bring justice and honor and peace, but it will come at a price.’”
Erwan paled, and Rhene pulled him onto his lap. If Gregor and Fergal had an issue with that, fuck them. His mate needed him, and the way Erwan all but crawled into Rhene’s arms proved it.
“Those are powerful words,” Fergal whispered. “And she said them about Erwan?”
“Yes. Queen Grian placed a spell on Lucia’s lips to protect her from saying a word, but in her haste, she only made the spell valid until you were of age, so when you were sixteen and showed your color, the spell was broken, and your father found out.”
“His mother protected him with spells all his life,” Rhene said, holding Erwan tightly. “Cladhaire would’ve killed him otherwise.”
Gregor nodded. “That or he would’ve infected him with his dark magic. Your mom is a powerful dragon, Erwan. Much more powerful than her husband ever realized, or he would’ve stopped her.”
Rhene’s heart filled with love and gratitude for Erwan’s mom. She had sacrificed everything for him and his brothers.
“What Gregor and I have been trying to figure out is why the other clans, including us, didn’t banish the Doyles after the Great Shame. Why did we keep in touch with them when we should’ve taken a stand against their flagrant violation of the Code?” Fergal said. “After 1822, it makes sense because that’s when they all learned about Erwan being a white dragon. But the years before that, the time between 1778 and 1822, that’s the period that raises questions.”
Erwan let go of Rhene, though he stayed on his lap and leaned backward against Rhene’s chest. “I’d think you’d be old enough to remember, Gregor, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
Fergal grinned. “I keep telling him he’s a silver fox, but he always shushes me.”
Gregor shot a dark look at Fergal, who gave him a saucy smile back. If the whole situation weren’t so grim, Rhene would’ve been more than entertained.
“I do have the age,” Gregor said. “However, I’m from the Murphy clan and, as such, was kept out of everything.”
The Murphy clan? “Whoa, that’s something you could’ve said before.” Rhene wasn’t able to keep the venom out of his voice. “We told you what the Murphys did to us, how they tried to abduct Erwan, probably with the intention of killing him.”
“The whole reason he left that clan was that he despised everything they did and stood for,” Fergal snapped. “So don’t hold his former clan against him. It’s not like we’re blaming Erwan for the things his father and uncle did.”
“Fergal!” Gregor seemed appalled. “You can’t speak to them like that.”
Okay. With sudden clarity, Rhene understood. That had to have been what Erwan had seen when he’d scanned Fergal. He held up his hands. “No harm done, and message received. I won’t question your loyalty again, Gregor, and I apologize for doing so.”
“No apology needed.” Gregor frowned at Fergal, then focused on Rhene and Erwan again. “I would like to confirm what Fergal said, though he could’ve expressed himself better and certainly with a less confrontational approach. I left the Murphy clan once I was old enough to see the truth of what was going on there. Fergal’s father was willing to take me in as a tutor for Fergal’s older brother and then Fergal, and that’s how I ended up with the Fitzgeralds.”
His older brother? If he wasn’t the crown prince, how had Fergal become the king? Rhene filed that question away for later.
“He’s no longer my tutor,” Fergal said as if that hadn’t been crystal clear already. “I’ve appointed him the commander of our clan, in charge of our defense, but he rarely leaves my side because we don’t know who betrayed my father and uncle and handed them to the dragon slayers on a silver platter.”
Gregor nodded tersely. “And until we do, I don’t trust anyone else with Fergal’s safety.”
They had some serious problems of their own, then.
