Brenna asked Alice, "What was the legend about?"
The human never took her eyes off Killian's face. "Soon after the Spanish conquistador Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba fought the Mayans during his ill-fated expedition in 1517, in what is present-day Mexico, a two-headed dragon appeared not far from where the battle took place. Th
e beast went on a rampage against the human Mayans in the area. They eventually slayed him. Reliable accounts are sparse, but one carved record written in the old dragon language of the area mentions the two-headed dragon eating something he stole from the Spaniards' supplies, which caused nightmares like none had ever seen."
Brenna jumped in. "Do you know what he ate?"
Alice shook her head. "No. Since the carved tablet was broken, we don't have the whole story. But many have speculated that whatever he stole from the Spaniards might have caused his dragon to go rogue."
Brenna had to give the human credit. Alice did seem to know a lot about dragon history. Brenna had never heard anything about the event in her history classes as a student.
Sid asked, "Is there any way to narrow down what the substance might have been? Even just supplies or records from the time might give us a starting point."
Alice answered, "The best anyone's ever been able to do is to comb the ship's logs from the era. But even then, nothing unusual appeared."
"Regardless, if you can find and share those logs, maybe I can discover something useful in them that others may have overlooked," Sid said.
Alice bobbed her head. "I'll try my best. Although it may take a few days to track the information down and obtain a translation."
Brenna should keep her mouth closed, but she knew everyone else in the room well enough that she blurted, "How does a human know so much about dragon-shifters?"
Alice shrugged. "I've been fascinated since I was a child. And since I'm incompatible with dragon-shifter DNA and can't join the sacrifice program, I decided to focus my life's work on learning as much as I could."
Evie added, "And she's found loads of other people with similar interests. It's how we met, via an online message board."
"And yet you haven't shared this knowledge with the dragons?" Brenna queried.
Alice answered, "There's no central dragon authority, and few even communicate with each other. I didn't want to favor one over another and risk them using the information to start a war." She motioned toward Bram. "Although Evie's mate gives me hope that worldwide cooperation between the dragon clans could happen one day."
Bram grunted. "I think it will. In the meantime, Alice is here to observe our clan and report back to the DDA about general practices. That may be her legitimate reason for being here, but she and Evie have plans not even I'm aware of yet."
Evie smiled up at her mate. "I'll tell you soon, love. You have enough on your plate as it is."
Shaking his head, he rubbed Evie's back. "Says the female suffering from morning sickness. A pregnancy this soon after the last isn't good."
Evie leaned against Bram's side. "I'll be fine. After all, Holly's experiments on Lochguard have been going well."
Brenna didn't know what experiments were being conducted, but she wasn't interested in them right now. She brought them back on topic. "While Alice complies with Sid's request, what about Killian's mum? Do you think Northcastle will allow her to come?"
Bram frowned. "Probably not alone. I suspect Lorcan will accompany her. And as much as I hate special dinners for guests, we might have to conduct one to please Northcastle's leader."
Brenna tilted her head. "Doesn't Northcastle get along better with Finn Stewart? Why not invite the Scottish clan leader?"
"He will only make things worse," Bram grumbled.
Evie patted his chest. "Now, now, inviting Finn can't hurt. It'd be nice for us to see Arabella and her babies, too. If he'll allow them to come."
"They're not even two months old yet, so I doubt he'll want to travel," Bram muttered.
Brenna jumped in. "Still, you should invite someone from Lochguard to help. I know one of their head Protectors is still recovering from his recent attack in Ireland, but surely they have someone else who can act as a diplomatic envoy of sorts."
Bram grunted. "I'll see what I can arrange."
Sid lightly clapped her hands. "Right, then with that all sorted, I need as many of you to clear out as possible so I can formulate a plan with Tristan."
Bram nodded. "We'll leave. And Brenna, come with us. I need your help with contacting Northcastle and talking with Adrian. You have experience with both."
Shifting her gaze to Killian's face, she struggled to leave him. But if Killian were awake and mentally sound, he'd want her to fulfill her duties. Especially if it meant bringing his mother to be at his side.