by Rinelle Grey
She needed to convince him otherwise.
So despite his obvious wish to be alone, she hurried down the tunnel after him. She even heard his sigh of exasperation as she caught up.
He stopped and turned, his eyes blazing deep blue. “Don’t you get the message? I need to do this on my own. Go away.”
Well, he didn’t beat about the bush, did he?
Mary turned on her most winning smile, the one that had confused CEO’s and bankers alike. “This information concerns both our people,” she said firmly. “It affects the humans just as much as it affects the dragons, so I think there should be a representative of both sides involved in this research. Otherwise, how can it possibly be impartial?”
Ostrian frowned. She could see it in his eyes. He didn’t want this to be impartial. He was looking for a reason to get rid of the humans.
Which was exactly why she needed to be here. She didn’t intend to give him a reason.
“Taurian and the others will be more likely to listen to any findings you present if I’m there to corroborate your evidence,” she added.
He hesitated then, looking her up and down, as though sizing up how easy she’d been to fool. Mary had seen that before too. Many men had tried to pull one over her, and many men had failed.
She put on her best earnest look and gave him her best innocent smile.
His expression shifted. Something lit up his blue eyes. Mary wanted to assume it was a devious plan that she needed to watch out for, that was what she would expect from Ostrian. But the idea wouldn’t catch hold. Instead, an interesting feeling swirled through her belly, sending a wave of goosebumps down her skin.
Ostrian was the one who broke the stare, looking away and saying gruffly, “Fine, you can come. But stop asking questions all the time. You’re distracting me.”
Mary interpreted his words to say, ‘stop making me doubt what I’ve already decided,’ and knew she was making some headway. She had no intention of stopping attempting to make him question his beliefs, so she kept her mouth shut and followed him down the stone passage.
It was further than she expected, going down two flights of stairs, and winding around several times. By the time Ostrian pushed open a heavy wooden door, the only actual door in the whole lair, Mary knew they must be deep underground.
The room inside smelled slightly musty and there were even a few cobwebs on the wooden shelves that filled the space. On each shelf were rolls upon rolls of scrolls, all tied with bits of string, leather, and sometimes even grass.
Mary stared at them in dismay.
She’d figured the dragons didn’t have a computer system down here that she could search via keywords, but she’d at least expected books.
How would they even know where to start?
But Ostrian walked forward with a purpose, striding past rows of scrolls to the shelves near the back.
Mary followed him, looking around in awe, not touching anything. And not asking any questions that might irritate him, even though she had many. She’d save them for when they were really needed.
Luckily, Ostrian offered an explanation without being asked. “The scrolls are ordered by date for the most part, though it’s not impossible for them to be out of place. I’ve spent many hours organising them, but my predecessors were not so methodical. None the less, I’d recommend we start here. These are the scrolls that were written before the dragons left England.” He waved his hand at a row of scrolls against the back wall.
Mary stepped forwards doubtfully. She wasn’t quite sure how long ago the dragons had left, but these scrolls had to be three hundred years old at a minimum. Just breathing on them might cause them to disintegrate.
But they were in surprisingly good condition. Perhaps their storage, so deep underground, away from the heat and moisture, had helped preserve them. Or perhaps the dragons used some sort of magic. Either way, the scroll Ostrian picked up seemed solid enough and it didn’t even crackle as he unrolled it and began to scan its contents.
Mary hesitated, then picked up a scroll off the shelf, bracing herself in case Ostrian shouted at her. But he seemed intent on the words he was reading and paid her no attention.
So Mary unrolled the scroll and stared at it in anticipation.
Her heart sank as she began to skim the words written in a dark ink.
“…fýrdraca déaþcwielmende be wæpenbora…”
Mary stared at the scroll in dismay. It was virtually unreadable. Oh, she knew most of the letters, though some looked more than a little strange. But the words were unfamiliar.
It hadn’t even occurred to her that language would have changed that much. She’d expected to find something reminiscent of the Shakespeare she’d read at school—strange, but readable. But this was far beyond that.
These scrolls didn’t just have to be read, they had to be deciphered.
No wonder Ostrian thought there might be something in here the dragons didn’t know. There were probably a lot of things they didn’t know, because no one could read them.
She bit back a sigh and glanced over at Ostrian. He was pouring over the scroll as though every word made sense. Mary edged a little closer, and checked the words on his scroll, just in case they were easier to understand.
But they weren’t.
Obviously he could read the writing, or else he was doing a damn good job of pretending he could.
Had she made a mistake? How could she help if she couldn’t even read the scrolls?
But then reason reasserted itself. She was a businesswoman with plenty of resources at her disposal. She pulled out her phone, glad she’d purchased several of the satellite adapter packs, including one for herself, and did a search for an old English translator.
She was satisfied to see there were several of them. She clicked on the first one and entered the text.
The translation was a little choppy, still requiring interpretation, and sometimes she had to pull a word out and translate it separately, but she got the general gist. Apparently the words indicated that a fire dragon had been killed by someone with a sword, a knight maybe.
Mary tried the next sentence, then the next. For some reason, translating the almost indecipherable writing felt a little like magic, like an adventure. And slowly, a story emerged, as strange and exciting as the most interesting book.
It wasn’t just one dragon that had died. He was just the latest in a long lineup of dragon deaths at the hands of the humans. Ostrian’s words earlier had hinted at that, but seeing it laid out like this, with the occasional word smudged, as though someone had been writing horridly, it somehow made it seem all the more real.
The dragons were dying. This wasn’t just a lone knight attacking one dragon. This knight, whoever he was, had set out deliberately to find this dragon, who had been minding his own business in a cave. The knight hadn’t even faced him in honourable combat—a fact that the writer of the scroll was most indignant about—but had snuck up on him while he was distracted eating a tasty sheep.
The writer listed several other dragons who had similarly fallen victim to sneak attacks as the humans began to understand how the life dragon magic worked. Once they knew that the fear wasn’t real, they’d become surprisingly good at resisting it.
With the dragon’s last line of defense gone, the scroll writer not unsurprisingly concluded that humans were determined to wipe them out. Some dragons, apparently, wished to fight back and raze the human villages and towns. Some even had. But though the dragons killed many with their fire and lightning, more kept coming. Their swords and arrows were dangerous to the dragons. And the dragons didn’t like it one little bit.
And, it seemed, the dragons weren’t the only ones being hit. Mary frowned as she stared at the words mermaid and fae. Could the translator be correct? She ran the words through again, coming up with the same translation. Apparently the fae were nearing extinction and the mermaids had retreated to the deep ocean, with no plans to return.
Mary shook he
r head in disbelief. She probably shouldn’t be too surprised, after seeing real, live dragons, that mermaids and fae also existed, but she was.
If they still existed. She frowned as she read on, about how the dragons’ numbers had been cut in half, how they had fewer and fewer new dragons even being born, and the humans refused to even allow their sons and daughters to mate with dragons, even if they wished.
That indignity was apparently the last straw for the dragons. The scroll ended with the dragons’ intention to leave England, and never return.
Mary put it down, and stared over at Ostrian, still wrapped up in his own scroll. She felt like she’d just come to the end of a particularly engrossing book, and she didn’t know where the sequel was.
Ostrian had told her this information before she’d arrived, but she hadn’t really considered what it meant for the dragons and humans now. This scroll explained why the dragons didn’t trust humans. Ostrian especially.
He’d spent a lot of time reading these scrolls. It wasn’t surprising that the dragon’s prejudices against the ones who had tried to wipe them out had permeated his mind.
But couldn’t he see that humans had changed? She didn’t want to wipe out dragons. She was more than happy that her niece had mated with one, especially since she’d allowed her to come along on the adventure.
But how was she going to convince Ostrian that humans didn’t mean dragons any harm? He was so sure that there was an answer hidden here somewhere. Some sinister reason why dragons and humans wanted to mate. Perhaps because he didn’t believe in love?
He looked up then, a frown on his face. “Have you found anything?”
Mary hesitated. Surely Ostrian had read this scroll before? It had been on the top of the pile. It could hardly be news to him. Still, she wanted to discuss it with him. To understand what he thought of it.
“This scroll explains that the dragons left England to avoid the humans trying to kill them,” she said softly.
Ostrian raised a dismissive hand. “Yes, yes, that’s not news. I’ve read that scroll a thousand times. It doesn’t help us at all.”
“It also says that humans no longer allowed their children to mate with dragons. So apparently the practice was common back then,” Mary pointed out. “Maybe before you left, humans mating dragons was as common as it is now. They don’t seem to have anything against it. I’m not sure there is anything more to find.”
“Of course there is,” Ostrian said with certainty. “The English dragons mated with humans to show that they could. To prove to humans that they were in charge and in control. Not because of love. There’s no reason why it should be happening now, today.”
Mary raised an eyebrow. “Did they?” she demanded. “Because this scroll specifically says that the humans were the ones who forbade the mating, even if their children wanted to. I can’t see why any human would want to mate with a dragon to prove the dragon’s control, can you?”
“Of course not,” Ostrian said impatiently. “I’m not surprised that humans lusted after dragons. Dragons are the perfect physical specimens, even in human form. Any human who saw one would desire to mate with one. But why else would a dragon choose to mate with a human? Humans are puny and weak…”
“And humans were killing you,” Mary interrupted dryly, “so not quite as puny and weak as you like to imagine. We obviously had something you lacked.”
He was so stuck up and rigid. He refused to see what was right in front of his face.
And, of course, it didn’t help that the words he’d thrown at her were the truth. Dragons were perfect in every physical attribute. Strong and muscled, while remaining lean and trim. Even Ostrian, for all his years, still had the perfect physique.
Mary caught herself before she could list any more of his attractive qualities, even to herself. He was stuck up enough already, he didn’t need her ogling him. It would only make him insufferable.
So instead she said, “Perhaps dragons had become so used to being the strongest, they missed someone else catching up to them. Perhaps a few, forward thinking dragons realised that allying themselves with the humans was better than fighting them?”
Ostrian’s eyes widened a little, but he shook his head before she’d even finished speaking. “That’s ridiculous,” he said firmly. “That might, in a pinch, be a reason for suggesting a truce, it’s not a reason for mating humans.”
Mary shook her head. He was so determined that he was right, he didn’t even want to see the truth staring him in the face.
And it could take years for her to find anything to the contrary in these scrolls.
She sighed and turned to pick up the next scroll.
Chapter 5
Ostrian stared at the scroll in front of him, but he wasn’t really seeing it. Mary’s words kept playing over and over in his mind. Dragons hadn’t wanted to stop mating with humans, humans had been the ones to stop that practice. That nuance had escaped him until this point.
Had dragons, even back then, been obsessed with humans? Maybe the fact that humans had been killing them hadn’t been the only thing that had led them to leave England. Maybe they’d wanted to escape the human’s influence as much as their weapons?
Humans, of course, just wanted power over the dragons. Whether that was achieved by killing them, or mating with them until the dragon clan was half human and had forgotten their true heritage, it made no difference to them.
They had to be manipulating the dragons to achieve this somehow. If only he could figure out what it was.
He stared around at the scrolls. He’d read all of them before, many times over. They’d spent a hundred years hiding from the Trima dragons, not to mention humans, he’d had little else to do. There was nothing new to find here.
At least, not anything obvious.
Mary had, in just a few moments, picked up something he’d missed. Or something he had ignored because he assumed he’d known what it said.
Ostrian stared at her for a moment. Her head was bent over another scroll, and she held her phone in her other hand. She kept referring back and forth from one to the other. The words were on the scroll, why was she looking at her phone? Was she communicating with someone about the scroll? But she wasn’t talking into the phone. So what was she up to?
“What are you doing?” he blurted out, before he could stop himself.
Mary looked up, the light from the torch on the wall glinting off her auburn hair, and for a moment, he thought she was going to smile at him. He felt an answering smile begin to blossom on his face, but when her expression turned into a frown, he caught it just in time.
“I’m translating, of course,” she snapped. “These scrolls are almost unreadable.”
Ostrian stared at them for a few moments, trying to figure out what she was talking about. The words, so different from the ones humans spoke, caught his eye. Of course. He nodded. “The English language has changed quite a lot in a few hundred years,” he agreed.
So much for getting her opinion on the scrolls and perhaps picking up more clues. At the speed she was moving, it would take all day, or rather, all night, it was already late, for her to get through just a few scrolls.
This was a pointless waste of time. He’d get through the scrolls far faster on his own. He didn’t need to translate every word he read.
The trouble was, he’d read them all before. There was nothing new for him to see. The only new information to be gained was in her interpretation. She wasn’t reading the scrolls as a dragon, as he was. As a human, she saw things from the human perspective. And perhaps that was the one he needed if he was going to figure out what the humans were up to.
He stared at her impatiently. If only there was a way to speed things up.
Of course, there was. He could translate the scrolls for her. He’d learned ancient English so young that reading it was as simple as speaking for him.
But that would mean admitting he needed her help. For some reason, Ostrian hesitated over doing tha
t.
And not just because he was pretty sure she’d gloat.
He’d spent the last hundred years convincing himself he was independent, that he needed no help from anyone. Not even his clan. He helped them, not the other way around.
Mary glanced up, and her eyes narrowed. “What are you staring at?” A frown twisted her face, and for some reason, Ostrian couldn’t help wishing she’d smile instead. He liked her smile.
That admission twisted his gut, and he pushed it away quickly. He had to be careful that he didn’t fall to whatever spell was affecting all the other dragons, before he found out what it was. And hopefully not before he found some way to counteract it.
“You’re going to be at that all day,” he said instead, letting his own mouth twist in a frown.
“At least I’m reading, not staring around the room aimlessly,” Mary retorted.
Ostrian heaved a sigh and looked around at the piles of scrolls. “I’ve read them all before. I’m not going to find something new.”
Mary put the scroll and her phone down and put her hands on her hips. “This was your idea,” she reminded him. “You thought there was something in here that would prove that humans mating dragons was a bad idea. Have you changed your mind about that?”
Ostrian hesitated. Had he changed his mind? Did he still believe the answer was hidden in the dragon’s past?
It had to be. Especially with this new clue, that dragons may have fled England to get away from mating humans as much as from their weapons.
The problem was, even if that were the case, it was entirely possible that the dragons hadn’t written those sorts of conclusions down. That would explain why he’d never even considered the possibility before. They could have thought such revolutionary ideas were too risky to put on paper, to admit out loud. He knew he would have. He would have just hoped that once an ocean separated them, the dragons would forget all about humans. And it would have worked, too, if humans hadn’t gone and followed them.