Ostrian

by Rinelle Grey

  But Mary nudged his arm. “You should do something.”

  “Do something? What?” Ostrian stared at her, a little confused.

  “He’s making the other dragons nervous.”

  Ostrian stared back at the room. And not just at the female dragon who was still trying to tug Porian back into a seated position and looking concerned. Other dragons nearby were staring at the impulsive one, and their expressions were concerned too.

  Some clutched at their bags, some clutched at their children. Nearly all of them glanced towards the entrance to the cave. Some looked nervous, but a lot looked like they’d like to take Porian’s suggestion, and fly out there and intimidate the humans.

  Ostrian didn’t blame them. He’d like to do that too. But it wasn’t going to help the prince and princess’s plans.

  Mary was right, he was going to have to do something.

  Biting back a sigh, Ostrian rose to his feet and stared across at the young metal dragon.

  Porian stared defiantly back at him.

  “Sit down,” Ostrian said roughly, hoping his tiredness didn’t show in his voice.

  “Who’s going to make me?” Porian demanded. “You, old man?”

  Really? The flighty young dragon was looking for a challenge? Ostrian bit back another sigh. “If I have to,” he said firmly. “But what are you hoping fighting will achieve? Do you think it will make you look strong in the eyes of your friends? Look around, they just want you to sit down and be sensible.”

  Porian’s chin jutted out, and for a moment, Ostrian thought he was going to fight him just for his comments. But his glance fell on another young male dragon, who wasn’t looking in the least impressed. He glanced around, seeing the expression mirrored on those around him.

  He sat down, and when he talked, his voice was quieter. “Well, I’m ready to fight if we have to.”

  “Good.” Ostrian nodded approvingly. “It is always useful to be ready to fight if need be. The trick is to know when it’s necessary.”

  Porian looked a little more thoughtful, and was quiet for a while, sitting listening to his friends for a change.

  Ostrian turned back to his food, glad that drama was over.

  “You did a very good job of getting him to settle down,” Mary said, her voice approving, and perhaps a little surprised.

  Ostrian finished chewing his mouthful of food before he answered, not sure if he was pleased that she’d noticed, or insulted that she was surprised. “I’m not an elder for nothing,” he said finally.

  Mary patted his arm. “No, of course not. But you’re usually not the most diplomatic of elders.”

  He couldn’t really argue with that. Normally he had no interest in being diplomatic. It rarely achieved anything. But since that was the tactic the princes and princesses had decided to adopt with the humans, it seemed prudent to adopt it here in the lair.

  Besides, he didn’t really feel like fighting that silly dragonling.

  He had no need to show off. And he’d never really admired dragons who did. If one couldn’t prove one’s value with considered, reasoned conversation, then one really hadn’t thought it through very well.

  There was a flutter of wings at the entrance, and Ostrian looked up.

  The princes and princesses had returned.

  Many dragons flocked towards them, asking questions all at once. Ostrian stayed where he was, trying to pretend he was more interested in eating than in hearing what had happened.

  Beside him, Mary gave up all pretence of caring about food. But she didn’t get up and rush towards the leaders.

  They were waving everyone back anyway. Telling them to sit down, and they’d explain it all.

  Ostrian waited impatiently while everyone settled back down, trying not to be too irritated that he had to hear the news beside everyone else. Beside all these ordinary dragons. Not that he expected them to make everyone wait while they told him first, but some acknowledgment would be nice.

  But the princes and princesses didn’t even glance in his direction. Prince Taurian held up his hands, waiting for the questions and exclamations to subside before speaking.

  “This was just a preliminary discussion with the humans,” he said, his brother, Prince Verrian, magnifying his voice enough to be heard over the murmurs of the crowd. We have agreed to meet again in three days. Until then, everyone is to remain inside the lair. The police are going to set up a guard around the lair, to be sure no humans bother us.”

  And to be sure no dragons bothered humans. Ostrian’s mouth twisted into a bitter sneer. Did Prince Taurian really think they were stupid enough to fall for that?

  He wasn’t the only one who looked unimpressed. Porian looked like he wanted to say something, to object, but at a stern look from Ostrian, he subsided.

  Ostrian might have issues with this arrangement, but he would voice them privately to his prince, not question his authority in public. That was how it worked.

  Prince Taurian looked around at the crowd, then said more softly, “Return to your caves. Settle in. There will be no evacuation today.”

  The murmurs turned to sounds of relief at that.

  Ostrian didn’t blame them. Evacuating the lair, leaving their home, no one had been looking forward to that. But he didn’t feel any better about sitting around waiting. Especially not since they were waiting on human charity.

  He bit back a sigh. Not that there was anything he could do about it. In fact, if it had been up to him, he probably would have done the same thing. A truce was far better than a war any day.

  That didn’t make him feel any better about it.

  Chapter 14

  “You need to get some sleep,” Mary told Ostrian firmly. She wasn’t convinced he would listen to her, but she had to at least try.

  Unsurprisingly, the elder looked at her mutinously, his expression worthy of an irritated teenager. “I’m not tired,” he insisted.

  He’d been up for nearly twenty-four hours. He had to be tired. But she could understand being too keyed up to sleep. It had certainly been a big day. And the let down of not evacuating or helping the princes negotiate with the humans, instead just sitting around waiting, didn’t help.

  What he needed was something to help him relax.

  Her mind instantly filled in several possibilities. Delicious possibilities. Possibilities that heated her body at just the thought.

  As soon as she thought them, reality intruded. She had to be careful, sleeping with a dragon multiple times. She knew that after three times, they would be permanently bonded, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready for that yet.

  She was sure Ostrian most certainly wasn’t.

  But they’d only done it once. They could make love again without any concerns. As soon as she thought it, her body urged her to follow through. And instead of thinking it over, she took the chance.

  She put a hand on Ostrian’s arm, and let her voice slide lower. “I can think of something that will help you relax.” Her voice came out more sultry than she’d intended, but it suited her purpose, so she just gave a smile to match.

  Ostrian stared at her, his face horrified. “We can’t,” he said immediately. “Surely someone has told you about the mate bonding?”

  Even though she knew his expression of horror was for the possibility of mate bonding rather than her, it still hurt. Mary could feel herself getting defensive, even before she said stiffly, “Of course they have. I’m not stupid. But that’s if you sleep with someone three times, we’ve only done it once. One more is perfectly safe.”

  Ostrian shook his head immediately. “It’s not worth the risk,” he said flatly. “It’s far too easy to get tempted in the heat of the moment. Especially when you humans are so tempting.” His face was grumpy, and a little frightened.

  Mary’s heart sank at his words. An empty hole opened up in the pit of her stomach, at their confirmation that he didn’t really care about her after all. She wasn’t worth the risk. That cut more than she’d expecte
d. She’d thought she was ready for this. Thought she understood that Ostrian wasn’t ready to make a commitment yet.

  But he didn’t even want to risk being tempted to make a commitment.

  Wasn’t even willing to give this a chance.

  Maybe he had just slept with her as ‘research’.

  She’d been the one who was too tempted. She should have seen this hurt coming and sidestepped it before it hit. Before she slept with him and let herself think that this might mean something more. That it might be important to him.

  He hadn’t even said she was tempting, he’d said humans were tempting.

  He’d just used her. And he didn’t even have the decency to be polite about it.

  Mary clenched her fists, her emotions flipping so quickly it left her shaking as anger surged through her. And at the same time, tears pricked at the back of her eyes.

  How could she have been so blind. She’d thought that under all his bluster, he was different. Kind and caring under that tough exterior. How wrong she’d been.

  She scrambled to her feet. “Well don’t worry, “she spat. “This human won’t bother you again.”

  She could see the realisation that she was angry hit his face. His eyes widened in surprise, and… was that panic? “Mary, I didn’t mean…”

  “Oh yes you did,” she said firmly. “You’ve never hidden your dislike of humans, so I should have realised earlier. Well, you’re not going to fool me again.”

  Ostrian took a step towards her and said in a low voice, “Can’t we talk about this? Surely you can see that this feeling between us is affected by exactly the same thing as all the other relationships in this clan. Humans have a pull over dragons, and I’m sure the reverse is true too. We can’t let this feeling fool us.”

  Mary stared at him. Was that really what he believed?

  It was clear in his eyes that it was.

  She gave a harsh laugh. “You stupid, old fool. You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t some product of the fact that I’m a human and you’re a dragon. If that was the case, I might have fallen for any of the dragons in this room.” She waved her hand at the crowded room. “I care about you, you old fool. I love you.” Her eyes filled with tears at the realisation that hit her as she said the words.

  She did. Somewhere in there, she’d managed to fall in love with Ostrian. How had that happened? How had she let that happen?

  Confusion and doubt was etched on Ostrian’s face. He reached out a hand towards her. “It… it can’t be.” His voice was uncertain.

  She slapped his hand away. It was too little, too late. “You’re too old and set in your ways to ever change. You can’t even overcome your prejudice against humans for the good of your clan. Even though you know you need us. You’re just a bitter old man, and I want nothing more to do with you.”

  Mary tried to feel satisfaction at the stunned, horrified expression on Ostrian’s face.

  But her heart ached for both of them.

  *****

  Mary stalked off, and though every cell in Ostrian’s body was urging him to go after her, he didn’t move.

  All around him, dragons stared at him. Mary hadn’t exactly been quiet. She’d laid everything bare. Everyone knew what was going on. It had been a long time since Ostrian had been the centre of attention for this kind of reason. Most of the dragons here wouldn’t even be aware that he ever had.

  He didn’t care what they thought. Even Wayrian, his granddaughter, who stared at him with surprise. He stared back down the food in front of him, more worried about his own problems than what any of them thought.

  He wasn’t sure if he was more upset that they knew he’d slept with the beautiful, tempting human, or that she’d rejected him.

  His heart knew which upset it more. It ached with sadness.

  But even though he was devastated to see her go, he couldn’t make himself go after her. And not just because of what the other dragons might think. What Wayrian might think.

  Fear immobilised him as surely as love screamed at him.

  He had never expected her to say she loved him. Struggled to even believe it was true. Could this be love? Or was Mary just being fooled by this emotion, this pull between dragon and human?

  Did it make any difference if it was? The thought of risking mating with her again filled him with fear. He’d managed to resist the mate bond once. The news he’d had to give his prince had overcome the urge he felt to mate with her again and again until she was his.

  He was sure he wouldn’t be able to escape it again. If he gave in to the need coursing through him, he wouldn’t stop until it was done.

  Until his life was in someone else’s hands.

  And a frail human’s hands at that.

  The thought filled him with more terror than if he’d been facing a life dragon throwing her magic at him. And he’d been there only a few short weeks ago.

  It was the exact same feeling. The surety that he was about to die. That there was no way out. That he was trapped.

  Ostrian’s body shook.

  But the stares were becoming more blatant. More curious. More mocking.

  He needed to get out of here.

  He forced himself to his feet and stumbled into the first corridor he came to. Not the one to the bedroom caves, Mary had gone that way, and he didn’t want to risk running into her. But he recognised it instantly. This passageway would lead him to the archives.

  Well, it was as good a place to go as any.

  Truthfully, he didn’t much care where he went right now. As long as it was away from everything. Away from the dragons staring at him.

  Away from Mary.

  He needed to clear his mind of the desire she created in him. Needed to purge his body of the memory of what mating with her had been like. Needed to forget her.

  But even as he thought the words, he knew he could never forget her.

  What had he done? Somehow, he suspected that he’d just made the biggest mistake of his life. And he wasn’t sure if it was mating with her, or giving her up.

  He sat down, only realising after he did so that it was the same chair they’d made love on only hours earlier. That thought only made his heart ache more.

  He tried to steel himself against the feeling. The attraction he felt for her couldn’t be love. He needed to remind himself of that. The only reason he felt like this was because she was a human, and he was biologically programmed to feel attracted to her, to help increase his clan’s number of life dragons. That was all.

  “Grandfather?” Wayrian’s voice was quiet and uncertain.

  But it made Ostrian’s heart hammer in his chest none the less. The last thing he wanted to do right now was talk to his granddaughter. “Go away.”

  A few months ago, that order would have been enough to send her scurrying away to her cave and kept her away for hours.

  Today though, she edged forwards. Her face wore a familiar expression of nervousness, but with an edge of determination. A determination she’d discovered when she’d fallen for her own human and mated him against Ostrian’s wishes.

  His annoyance at that fact was mixed up with his guilt that he’d tried to convince her to mate with Prince Taurian. He’d been so sure that the union would have produced a life dragon. So sure of his faulty research.

  He’d almost messed everything up. She’d have more luck conceiving a life dragon with her human mate.

  That didn’t mean he had to feel good about it. She’d just fallen prey to the same biological urges that he nearly had. She just hadn’t had the age and experience to recognise them. It might be good for his clan, but was it good for the dragons? Could they be happy with human mates?

  “What do you want?” Ostrian demanded, irritated.

  “Are you all right?” she asked, her voice soft. “I… I saw what happened, and I… I was worried about you.”

  Her words melted a little of the anger surrounding his heart. She was a good dragon, even if she was misguided.


  “I’m fine,” he said gruffly. “That human woman just stopped me from making a big mistake, that’s all.”

  His change of tone emboldened Wayrian enough that she slipped into the room and came a little closer. “Are you sure it would have been a mistake?”

  Her question stirred up a storm of feeling in Ostrian’s heart. “Of course it would have been a mistake,” he said. It was a testament to his agitation that he spoke aloud without censoring his words. “I’m only attracted to her because she’s a human. I may now know why they make the dragons feel so obsessed, but that doesn’t mean I have to give into it.”

  Wayrian’s eyes widened, and she stared at him for a long moment, her expression uncertain.

  Ostrian summoned up his sternest frown, hoping to deter her from speaking any further. He didn’t want to hear it. He just wanted to be left alone to wallow in his misery until his normal good sense reasserted itself.

  Wayrian edged a little closer, even daring to take a seat at the table with him, albeit the one furthest from where he sat.

  “What I feel for Chase isn’t because he’s human,” she said, her voice soft and earnest. “I love him, Grandfather.”

  Her words echoed the ones Mary had thrown at him just minutes ago. Was there any chance this feeling could be love?

  Did it make any difference if it was?

  Either way, the mate bond would mean surrendering his life to someone else. Giving them the power of life and death over him. Even if he trusted Mary more than most, he couldn’t give her his life. That was too much. Surely even love couldn’t demand that sacrifice?

  Ostrian shook his head firmly and waved a hand dismissively. “What would you know of love? You’re just a child. You are mistaking a biological drive for something far stronger.”

  He hoped the words upset her enough to make her leave.

  To his surprise, the look he was fast coming to recognise as her determined one, surfaced. “I know what I feel. My feelings for Chase go far beyond just wanting to mate with him.” She was so certain, her voice didn’t even falter over the admission. “I love talking to him, sharing ideas with him. I want to share my life with him, whether or not we ever have children.”