by Rinelle Grey
This wasn’t going anywhere. Rylee suspected the enemy dragon was just toying with Calrian before he killed both of them. He certainly had seemed more amused than bothered by their threat.
Calrian’s desperation to know what had happened to his clan was blinding him to the enemy’s reaction. He opened his mouth to say something, but Rylee couldn’t help herself. She had to step in.
“If you’re not going to help us, just say so, and we’ll leave.” Her knees were shaking the moment the words were out of her mouth, but at least it hadn’t affected her voice.
Ultrima’s eyes focused on her. “What is this, Calrian? Brought a human here to plead for you? Or…” he looked from Rylee to Calrian, then back again, “are you wanting to be his mate? How ironic would that be?”
For a moment, his attention made Rylee want to shrink back. How had she ever thought she could stand up to an angry dragon when it had taken her so long to stand up to Eric and her father?
But if she didn’t, then she could lose everything. All fear of what the dragon could do to her evaporated at the greater fear of losing Calrian.
Rylee straightened her back and faced the dragon defiantly. “Yes, I am,” she said firmly. “And I support him fully. I’m the one who’s ensuring that if anything happens to him, the entire town will know where you are. The world might not notice a dragon’s disappearance, but if a human disappears there will be an investigation. Searches. There won’t be anywhere on this continent you can hide.”
A little bold perhaps, but Rylee no longer cared. This dragon clearly didn’t. He was playing with them. And she was tired of it.
“Clever,” Ultrima said, considering her.
Calrian’s eyes were admiring, but his voice in her head was concerned. “Probably not a good idea to push him too far. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”
Rylee wished she could answer him in kind, to tell him she didn’t care, and that she wouldn’t stand by and watch the other dragon treat him like that. But instead, she just stared defiantly back at Ultrima, waiting to see what he said next, getting ready to counter it.
“You know, Rian clan has never been very accepting of humans. If the two of you mate, then they might even throw your dragon prince out, you never know.”
“That is irrelevant,” Calrian said through gritted teeth. “You’re avoiding the question.”
“Oh, but I think it’s very relevant,” Ultrima said. “Are you sure you want to find your clan if they aren’t going to let you mate the one you love? Now why does that dilemma seem familiar to me?” His voice and eyes grew hard. “Oh yes, because that’s why I left.”
Chapter 7
Calrian wouldn’t have thought his heart could beat any harder than it already was, but Ultrima’s words sent it hammering painfully.
His clan had come to this continent to avoid humans. He knew that. But that knowledge was far in the past. They hadn’t had much contact with humans in his lifetime, so he hadn’t stopped to consider how they might view him mating with Rylee.
To tell the truth, he’d stopped even thinking of her as a human a long time ago. She was just Rylee, a wonderful, determined, beautiful woman who he’d fallen in love with.
The idea that his clan might not accept her seemed preposterous.
But then again, his clan had never been too concerned with love. Look at how Sarian had chosen her mate, even though he was pretty sure she’d loved Ultrima.
For a second, he felt a shred of sympathy for the lightning dragon. He would be angry too, if his clan refused his mating. He might even do something similar.
But what he would never even consider doing was forcing Rylee into something she didn’t agree to wholeheartedly.
His mind went around and around in circles, which was no doubt what Ultrima had intended. He pulled his thoughts back to the present and to the problem in front of him.
“My love life is none of your business,” he said stiffly. “If you’re not going to answer my question, we’re leaving.”
Hopefully the Trima dragon would let them leave. Hopefully Rylee’s threat would be enough. Because although Calrian would fight to the death for her, he knew he stood no chance of winning against an entire clan. He couldn’t even buy her time to escape because she couldn’t fly down from the mountain on her own. If she would even leave him.
Ultrima was watching him through narrowed eyes, so he forced those thoughts away, and met the dragon’s gaze defiantly. “What’s it to be?”
Ultrima stared at him for several long moments before saying in a drawl, “Well, luckily for you you’re never going to have to find out what your clan would say because they’re all dead. We slaughtered them years ago when they refused to let me wake my princess. And I’d do the same again.”
He stared at both of them as he spoke, and Calrian could see the pure anger in his eyes.
It should have made him afraid. It should have sent him straight into fight or flight mode.
But instead, he spiralled down into grief.
His whole clan was gone, wiped out by the Trima clan. Calrian felt himself sinking to his knees in the sand, and he wondered dully if he was going to pitch sideways. All he could think about was the fact that he’d never see any of them again. And now he was alone.
Only he wasn’t alone. Rylee’s arms were around him, holding him close, stopping him from falling, and at the same time, she shouted at Ultrima. “Haven’t you done enough? How can you even try to pretend you loved someone if you hurt those she cared about? I bet if the princess was here, she’d never want anything to do with you ever again. And I wouldn’t blame her.”
Calrian wanted to tell her there was no point, that Ultrima would never understand, but he couldn’t make the words come out. He felt like he’d been frozen in time and that he’d never feel anything again.
“How dare you speak to me of Sarian,” Ultrima thundered. “You have no idea what happened, and even if you did, you could never understand. You’re just a human.”
“Do you think humans don’t feel love? Yes, we might not have this bond dragons are so proud of, but that means love is even more important to us. Humans choose for love, not obligation. And because of that we know love must be freely given. You can’t force someone to love you. And even if they refuse you, we don’t try to hurt those we care about. No, it’s dragons that don’t understand love, and you’re all the poorer for it.”
Calrian wanted to cheer for her, and he would have if his heart hadn’t been breaking. He agreed wholeheartedly with everything she said, even though he knew it wouldn’t be enough to melt Ultrima’s icy heart.
He agreed with it because he’d experienced it for himself. Everything Rylee spoke of described how he felt about her perfectly. And for a few moments, he dared hope that she might be speaking from experience too, that she might be describing the way she felt about him.
That hope pushed aside his grief over the loss of his clan. It would return, he was sure of it, but he couldn’t deal with it now. First he needed to get them both out of here. Only then could he allow himself to mourn.
He struggled to get to his feet, glad of Rylee’s help. Then he faced his enemy head on. “If you believe in love, if you care at all about Sarian, then you will let us go,” he said firmly. “Stop this madness. Let me wake my brothers and sisters, and let us all move past this.”
He had little hope of his plea working, but he had to try.
And for a few moments, Ultrima seemed to consider his offer. He looked at them both thoughtfully, then he threw back his head and laughed. The sound filled the whole room. The hint of madness it contained sent a shiver down Calrian’s spine.
“You think I believe your family could ever move past this?” Ultrima demanded. “No, if I let you wake them, they will be bent on nothing but revenge. And I refuse to give up on my love. I will pursue her for the rest of my life if necessary. And I will not let you get in the way of that.”
He glared at both of them, a
nd Calrian had the feeling he was facing the end. He was ready for it and almost welcomed it because it would make the pain of losing his clan go away.
But the part of him connected to Rylee, the part of him feeling her body next to his, that part of him refused to give up. It was ready to fight.
“Let Rylee go,” he said, almost as if his voice belonged to someone else. “She is not part of this.”
Ultrima’s smile was wicked. “Now where would be the fun in that?”
Helplessness welled up in Calrian. He couldn’t save her. There was no way. He should never have let her come.
“It seems a bit mean to leave her miserable and alone for the rest of her life. I know how that feels, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” Ultrima continued.
Calrian stared at him, confused. Was the Trima leader so mad he thought it would be kinder to kill someone than leave them heartbroken?
“No, I think I’m going to let both of you go,” Ultrima said smoothly. “I’m a sucker for love, you see, and clearly you two love each other. So go, be happy, mate, and have many babies. And while you do so, remember you have condemned me to a life of loneliness.”
And then, to Calrian’s surprise, he waved to everyone in the room before he turned and left.
The others followed him out, leaving Rylee and Calrian alone in an empty room.
Calrian wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or devastated. Or maybe a strange mix of both. Whatever he was feeling, it certainly wasn’t motivating. Calrian stared at the tunnel leading back out of the cave, not sure he could even be bothered walking through it.
What was the point? He’d spent all this time searching for his clan, and it had all been pointless. They were gone.
His heart ached as if there was a big hole in it. And there was. A hole where his clan had been. It didn’t even matter that Ultrima had confirmed that his brothers and sisters were still alive in their Mesmer chambers because he had no hope of ever getting close enough to them to see them.
He wasn’t sure there was even much of his heart left to ache anymore. It had been his responsibility to keep his clan safe, and he’d failed. What was the point in leaving? Maybe it would be better if Ultrima had killed him too. Then this ache would go away.
“Come on, we need to go.” Someone tugging at his arm pulled him out of his stupor, and when he looked up, he saw Rylee.
Beautiful, sweet, caring Rylee.
Would he fail her too? She offered him another chance. Another life. A life where he could start over. But Calrian wasn’t sure he deserved it. He wasn’t sure he could give her what she needed. He wasn’t even sure what that was anymore.
Rylee’s voice grew more urgent. “Calrian, we need to go before they come back.” She tugged at his arm again. Calrian was pretty sure she was using all her strength, but it did little more than lift his arm. “Come on. I can’t get down from here without you.”
That penetrated the haze, and his feeling of responsibility kicked back in. Right. Rylee had come here because of him, and even if he didn’t care what happened to him, he couldn’t let Ultrima hurt her. He needed to get her back to her home, back to her son.
He owed her that.
“Of course, let’s go.” Calrian put a hand over hers on his arm and forced himself to stand up. With each step, it became a little easier, and a little more of the numbness faded.
He’d think about the pain and loss later. Right now he needed to save Rylee.
In the back of his mind, he suspected saving Rylee might just be what saved him.
Chapter 8
Rylee was relieved to see Calrian responding again. For a moment there, she’d thought the shock of finding out his clan was gone would incapacitate him. And no matter how much her heart ached for him, she knew what they needed to do right now was get out of the enemy dragon lair.
So she kept her own sadness and sympathy for his pain at bay while she watched him shuck his clothes and transform on the ledge.
She glanced back towards the tunnel, half afraid Ultrima would change his mind and come after them, but there was no sign of the enemy dragon.
Rylee wasn’t sure why he was letting them go, but she wasn’t going to argue.
“Climb on,” Calrian told her, and Rylee quickly did.
The flight down to the car was quick and silent and the drive back to Mungaloo was long and silent. Rylee glanced over at Calrian, probably more than she should, but each time she snuck a peek, he was simply staring out the windscreen, his face blank.
She wanted to talk to him, wanted to try to comfort him, but it would be hard in the car, and she needed to get back and retrieve her letter from Martha and pick Rowan up from school.
There would be time for comforting later, once they were safely back at the lair.
Retrieving her letter from Martha and telling her that Calrian was sick and they’d be back to look at the caravan in a few days was easy and uneventful, but when they pulled up in front of the school for Rowan to get in, she could see from her son’s tearstained face that his day had been far from uneventful.
“What’s wrong?” Rylee asked in concern.
Even Calrian looked over at Rowan, though he didn’t say anything.
“Nothing.” Rowan swiped at his face as he climbed into the backseat and tossed his bag on the floor. “I just don’t ever want to come back here again.”
Rylee winced. The last thing she needed right now was another problem to deal with. Rowan had been dealing with bullies since they’d arrived here a few months ago. Her sensitive, kind, caring son really didn’t fit in at the small rural school, but it wasn’t like she had any other choices.
But as she looked over at Calrian, seeing a hint of concern on his face, she wondered if this might just pull him out of his stupor.
“Was it Brent and Robbie again?” she asked sympathetically as she pulled back out and headed towards the lair.
Her mention of the two bullies’ names unlocked the dam in Rowan. “Why are they so mean, Mum? I don’t bother them. I was just eating my lunch, and they came over and started calling me names and saying I’d better do what they say or they’d beat me up.”
For some reason the interchange reminded Rylee of Ultrima. That was essentially the way he’d treated Calrian. Apparently bullies didn’t all disappear once you were out of school.
“Did you tell the teacher?” Rylee asked. She wished she could convince the school to do something more about the bullies, but they just shrugged and made comments about boys being boys.
“That never helps, Mum,” Rowan complained. “You know that. All that happens is they call me a tattletale.”
“The only thing people like that understand is someone standing up to them.” Calrian’s voice was quiet and emotionless, but Rylee was glad he had at least said something, even if she didn’t agree with him.
“They’re bigger than Rowan,” she said firmly. “Standing up to them will only get him hurt. Bullies are just after attention. If you ignore them, then you’re boring and they go pick on someone else.”
“Which doesn’t stop them being bullies,” Calrian said firmly. This time his voice was more normal. “There’s only one way they learn, and that’s if someone teaches them.”
“Well, I wish someone would teach them,” Rowan muttered. “Then maybe they’d leave me alone.” His voice was low and a little whiny, but he didn’t sound quite so distressed.
“Let’s change the subject,” Rylee said firmly. She understood Calrian was feeling down, but she really didn’t want him to convince Rowan to fight back against his bullies just because he didn’t stand a chance against his.
There was silence in the car for a few long moments, and then the ever perceptive Rowan piped up. “Is something wrong?”
Rylee hesitated. Calrian’s grief was still raw, and he probably didn’t feel like talking about it right now, especially not with her inquisitive son, but before she could brush Rowan off, Calrian spoke.
“I just found
out my clan is no longer alive.”
His words were matter of fact, but no one in the car could miss the raw pain in his voice.
Rylee couldn’t help reaching out a hand, putting it on his leg, and giving it a rub. It was an inadequate gesture, but it was all she could manage while driving.
“I’m really sorry to hear that, Calrian,” Rowan said gravely. “But…” he paused, then the words came out in a rush. “I know Mum and I aren’t dragons, and we can never hope to replace your clan, but… well… maybe we could be your family now, if you like?”
His tone was a mixture of hope and sympathy. And he didn’t stop there.
“I’d really like you to be my new father,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure Mum would like you to stick around too, wouldn’t you, Mum?” He looked at her hopefully.
Rylee couldn’t help giving a chuckle at that, even though there were tears in her eyes. “I’d like that very much,” she agreed. “But don’t push Calrian right now, Rowan. He has a lot to take in.”
But when she looked over at Calrian, he was smiling too, albeit rather sadly. “I already think of both of you as my closest friends,” he said solemnly. “And I would love to call you my family.”
Rylee felt her throat closing up at his words. She squeezed his leg, not having any words to express how she was feeling and pretty sure that even if she did, she wouldn’t be able to get them out without crying.
Her heart ached for Calrian’s loss, and at the same time, was almost bursting with joy at the thought of him being part of their family. She never thought she’d want to try a relationship again, not after Eric, but Calrian had shown her there were good men in the world.
It was a very strange mix of emotions.
Then again, it was a very strange day.
As Rylee turned onto the road leading to Calrian’s lair, she couldn’t help feeling hopeful for the future. It didn’t matter if they were living here in the lair or in the caravan at Martha’s. She knew if they were all together, then nothing else mattered.