Hildegard turned to face him, her lips thinning. “You ask too much. We can hardly agree to protect your clan indefinitely and whenever you ask. There must be limits.”
“If you want a steady supply of our gray stone, as well as assistance from our masons, then you must give something in return. This is the only thing we want from you.”
She made a disgruntled noise. “What if we agree to provide warrior support up to three times a year?”
“No.” Aidan shook his head. “It must be unlimited.”
Steam flared out of Hildegard’s nostrils. “Absolutely not!”
“Then I suppose we are done here.” Aidan spun on his heels and gestured at Donar and Falcon to follow him.
They made it partway down the tunnel before the pendragon shouted, “Wait!”
He stopped and turned around. “Yes?”
“We would be willing to assist in the defense of your territory for as long as our treaty holds, but it would come with a condition.”
Aidan came back down the tunnel with his companions trailing behind. “What is it?”
“We want at least twenty of our dragons to breed with twenty of yours over winter.” Hildegard glanced at the elders as if confirming something with them. “Of course, that would only be the beginning. In all, we require an entire new generation of offspring born with shifter blood numbering at least fifty in the next ten years.”
He stiffened. Fifty? Surely the Faegud did not think they could alter the makeup of their clan at such a fast pace. It was all Aidan could do to keep his expression impassive. “That is a lot to ask. We are lucky to have that many children of our own in such a time. You are more or less asking to take an entire generation of our toriq from us, though we are already much smaller than you.”
Her eyes gleamed knowingly. “One of the reasons neither of our people produce many offspring is because we lack fresh blood. Surely you have heard a male and female from different toriqan are more successful at reproducing than those from the same.”
He looked to Falcon. Is this true?
I have heard as much, he said, dipping his chin. Our toriq gave up the practice of breeding with other clans before your father was born, but the shifters to the west—the Craegud—began intermixing with the pure dragons about a century and a half ago. Their clan has nearly doubled since then with almost eighteen hundred members.
Aidan considered Falcon’s words. Though he detested the idea of asking his people to mate with another clan, they did need something to help them. Each generation seemed smaller than the last, and that could not be allowed to continue.
“There are two problems I foresee with this,” Aidan began. “One is that shifters love their children deeply, and few would be willing to part with their offspring—even if they were allowed visitation. The other is that we cannot force our people to mate. They must be willing to do so of their own free will and on their own terms.”
Hildegard gave him a patient smile. “Let us sit.”
They returned to their stone seats before she continued. “We have neutral territory between the chasm and Red River, do we not?”
“Yes,” Aidan agreed.
“Perhaps we could encourage those among our toriqan who are unmated and of the appropriate age to meet there. They may work it out among themselves to do whatever is most comfortable—whether it is to permanently mate or have something temporary. All of my clan’s females, though, would have to raise their children here. That is not negotiable.”
Aidan ground his jaw. “I would propose we give the couples the option to live in the neutral territory where a sizable den can be built for those who wish to reside there. Both of our toriqan can send a contingent of warriors to protect it. Once the children are grown, they can choose where they wish to ultimately settle.”
Hildegard glanced between the elders before returning her attention to Aidan. “We would be willing to allow that, but only if the interbreeding continues indefinitely with no time limit, and you must participate as well.”
“No,” Aidan said. It came out before he even had a chance to think about it.
The pendragon’s brows furrowed. “I was under the impression you are not mated.”
Aidan took a deep breath, attempting to calm his inner beast. Neither of them liked the idea of mating with an unknown female, but he could not risk offending Hildegard.
Cousin, Donar said telepathically. Do not let your feelings for the slayer ruin this treaty for us. We need the warriors the Faegud can provide.
Aidan jerked his gaze to his cousin. Donar had seen the problem before he did, and the ramifications of it. It was true. He and his inner dragon wanted Bailey and no one else. It was affecting Aidan’s ability to make the wisest decision for his clan, rather than for himself. Still, he’d lost interest in other females since meeting the slayer. He did not know how he could even bring himself to join with one.
“I do not have a mate, but I regret to say I am not ready to take one yet.”
Hildegard frowned. “Your father believes you are mature and responsible enough to negotiate a treaty with another toriq. Surely impregnating one female cannot be that difficult a job. We are not asking you to take responsibility for the child, and we’ll waive any claim it might have to the pendragon seat, should he or she become eligible for candidacy.”
Her second point had been a concern, but alleviating it did not make him feel better. There was no way he could explain to the Faegud that he had a preference for a dragon slayer—that would certainly not go over well. “Does it need to be me or would any of my siblings do?”
Hildegard pursed her lips. “One of them would be a suitable substitute, but what if they decline the offer as well?”
It would be a deep insult if neither Aidan nor his siblings were willing to mate with the Faegud. He could only hold out hope that Phoebe would choose to mate with the male she was courting before, assuming that dragon was still available. He prayed to Zorya that was so.
“If none of my siblings are interested, then I will join with one of your females,” he promised.
His inner beast roared in outrage, but Aidan ignored it. If this was what it took to protect his clan’s future, then he would make that sacrifice. It wasn’t only about defense, but also increasing their population with a strong, new generation. He had to set aside his personal preferences no matter how much it twisted his gut and made him want to walk away right then.
A slow smile spread across Hildegard’s face. “Excellent. Now that the big issues are out of the way, we can discuss the finer points of the treaty.”
Aidan let out a breath. This was going to take a while.
Chapter 23
Bailey
We pulled up to Aidan’s house, and I breathed a sigh of relief to finally be back. I’d been annoyed with him for making me stay here at first, but it didn’t take long before I appreciated the solitude. It was now a sort of refuge where I could relax without anyone bothering me. A few days of staying at Earl’s again had reminded me how I wasn’t much of a people person. Sure, I enjoyed saving them. I just didn’t want to have to actually talk to them beyond saying, “Go hide, I’ll take care of this.”
Danae set the gearshift to park. She was the one doing the driving since she’d only healed my ribs that morning and my left shoulder was still on the mend. The bites and tears from the dragon’s teeth had closed up, but the bones, muscles, and ligaments inside still needed time. My shoulder had been ripped apart and then smashed after I fell three stories. Danae had said when she looked at it through her healer’s vision that it was beyond her abilities to repair. A clean break was one thing, but she didn’t even know where to start with the mess she found in there. I’d have to let my body do all the work. At least that morning it had started to take the form of a shoulder again instead of looking like misshapen Playdough. There was still a lot of bruising, though, and it looked like this time I would be left with some scars. I didn’t look forward to explaining that to Ai
dan.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay at Earl’s another day or two?” Danae asked, frowning at me.
I nodded. “With my father gone, I think it’s for the best.”
She blew out a breath, stirring several strands of her blond hair. “How are you doing with that? I can’t believe he didn’t even say goodbye to you.”
In fact, Wayne had let Earl know early this morning that he was leaving. My father said I would be back in fighting shape soon enough, and it was up to me to take care of my own city. There’d been no goodbye—not even a note. For not really knowing the man, that had hurt more than I expected.
“I guess he’s gotta do what he’s gotta do.” I shrugged with my good shoulder.
She gave me a weak smile. “At least he saved your life. That has to count for something, right?”
“That’s what I keep telling myself.” I opened the door and got out of the truck.
Trish and Conrad pulled up in the other car. They’d followed behind so that Danae would have a ride home, and because I suspected they wanted to make sure I would be okay here. I was amazed Justin had let his pregnant girlfriend out of the neighborhood, but she had put her foot down and said something about cutting pieces of him off if he tried to stop her. Trish would only be out for the morning when dragons were sleeping, and we used the radio to find out where any ambush points were to avoid them. Hank was seriously cutting into the road bandits’ enterprise.
Conrad came up and gave me a half-hug, avoiding my bad shoulder. “I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you. Don’t be goin’ and killin’ any dragons without me.”
“It isn’t going to happen today,” I said, taking a step back. “But I can’t promise what will happen tomorrow.”
Trish glared at me. “Bailey, you need at least a couple more days to rest.”
“And the kids? Can they really wait?” I asked. This was the sticking point, and the one no one could argue no matter how much they tried. Maybe if I had been able to get my father to help, that would have been different, but I’d lost that chance.
“Still…just take it easy today, okay?” Trish pleaded, and then lifted a bag. “I fixed some stew you can heat up later.”
She was becoming rather good at making meals that could last a couple of days even without refrigeration—as long as you kept the food in a cool place. Trish was also working on mastering the art of baking bread from scratch, but getting all the right ingredients to practice with wasn’t easy. One of these days, I would have to introduce her to Kayla—who had mentioned she did a lot of baking at the fortress.
“Thanks,” I said, reaching out for the bag.
“I’ll take it inside.” Conrad grabbed it before I could. He already held the bag with my other belongings, including my sword and clothes. Before I could argue, he headed toward the house. Conrad had been determined not to let me do anything strenuous until I recovered. I tried not to be annoyed about it since he meant well.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Trish asked, shifting from foot to foot. “We could stay with you for the night or something if you want.”
I sighed. I loved that they cared, but they were driving me crazy. “I’m not an invalid—I’ll be fine.”
Trish didn’t look convinced. “What about your mom? You seemed pretty upset after you talked to her again this morning.”
Oh, I was more than upset after round two with Mom, but it wasn’t something I was ready to talk about. I suspected my mother’s biggest problem was that my stepfather still couldn’t find a way to get up here, which set her off even worse than last time. It didn’t help that I wouldn’t swear not to fight dragons anymore.
My mother had started into me as soon as I answered the phone, crying and yelling at me for an hour like she’d just discovered I sold drugs for a living—except worse. Mom had used the same tone as when I was sixteen, and she caught me and a friend in the barn drinking one night. I’d had to shovel horse manure for a week after that. Since it was usually my older stepbrother, Sean, who did the job, I suspected him of ratting me out. This time, I knew it was my father who told her, but she didn’t bring Wayne up this time. I still didn’t know what exactly he said to her when they had talked.
Listening to her had drained me in ways even my last dragon battle couldn’t even manage. Fighting fire-breathing beasts wasn’t personal. Hearing my mother’s grief and worry because she’d discovered her only daughter was slaying dragons took a huge emotional toll. Mom had a heart condition and limited medicine to manage it since the apocalypse. The last thing I wanted was to risk her health. If something happened to my mother because of me, I’d never forgive myself.
“I just need to be alone,” I said, feeling about as defeated as I could get. First, I nearly got myself killed in my last battle, then I met a father who didn’t want to talk to me, and to top it off, I’d nearly given my mother a heart attack. The best thing I could do was stay away from everyone for a bit until I pulled myself together.
Trish and Danae gave each other meaningful looks. They appeared like they were about to say something else when Conrad returned from the house. He gazed around at all of us, then grabbed each of the women by their arms.
“Time to go. Bailey needs to rest, and she ain’t gonna do that with you two mother hens hoverin’ over her,” he said, giving me a nod.
I returned his gesture with a grateful smile. Conrad and I had spent enough time together now that he understood me in ways no one else did. For a nineteen-year-old guy, he was surprisingly intuitive.
“See you tomorrow.” I gave them a wave with my good arm and headed for the house.
By the time I shut the front door and leaned against it, their car engine had started. Thank God they were leaving. I waited until the sound of tires crunching on gravel faded, then headed for the couch. Going upstairs to bed was beyond my capabilities at the moment. I settled down, careful of my shoulder, and dozed off within a few minutes.
It was hours later when a sound outside woke me. I jerked upright, wincing as pain shot through my shoulder, and listened carefully. Something was moving around out there. It could have been a dog or a deer, but my instincts told me otherwise. I got up and moved toward the dining room. Conrad had left my sword and the bag with my belongings in there where I could find them easily.
I pulled the blade from its sheath. Footsteps sounded on the porch outside and moved toward the door. I knew it couldn’t be Aidan. He wouldn’t have skulked around like this or wasted any time coming inside. This was someone who was being cautious with their approach.
The doorknob jiggled. Stepping carefully, I positioned myself a few feet from the entrance, so I could attack whoever came in before they had a chance to put up a defense. It creaked open. I probably could have put some WD-40 on the hinges, but I liked the early warning the noise provided.
I lifted the sword, ready to strike the intruder, but then a head of black hair with a silver streak poked through the opening. Phoebe’s gaze met mine, and she lifted a brow. “Bailey?”
I lowered the blade a fraction. “Yeah. What are you doing here?”
She pushed the door wider and only took one step inside, smart enough not to come any closer while I remained in an attack position. “I just want to talk.”
“About what?” I asked. Phoebe hadn’t seemed all that pleased about her brother and I working together. I wasn’t letting my guard down just yet, especially with him out of town.
“Aidan told you about the murder case I’m working on. Something came up, and I thought you might be able to help…” she paused, her gaze narrowing on my shoulder. I was only wearing a tank top, so she couldn’t miss the damage. “What happened?”
I thought about not telling her, but she’d probably figure it out anyway. “Got in a fight with two dragons at once.”
“Aren’t you a little new to slaying to be taking on two?” She inched closer, still studying my shoulder. “How bad was it? This looks like it’s at least a coupl
e of days old.”
Aidan had said Phoebe was a warrior. She’d probably been in enough battles to know how to identify injuries and how long they took to heal. Supposedly, my recovery time was similar to the shape-shifters. The more injuries we got, though, the longer it took them to heal because our enhanced immune systems were working on multiple fronts.
I lowered my sword another fraction since her concern seemed genuine enough. “It was a few days ago. There was only one dragon at first, but a second showed up. Things got a little tricky from there.”
“I’m impressed your shoulder is the only thing you injured then. It takes most dragon slayers a year or two before they can take on two by themselves.” She cocked her head. “Maybe Aidan is right that you really are good.”
The compliment would have felt nice if I deserved it. I didn’t dare tell her about my father, but I could at least admit the battle didn’t happen that easy. Otherwise, she might get the idea I was ready to be thrown into fights with multiple opponents right now.
“Actually, I broke a few other bones. My shoulder is just the only thing that hasn’t finished healing yet,” I admitted.
“Ah, well, that makes more sense. I don’t suppose you could put that down?” Phoebe gestured at my blade.
“You haven’t earned my trust yet.”
She put her hands up. “I’m not armed.”
I snorted. “Like you couldn’t pull something out of shiggara in a second if you wanted.”
“Very well, keep the sword, but maybe we should sit down.” She nodded toward the living room. “You don’t look like you should be on your feet right now.”
She had a point. My arm was already starting to shake from holding the sword up for a few minutes. I really did need another good night of rest to get my strength back. If not for my brief nap, I might have appeared worse.
“Okay, you take that chair, and I’ll take the one across from it.” I pointed at the dining room table. That seemed like a good neutral spot for the conversation she had in mind, and we would have a large piece of furniture between us. It was a small thing, but it made me feel better.
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