by Rinelle Grey
Patrima shrugged uncomfortably. She’d just spelled out exactly what he’d been thinking and feeling at the time, but when she said it like that, it didn’t seem like a reasonable justification at all.
“Maybe, but I’m not five years old now. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”
“The hurts we sustain as children are rarely as logical or easily beaten as we think they should be,” Hailey said softly, rubbing his back in a way that was far too comforting. “But you’ve realised it now.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s too late now.” The ache in his heart was only softened by the fact that she understood. That she hadn’t berated him for being childish.
He wished he could take her back to the lair, introduce her to his family, maybe even share a dragon Christmas celebration with her. But he’d ruined all that. Forever.
“Maybe it’s not,” Hailey said softly. “I think maybe it’s time you went back and apologised.”
Patrima shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
But his denial wasn’t as strong as it had been last time she made that suggestion.
“Ultrima threw me out. He said I had no place in Trima clan. Why would he change his mind now?” The words burned in his throat as he said them.
“Because they’re your family,” Hailey said softly. “And Christmas is about being with your family.”
Patrima felt tears prick at the back of his eyes. Of course his clan was his family. He knew that, and he missed them terribly. Even his sister.
“Maybe you’re right,” he admitted. “The worst he can do is char my behind and throw me out again.”
He meant the words to sound humorous, maybe a little tough. He could still be tough, even without his scars, couldn’t he? But they came out more melancholy than he’d planned.
Hailey put her hand on his shoulder. “If he does, I’ll be here to heal you again.”
Somehow, her support made him feel more confident. Her presence too.
“Why don’t you come with me?” he asked impulsively. “You could, I don’t know, plead my case?”
Hailey’s eyes widened. “Me? Come to a dragon’s lair?” Her eyes shone, and somehow, her enthusiasm was catching.
“Sure, why not,” Patrima said, warming to the idea. “Then if Ultrima is about to blast me, I can hide behind you.” He winked at her.
She giggled nervously. “That doesn’t sound like a very good plan. For me anyway.”
“Ultrima would never hurt you,” Patrima said with certainty. “He’s not like that. He…” he broke off, then swallowed. “He only blasted me because I was about to do the same to him.” It was hard to believe now that he’d been so angry, that he’d done something so stupid.
He stood up and held out a hand to her. “I would appreciate it if you could come, but I do understand if you’re rather not.”
Hailey looked at him like he was crazy. “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Chapter 14
She did look a little more nervous by the time they were pulling up in front of the mountain that housed the Trima clan lair. She climbed out of her car and stared up at it. “Your lair is all the way at the top? You must get quite a view up there.”
Patrima reached for her hand. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, don’t worry.”
Hailey gave a laugh. “I’m not scared,” she said, her voice the epitome of confidence—if one ignored the slight shake.
Patrima would have said more, would have offered her another chance to avoid this meeting, goodness knew he would have avoided it himself if he could, when he heard the flap of wings.
“Here they come,” he said, more to warn Hailey than anything else.
She gasped, and stared up in awe at the flight of silver dragons, and one white, coming down the mountain to meet them.
They all landed in front of Hailey and Patrima, remaining in dragon form. Patrima wasn’t sure if they were trying to intimidate them or not, but he couldn’t discount the possibility they were doing it out of courtesy. If all of them transformed back into naked humans in front of Hailey, she might be even more uncomfortable than with dragons.
“I told you to leave our clan,” Ultrima’s voice boomed into Patrima’s mind. “What are you doing back so soon?”
Patrima glanced over at Hailey, but she was staring at Ultrima in slack jawed amazement, so he gathered she could hear Ultrima’s voice as well.
He took a deep breath. “I’m here to apologise,” he said, raising his human voice so everyone, all the dragons, could hear it clearly. “I let my own anger over the past get in the way of the good of the clan, and ignored your wise counsel.” He inclined his head at Ultrima.
The old dragon’s face held a look of surprise. He glanced over at Hailey. “Does your human friend have something to do with your change of heart?”
Patrima blushed, and reached for Hailey’s hand. “Yes, she does. Hailey has reminded me of the true meaning of Christmas. It’s not about the decorations, or the gifts, but about caring for others, and spending time with family. I had forgotten that.”
Ultrima regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, and Patrima held his breath.
“It is good that you have reconsidered your attitude. It will serve you well in the future, but I’m not sure that forgiveness can be won so easily.”
Patrima’s heart sank, but he wasn’t overly surprised. His actions had been extreme. He didn’t blame Ultrima for not wishing to forgive him even if it did make his own life more difficult. It was only what he deserved.
“If you will allow it, I’d like to speak for Patrima.” Hailey’s voice rang out, clear and true. She stood next to him, her back straight, and looked Ultrima straight in the eye.
The Trima leader stared at her for a few moments, but Patrima was unsurprised when he nodded his head. The old dragon admired courage, in all its forms.
“You may speak. But first, may I ask you, how long have you known Patrima?”
Hailey looked at him for a moment, then back at Ultrima. “I met him two days ago, when he rescued a young boy who had fallen into a canyon. A boy who would have died without Patrima’s courage and help.”
Ultrima’s eyes widened at that, and flicked to Patrima. “Is this true? Why have you have not mentioned it until now?”
Patrima shrugged uncomfortably. “It was nothing. It was no risk to me, I was not going to fall, and it took but a few moments.”
Ultrima nodded, but when he turned back to Hailey, his expression was more thoughtful. “Go on.”
Hailey swallowed, then straightened her shoulders, and said firmly. “Patrima may have made a mistake in the extremity of his reaction to the Christmas celebrations in your lair, but he was not blameless in this situation.”
Patrima winced. “I don’t think that’s relevant to the discussion.”
“Don’t interrupt the woman,” Ultrima said firmly. “I wish to hear her story.”
He was going to be furious if Hailey continued and accused Ultrima of being in the wrong, Patrima was sure of it. Considering how the Trima leader had reacted when Patrima had challenged him…
But he wouldn’t blast Hailey, would he?
Patrima angled his body a little, ready to jump in front of her just in case.
“Surely you must realise how much you hurt him, denying him Christmas as a child?” Hailey said softly, staring at Ultrima. “He got over that, pushed it aside, only to see you position on it change… well, anyone would be angry.”
“Would you?” Ultrima’s eyes whirled as he stared at Hailey.
“Of course.”
“Would you have thrown Christmas baubles, pushed over a tree, and attacked your leader over it?”
Patrima winced. He was pretty sure Hailey’s answer would be no. He couldn’t imagine her doing anything like that.
Hailey gave a laugh. “I’m not a dragon.”
Patrima held his breath as Ultrima stared at her, unable to predict his lead
er’s reaction. Was he angry? Drawing in his magic to zap her?
Then, to his surprise, Ultrima laughed. “I like this human,” he announced. “She is not afraid to speak her mind.” He turned to Patrima, and his eyes whirled. “And she has a point.”
Patrima stared at him in disbelief. Was Ultrima admitting to making a mistake?
“When you first came to the lair with your mother, I had little experience of humanity, or of how it would affect our clan. All I knew was that humans and dragons had a rocky history. I was afraid, and I let that fear blind me to how difficult it must have been for you.”
Everyone listened silently.
“It doesn’t matter,” Patrima said quickly. “You were only doing what you thought best for our clan.”
Ultrima held up one foreleg. “Let me finish.”
Patrima swallowed down his embarrassment at Ultrima apologising to him in front of everyone, and nodded.
“My opinion has changed as I have come to know humans and seen their loving relationships with members of our clan. I let go of my prejudice, and found that our clan was happier and stronger overall. I should have been more open about that. It may have saved us a lot of heartache.”
He gave Patrima a dragon smile. “Will you accept my apology.”
“Of course,” Patrima said. Anything to get the uncomfortable scene over with.
But despite his embarrassment, he couldn’t also help feeling the warmth of acceptance. For the first time in his life, he felt at home—in his own skin, and in his clan.
“Shall we go inside and continue our Christmas celebrations?”
Patrima looked at Hailey, his expression uncertain.
She was still looking at Ultrima. “I’d like that,” she said firmly.
And that was how Patrima found himself back in his clan, sitting around a Christmas tree with Hailey, his mother, father and sister, and Ultrima, watching Hailey teach the dragons the words to Jingle Bell Rock.
He watched Hailey repeating the lines for the third time while a dragon child tried to sing it off key, and marvelled at his luck.
Not only had she healed him, and helped him repair the rift with his clan and make things stronger than ever, but she was an amazing woman. She’d fit right in here.
“You shouldn’t let that one get away,” his mother said softly from beside him.
Patrima turned to him. “I’ve only known her two days, it’s far too early to be talking about forever.”
Even as he said the words, he didn’t believe them. He already knew Hailey was the one for him. He just didn’t know how to make it happen.
“I knew that your father and I would be together within hours of meeting him,” his mother said softly, pausing to look up at his father, love still shining in her eyes after thirty years. “It took a little longer for us to convince the clan, but it was worth it in the end.”
His father smiled back at his mother, then put a hand on Patrima’s shoulder. “If you love her, tell her. I’m pretty sure that she feels the same way.”
Patrima glanced over at Hailey, just as she looked up at him.
She smiled openly at him, love written on her face as clearly as it was on his parent’s faces. It was as though their hearts were already connected in the mating bond.
Patrima stood up, not even stopping to excuse himself from the conversation with his parents, and crossed the room to put his arms around her.
She looked a little startled, but she didn’t pull away.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Patrima asked quietly.
“Of course.” She excused herself from the singing lesson, despite the groans of disappointment from the children, and Patrima led her to the side of the room, ignoring the pointed stares from just about every other dragon.
“What is it?” she asked. “Is something wrong?”
“Quite the opposite,” Patrima said, then cleared his throat.
How did one start this conversation?
Hailey stared up at him, her eyes encouraging him. “Yes?”
“I… Well, did I ever tell you about dragon mating customs?” Patrima said.
Her eyes widened. “Are they as interesting as dragon healing customs?” Her hips swung a little closer to his.
He laughed. “Much, much more interesting.”
Hailey took his hand. “Tell me all about them.”
The End
I hope you enjoyed learning a little about Patrima, Hailey, and the Trima clan. Now let's head back and find out what Bruce is up to!
Dragon warrior Narrian is honoured to be chosen as Bruce's bodyguard. She's prepared to risk her life to see that he makes it safely to the princess. She didn't expect to be risking her heart.
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She may not be a dragon, but it was her humanity they needed right now.
With time running out before his clan’s prince is discovered by mining or killed by enemy dragons, dragon shifter Jayrian needs to convince the elders to accept help from the humans. He hopes that the clever librarian, Gretchen, might be able to help him with that. He didn’t count on falling for her—that wasn’t part of his plan at all.
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About the Author
If you read a Rinelle Grey story, you can trust in a happy ending. Love will always triumph, even if it seems impossible… Rinelle Grey writes feel-good romance usually in science fiction or fantasy settings. Her heroines are independent and headstrong, and her stories are hard to put down.
She grew up in a remote area of Australia, without power, hot water, or a phone, but now lives with all of those and her (happily ever after) husband, daughter, chooks, ducks and veggie garden.
She also writes fantasy under the name Rin Grey.
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