“Where’d you….” His jaw dropped as soon as he saw her. Wow.
A smile formed on her lips and she walked over to the bed slowly. She kissed his forehead, and made a motion for him to take off his shirt. He did so eagerly. She poured some of the oil onto his back, and then ran her hands over his muscles firmly, feeling every bulge and ripple they made. She found a knot and he groaned loudly.
You’re amazing. Did you know that? Darien sighed contentedly underneath her hands.
Tai smiled, but didn’t reply. Later when she was finished, they made love, and soon after he fell asleep. She on the other hand felt restless.
Taking his reports into her hands again, she began to read them, trying to make sense of what it all meant herself. She gasped as the details became clearer. They were reports on productivity from all the cities in the nation. With a smile, she picked up her sketchbook and got to work on a new assignment.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Where did the weeks go?” Darien groaned softly as he boarded Brian’s back so they could once more make the journey to the great dragon council. He wasn’t ready emotionally to go on this trip, but he had to be sworn in, and life needed to resume. Never mind his father’s murderer would be in the room with him, and he’d have to make eye contact - speak to them even. He didn’t think he could do it.
“You’ll be back Sunday?” Tai asked as she handed him his bag. He nodded. “So it’ll only be a couple of days. I put something in your bag. I hope it helps with your meetings.”
“Okay.” He raised a curious eyebrow at her before settling the bag securely in place. “It won’t be long. I just have to be officially sworn in, blah blah.” He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek. “But I’ll be back before you know it.”
Darien was certain this would be the hardest part of the trip - leaving her.
“So first thing we’re going to do is get checked in,” Lance said as soon as they landed. “And then we have a dinner to attend with the great lord of the Aero. He’s given you a gift to express his sympathies over Dad, and would like to formally welcome you here. Also, if there’s anything you need, he said to not hesitate to ask.”
The Aero would be the best ally the Oceina tribe had. “Be sure to send a message saying we’ll be at dinner and to thank him for the gift and the condolences.”
“The Terran also have sent a gift,” Lance said, looking through all of the notes and messages that were waiting for Darien upon landing. “And the Inero left a card.”
“How thoughtful,” Darien said dryly. He carried his bag to the same suite they always stayed in. The first thing he did when he entered the room was check the clock to see how much time they had to rest. It wasn’t long. Brian immediately went to bed after the flight. Darien didn’t go to the master room; he went to the bedroom he always stayed in. It didn’t feel right to stay anywhere else, and he was a bit afraid to enter much like he was afraid to go into his father’s old bedroom back home. He wasn’t ready. It just didn’t feel like the right time. Maybe in the future, he would feel strong enough to finally step through the door and collect some of his father’s more personal items, but for now he wanted to leave them be. There was the off chance his parents were still there, their spirits lingering and watching, and the idea made him feel queasy. It was silly really. Why would their spirits stay behind?
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” he said to no one in particular. At last, he lay on the bed and closed his eyes, completely unaware of falling asleep until Lance woke him ten minutes before they were supposed to be at dinner.
Splashing some cold water on his face, he made an effort to look more awake than he felt, and then he ripped through his suitcase for something to wear. But what was appropriate for a meeting with the great dragon lord of the Aero? He couldn’t wear jeans and a t-shirt, he knew that much, but was he supposed to dress casually or formally? Finally settling on khaki’s and a sweater, he met Lance and they went to meet with the wind dragons.
The Aero bordered the lands of the Oceina in the North, though they shared little in terms of land borders. There was a mountain range that divided their land, and the other boundaries were in the sea. Generally, the Aero kept to themselves. They liked their privacy, and they were a culture that took their traditions seriously. Darien had always thought his people had a lot of rituals and rules, but the Aero had far more. They were especially keen on respect to the point where one wrong move, one wrong look could get a person completely shunned for life.
Upon entering the private room of the restaurant, Darien took the time to bow respectfully to the Aero lord and his chosen guests. The great lord gestured for him to take a seat nearby, and he slowly did, swallowing hard and risking a glance at Lance. His face was completely void of color.
“Thank you for inviting us to join you,” Darien said politely as he sat down.
“We are very honored you accepted, Lord Darien.” The great lord replied. Being called lord sent a small shiver through Darien’s entire body. “I am Patlih, but you may call me Pat. We are friends, just as your father and I were friends.”
“I’m glad,” Darien said, feeling a little of the tension easing. He hadn’t expected the Aero lord to be so informal with him.
“Are the rest of your kin here as well?” Pat asked as he began to butter a roll.
Darien nodded slowly, preparing his own meal. He didn’t want to appear rude. “My uncles are here to oversee the meetings, and I’m sure they’ve brought a few of their sons. My brothers outside of Lance, have decided to stay back at home to attend to business there,” he gestured towards his brother. “And my two elder brothers Brian and Asher are currently resting from the journey.” Really, Brian was the only one who needed to rest, but Asher was there to attend to any of the needs Brian might have.
“Ah, yes, your Uncles. I’ve met a number of them,” Pat said casually. His tone suggested they didn’t impress him. He sounded so nonchalant. This gave Pat a lot of bonus points in Darien’s book. “And how are they managing everything?”
“Honestly?” Darien said with a small laugh. “They’re dealing. That’s about all any of us can do.”
“You are clueless as to what you’ve just gotten yourself into,” Pat replied, laughing as well, but something about his laugh made Darien feel uneasy. It felt forced and not genuine at all.
“Has anyone ever known?” Darien said.
“Good answer. You are realistic. We will make good allies.”
“Thank you. Your support is appreciated, especially with everything going on.” He wasn’t sure of how far the betrayal of the Inero actually went, but Darien had to be prepared for the worst, and the worst was not something he’d be able to deal with on his own.
Pat hesitated a moment, and gave Darien a smile. “I’m sure you will be more than capable of handling the situation accordingly. Now onto more pleasant things. You are married yes?” Of course he already knew the answer was yes. Darien wore the ring that was the universal sign of marriage. He smelled married even, which was a unique scent. It had a subtle sweetness and it reminded him a lot of honey. It was potent enough though where he noticed he smelled differently than before. He especially noticed it on Tai.
“I am, yes, for,” He paused, trying to remember how long it really was. “Well, for about four months now? Almost four.” Patlih, no doubt, would have been married for a very long time.
“To be young again. This will be refreshing,” Pat said with a firm nod. The others at the table also agreed. The man’s eyes were expressionless and calculating. He sat back in his chair and put a hand to his chin in a thoughtful manner, and Darien realized Patlih wasn’t interested in simply being allies. He was actually sizing Darien up.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
It was hard being apart. It’d only been a handful of hours, and Tai was already missing Darien. She’d grown used to his company, and she still had yet to bond with the rest of his family despite the fact she saw them every day during meal
time. Conversation at the table was always strained. The boys spoke casually, normally, but the women ate or tended to the needs of the children. Lance and Katelyn had two boys and a ‘hatchling’ (as Darien called it which was basically an unhatched dragon egg in an incubation chamber), and Ashley and Tony had two boys. It was too strange to think of them having children. They were so young. That’s going to be me.
No reply. Darien must have been busy with his politics or sleeping. Since he was still so quiet with his thoughts, it increased the feeling of distance.
I was fine before him. I can be fine without him. She decided with a firm nod. She got out of bed, unsure of what to do for the day, but determined to find something to keep occupied with. It was only a couple of days. How things changed so fast. The last time he left, she missed him simply because he was the only person she knew and she was lost and confused. This time she genuinely missed him: his smile, his voice, his touch, just him. She’d feel whole again if he’d only talk back to her.
She sighed deeply, entering the bathroom so she could take a shower. He was probably sleeping. Hopefully he wouldn’t work too hard. One thing she was learning about Darien though was he put his all into everything he did. Just don’t try to bite off more than you can chew. She offered in one last effort to engage him in a conversation with her.
Turning on the water, she set it to get warm while she undressed and she took her good sweet time to do so.
When did she become one of those girls who clung to their man like there was nothing else on the planet for them? When did I become pathetic? She laughed sourly. Oh wait, I remember now. After she gave in and let her hesitations go, everything changed. She liked it, a lot. She loved how he wanted her and practically breathed her, worshiped her every move. And she liked being near him and working with him, feeling needed as though they were a unit. It was strange how much she lost so much of herself in him. Tai was having a hard time remembering what life was like before she met him and this scared her. She didn’t want to lose herself, or forget.
She stepped into the shower, ready to have complete and total privacy in her mind. The water cast its spell over her psychic communication with Darien. Even if he wasn’t awake or paying attention to her, she felt like she could be more honest. I need to tell him, and I need to do it soon. He’s been so patient waiting for me, and I can’t be afraid of being honest forever. I can’t let him control me though.
Watching the other wives, most of them were so blindly devoted to their husbands it was almost sickening. Was this part of their culture from when they were young? Or were they really that in love? She wanted to be like Ashley. She was the only woman there who had any sense of individual identity. And yet, she wanted badly to be pleasing to Darien anyway.
Is this what love is? She couldn’t help but wonder. Is it normal to feel this way? Tai knew absolutely nothing about love. All she had to go off of was pure instinct now.
She sighed. This was too confusing to her. She leaned against the wall of the shower, letting the warm water drench her body. That’s when the laughing started. She wasn’t the one laughing, but she could hear it all the same. It was an odd pitch, one that made it difficult to decipher if it was male or female, and it didn’t fill the room but rather it filled her head.
“Hello?” She called out, wondering if maybe she’d get a reply, but this voice only continued to laugh. The laughter lasted for nearly ten minutes, and it was so loud Tai was soon on the floor, cradling her head in her hands, crying. “Who are you?” Or what, would have been another good question.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“I want to be home, of course I do. I don’t want you to be alone anymore,” Darien said softly on his phone. He was in between meetings, and it was the day he was supposed to be returning, but with how slowly everything was progressing, he knew it would not be happening. “I don’t want to be alone anymore either, but I can’t just up and leave. They’re skirting around the real issues here, and it’s a pain in the butt.”
“I understand,” was all she said in a very quiet and defeated sounding voice. Something was obviously wrong, but he wasn’t sure if he should push it. He’d already asked her several times if she was okay, and each time he got a very quiet ‘yes’. Why was she lying to him? This wasn’t like her at all. She was starting to close up on him again, and he was worried if he pushed too hard too soon, she would do it completely. They’d come so far, so why would she hold back now?
“I’ll call you as soon as I’m done with this meeting and then you can tell me everything.” He made his best effort to not sound angry with her. It frustrated him though - a lot.
“Uh huh.” Did she not believe him?
He was about to say something more, but stopped when he saw Lance waving for him to wrap it up. They were waiting on him, and he was taking too much time now. “I’ll talk to you soon. I love you, Tai.”
“Mmmhmm.”
“Bye,” he managed to whisper before he reluctantly hung up. He tried to see if he could get a real read on her thoughts, but it was almost like there was some kind of a disturbance blocking her from him. Was that why she was so uneasy? He didn’t like feeling completely separated from her either if that was the case. He turned to Lance. “I'm coming.”
“The sooner we get through this, the sooner we can go home.” Lance mumbled. He looked more tense and nervous than Darien felt. They walked back in, all eyes on them. Darien pulled out his sketchbook and opened it to the last chart the others were currently discussing. For the most part, Darien had decided to keep quiet and watch. There wasn’t a whole lot he had an opinion on, and anything being proposed seemed reasonable enough as far as he could tell. Most of it had very little to do with him anyway.
Tai. She had taken the time to interpret the papers he had been given and turn them into pictures. How had she known this would help him? She had to have done it because she loved him right? These thoughts kept him from glaring across the room at the Inero, though he should have no doubt been paying more attention. That’s what Lance was for right? Lance was much better at taking notes and following along.
“Now to our last order of business,” the Terran lord said casually. He flipped to a new page. “The needs of the Inero in their drought.” It wasn’t a drought, and they all knew it. “Upon looking through our surpluses and projected numbers for this year’s productivity, we the Terran pledge everything we can to help aid your people.”
Darien’s fingers clenched around his pen, and he absently began to doodle as he stared at the Terran lord. He’d hardly spoken more than two words to Darien, and the cold stare he gave Darien was uncalled for. It was as though he couldn’t decide what he wanted to think of Darien necessarily. The Inero lord always looked smug to Darien, as though he thought of Darien as being a weaker being. Still, he was chatty and said so many things that seemed like they had good intentions. Maybe he wasn’t all bad, maybe it was just renegades, and maybe all of the Inero were just a little bit arrogant because of their culture. Maybe, but his gut told him otherwise.
There was a long pause, and the Inero lord looked at Darien next which was a big surprise because Darien had expected him to go to Pat for his approval so that Darien could look like the villain when he declined.
“Your grace,” The Inero lord said in a surprisingly gentle tone. “Have you had a chance to reflect on this predicament?”
You have no idea, he wanted to say. He’d gone over the notes his father had left behind. He’d seen how the Inero humans were practically starving and how the army was being favored. How they took from the humans, even their own kin, to keep their military members strong and comfortable. All of the resources were being distributed unfairly. It would have been poor judgment for him to just come straight out with his suspicions without hard evidence though. All he had were numbers that had been leaked by spies and a handful of pictures. It wasn’t enough.
“Some,” Darien said carefully and took a moment to look at the Inero lord. His
blue eyes met with the older man’s black ones, and a shiver ran down his spine. “Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to look over my own people’s needs to decide if and how much we can give in terms of aide.” This seemed good and diplomatic. It would buy him some time. He hated using his father’s death as an excuse though, no matter how legitimate it was. “I will be sure to send you a message personally as soon as I have the chance. It might take some time as I get everything organized.”
“Yes, I understand. Orion’s death comes as a shock to us all. I’m sure there is a lot to get in order,” the Inero lord said. Darien almost believed him. “And please, be assured I am investigating the rebels who attacked him and his kin.”
“Me,” Darien said flatly. “It was me.”
“My lord, I had no idea.” He sounded genuinely surprised. In fact, a great number of those in the room fell eerily quiet with the same surprise. “I will find the culprits and punish them personally.”
“Your assistance is appreciated.” Darien said. He felt cold and numb all over again. There was another long silence in the room, and this one was even greater than before. Not one person spoke in the audience. Not even so much as a cough or a sneeze could be heard - only the soft whirring of the fans hanging overhead.
“The Aero wish to aide as much as possible,” Pat said. “However we regretfully decline. We are in the midst of preparing for our own drought and there is just not enough to spare at this given point in time. We are also awaiting the results of your investigation and for a guarantee our donations will not be going to waste.”
Darien swallowed, making sure to keep his face as solid and straight as he possibly could despite the urge to crack a small smile. Pat had far more guts than he did, and he knew. Darien wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did.
The Inero Lord simply rolled his eyes, as though he weren’t surprised by this reaction, and then gave a polite nod. “A copy of the report will be sent to you all.”
Legend of the Oceina Dragon (The Dragons Saga) Page 15