by Rinelle Grey
“It doesn’t matter. If we rush into this then all that will happen is we will end up regretting it years from now. You are ready to cling to anyone to protect you from the loneliness of your clan being gone and I’m on the rebound from a long term relationship. That isn’t a good combination. If you were with your clan, would you even be considering mating with me?”
From the way Taurian’s eyes widened, she knew she’d hit on the truth.
And it hurt. She was right, she was just a fill in because there were no dragon mates available. Because he had a niggling fear that there never would be.
She grasped hold of the hurt and used it. “This isn’t the right thing for either of us,” she said. “So we need to remain strong against the temptation and avoid doing something we’re both going to regret.”
“If that’s the way you feel.” Taurian’s voice held a hint of sadness.
It was the way both of them felt, wasn’t it? Did Taurian not see that? Karla stared into his eyes, searching for an answer.
He stared back for a long moment, then his head bent towards hers again. Karla’s heartbeat speed up, and she was wondering if she had the willpower to push him away a second time when the phone rang in the living room.
It was such a normal sound, yet it set Karla’s already jangled nerves on edge. She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved about the interruption, or annoyed. It all depended whether it was a normal call, or something more.
Ultrima had already proved dragons knew how to use a phone.
“Karla?” Her father’s voice floated down the hall. “It’s for you.”
Karla’s heart skipped a beat.
“Are you expecting a call?” Taurian asked.
Karla just shook her head. Everyone who might call her would use her mobile. But at least wondering who it might be was better than wondering if she should let Taurian kiss her or not. So she took a deep breath, and headed into the living room to take the phone her father held out to her.
“Hello?”
“Karla, hi.” Since Karla was expecting a dragon, it took her a few moments to place the voice. Gretchen, her high school friend who now worked at the local library. “I wasn’t sure if you would have headed back to England by now or not,” she continued. “Glad you found something exciting enough to stay around for. I just thought I’d see if you wanted to catch up, like we talked about?”
Karla tried to make her brain kick back into normal gear. Tried to think of a nice, polite way to decline the offer. Drawing Gretchen into this mess wasn’t a good idea.
“Yeah, something has come up, but it’s not exactly a barrel of laughs. We might have to catch up another time.”
“Is everything okay? Maybe I could help you out with something?”
Her friend’s ready offer of assistance didn’t surprise Karla, but she couldn’t accept it. “Not really. This is something I need to do on my own.”
Karla expected her to guess that it had something to do with Bruce. Gretchen was one of the few people she’d mentioned the break up to when she’d run into her last week.
Instead Gretchen said, “I’m sure there’s something I could do. That’s what friends are for, isn’t it? They’re kind of like family. Or even a clan.”
The word made Karla freeze. Why was Gretchen talking about clans?
Could she possibly know about Taurian and the fact that they were searching for his clan? Karla could think of no other explanation for her choosing that specific word right now. It was too weird to be a coincidence, surely?
But if Gretchen knew the truth, then why wasn’t she just coming out and saying something? Karla tried hard to make her exhausted brain focus. She needed to figure out what was going on before she replied, without pausing too long in case anyone was overhearing the conversation.
That had to be why Gretchen was being so cryptic.
Did she think someone was listening in on her end, or Karla’s?
“Do you want to meet me at the library tomorrow?” Gretchen prodded. “We can catch up and have a chat.”
“I… uh… sure,” Karla stammered. Then she had to cover the phone as a huge yawn stretched her mouth. She was too tired to try to make sense of this now. She’d consider the implications more thoroughly in the morning when she could concentrate. “How does nine o’clock sound?”
Chapter 2
Taurian didn’t say much as Karla drove to the library to meet her friend. Karla had said she was sure that her friend knew something about his clan, but he really couldn’t see how. Unless a lot of things had changed while he’d been asleep, dragons stayed well away from humans.
Then again, they had sent a human to wake him.
It was pointless trying to guess whether Karla was right or not. He would find out soon enough when they arrived at the library. Anyway, wondering if Karla’s friend knew where his clan was wasn’t enough to distract him from the conversation he’d had with Karla in the hallway at her father’s house.
She’d claimed that if they mated, they’d both ended up regretting it.
He’d thought about that over and over again since last night. When she’d first said it, it had been like a claw to the stomach, and the pain hadn’t lessened much since then. He could understand her having reservations, he had a few himself. And she was right, if he’d woken with his clan, he wouldn’t be considering mating with a human.
But he was beginning to suspect that that would have been a major loss on his part. He was sure he would never regret mating with her. The way his body stirred whenever he looked at her told him that. He didn’t think that feeling would ever go away.
He wanted her. He needed her. Couldn’t she see that?
Didn’t she feel the same thing? A feeling this strong couldn’t be one sided, could it?
She’d seemed so sure though, and her voice, when she’d pushed him away, had been more angry than regretful.
That thought left a sour taste in his mouth. He wanted to prove to her that she would never regret being with him. But nothing could prove that other than time.
Time he wasn’t sure he had. He was more than willing to prove his dedication through persistence and wait as long as it took. Trouble was, he couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t disappear back to England. Especially if they found his clan. But if they didn’t find his clan, then they would be constantly chased by Ultrima. Taurian bit back a sigh. Why was nothing ever easy?
He tried to focus on the fact that the outing at least gave him a chance to spend some time with her without all the others around, but even that didn’t distract him. He wanted real time alone with her, not time visiting yet another human who he would have to hide his true feelings from.
At least they were going somewhere he knew. The library felt familiar as they pulled up in front of it. And the presence of other people would be useful if this turned out to be a trap. Meaning it probably wasn’t.
It wasn’t until the automatic library doors slid open that he smelled it. A definite scent of dragon. Taurian tried not to be obvious about sniffing the air as he inhaled the scent deeply.
Fire dragon. He was sure of it. So it was unlikely to be Ultrima.
It was likely to be the dragon who had sent Karla. The gold eyes she’d mentioned indicated he’d been a fire dragon as well.
For the first time, his hopes rose just a notch. The possibility of finding another dragon, any other dragon who wasn’t a lightning dragon, lifted his spirits.
And made him wary.
He had no idea what had happened in his clan while he’d been asleep. He had no idea how long that had even been, though Karla assured him it must have been at least a hundred years, probably two. In that time, anything could have changed.
There could have been another breakaway clan. Or Ultrima could have convinced others from Rian clan to join him. Hopefully not, but he couldn’t afford to take anything for granted.
He strode forwards to catch up with Karla, who had moved ahead as his footsteps slowed, and took he
r hand.
The startled look she gave him and the brief scent of desire told him she wasn’t as angry as the glare she gave him and the way she pulled her hand out of his indicated. He wanted to call her on the dissonance, but now wasn’t the time. Not when there was an unknown dragon around.
“We need to be careful. A dragon has been here.”
“Ultrima?” Karla demanded, her voice a low hiss.
Taurian shook his head. “No, a fire dragon. Hopefully an ally. But we can’t be sure, so keep alert.”
Karla nodded, her lips pressed together. She glanced up at the open doors, hesitating, giving Taurian a chance to move past her and through the doors first.
A young woman, about Karla’s age, with brown hair falling around her shoulders, looked up from the library counter. Taurian recognised her instantly. She had been here last time, when they’d been followed by Ultrima. He tried not to hold that against her. She worked here. Of course she’d been here.
She looked past him, noting Karla, then beyond to the empty pathway. Then her eyes switched back to him, and she smiled. “Hi, you must be Taurian.”
That was when Taurian realised that the library was deserted. Last time there had been at least half a dozen people here. It had been later in the day though, so perhaps it was quieter at this time. The doors hissed closed behind them, and they were alone.
Taurian’s alertness didn’t abate one bit.
He should have felt relieved that she knew his name, but Ultrima knew his name too. And after all the surprises he’d had in the last couple of days, nothing relieved the tension in his body. Until he saw his brothers and sisters safe and well, nothing could.
Or maybe until he mated with Karla.
No, now wasn’t the time for that thought. He pushed it away. “And you are?” he growled.
A man stepped out from the door behind the counter, his black hair and gold eyes just like Taurian’s. But his expression as he put a hand on the woman’s shoulder, was distrustful and his posture was decidedly protective.
“Gretchen, it’s great to see you.” Karla pushed past Taurian, past the counter, ignoring the possible danger in the dragon standing behind her, and gave the woman a hug.
Gretchen returned her hug, although her eyes didn’t leave Taurian. She looked wary, but something else as well. Excited? Anticipating something?
Taurian shifted his expression to the man. He was the one he needed to watch. There were a thousand questions he wanted to ask, but first he needed to be sure who they were.
Everyone stared at each other for a few moments. Karla was the one who broke the silence. “I take it you know about…”
Taurian was relieved that she trailed off before saying the word. She was being careful, which was a good thing. It was hard though, wanting to find out all the information they needed without giving something.
“Yes, she knows about the dragons,” the man said. He stepped out from behind the bench, away from the woman, and nodded respectfully to Taurian. “I’m Jayrian. You must be Prince Taurian. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.”
Taurian wanted to trust him. He so badly wanted this to be what he was looking for, and to hear that his entire clan was just waiting for him to appear. But he couldn’t risk it. Not yet. “You are from Rian clan?” he demanded.
The man opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Gretchen butted in. “You’re awfully rude for a prince.”
“Shh,” the man said, touching her hand lightly. “It’s okay.”
She put her hands on her hips and frowned at him. “It’s okay for him to treat you like crap just because he’s a prince? After everything you’ve done for him?”
The young dragon looked pained. He threw a worried look at Taurian, and tried to shush the woman.
Even Karla looked at Taurian a little nervously.
What did they expect him to do? Breathe fire on her? They didn’t know much about dragons, did they? Even the man who was one.
Taurian couldn’t help but admire the woman’s spirit. He never had liked unwavering flattery. And did he really expect a friend of Karla’s to be deferential? “It’s fine. If we are to trust each other, we need to be able to speak our mind. An honest accusation is better than a false respect.”
The woman, Gretchen, shot Jayrian a ‘told you so’ look.
Taurian bit back a smile. “I’m sorry for my distrust. Karla and I have encountered many problems in the last few days.” He let that hang, waiting to see their reaction.
The woman had been here when Edtrima had been following them and she had done nothing. He thought back to that day, trying to work out if Jayrian’s scent had been there. It would have been overwhelmed by Edtrima’s odour, but he was sure he would have remembered if he’d seen the man.
Gretchen exchanged a look with Jayrian. “We are aware that Ultrima’s dragons have been following you. We’ve been trying to find a time to approach you, but it hasn’t been easy. I hope they are gone now?” She glanced towards the door as she spoke, as though afraid that Edtrima or Ultrima was still following them.
“They are gone, for now,” Taurian assured her.
“How did you lose them?” Jayrian asked, his voice curious.
Taurian looked at him for a few moments, debating how much to tell him. But if he was, indeed, from Rian clan, then he had no need to keep things from him. If he were from the Trima clan, then he would already know the answer.
“Apparently Ultrima has told his dragons to back off and leave us alone. At least one of them choose to disobey him, but I don’t think he’ll try that again.”
His voice must have been a bit ominous on that last sentence, because Gretchen paled a little.
Karla jumped in to defuse the tension. “So how did you get involved in this, Gretchen?”
Gretchen looked sideways at Jayrian, and blushed a little. “I’d seen Jayrian at the library a few times, and, well…” she broke off and blushed again.
Karla’s smile was a little wistful. “You liked him?” She didn’t look in Taurian’s direction.
Taurian itched to reach out to touch her, to put an arm around her and claim her as his own. But now wasn’t the time. At least, that’s what he told himself.
Gretchen nodded, still blushing. “He seemed really down one day, Christmas Eve, so I invited him to come spend Christmas at my parent’s place. Ultrima accosted us half way there.”
Taurian frowned. “Ultrima? What did he want?”
Jayrian answered. “He knew about the mining at the Dragon Scales, and thought the threat of discovery meant that we would let him into your Mesmer chamber to avoid revealing our existence to the humans.”
Taurian’s eyes shot up. “Rian clan would never consider such a thing.”
Gretchen and Jayrian exchanged glances. Their worried look made Taurian angry. “You’re not telling me they did?”
He clenched his fists, and it was only with great effort that he prevented himself berating them more heatedly. He needed to know the whole story before he lashed out at anyone.
“You have to understand, the last three hundred years have been hard on Rian clan,” Jayrian said gently. “We have been under constant threat from the Trima clan, with little chance of defending ourselves. Every attempt to wake you or any of the other princes or princesses has only resulted in dragon deaths. We were running out of other options.”
His one speech held so many pieces of information, it took Taurian a few moments to take it all in. Three hundred years! Three hundred years of persecution from the Trima clan. They would pay. But… “My brothers and sisters, they’re still in the Mesmer? They’re still alive?”
Jayrian bit his lip. “I believe so. No one has seen them, of course, but none of the protections around their Mesmer chambers have been triggered, so there is no reason to believe that anything has happened to them.”
That information alone was enough to make Taurian’s day. Hell, his century.
The protection around the M
esmer chambers of each of the princes and princesses had been woven by the clan’s life dragon. He’d never understood how a life dragon’s magic worked, it was so different from his straightforward fire magic. That, you could see and feel. Life dragon magic was sneaky and hard to see, and you never knew where it was until you ran smack bang into it. But it was effective. If the protections hadn’t been triggered, it meant that the Trima clan hadn’t entered and killed them.
His brothers and sisters had to be still alive.
He wasn’t alone. Far from it. Even if his clan had, apparently, considered letting him die. That thought stirred up his anger again. He tried to dampen it a little. It had been three hundred years. Three hundred years without any of their princes or princesses. That must have left Rian clan’s defences weak.
In the end, they hadn’t let him die. “Someone came up with another option though, I take it?” He looked at both Gretchen and Jayrian.
“Jayrian did,” Gretchen said proudly. “And despite the elders not believing in him, he fought for what he knew was right and convinced them to let a human wake you.”
Taurian nodded. Using a human was a clever idea. The protections would not stop a human, and a watching Trima dragon would not pay any attention to one. It made sense. Except for one thing. “If the two of you knew each other, why weren’t you the one to wake me?”
Not that he was upset. The pretty brunette was nice enough, but she didn’t make his blood boil the way Karla did.
Gretchen blushed. Jayrian put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Gretchen would have done so if there had been no other choice, but the two of us have feelings for each other and Gretchen didn’t feel it was right if there was another option. Luckily, she knew Karla, and since Karla had told her she’d recently broken up with her boyfriend, we felt she would be open to the possibility.”
“Did you know what was involved?” Karla demanded.
Gretchen winced at the tone in her voice and bit her lip. “Jayrian explained. He did say that you didn’t have to actually… you know… if you didn’t want to.” She blushed furiously at the words.