by Rinelle Grey
“That princess will be unbearable to be around if anything happens to you,” Ostrian added defensively. “She might even eat me.”
Brad stared at him for a moment, wondering if he’d just made a joke. It seemed unlikely, and yet…
He nodded. “Thank you.” He turned to Nate. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter 38
“We need to be ready to evacuate,” Lyrian insisted. Taurian just wasn’t listening. Her fire dragon brother was as impulsive as she was, except once he made up his mind on something, he refused to budge.
“Lyrian’s right,” Verrian tried. “If the humans try to force their way into the lair, we’ll have no other option.”
“We can fight them,” Taurian said stubbornly. “They won’t be prepared for us, and they can’t see as well as we can in the dark. I’m sure we can hold them off.”
“Sure, until they return with bigger weapons,” Karla said sarcastically. “Come on, Taurian, you know this isn’t an option.”
Taurian folded his arms and glared at them. “I won’t give up our home. It’s ours, and we have a right to defend it.”
“That right is useless if we’re all dead,” Lyrian said firmly. “I’m not putting my daughter at risk for your pride.”
The argument was going round and round in circles, and had been for the last ten minutes. Anarian had finished feeding and was fussing now. She needed a clean nappy, but Lyrian couldn’t do it right now.
She looked around for Brad, hoping he could take care of it.
But he was gone.
A nervous feeling rose in the pit of her stomach. How long had he been gone? She searched her mind, realising that he had said nothing for almost the whole argument.
Her dragon sense told her he was some distance away. What was he doing?
It hit her with a suddenness that left her reeling. “Brad’s going out to the police,” she blurted out.
Everyone stopped to stare at her, then around the room, noting Brad’s absence. They all came to the same conclusion she did.
“Quick, we can get to the tunnel exit before he does,” Verrian said, heading for the doorway.
“It’s too late,” Lyrian said, her voice hollow. “He’s already outside.”
“How on earth did he find the exit so quickly?” Taurian asked, answering his own question before she could. “Ostrian. It had to be. When I get my hands on that old dragon…”
Lyrian wasn’t listening. If the police hadn’t seen Brad yet, there was still time to change his mind.
“Brad?” she said into his mind.
There was silence for a long moment, and Lyrian held her breath. She knew he’d heard her, she could feel the connection between them, as strong as ever.
“I’m sorry, Lyrian. I know you didn’t want me to leave, but I had to do it. You and Anarian mean everything to me. You understand that, don’t you?”
Tears pricked at the back of Lyrian’s eyes. She understood it only too well. She’d do the same thing in a heartbeat if Anarian were in danger.
“But Taurian’s plan could have worked,” she insisted. But it was a weak protest.
She knew, deep in her heart, that Brad was right. She just didn’t want to admit it.
“It wasn’t fast enough,” Brad said gently. “By the time the Trima life dragon arrived, it would be too late. Once the police know where you are, they’re not going to let it go. You’re powerful and dangerous, and the fact that you’re different scares them. They’re going to react by lashing out, and I can’t bear that.”
“But…” Lyrian knew protesting was useless, she did it anyway. “It’s not even your problem. You’re a human, not even Australian. Why do you have to be the one to fix it?”
“Because I love you. Because you and Anarian are my life. Because this is the one thing I can do to keep you safe. Please let me.”
Lyrian was crying now, big gulping sobs, tears running down her face. Brad’s words made her heart ache. They made her love him even more.
They made this even harder.
Luckily, her dragon voice wasn’t affected by her physical tears. “I love you too, Brad,” she said, her voice only shaking a little. “And I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, this included. Thank you.”
Taurian held her in his arms, and Karla patted her back awkwardly. Lyrian was glad she had her family to support her, although she couldn’t help thinking that she’d give it all up if it meant she could have her mate back.
*****
Brad knew it was hard on Lyrian. He could hear the tears in her voice, even though she tried to hide them. He tried to comfort himself with the fact that she had her family to comfort her.
It didn’t really help.
The only thing that did help was knowing that this was the only option.
That was what enabled him to step out of the bush, and wave to the police standing around in the clearing.
His heart was thumping in his chest, and he was glad that his brother stood by his side.
Dogs barked frantically and rushed over to the pair, the police following.
“Are you the owners of these cars?” Brad didn’t recognise the police officer. He wasn’t one of the ones he’d already had dealings with. That would probably come in handy.
Brad nodded and waved to the blackened ute. “Yes, this one’s mine, and that one’s my brother’s.”
“What were you doing out here, and what happened to your car?” the man demanded.
Brad took a deep breath. This was it. The moment of truth. Could he convince the police that this was a wild goose chase? Could he get them to leave and return to Mungaloo?
“That’s a long story, and one I’m not sure you’re going to believe,” he said slowly.
“Try me.”
“Well, there was this… dragon, you see…” Brad forced a wince, faking the fear that the police officer wouldn’t believe him.
He really wasn’t in the last bit surprised when the man just frowned. “Go on.”
“Well, we were chasing it, see. It flew out here, and we were sure its lair must be nearby somewhere. But it just lifted up, over those cliffs, and flew off into the distance. I think it brought us here deliberately, knowing we wouldn’t be able to drive up there.”
“What happened to your car.”
“It… well, you’re probably not going to believe it, but the damn thing breathed lightning on me. Really strange. I thought dragons were supposed to breathe fire. Then again, I didn’t think they existed until yesterday.”
That elicited a barking laugh from the police officer. “What were you doing wandering around? The cars have been here since the middle of the day. Where have you been?”
“Lost,” Nate said promptly.
Brad nodded. “We were looking for a way around, seeing if we could chase after the dragon, but we got hopelessly lost. We only just found our way back to the cars.”
Brad held his breath. Was it going to work? Would their story convince the police to abandon their chase?
“And you haven’t seen any more dragons around here?” the officer asked eventually.
Brad shook his head. “Not a one. That one was heading back to the mountain, you know, where all the police are. I think it only lured us here to lose us. Devious dragon.”
The man frowned. “I’m going to need to ask you to come down to the station, to answer some questions.”
Brad nodded. He’d expected that.
He watched as the man waved his hand around and barked a few orders. Two other officers drove Brad and Nate’s cars, and they were escorted to a waiting police car. As they drove off, he could hear the helicopter lifting into the sky.
He’d done it. He’d saved Lyrian.
Pity he’d had to leave to do it.
Chapter 39
Brad reached out for Lyrian with his mind, not to speak, there was nothing to say, just to feel her presence. His awareness of her grew fainter and fainter the further the police drove from the lair u
ntil his mind’s fingers just brushed hers, then she was gone.
The loss of the dragon he’d only just accepted as his mate tore at his heart. The fear that she might not forgive him only made it worse. Had he done the right thing? Her sadness and concern at his choice to leave pervaded her thoughts. He hoped she didn’t hold it against him, but he couldn’t find it in him to regret what he’d done.
If he hadn’t left, then the police would be swarming the lair right now. He’d had no choice. Surely she could see that. He just wished there had been more time to talk about it, to come to a decision together. But there wasn’t time for regrets right now, no matter how heavy his heart was.
He wanted to pace, to growl in frustration, preferably to fight his way out of here and return to his mate. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything that might give away the fact that he was mated to her at all. He had to sit and pretend that he felt nothing.
He needed to convince the police officers in the front seat that he and his twin brother, Nate, were just ordinary humans who had accidentally seen a dragon. They had to convince the police that there was no reason for them to continue searching for dragons anywhere near the Rian lair. Let them focus all their attention on the Trima lair, out near the mountain.
Nate was silent beside him, not giving away any more of what he was feeling than Brad was. Brad hesitated for a moment, then reached out for his brother telepathically. “How are you doing?”
Nate didn’t move so much as a muscle, or look in Brad’s direction, but somehow, Brad imagined that he shrugged. “I’ve been worse.”
Brad couldn’t imagine that. Perhaps it was just a figure of speech, or an attempt to keep his spirits up. But it didn’t make him feel any better.
He wanted to make a plan, to figure out what they were going to do when they arrived at the police station, but how could he when they didn’t know what would happen? He already knew his brother was as committed to protecting Rian clan as he was, so really, there was nothing more to be said.
Brad stared out the window, watching the dry, red plains flash by, and tried not to fidget. Tried not to worry about what was coming. But as they pulled into the small police station in Mungaloo, his heartrate kicked up a notch.
Brad followed the police officer up the stairs, another following behind Nate. As though they thought he was going to run. No one had actually said they were under arrest, but it sure felt like it.
He glanced sideways at Nate, wondering if his brother had any more idea what was going to happen than he did. As far as he knew, Nate had never had any trouble with the law either, so he should be feeling as nervous as Brad was. But Nate gave him a cocky grin, his confidence unmarred.
Brad straightened his shoulders, trying to project the same air of confidence. He knew that acting confident was half the battle to actually being confident. And every bit counted in this situation. Surely he could figure a way out of this situation once he knew what they were up against?
After all, the police had no reason to hold them. He and Nate had just seen a dragon, same as many other people in the last few days. Probably the police would ask them a few questions, and then let them go.
As they walked in the door and everyone turned to stare at them, a little of his nerves returned. The small room was crowded and hectic. A space that probably only ever held one or two officers at a time, tonight, now held half a dozen. Some sitting at computers at desks, and a few with laptops on folding tables.
On the wall opposite the counter, a television was on, its sound muted. Brad didn’t need sound to figure out that the scene was one from the Trima lair though. The blond haired man being led away to a police car and all the men and women watching from the mountain couldn’t be anything else. The ticker rolling along the bottom mentioned Ultrima by name.
No one spoke as the officer lead them between the desks to a door at the back of the room. The hallway beyond was empty, and Brad felt a little better to be away from the prying eyes. The police officer opened one of the doors and waved them into a room with a heavy wooden table surrounded by chairs. “Take a seat, the inspector will be with you in a moment.”
Brad sat down, and Nate sat next to him. Neither of them said anything. Brad had no idea if the police were listening or not, the room was sure to have a camera somewhere. Every moment they waited, Brad’s nerves ratcheted up a notch. He forced himself to take a few, deep breaths to calm himself. The waiting was just a tactic to make him nervous. Nothing more.
A middle aged police officer came in and sat down opposite him and Nate. A woman followed him in with a recorder of some kind, set it up on the table, and switched it on, then stood with her hands behind her back.
“I’m Detective Inspector Williams,” the first man said. “For the purposes of the record, please state your full name and date of birth.”
Brad tried to remain calm, giving the man his details. Beside him, Nate did the same.
The detective folded his arms and looked at them both. “What were you doing out at Wave Rock?”
Brad bit back a sigh. “We were chasing a dragon,” he repeated. “It led us out past that wave cliff, then went up over the top and disappeared. I think it knew we couldn’t drive there and was trying to lose us. We left the cars to look for it and got lost.”
Detective Inspector Williams’ expression was unreadable. Did he believe the story? Brad hoped so.
“Exactly why were you chasing a dragon?”
Brad’s mind drew a blank at that question. Why on earth would they be chasing a dragon?
Why had he come up with that stupid lie anyway? That’s right, to get the police away from the lair. And it was all going to fall apart if he didn’t back it up with something believable. If only his brain would offer him something.
“I wanted to get a photo,” Nate said. “I’m a photographer. And no one out there has a decent picture of a dragon. It’d make me famous.”
Brad breathed a sigh of relief that his brother was far better at thinking on his feet than he was.
Not that the inspector looked convinced. He shuffled a few pages in front of him, and said flatly, “Yet only a few days ago, you were running from one. At least, you were.” This time, he looked directly at Brad.
Of course, they had a record of that. “Well, chasing one wasn’t exactly my idea,” Brad said, following through his brother’s story. “But my brother can be quite persuasive. Do you have a brother, sir?”
The inspector ignored his question. “How about we start at the beginning. What were you doing in Mungaloo, Mr Cotting? You’re not from around here. America, wasn’t it?”
“Dr Cotting,” Brad corrected. “Yes, I am an American citizen. My uncle died recently, leaving me a house in Mungaloo. I came to check it out.”
Detective Inspector Williams stared at him with narrowed eyes. “Why did your uncle leave the house to you?”
Brad couldn’t help a raised eyebrow. “I fail to see how that’s relevant?”
The inspector stared at him for a moment and it was hard for Brad not to break eye contact. Did they know about Lyrian? They couldn’t possibly have seen the mention of her in the letter his uncle wrote to him. It had been sealed, even the lawyer didn’t know what was in it.
“We have a record of gunshots fired out at the house,” the inspector prodded. “Was that you?”
Brad hesitated, wondering how much trouble he could get into for shooting at a dragon.
Nate answered before he could. “I made that call. I was talking to my brother, when I heard gunshots and the phone cut out.”
The inspector ignored Nate. He stared at Brad, waiting for an answer.
Brad hesitated. Surely no one could blame him for shooting at a dragon?
“Yes,” he admitted. “I shot at a dragon when it was flying straight at me spewing lightning. Is that a problem?”
His heart thudded as he waited for an answer.
The inspector stared at Brad, his narrowed eyes not helping his poundin
g heart.
“Why was the dragon attacking you?” he demanded
Brad stared at him. “How would I know? I didn’t exactly stop and ask it.”
Detective Inspector Williams leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and regarded Brad. “Come on, I’m sure you have some idea. A dragon didn’t just show up and attack you out of the blue one afternoon.”
Except that was pretty much what had happened. Or that was how it had felt at the time. He’d had no idea Lyrian was also a dragon at that point.
He mimicked the inspector’s posture, leaning back slightly and folding his arms, and stared back at him. “I didn’t even know dragons existed until I saw that one. I thought they were a fairy tale.”
“Are you sure about that?” the inspector prodded. He leaned forwards and shuffled through his papers again. “I have a record that you were pulled over on your way to your uncle’s house, with a phone from one of the dragon supporters in your car.”
Brad’s stomach dropped. He’d forgotten about that. It seemed so long ago, almost as though it were from a different lifetime. That one truly had been a coincidence. Not that the inspector was going to believe that for one second.
Brad had to try anyway. “I have no idea how that phone ended up in my car. I can only assume someone threw it there. Either way, when the man with the officer started talking about dragons, I thought he was crazy. It never entered my head that there was any truth to his ramblings.”
Detective Inspector Williams didn’t look convinced, but instead he changed his questions again. “Were you alone out at your uncle’s house, or was there perhaps someone with you?”
Brad stared at him, caught off guard, not sure what to say. If he revealed Lyrian’s presence…
“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” Brad tried. Well, it had worked before.
This time though, Detective Inspector Williams gave a short laugh. “You don’t see how having a dragon in the house could cause other dragons to attack? You don’t know much about them, do you. Were you aware there was a dragon war going on?”
The inspector watched him closely.