by Rinelle Grey
And the situation was far from perfect. She pulled up at the edge of the canyon and stopped the car.
Would she find Calrian here? Or would his chamber be as empty as Taurian and Verrian’s?
There was only one way to find out, and time was short. There was no time to dawdle.
She reached for the door, just as a roar echoed through the canyon.
Lyrian froze.
She knew immediately that it wasn’t her brother. It had to be…
A silver dragon rose out of the canyon, sending a bolt of lightning straight at the ute faster than Lyrian could even wince.
The metal of the vehicle channelled it away from her, just like a metal dragon’s scales would have.
She stared at the other dragon, fear clogging her heart, making it impossible for her to think, let alone move.
The last battle came flooding back to her.
Trima dragons flying at them, lightning criss-crossing the sky. She’d tried to blow them back with her wind. Tried to tangle up their wings so that they fell. But there had been too many of them.
Fire had flickered through the lightning, and metal dragon’s scales had flashed as they raced in to attack.
But it had all been for naught. Somehow, the Trima dragons had beaten them, and the Rian dragons had slunk away to lick their wounds.
They’d planned to be back. To regroup and fight again.
Apparently, something had gone wrong. Three hundred years had passed, and no matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find another Rian dragon.
Apparently though, the Trima dragons were still around.
That thought didn’t bring Lyrian any peace. An enemy dragon was no better than a human. In fact, it was far worse. A Trima dragon didn’t care about her or her baby. They’d destroy them if they had the chance.
Anarian.
Lyrian couldn’t die here. She needed to get back to her baby.
That thought cleared the last of the fog around Lyrian’s brain. She reached for the wheel and started the car, not even flinching as another bolt of lightning hit the ground near the ute.
She spun the vehicle around and floored the pedal, heading for home as fast as the human wheels would take her.
Unfortunately, the dragon was close behind. Another bolt of lightning hit the car, eliciting a smothered scream from Lyrian.
She shouldn’t be facing this alone. She should be with her clan. Tears pricked at the back of her eyes, and she fought to keep the car under control.
Where were they?
Did the dragon’s presence indicate that Calrian was still in his Mesmer chamber? She hadn’t encountered opposition at any of the empty chambers. Then again, she hadn’t seen any sign of Trima dragons at her Mesmer chamber when old Henry had woken her either.
It didn’t really matter. Even if Calrian was there, she had no hope of reaching him.
If she had another dragon to help her, she could go up against this dragon, and probably beat him. She wasn’t a shrinking violet, she was a princess, and much as she might dislike it, she knew how to fight.
But any fight came with risks. They’d learned that the hard way. Even if you thought you could easily win, you could still be defeated.
Defeat was unacceptable. She wouldn’t leave Anarian motherless as well as clanless.
She had to get home.
She had to get back to her baby.
The rental ute she’d borrowed from Brad was faster than Henry’s old ute at least, even though it was bigger. She slowly began to pull away from the Trima dragon. Far enough, at least, that she was out of range of his lightning attacks.
That eased her mind a little.
But what she had to do was leave him far behind.
Little by little she inched ahead, but she was surprised at his staying power. Surely he would get tired and drop back soon?
What would she do if she couldn’t lose him?
Lyrian’s heart couldn’t catch a break. It was still hammering in her chest, and she couldn’t see any way out of this.
She couldn’t lead him back to her baby. She turned to the left, even though it hurt to turn away from the way home. Even though it was hard.
Keeping Anarian safe was the most important thing.
For the first time, she was grateful Brad had turned up. If something happened to her, if she never came back, he would care for her, wouldn’t he? He’d love her, even once he discovered who and what she was.
The dragon followed her relentlessly.
Lyrian felt like she drove for miles and miles. Her back was aching, and her arms were tired from gripping the wheel tightly when she finally realised that she couldn’t the dragon in the rear view mirror anymore.
She drove a little further, keeping an eye out, but he didn’t reappear.
Finally, Lyrian let the car roll to a stop, and waited.
If the dragon still knew where she was, if he’d just dropped back, he would catch up again.
But no dragon appeared on the horizon.
Darkness though, did. Lyrian didn’t dare wait too long. She could easily make her way home in the dark if she were flying, she knew this area like the back of her hand, but from the ground was another matter.
She had to take the chance, and get home while she could still see enough to know where she was going.
She turned the car around, and headed home.
Chapter 9
Brad stared down at the baby, not quite sure what to do now she’d been fed. How did one entertain an infant?
Lyrian had said to talk to her, show her things.
Brad sat her up in his lap, and said, “Hi, Anarian. It’s me, your dad, again.”
He felt kind of silly talking out loud to her. She stared at him, no idea what he was saying. But her little blue eyes were wide and interested, so he kept talking.
“I’m from America. You probably don’t know about that yet, but it’s a big country on the other side of the world. I’ll take you there some day.”
That idea filled him with excitement and trepidation.
Would Lyrian ever come with him? What would he do if she didn’t? That thought didn’t even bear thinking about.
Anarian though, just blinked.
Brad kept talking, feeling less and less strange the more he talked. He told her about his home, his job, his twin brother. Anything he could think of.
After a while, he wasn’t sure how long, her eyelids began to droop. He eased her back against his shoulder, and kept talking until she was fast asleep. Then he laid her down on the bed in the other room and stared at her for a moment.
It had been one of the strangest days he’d ever experienced. And also one of the best. He couldn’t even begin to put it into words. It was hard to believe this was his daughter. It had all happened so suddenly that it was too much to take in.
He knew this meant his life was going to change. Right now, he couldn’t guess how much. But there was one thing he knew. It was going to take more than a week to figure it out. He needed to stay longer.
With that thought in mind, he pulled out his phone to call the hospital and let them know. Then he remembered, no reception.
He fetched the landline handset from the other room, then returned to the bedroom to watch over Anarian as he talked.
It took only a few minutes to call the hospital and tell them he needed another week. He didn’t mention Anarian, just that his uncle’s estate was more complicated than he’d expected.
Probably he should have said longer. He wasn’t convinced two weeks would do it. He suspected that convincing Lyrian to move to America with him was going to take longer than that. But he wasn’t sure how long.
Then he stared at the phone.
He should call Nate. His twin brother would want to hear about Anarian.
But he didn’t even know how to begin to explain.
So instead, he let himself watch Anarian sleeping. There would be time to explain to Nate later, once he understood himself what
was going on.
But his thoughts wouldn’t leave him alone. He couldn’t help wondering what was going to happen next. Would Lyrian find her brothers? Would she even consider coming to America with him?
Could he possibly move here?
He didn’t have answers to any of them. So to silence his mind, he turned to the internet. He delved into one of his other concerns, how to be a parent. So many conflicting opinions on everything from food to discipline. Overwhelming.
Before he could make up his mind on any of it, Anarian started to stir again.
Brad frowned, and glanced out the window. More than a few hours had passed. Where was Lyrian?
Anarian stared at him, her eyes wide. She wasn’t crying yet, but Brad was pretty sure that wouldn’t last. She’d be hungry, and Lyrian had only taken out one bottle of milk.
She obviously hadn’t planned on being this long. Was something wrong?
Brad took a deep breath. He couldn’t worry about her right now. He needed to take care of his daughter. Luckily he knew where Lyrian kept the milk.
This time, he managed things much better. He warmed up the milk while he changed Lyrian’s diaper, and in no time at all they were sitting on the bed again while he chatted to her. She listened intently while he asked her all about her mother, and where she thought she was.
By the time Lyrian drifted off to sleep again, Brad’s initial concern had worked itself up into something approaching panic. It was getting dark outside, and she still wasn’t back. Had something gone wrong? Was she lost?
Should he go looking for her?
He didn’t even know where to start. And he couldn’t leave Anarian any more than Lyrian had been able to. If that wasn’t enough, he’d told her to take the working car. There was nothing he could do.
Brad felt helpless. A feeling he disliked intensely.
So to distract himself, he picked up the phone and dialled Nate. His brother couldn’t help at all, of course. Brad wasn’t even sure how much he was going to explain. But hearing his voice would make him feel less alone. Less helpless.
Even if he didn’t have all the answers yet, he had to share at least Anarian’s existence with his twin brother.
Maybe that would ease some of the turmoil in his chest.
“Hey, Brad, what’s up? You made it to Australia safely?”
Nate’s voice was warm and comforting. A rock in Brad’s spinning world.
“Yeah, the trip was fine, other than being pulled over by the police when I arrived in Mungaloo.”
Even remembering that incident made him screw up his face in confusion. He still couldn’t figure out what that was about, but it did seem to fit neatly with the overall strangeness of his entire day. This one would certainly be remembered for a long time.
“Haven’t even been in the country for twenty-four hours and you’re already in trouble,” Nate teased. “Way to go, bro.”
“You don’t know the half of it.” Brad heaved a sign, and looked down at Anarian, sleeping soundly in the middle of the bed. He couldn’t help his heart skipping a beat.
Nate must have heard something in his voice, or maybe his sigh echoed down the line, because when he spoke again, his voice was serious. “Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know,” Brad said honestly. “But…” he hesitated. He hadn’t said much about Lyrian when he’d left Henry’s, not even to his twin brother.
Nate had respected him not wanting to talk, but Brad knew he was curious.
He was sure his brother remembered.
“The girl you met last time?” Nate asked, and Brad could almost picture the raised eyebrow that went along with the words. “The mysterious one who broke your heart?”
Brad let his breath out in a sigh. “Yeah. Her.”
“Look, bro. If she doesn’t want a relationship, there really isn’t anything you can do.”
“She had a baby. My baby,” Brad interrupted.
His heart was thumping as he said the words.
There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Then Nate gave a whistle. “Woah, that’s heavy.” He was silent again.
Brad knew exactly why.
What did you say to that?
“Her name’s Anarian,” Brad said softly. “My daughter.”
He stared at the baby’s blue hair, not sure how to even begin to explain that. He had trouble enough understanding it, and he’d met Lyrian.
“Congrats, bro,” Nate said softly. He was silent for a moment, then asked, “How are you doing?”
“A little shell shocked, to be honest,” Brad admitted. “I don’t know quite how to feel.”
And the bits he did know, he couldn’t explain to Nate.
He never would have believed how completely his heart could well up with love for this tiny being that he’d never even met before. How could he expect his brother, who was as childless as he had been, to understand?
The closest Nate had come was the puppy he’d adopted at a bachelor party recently.
That didn’t even compare really.
“How can I help?” Nate said immediately. “Do you want me to come up there?”
Brad shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I just… needed to talk.”
He couldn’t imagine Nate here.
Well, he could, but it wouldn’t help matters. His brother’s presence was larger than life, and Lyrian was already flighty enough.
It wasn’t like there was anything Nate could do anyway.
Brad needed to sort this one out for himself.
“I’m here anytime you need to talk,” Nate said. “Twenty-four/seven. You know that, right?”
He did know it. And it calmed some of the turmoil in his heart.
He would figure this out somehow. Find a way to make it all work.
Even if he couldn’t see how yet.
There were too many questions still unanswered. Why was Anarian’s hair blue? What was Lyrian’s story? How was he going to convince her to come home with him, and then how was he going to explain any of this to his family?
Where was she?
That was his most pressing worry right now. He hesitated for a minute, wondering if he should mention it to Nate. There wasn’t anything his brother could do, but…
“What is it?” Nate prompted, as though he could hear Brad’s thoughts.
Sometimes, having a twin was awkward.
Brad heaved a sigh. “She’s out. She asked me to look after the baby while she went to see her brothers.”
Nate gave a muffled laugh.
“What?” Brad demanded.
“Nothing,” Nate said a little too quickly. “Just… have you ever looked after a baby before?” His voice sounded a little superior, as though he knew something Brad didn’t.
“I managed just fine, thanks for the support,” Brad said stiffly, glad Nate hadn’t been around to see his screw ups. But he couldn’t be angry at his brother for long. “It’s just that she’s not back yet, and it’s been hours.”
Nate was quiet for a while. Just when Brad was about to prompt him to speak, he said quietly, “Do you think she’s done a runner and left you with the baby?”
That thought hadn’t occurred to Brad. Until now. For a second, panic squeezed his heart. He most certainly couldn’t do this alone.
Then he took a deep breath and shook his head. Lyrian was far too concerned about Anarian for her to abandon her. He didn’t believe it.
“No,” he said firmly. “I’m worried something happened to her.”
“Like what?”
Brad frowned. That was the question he couldn’t answer. Lyrian had gone to see her brothers. What could possibly have gone wrong?
He heaved a sigh. “I don’t know.”
Somehow, the thought didn’t bring him any peace. Nate couldn’t possibly understand. He was about to thank his brother and find an excuse to get off the phone when he heard a sound outside.
A car.
Lyrian returning.
Brad heav
ed a sign of relief. “She’s back.”
Except something wasn’t right. The car was driving far too quickly.
Brad took one last look at Anarian, then headed to the front door, phone still in his hand.
“That’s great, bro. Should I leave you two to talk?” Nate’s voice was distant, and Brad barely listened.
The rental ute skidded to a stop in front of the steps, the porch light just bright enough to show that its paint was blackened as though burnt. Lyrian jumped out, looking back over her shoulder, her hair and eyes wild. “The shotgun. Get the shotgun,” she screamed.
Brad’s heart skipped a beat.
Behind her, a shadow moved on the dark road. Was that another car chasing her?
It was about the size of a car, but that was where the similarity ended. Its shape was wide and tapered at the ends, and it appeared to be floating a few metres above the road rather than driving on it. Two silver lights glowed, too close together to be headlights.
Brad squinted. It was too dark to be sure, but it looked like…
Was that a dragon, flying down the road towards him?
Brad blinked, and rubbed his eyes, but the image didn’t change.
“Brad? Is something wrong?” Nate’s voice on the phone sounded concerned. “Did I hear someone say shotgun?”
“I’ll explain later,” Brad said, and threw the phone somewhere into the house.
The dragon opened its mouth, and a bolt of lightning flared from the opening, hitting a tree and setting it on fire. Brad gaped at it, his mind blankly refusing to take it in. That couldn’t be a dragon. Dragon’s didn’t exist.
Lyrian pushed past him, into the house.
Shotgun. She’d said shotgun.
Could a shotgun even harm a dragon?
Somehow, he suspected that if anyone would know, Lyrian would.
The whole experience felt surreal. It had to be a dream. That was the only way any of this made sense.
That thought pulled Brad out of his stupor enough to consider acting.
If it was a dream, that dragon couldn’t kill him, could it?
“Do you know how to use this?” Lyrian demanded, thrusting the shotgun and shotgun shells into his hands.
Brad nodded, opening the barrel and slipping two shotgun shells in.
The dragon was almost at the house.