Dragon Blood 1: Pliethin

by Avril Sabine

  “Now can we eat?” Amber demanded.

  Kade’s lips slowly curved into a smile. “In a second.” He pushed the door shut before he drew Amber close. He stared down at her a moment longer before he lowered his head, his lips meeting hers.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Amber reluctantly stepped outside. Jasper waited for her by his car. Kiani had organised the return of the vehicle and two trailers he’d hired yesterday. Kade walked beside her, an arm around her shoulders. Crystal had already left, being flown back to the city by Flinn, surrounded by three Gold Warriors as well as his two warriors. Before she’d left, Amber and Crystal had removed the chains from Brann and Maira.

  She could sense the three warriors that had been assigned to help Kade protect her. Beyond them were Hound and Tory. They’d moved further away, but they were still about. Kade tightened his hold on her as they walked towards Jasper’s car.

  “I’ll follow you home. I’ll be within calling distance the entire time. You won’t be left unprotected. Not for a second.”

  “If that was meant to make me feel better, it doesn’t.”

  “It makes me feel better.” Kade was solemn for a moment then he grinned. “Your friend said nothing will make you feel better until you’ve had at least another month to get used to all the changes.”

  “Great, now you’re sharing confidences with Crystal.”

  “She was sharing confidences with me.”

  “Oh, that’s right. How could I forget? A brick wall shares more information than you do.” Amber pulled away from Kade.

  He captured her hand, tugging her back to face him. “You and Crystal have been accepted. I can share more information with you now.”

  “Into your clan?” When Kade nodded, Amber asked, “Both of us?” Another nod. “Is Flinn in your clan too?”

  Kade shook his head. “He’s clanless. Until we pass all the tests, we’re part of the same clan as our parents. His parents are clanless now they’re renegades. That’s another reason no one wanted to pair with him. If you have only your clan to rely on for help, then it needs to be a strong one.”

  “Your clan is strong?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why couldn’t they accept him then?”

  “Survival of the fittest.”

  “I hate that comment.”

  Kade shrugged. “It’s the underlying foundation of our entire society. You’ll get used to it.”

  Jasper pushed away from his car. “We’re going to be late. And after all the talking I did today, you’ll ruin the concessions I won you.”

  “I’m not grounded?” Amber asked hopefully.

  “Dream on. I’m not that good at negotiating. But you’re not completely grounded.”

  Amber threw herself at her brother. “You’re the best.”

  “Yeah well, remember that next time I do something to annoy you.” He untangled his sister’s arms from him. “Come on. Get in the car and let’s go and deal with all the dramas.”

  Amber turned back to Kade. She smiled slightly. “I’ll see you later.” He nodded before he became a dragon and took to the sky.

  Jasper shook his head. “Every time I see that, it completely throws me. How the hell did you manage to keep it to yourself? At least I can talk to you and Crystal about it.”

  “It just about killed me.” She hopped in the car. “Not that anyone would have believed me. I think they would’ve thought I was on drugs or had lost the plot.”

  Jasper nodded as he started the car. “Tell me about it. I wonder how many other humans know dragons exist.”

  Amber shrugged. “Who knows?”

  “And they’re not what I would’ve thought they’d be like. You know, the two opposites they’re mostly portrayed as. Protectors or devourers of virgins.”

  “They’re sort of like us. They have their own laws, they have good and bad people and most of them are only looking out for themselves. The only difference is their survival of the fittest belief. That’s the one thing I can’t stomach.”

  “When you think about it, we believed that centuries ago. Maybe they need to believe that for genetic reasons. I got the impression they don’t have many offspring. Maybe only the strongest can reproduce.”

  Amber shrugged. “What did you tell Mum and Grandma?”

  Jasper grinned. “I’m a genius.”

  “And did they laugh when you told them that?”

  Jasper chuckled. “It’s a fact. I am. Grandma is the most mercenary person imaginable. She probably still has the first cent she ever earned under lock and key. I told her Kade’s parents were independently wealthy and spent their time flying to different countries.”

  Amber laughed. “Flying!” She couldn’t stop grinning at that thought. “And they swallowed that?”

  “Well, I asked Kiani if she could do a rich snob act and visit them on her way home today.”

  “Did she?”

  “She was brilliant. She even turned up in a limo. Can you imagine that? She told them she didn’t want attention drawn to the fact her family were attending school here as she thought they deserved time away from the limelight that excessive wealth creates. And she was covered by a fortune in jewels. You could see Grandma’s mouth watering while she estimated the total cost of them. Mum was sceptical. But it wasn’t like she could argue Kiani’s presence. Even I wouldn’t normally be able to pull together such an elaborate hoax.”

  “And what about me being grounded?”

  “Kiani really laid it on thick about her poor motherless niece and how you were the first friend she’d made since she’d lost her parents. She had Mum feeling guilty about setting Maira’s emotional growth back with her interference. She was absolutely brilliant.” Jasper grinned. “She’s my new idol. I want to be able to manipulate people like she can.”

  “You’re evil!”

  “Yep.”

  “How did she explain all the others living with Kade and Maira?”

  “The offspring of long-term family retainers. Seriously, I don’t know how Mum managed to grill her as much as she did. She was highly snobbish, utterly unapproachable and absolutely brilliantly manipulative.”

  “She’s already married,” Amber said dryly. “And about a century old.”

  “She looks good for a woman that old.” Jasper grinned then sobered. “You do realise you and Crystal are going to outlive the rest of us, don’t you?”

  Amber nodded. “I know a lot of people would be thrilled by that idea. It scares me. Kade said I won’t age as fast. How am I going to explain to Mum and Dad why I’m still looking so young a decade from now?”

  “Plastic surgery?”

  “You’re a great help.” She hit her brother’s arm with the back of her hand.

  “It’s possible.”

  “And I’ll have the money needed to afford that? Yeah right!”

  “Your new best friend Maira can pay for it. Oh, and while I remember, your relationship with Kade is platonic. I don’t think Mum could handle thoughts of you sharing a bed with Kade, even if he was in dragon shape.”

  “And what if she catches us together in a less than platonic situation?”

  Jasper shrugged. “Relationships change. Stop looking for problems. Haven’t you got enough to deal with?”

  “More than enough.” She momentarily rested her hand on her brother’s forearm. “I wish you weren’t going home tonight.”

  “You’ll be fine.”

  “But you deal with Mum so much better than I do.”

  “I need some sort of ability. It’s not like I can throw fireballs at people who piss me off.”

  Amber laughed. “You’d better remember that next time you decide to annoy me.” Her smile disappeared as they pulled up in front of Helen’s house. “Time for battle.”

  “See, that’s where you go wrong. How about time for negotiations?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Oh, and Amber?”

  “Yeah?”

  Jasper stared at her
for a moment. “If you ever come across another dragon looking for a mage, remember you’ve got a brother.”

  Amber nodded, her expression solemn. “I’ll remember, but I also won’t hold you to it if you figure out it’s not as good as you think it is.”

  “Fair enough. Just as long as you let me know.”

  “I promise.”

  Helen and Donna waited in the kitchen for them. Amber sat quietly in the seat her mother pointed to. She was relieved when her brother also took a seat. Silence filled the room. Amber looked at her hands clasped on the table. There wasn’t much she could say without getting herself into more trouble. It was always better to wait and see which tactic her mother would use.

  “You never told me Maira and Kade are wealthy.”

  Amber shrugged. “It didn’t seem important.”

  “Their parents don’t have to work a single day in their lives and you don’t think that’s important to mention. People like that don’t even think the same way we do,” Donna said.

  “They do so.”

  “Don’t argue with your mother,” Helen snapped.

  Amber opened her mouth to argue with Helen instead.

  Jasper spoke first. “They don’t act rich. Well, the kids don’t. Kade’s parents are a little over the top. Kade and Maira want to live a normal life for a bit and see what it’s like.”

  “They have different values to us,” Donna said.

  “They think nothing of wearing all that flashy gear around and lording it over the rest of us,” Helen said.

  “Does that mean I can’t hang out with them anymore?”

  “Don’t be stupid. Get the boy to marry you and you’ll never have to work a day in your life,” Helen said.

  “Mother.” Donna dragged the word out.

  Helen shrugged. “He seems nice enough. She’ll be eighteen in a bit over a year. They’d probably be divorced by the time she’s twenty, but at least she’d be able to go him for a nice chunk of change.”

  Amber shook her head. She shouldn’t have been surprised. When did her grandmother ever act like a sweet, little old lady? “I’m not interested in getting married. Even to make a fortune by divorcing. Come on Grandma, that’s plain mean.”

  “Your loss.” Helen shrugged.

  Amber turned to her mother. “You haven’t told me if I can still see Maira.”

  “Yes, but only because her aunt said she was finding it difficult to get past the death of her parents. She’s never looked like a child grieving the couple of times I’ve met her. Weekdays she’s welcome to visit you here. Weekends you can go out one day together. That’s it. The rest of the time I expect you to be at home.”

  “Mum!”

  “Don’t start, Amber. You’re lucky to be going anywhere after the stunt you pulled this weekend.”

  “I wouldn’t be letting her go anywhere,” Helen said. “Unless she was going after that boy.”

  Amber clenched her teeth, trying to hold back her anger. Her panther struggled to break free. She almost became a panther when she was surprised by a hawk that also tried to escape. She grinned. It had worked.

  “What’s so funny?” Donna demanded.

  She met Jasper’s eyes, looking for inspiration. He shrugged slightly. Her eyes fell on her grandmother before she turned back to her mother. “I’ve got Grandma trying to sell me off to the highest bidder and for most of my life you’ve pretty much encouraged me to keep my legs crossed and no dating until I’ve finished uni.”

  “I don’t find it the least bit amusing.” Donna turned to her mother. “And you can stop trying to match-make. I don’t care if he’s rich enough to own his own country.”

  Amber giggled. Did ‘lands’ count as owning your own country? She shook her head when her mother looked at her again. “Can I go to my room now? I’ve got homework to do.”

  “Dinner in an hour.” Donna reached out to pat Jasper’s hand. “Are you staying for dinner?”

  He shook his head. “I want to get on the road before it gets too busy. Will you walk me to my car, Amber?”

  Amber rose to her feet, waiting for Jasper to finish receiving hugs and kisses. They walked silently to the car. “Thanks for that.”

  “You’ve got to learn not to bite back. Grandma was a bit of a laugh though. I wonder if she says anything to Kade.”

  Amber laughed at the thought of Helen trying to set up a date for her. “God, I hope not. She’s such a pain.”

  “You’ll survive her.”

  “I just want to come home. I bet Kade would be able to move if I did. Flinn was given permission.”

  “I don’t think Dad would have been as lenient. Part of it was that Mum had Grandma drooling over all their money and completely changing her view about them.”

  “I still want to go home,” Amber said stubbornly.

  “Take care, little sister. Try not to let Ronan close enough to grab you.” Jasper hugged her lightly.

  “You take care too. Oh no!” Amber’s eyes widened. She reached out to find Kade. “You have to send one of the warriors to watch over Jay. If Ronan caught him I’d work for him.”

  “That reduces the amount to protect you.”

  “What’s wrong?” Jasper asked.

  “You could surround me with a dozen warriors, but if my family were in his hands, it wouldn’t matter. It’d be the same as if he caught me.”

  “Amber?” Jasper tried to get her attention again.

  “Done. Tell Jay that Shannon will watch over him. She’s a Gold Warrior who’s passed her second test. Sorry. None of the others were willing to change orders at first.”

  “You’ve got your own dragon to guard you now,” Amber told her brother.

  “What do I need that for?”

  “Because I wouldn’t leave you in Ronan’s hands if he caught you. Her name’s Shannon.”

  “That won’t leave you short?”

  Amber grinned. “I’ll be fine. Now don’t go thinking you’re being stalked by a female because of your looks. She’s only guarding you for me.”

  Jasper laughed. “I’ll try not to let it go to my head.” He opened the car door and glanced back one last time before he got in and drove off.

  Amber sensed a dragon flying above her brother’s car. Relieved, she went inside. Only her mother was in the kitchen now. Amber hurried through the kitchen before Donna could think of anything else to say to her. Kade was lying on her bed when she entered her room and locked the door behind her.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “You’re going to get caught in here one day.” Amber stood by the bed.

  Kade grinned. “Your grandmother would probably march me to a priest and have us married off and divorced quicker than you could change into a panther.”

  “Stop listening into conversations you weren’t invited to.”

  “Then I wouldn’t hear anything interesting.” Kade rolled off the bed, landing in front of her. “So I take it your grandmother’s proposal doesn’t suit?”

  “Stop joking about it. I’m only sixteen.”

  Kade laughed. “Not nearly seventeen?”

  “Oh shut up. And what did you mean about none of the warriors were willing to change orders at first?”

  “Shannon said she’d watch Jay if I considered her for my third test. Suddenly the others were offering their help in exchange for me taking them on for whatever test they were required to do next.”

  “How many tests are there?”

  “Ten.”

  “Do you have to do them in order?”

  Kade shook his head. “Usually easiest to. The higher the test, the harder it is and the more Gold Warriors are allowed to work together on it. Most Golds aren’t willing to join someone who has only recently passed one test.” Kade grinned. “Having my own mage suddenly makes me a desirable partner.”

  “What’s the next test?”

  “Cleaning out a wyvern nest.”

  “Is that hard?”

  “Probably similar to a hunte
r going bare handed to take care of a pride of lions.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding. And they expect you to do that for your third test? What’s the hardest one?”

  “Taking your own lands and holding them for a year.”

  “How long does it take to get through the ten tests?”

  “Some people never make it through them.”

  “What about those that are clanless?” She couldn’t help thinking about Flinn.

  “They can always become a warrior for someone else.”

  Amber couldn’t see Flinn willing to give up his Gold status to become one of the ‘dispensable warriors’. He’d rather die first. If she’d known all this, she would never have linked Crystal’s future with his. “Flinn… Crystal… I-”

  “Stop panicking. I know Flinn would never choose that option. As long as he wants, he has a place at my side. I can’t force him to keep working with me, but I won’t turn him away.”

  “Why? And don’t give me any crap about everyone deserving a chance.”

  Kade sighed, turning away from her. “His father saved me from wyverns when I was barely a decade old. He didn’t need to. He would’ve been within the laws to leave me to try and survive on my own abilities. He isn’t… wasn’t even from our clan. Then when I offered to pair with Flinn since no one else would, his father came to see me. He said his favour for saving me was that I’d always stand by his son in the tests for as long as he was willing to accept me at his side. Maybe I wouldn’t have been willing after putting up with him this time. I don’t know. I swore I would. So I will. Dragons must honour their word. It’s the law.”

  Amber rested her hand against Kade’s back. His skin was warm beneath her palm. “You would. No one’s making you keep Maira and I know she annoys the hell out of you at times.”

  “She’s loyal. I can put up with a few disagreements for loyalty.”

  Amber moved so she could meet Kade’s eyes. She grinned. “So’s Flinn… to himself.”

  Kade laughed. “I can’t argue with that.” He pulled her close, inhaling the scent of her skin. “The hawk you told me of earlier, have you tried turning into it yet?”

  “No. The panther keeps ahead of it. I’m beginning to wonder if I should have done that. But I was worried about splattering on the ground if I ever fell off you.”