Trusting the Dragon Prince

by Rinelle Grey

  It wasn’t possible. The odds of her winning the top prize were astronomically small. And yet the numbers in front of her didn’t lie.

  “We… we won…” she stammered. She looked up at Calrian almost for confirmation. She couldn’t quite believe it. Surely she must be imagining it?

  But no, Calrian was smiling and nodding. “It looks like you did. What are you going to do with that much money?”

  Rylee’s head was still spinning. A world of possibilities had suddenly opened up. That sort of money would buy a very decent house here in Mungaloo, and still leave plenty left over. If she was careful, they could survive for years on that kind of money.

  She gave Calrian a hug, feeling as if a big weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She hadn’t realised how worried she’d been about money until that moment. But even though she’d ignored it, it had been there, in the back of her mind just niggling.

  But if they didn’t have to worry about money…

  “We could go on a holiday,” she said, grinning. “Maybe visit the ocean.”

  Calrian’s face lit up at that too. “I’ve always wanted to see the ocean,” he said with a big grin.

  A thousand dreams filled Rylee’s head. But she needed to be sure first. “I need to go back to the newsagent and confirm it,” she said firmly. “They won’t be able to give me that kind of money there, but I guess they’ll tell me what I have to do.”

  Her hands were shaking, and she had to sit down for a minute. It was hard to believe her life was about to change so drastically. She stared at the scratchie in her hands, checking the numbers over and over again, but they didn’t change.

  She really had just won two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

  Excitement rose in her, and suddenly the world was full of wonderful possibilities, possibilities she never thought she’d have. She jumped up and threw her arms around Calrian, her eyes filling with happy tears. “We won,” she said.

  She couldn’t help bouncing a few times, adrenaline rushing through her.

  Calrian squeezed her back, laughing. “You did,” he agreed. “And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.” Then he kissed her, and for a moment, Rylee almost forgot about the money because she had something even better right here.

  Chapter 53

  Calrian stared around at the huge buildings as Rylee drove them into the city to pick up her winnings. He’d thought the human town of Mungaloo had been big, but it was nothing compared to the city. The buildings towered above him, and it would take him several seconds to fly to the top of one of them. But what a view he’d get.

  Calrian half wished he could fly around this city to see it from the sky. But that was far too risky so instead he settled for staring from the ground.

  In the back seat, Rowan stared around in similar amazement.

  “I think I was supposed to go down there?” Rylee swung her head around and stared down a road they’d just passed.

  Calrian could almost feel the stress pouring off her. He didn’t blame her. There were cars and people everywhere, and he had no idea where they were going. Even the map open in his lap didn’t really help because he wasn’t sure of their current location.

  But his stress would only add to Rylee’s. “We can go around again,” he said soothingly. “You can do it, Rylee.”

  His words helped. She straightened her shoulders, went around the block again, and this time, took the right road. Soon they were standing in front of the office where Rylee would collect her money.

  Calrian held her hand and squeezed it, and Rowan stood on her other side, excitement shining in his eyes.

  “Once we get the money, Mum, can we go shopping before we go home?”

  Rylee laughed. “Sure,” she promised him. “You can buy all the LEGOs you want.”

  Rowan gave a wide grin. “Then what are we waiting for?”

  Rylee laughed, and they headed inside.

  It took a few hours, filling in all the forms and signing all the paperwork, but when they walked out, Rylee had a cheque for the money in her hands. Calrian wasn’t sure exactly how it worked. He hadn’t wanted to confuse Rylee by asking too many questions, even in dragon speech, but he gathered that the small piece of paper somehow stood for the money.

  It wasn’t the end of their journey either. They still had to walk several blocks to find what Rylee called a ‘bank’, which was just another big building where she ‘cashed’ the cheque. Calrian wasn’t sure what that meant because she still didn’t seem to have any actual money. Both she and Rowan seemed happy and excited though, so he smiled along with them.

  Then they went shopping. Calrian couldn’t help getting almost as excited as Rowan when Rylee bought a giant rocket ship, which Rowan said was a model of the one that had landed on the moon. It was in pieces, he explained, and they had to put it together. It sounded like a lot of fun.

  Calrian began to understand a little bit about why some dragons had become obsessed with wealth and riches. It certainly seemed to bring a lot of advantages, fun, and happiness to the people he loved, and that made Calrian like it.

  Finally, when they had bags of toys, clothes, and books, they stopped at a café for lunch.

  As Rowan excitedly poured over all the things he’d bought, Rylee and Calrian sipped hot chocolates and watched him in amusement.

  And in the quiet moment, Calrian took the chance to broach a question he’d been wanting to ask for a while. “Will this be enough to buy the bed and breakfast you want?” he asked using dragon speech, not wanting to interrupt Rowan’s happy chatter.

  Rylee smiled. “No, not really. But that’s okay. I wanted the money so we wouldn’t always be struggling, and now we won’t.”

  At face value, her reply made sense, and her expression and tone matched her words. But for some reason, Calrian wasn’t convinced. Maybe it was just intuition, or some subtle knowledge of Rylee he couldn’t even put into words, but he was certain there was more.

  He wanted to help her. It was beyond frustrating that she’d won a huge amount of money and it still wasn’t enough to achieve her dream. But what could he do about that? He didn’t understand how to make money, and from the bit he did understand, it would take years to earn the kind of money she’d need to buy a bed and breakfast.

  He stared around the café as though the answer might be there waiting for him somewhere, and his eyes fell on a pile of newspapers near the counter for customers to read.

  They reminded him that he had been learning a lot about human ways in the papers. And there was one way to make money that didn’t take a lot of time. It just took money to invest.

  Calrian hesitated, unsure whether to mention his idea to Rylee or not. She’d said she was happy with the money she had. Was it arrogant of him to think he knew her well enough to know she wasn’t telling the whole truth?

  But he couldn’t not say anything. Rylee could always say no to his idea, but he wanted to offer her the choice.

  “What if there was a way to turn your money into more money? Maybe even enough to buy that bed and breakfast?” he asked her quietly.

  Rylee raised an eyebrow. “That sounds like a risky proposition. What do you mean? I’m not gambling with that much money.”

  Calrian wasn’t even sure what gambling was. He shook his head. “No, not gambling. The stock market.”

  Rylee frowned at that. “The stock market? I don’t know anything about the stock market. Except that it seems pretty random. Not sure investing in it is any better than gambling. We could lose everything we have.”

  He knew that was a risk. And normally he wouldn’t even consider it, except… “I’ve been reading about this company in the paper, when I was going back through the archives. They make a major announcement every year at the same time, it’s just a few weeks away. And I think this one is going to be a really big one.”

  Rylee didn’t look terribly convinced. “But if you can see that, surely everyone can? Stock prices probably go up in advance,
and you won’t make much money anyway. And it’s still a big risk.”

  “Maybe,” Calrian agreed. “But most people aren’t reading several years of newspapers in one go. I haven’t seen their stock go up much in the last few weeks. I’ve been watching. Yes, I know it’s a risk, but if I’m right, we could double or even triple your money. Maybe that would be enough for your bed and breakfast?”

  That gave Rylee pause. He could see it in her eyes.

  “Let me help you,” Calrian urged. “I know I can do this.”

  He wasn’t sure why he felt so determined. He’d been resolved to let Rylee make up her own mind, but now he really wanted her to agree.

  Maybe it was because he wanted to be able to do something to help her. Or maybe he was getting carried away by dragon gold fever. Either way, he felt this crazy urge to prove himself.

  Rylee still looked uncertain, and Calrian wanted to add more, to try to convince her, but he made himself hold back. It was her money, and he couldn’t deny there was an element of risk.

  But he was sure it was a small one. He’d seen the patterns, and he was sure this would work. Otherwise he wouldn’t even be suggesting it.

  *****

  Rylee stared at Calrian, hesitating. His face was so eager and hopeful that she couldn’t just say no, even though she knew it was the safe option.

  He seemed so sure, so certain he was right.

  And if he was, then it could change everything. The money she’d won would make them comfortable, true, but deep down, she still wanted that bed and breakfast. She wanted something more than just the money to provide for them. Some part of her wanted to do something meaningful.

  Calrian was offering her a chance to do that, but it came with risks.

  Then again, everything in life came with risks, didn’t it? A few days ago they’d had nothing except each other, and she’d been happy with that. Then she’d taken a chance, and things had changed.

  Yes, the five dollars it had cost for the scratchie hadn’t been a real risk, but she’d still taken a chance on pure luck.

  This was Calrian, a dragon. How she could doubt him. So far, he hadn’t failed in one single thing he’d tried to do. Yes, he hadn’t found his clan, but it wasn’t his fault they weren’t there to be found. And he had taken them into an enemy dragon lair and brought them back out safely.

  Was there really anything he couldn’t do?

  Rylee wavered back and forth, not sure how she could ever make the choice. She hated choice, and this one was far worse than choosing what to wear or what to have for breakfast. This one could make or break the rest of her life.

  It made sense to hold on to what she had, right? The money she had would make them comfortable for a long time. More than long enough for her to find a good, stable job. It was sensible not to risk that.

  If she lost it, she’d be back to where she was only a few days ago, with nothing. No house, no job, no hope.

  Except she’d had hope. Hope was what had inspired her to buy the scratchie.

  She might not have had money, but she’d had everything else that mattered, and even if she lost all the money, she’d still have Rowan and Calrian. And really, they were all that mattered.

  But if she didn’t lose, if, in fact, Calrian’s hunch paid off and they made even more money, then they’d be set for life.

  Tripling or even doubling the amount of money she had seemed incomprehensible. To go from nothing to that amount of money was more than she could take in. Maybe that was why she had such a hard time believing it.

  But people did it all the time, right? Just like people won on scratchies. Just because she’d never been one of those people before didn’t mean it couldn’t happen.

  What Calrian was suggesting wasn’t just based on luck though. Calrian sounded like he knew what he was talking about. He certainly knew more about the stock market than she did.

  If his perusal of the newspapers really had helped him see a pattern others had missed, then his suggestion had merit. And from the way he was looking at her, intense and determined, he really believed this could work.

  But how could he? He was a dragon and had spent only a few weeks in the human world. Was there really any chance he could see something all the investors who had been doing this for years couldn’t?

  She could go around in circles about this all day. Both options were valid. There was no reason to pick one over the other.

  Or no logical reason anyway.

  But as Rylee stared at Calrian in front of her, his eyes not leaving hers, his expression sure and determined, yet also waiting patiently for her answer, she knew what she should do.

  “Why not,” she told him. “What have we got to lose? Worst case scenario, we’re back where we were a few days ago, happy with our little clan. But if you’re right and you make more money…”

  She didn’t even have to flesh out that idea. She wasn’t sure she even could. She wouldn’t even think of it. She didn’t want to get her hopes up.

  Anyway, Calrian’s wide smile was almost as good as winning the money would be. It lit up her heart in a way no amount of money ever could. “I promise you, you won’t regret it. Dragons have a sense when it comes to money. We rarely fail.”

  “I trust you,” Rylee said with certainty.

  And she did. She not only trusted Calrian with her money, but more importantly, she trusted him with her heart.

  Not caring who saw them, she leaned forwards and gave him a kiss.

  This was all that mattered, having her family, her little dragon clan. Money was just a bonus.

  Chapter 54

  Calrian held out his hand to help Rylee off the ferry, and she stared at him in amusement.

  “I’m pregnant, Calrian, not an invalid,” she scolded, but the words were gentle and amused rather than harsh. In truth, her growing belly did make her footing a little unsure as she moved from the ferry to solid ground.

  She’d thought she might be ill on the rocking boat, even though her morning sickness had passed a few weeks ago, but to her surprise, she was still feeling fine.

  In fact, the sea air filling her lungs made her feel the best she’d ever felt.

  “Wow, look at it.” Rowan’s excitement behind her made her smile.

  Ahead of them stretched a long white beach curving around the bay. Palm trees dotted the shore, and behind them a mountain rose up to the crystal clear sky. Nestled in between the trees were a row of huts, a tropical island resort.

  It was a stunning view.

  “Are we really going to live here?” Rowan asked, his voice incredulous. He turned to stare at Rylee and Calrian as though he couldn’t really believe it.

  Rylee couldn’t believe it either. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected Calrian’s hunch to pay off like it had. He hadn’t just doubled or tripled her modest winnings, he’d increased them twenty times.

  Her dream of a bed and breakfast had been eclipsed by a tropical island resort.

  A tropical resort in perfect condition. The previous owners were just getting older and were ready to retire. Calrian had read an article about them in the paper, made a few guesses, and they’d been thrilled when Rylee had approached them and made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

  “Welcome to Dragon Island,” Calrian said with a grin. “I’m looking forward to growing old here with you, Rylee.”

  Rylee put a hand on her belly, and tears filled her eyes as she looked at him. “I’m looking forward to raising our clan here, Calrian.”

  “Woohoo!” Rowan yelled as he set off towards the buildings at a run. “Beat you there.”

  Rylee laughed. “As if I have a chance,” she said with a grin.

  Calrian gave her a quick kiss. “I need to put that young dragonling in his place. I’ll be back.” And he took off after Rowan at a run.

  Rylee watched them both, thinking her heart couldn’t possibly be any fuller.

  The resort was amazing. The island, even better.

  Bu
t really, all that mattered was her little family. That was all she needed to be happy. And she knew she was never going to lose that.

  *****

  Calrian caught up to Rowan and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Tag, you’re it,” he said playfully.

  Rowan caught onto the game immediately, not surprising given he was the one who had taught Calrian how to play in the yard where Martha’s caravan had been parked. He swung around and Calrian had to jump back before he tagged him back immediately.

  Calrian took off towards the water at a run.

  But as he stared at the stunningly blue waves, a sense of amazement and happiness washed over him. He’d never expected he’d get to live by the ocean and even less so that he’d have a beautiful, loving mate, a dragonling on the way, and an almost teenage son.

  Somewhere in the back of his mind he missed his clan. He wished his brothers and sisters could see this and share the happiness with him. But no matter how much he knew he should, he couldn’t imagine wanting to change this life for the one he’d left behind.

  He’d slowed down too much, and Rowan crashed into him at a run, sending both of them tumbling into the waves. Rowan laughed uproariously, and Calrian couldn’t help joining in. He heard Rylee laughing in the distance too.

  Rowan untangled himself from Calrian and waded further into the water. “You’re it,” he shouted.

  Calrian laughed. “Do you really think you can escape from me in the water?” he demanded as he chased Rowan further in.

  They chased up and down the edge of the water a few times until Rowan was exhausted.

  Calrian could have kept going for hours. The water felt amazing, cool and welcoming.

  Rylee came down near the edge of the water, and Calrian could hear her sigh of contentment as she put her feet in.

  “Come on in,” he called from the waist deep water. “It feels lovely.”

  Rylee shook her head, laughing. “I’m fully dressed,” she protested.