Arabella sighed and decided he would keep being ridiculous to rile her up. Ignoring his statement, she took a deep breath and stated, “I want to tell you about the rest of my time with the dragon hunters.”
Finn’s exaggerated expression turned sincere. “Then tell me, Arabella. I want to hear it.”
She looked away, but Finn squeezed her hands. Looking back, she drew on the strength in Finn’s eyes. “If you remember, I was groggy and watching the dragon hunters beat my mother.” Finn nodded and she continued, “Well, I drew on my dragon’s strength and managed to break free of my captors long enough to start shifting. My arms had barely started to grow before I was knocked on the head. I went down and my mother yelled my name.”
Arabella paused, fighting the memory. Her mother’s scream had been full of fear, more so than when her own life had been in danger. To Jocelyn MacLeod, her children’s lives had always been more important than her own.
Finn’s deep voice brought her back to the present. “And then what happened?”
Blinking her eyes to hold back her tears, she gripped Finn’s hands tighter. The next part was the most difficult.
The memory hit her hard and fast. Burning flesh, screams, the stale scent of human males. As long as she lived, she’d never forget them.
“Arabella MacLeod-Stewart, look at me.”
She frowned and met Finn’s eyes. “I never said I was changing my name.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “No, but it brought you back to me, love.”
Searching her dragonman’s brown eyes, a sense of calm came over her. Finn would always be able to bring her back from the memories, and realizing that warmed her heart.
Her dragon spoke up. Then hurry up and tell him the rest. I can’t sleep with all these bad memories coming back.
Gee, thanks for the support, dragon.
I am supportive. You’re just taking too long. Humans make everything complicated.
Arabella sighed and Finn asked, “What did Lady Dragon say now?”
“That humans are too complicated.”
He grinned. “She’s right, but the complicated makes life fun. If it were up to our dragons, we’d be eating, fucking, and flying all the time.”
Her dragon huffed. What’s wrong with that? Life would be better.
Arabella bit her lip and then said, “Yes, my dragon agrees.”
Finn squeezed her hands again. “Now that you’re at ease again, tell me the rest. We’re not leaving here until you do.”
She knew she was stalling, but she couldn’t resist asking, “What if I said our little dragon baby wants some steak? You’d let me starve?”
Finn growled. “Don’t bloody tease me about that. My dragon is already anxious enough without extra worry.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to tease him some more, but her beast growled and Arabella decided to get it over with. “I call peace for the next twenty minutes, but I can’t guarantee any more than that.”
“Fine, just tell me about the bloody hunters, Ara. I want, no, need to know everything about you.”
Turning her hands around in Finn’s grip, she threaded her fingers through his and squeezed. No matter if she cried or broke down at some point during the retelling, Finn would be her rock.
She could do this and break with her past once and for all.
With a nod, she replied, “Okay.” She took a deep breath and then forced the words out. “Once the hunters knocked me down, they flipped me over onto my back and pinned me.” Finn moved until his front touched her knees. It helped to ground her. “They said real dragons would breathe fire and maybe I needed a little to calm down.”
She moved her hand to touch her neck, but Finn squeezed her fingers and refused to let go. Drawing on his feelings for her, she swallowed and added, “Two of the hunters kept me pinned down when one left. I tried to break free, but with my forearms fractured, each movement sent a thousand pricks of pain coursing through my body. The adrenaline helped, but it still hurt.” She closed her eyes. “If only I’d known that was tame compared to what was to come.”
The scene with the two dragon hunters putting pressure on her arms to make her scream came rushing back. Despite her best efforts, Arabella had cried out and nearly sobbed. The only good from the situation was that they stopped beating her mother to deal with her.
One of the hunters suggested raping her first, but the other said they wouldn’t dirty their dicks with dragon trash; the stench would never wash off.
“Arabella, I’ll tape your eyes open if I need to. Look at me.”
The steel in Finn’s voice struck a chord and she opened her eyes. She nearly hugged him when she saw irritation rather than pity in his expression. “Give a dragonwoman some time, Finlay. This isn’t easy for me.”
“And you’re stalling. Get to it already. I have other stuff to do.”
She knew deep down that he would wait all day if she needed the time, but his comment reminded her of not only their clan, but her old one as well.
No more hiding.
She frowned at him. “It would be a lot easier if you stopped interrupting me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Dwell in a memory for too long and it takes over. Remember, lass, I’ve been where you were. Watching my parents die in front of my eyes wasn’t an easy thing to do.”
“You still haven’t told me how you survived.”
He shook his head. “Until you tell me your story, you’re going to keep wondering, too, heather.”
Her dragon huffed. Why aren’t you done yet? I’m tired and hungry. Tell him or he’ll never feed us.
We just ate.
It’s not nearly enough. Dragon babies take a lot of energy to grow.
Taking a deep breath, Arabella looked to the sky. The slow moving clouds helped to ease some of her anger and fear. Once she finished her duties, she should go for a quick flight and spread her wings to clear her head of the bastard hunters and how they’d destroyed her family.
Looking back to Finn, she forced her voice to work again. “One of the hunters came back with a petrol can. At first, I thought he was bluffing. Dragons were valued for their blood, so why would he want to kill one? If nothing else, I expected them to imprison me until I was an adult.
“Yet as he drew nearer, the smell of petrol grew stronger. Then he took off the cap and splashed a little on the ground. It was then I knew he wasn’t bluffing.”
The excitement and anticipation dancing in the dragon hunter’s eyes haunted her to this day.
Finn moved closer and the memory of petrol was replaced with the mixture of wind and peat she had come to associate with her mate. Not wanting the memories to win, she continued, “The petrol-carrying hunter stopped next to me and then ordered my mother to be brought closer to watch. The hunter guarding her complied, and when my mum stared down at me, I was amazed at the strength in her eyes. Despite everything the hunters had done to her, she hadn’t broken.”
Finn nuzzled her cheek. “Your mum sounds a little like someone I know.”
Arabella shook her head. “She never would’ve hid from the world like I did. My mother was so much stronger than I.”
Moving back to look into her eyes, Finn murmured, “I’m going to argue that point later because you are bloody fantastic, Arabella MacLeod. But for now, you need to tell me the rest.”
Even though the worst part of her memories were coming, her stomach was fairly calm. Yes, her palms were a little sweaty and her heart ached at the loss of her mother, but that wasn’t that bad compared to her earlier setback when she’d run naked through Lochguard.
And it was all because of her mate, Finlay. Her heart warmed at just how much the dragonman had come to mean to her. She never would be calmly retelling a story about how she was tortured without him.
Never breaking eye contact with Finn, she continued, “As soon as my mum was standing close enough, the hunter standing over me sprinkled petrol on my neck. The instant the liquid hit my skin, dre
ad pooled in my stomach. I tried to be strong like my mum, but when he moved to my arm and continued down my body, I started crying.” Arabella looked away, toward the hills in the distance. “I begged for him to stop and asked why he would do this to me. And do you know what the hunter said?”
Finn’s voice was steely yet gentle when he asked, “What?”
She looked back to his brown eyes and spat out, “That dragon-shifters only lived to be the play things of humans. Our lives didn’t matter and I would learn that lesson.”
Finn’s pupils flashed to slits and back. “If the bastard isn’t dead, I will find him and kill him very slowly.”
While Finn’s sentiment warmed her heart, she couldn’t acknowledge it. Knowing her dragonman, he’d come up with elaborate revenge strategies on how to take down the Carlyle dragon hunters without breaking the law.
Arabella frowned. “The bastard’s already dead, but I’m getting to that. If you’d let me finish, you’d know that.”
“Staying quiet isn’t my strong point, but I’ll try harder. Get on with it.”
Since her arse was numb, Arabella wiggled until she was more comfortable. She could tell Finn wanted to ask if she was all right, but to his credit, he kept his mouth shut.
Fighting a smile at Finn’s clenched jaw, she cleared her throat. “After the hunter put me in my place, he dumped the last of the petrol on my leg and tossed the can aside. When he took out a lighter, I froze. He might be a hunter, but surely he wouldn’t burn me alive.
“Then the determined glint in his eye confirmed that yes, he would do it.”
Even though she was safe with Finn, her heartrate beat erratically. In that second, she was seventeen again and back on the ground, drenched in petrol, with a lighter a few feet away from her and no way to escape.
Her dragon growled. I’m here and always will be. We survived. I won’t let the memories hurt you.
They always find a way to hurt me, especially in my dreams.
That’s because I wasn’t watching over you. Between Finn and I, you’ll never have a nightmare again.
Her dragon’s tone broke through some of her fear. You seem quite confident.
Of course. When am I not?
Arabella smiled at her dragon’s words and Finn asked, “Arabella? Please tell me you’re smiling at your dragon’s words or I might actually start to worry a little.”
Meeting Finn’s gaze, she shook their joined hands. “Shush. I’m trying to tell a story.”
Bowing his head, he murmured, “Then carry on, my lady.”
Between Finn and her dragon, Arabella had the strength to continue. “Panic gripped my heart and ignoring the pain in my injured wrists, I struggled until I heard my mum humming an old tune. I met her eyes and she gave an imperceptible nod. She had a plan.”
For a brief second, Arabella had believed her and her mum would both find a way home.
How naïve she’d been.
Getting ahead of herself, she forced her voice to work again. “The hunter flicked on a flame and it held since it was one of those fancy lighters that stay lit until you close the lid. He just stared at me with his excited eyes. I was too young to know it at the time, but in retrospect, it was excitement mixed with desire. The bastard got off on torturing dragons.
“The sight made me doubt my mum, and I struggled again. I managed to roll into the hunter above me and he dropped the lighter. While it missed my body, it caught on some of the petrol on the ground. A second later, it reached my arm and covered the right side of my body.”
The flames had whooshed up her arm and to her neck, sending indescribable pain shooting through her body. It was as if instead of spilling a cup of boiling water on her hand, someone had dumped boiling water over half of her body.
Adrenaline and shock weren’t enough to prevent her from screaming so hard her throat was raw.
Finn released one of her hands to cup her cheek. The gentle strokes of his thumb helped to numb the ghost pain of being burned alive.
Meeting his eyes, he simply nodded. He believed in her.
Clearing her throat, she was reminded that she wasn’t trapped in the past. Her burns were healed and her throat was fine. “A few seconds later, my mum screamed. Despite the drugs they’d given her, she managed to shift one of her hands into talons and scraped the man holding her, and jumped on top of my body. I only vaguely remember her rolling me on the ground to douse the flames. At that point, my entire body throbbed and I was barely conscious.”
Arabella’s eyes prickled with tears and she closed her eyes to keep from crying. Her mother had sealed her fate by saving Arabella.
Finn stroked her cheek some more. “You’re nearly there, heather. You’re alive today, so tell me how.”
Arabella squeezed her eyes tighter and Finn wiped the single tear that rolled down her cheek with his thumb. Then his lips kissed her skin where the tear had been.
Her dragon chimed in. He cares for us. Tell him the rest. He has earned the full truth.
It’s not as easy as you think. Besides, you’re encouraging me to finish so you can eat.
Maybe. I want to hunt. A dragon hunter or Dragon Knight would be tasty.
Sighing, Arabella opened her eyes. “Just to let you know, my dragon wants to eat one of our enemies.”
The corner of Finn’s mouth ticked up. “You wouldn’t hear any complaints from me.”
As she searched his eyes, she tried to remember what life had been without Finn. While she would always remember her niece, nephew, and Mel and Tristan, the rest was a blur. Finlay Stewart had not only brought light and laughter into her life, he’d seen the dragonwoman she could be and pried her out inch by inch until Arabella could stand up to the likes of Duncan Campbell without batting an eyelash.
And who knew for what reason, but she was falling for Finn, the cocky bastard.
Drawing on the warmth around her heart, Arabella decided she didn’t want her torture to taint their future. It was time to say the rest and start fresh.
Frowning, she replied, “We can debate eating enemies later. Can you keep quiet for a minute more?”
He mouthed the words, “Maybe,” and she rolled her eyes. Life with Finn would be anything but easy. Yet she wouldn’t trade him for any other male.
Pushing aside thoughts of the future, she focused on finishing her story. “Once my mum extinguished the flames, she slapped the good side of my face and told me to stay awake. One of the hunters came at us, the one who had poured the petrol, and she turned to skewer his heart with her talons. Then she picked me up and ran to the nearby river. Just before she laid me on the water, her voice was stern as she told me she loved me and that I had better bloody well live. Tristan needed me.
“Using what little strength I had, I begged for her to join me, but she shook her head and said she needed to distract the hunters long enough for me to escape.”
Her throat closed up. Breathing in and out a few times, she eased the tension in her throat. “Then the sound of the hunters drew closer. She laid me on my back in the water and yelled for me to keep afloat before she pushed me away. I was only half-conscious, but my dragon roared inside my head and kept me awake. Since I grew up in the Lake District, floating on my back was second nature to me.”
She paused and her dragon growled. Finish it.
Reaching out her free hand, she touched Finn’s cheek. The light stubble helped to ground her in the present. “Once I started to float downriver, my mum turned to face the hunters. I was about fifteen-feet down river when I watched my mum attack them. One of the hunters wrapped his arm around her neck while another punched her. Then the man behind her twisted her neck and she dropped to the ground.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks and Finn opened his mouth, but Arabella cut him off. “As I watched my mum’s murderers kick her lifeless body, I was too exhausted to even cry. My mum died saving me and all I could do was lie there and watch. No one was ever able to find her body, and I never had the chance to say g
oodbye or tell her one last time that I loved her.”
Her voice cracked. She reached to wipe away the tears, but Finn’s fingers beat her to it.
For a few seconds, they merely stared into each other’s eyes. Arabella conveyed the hurt and sadness she couldn’t voice while Finn’s eyes held strength and love.
Finally, Arabella moved her free hand to cover Finn’s still on her cheek. “I need you right now, Finn. Hold me.”
Without a word, Finn pulled her close. Closing her eyes, she reveled in the heat of his skin, the light spattering of his chest hair, and the mixture of peat and wind that was uniquely Finlay’s. As long as she had her dragonman, she would always feel safe.
Each second against his chest helped to erase the pain of her mother’s death and Arabella’s torture. For the first time, she truly believed she could put it behind her and it would stay there.
Finn rubbed her back and after a minute or so, he finally spoke up. “I’m sorry, Ara. As much as I know it won’t do anything, I want you to know I truly am sorry.”
She gave a sad smile. “I don’t mind it coming from you. It’s only when someone looks at me with pity that I can’t stand it. I’ll never forget the look of the dragon-shifters who found me. Their pity and horror set the stage for what would happen once I was home. And without my dragon’s strength to draw on, since she’d been scared into the back of my mind and refused to come out, I decided hiding was the best option.” She leaned back and searched his gaze. “I won’t let Faye do the same.”
~~~
Finn’s love for Arabella MacLeod tripled at her words and the determination in her eyes. “Here you are, telling me about being tortured, and you’re worried about my cousin. You might have hidden it well back on Stonefire, but you have a huge heart, lass.”
Arabella wiggled on the rock. She didn’t like compliments, but he would fix that eventually.
For the present, however, he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “Once everything is settled with the DDA, Duncan, and the Dragon Knights, we’ll tackle Faye together.” Judging from the strength in Arabella’s eyes, she was ready to suffer some teasing, so he winked. “I’ll even let you boss me around. I’m sure you’ll like that.”
Healed by the Dragon: Boxed Set (Parts #1-4) Page 23
