by Rinelle Grey
Brad glanced over at Lyrian and baby Anarian, and bit his lip. Hopefully the police were busy somewhere else right now. If they got pulled over…
Or worse, had an accident…
He needed to find somewhere they could stay for the night as quickly as possible. Then he could figure out where they were going to go from here in the morning.
He headed towards the brighter lights, even though being closer to more people made him nervous. Sure enough, the main street sported a pub. It was a quiet, mid-week night. Hopefully they had a room to spare.
He parked the car in the gravel carpark out the back. “Come on, we’ll see if we can find a room.”
Lyrian though, hesitated. She stared at the building suspiciously.
“I’m pretty sure we aren’t going to find any dragons here,” Brad said, hoping to reassure her.
“No,” Lyrian said slowly. But she still didn’t move.
“Is something wrong?” Brad asked, trying to curb his impatience. He just wanted to get her and the baby out of the car. Even though they weren’t driving any longer, the lack of a car seat made him increasingly nervous.
“Will there be lots of… humans?” Lyrian asked nervously.
Brad glanced over at the pub. At that moment, a raucous cheer went up from the main bar.
He winced.
“Yeah, probably,” he admitted.
Lyrian shrank back, putting her arms protectively around Anarian, and shaking her head. “I can’t go in there. They’ll stare at me.”
They probably would too. He certainly would have. But not for the reasons Lyrian feared.
“Sure, they probably will,” he agreed. “But not because they know you’re a dragon, because you’re beautiful.”
Lyrian’s expression didn’t lighten any. In fact, she frowned.
Brad tried another direction. “Look, that dragon who’s searching for you, he’s going to want to stay away from all those humans far more than you do. Which means we’re safer here than anywhere else.”
Lyrian looked a little uncertain at that. “Maybe,” she allowed.
“Come on,” Brad encouraged. “I’ll be with you. I won’t let anyone bother you.”
She stared at him for a long moment, and Brad held his breath.
He wasn’t sure why he was so anxious that she agree with him. Well, other than the fact that he couldn’t think of anywhere else they were going to sleep tonight.
But this wasn’t about that.
He wanted her to trust him.
More than he’d ever wanted anything else in his life.
Chapter 12
Lyrian clutched Anarian, wrapped in the sheepskin, making sure none of her blue hair showed like Brad had told her, as she followed him into the bar.
Humans were okay when there was only one or two of them at a time, but a whole group of them? All staring at her?
Brad had said they were staring because she was beautiful.
She wasn’t sure if that made it better or worse.
It did help her stare back at them defiantly when they did stare. Most of them looked away when she did.
Lyrian felt a little better as she followed Brad up to the bar.
“Can we have a room for the night?” Brad asked, his voice casual.
The man behind the bar looked them both up and down. “New in town, are you?” he commented.
His questioning made Lyrian nervous. Could he tell that she wasn’t human?
Of course not. He had no idea that dragons even existed. How could he possibly guess she was one? Even Brad hadn’t guessed, and he’d been closer to her than anyone.
“Yeah, I’m from America,” Brad said easily. “My Uncle Henry died and left me his house. My wife and I,” he indicated Lyrian, “have been out checking it out, but it’s not really suitable to stay in overnight.”
The man’s suspicious stare didn’t change. “Henry Cotting?”
Brad nodded. “Yeah.”
They got a nod of approval then. “A double with a portacot?” the man asked.
Lyrian wasn’t too sure what that meant. Brad seemed to understand though. “That’ll be fine,” he agreed.
As Brad handed over a piece of plastic, and filled in some sort of form, Anarian began to fuss. She wanted a feed. It was surprising she’d lasted this long, but perhaps she’d picked up on her mother’s anxiety.
Lyrian jiggled her up and down. “Not long now,” she promised.
Anarian wasn’t convinced. Her fussing grew louder.
Lyrian offered her a finger, which helped for a moment.
The man behind the bar gave Brad another plastic card. “Third door on the left,” he said, pointing up the hallway. “I’ll bring the portacot up in a minute.”
“Thanks,” Brad said. He put his arm around Lyrian’s waist, and guided her in the right direction.
Lyrian wasn’t even upset. She just wanted to get away from all those stares to somewhere quiet where she could feed her baby. She followed Brad into the room, only looking around enough to find a bed to sit on. Then she lifted up her shirt and attached Anarian.
The baby suckled hungrily.
Lyrian heaved a sigh of relief. They were safe.
They would be safe here, wouldn’t they?
She looked up at Brad to ask if he thought they would, only to find him staring at her. Or more specifically, at Anarian feeding.
His face was a mixture of amazement and wonder. It warmed Lyrian’s heart.
Maybe, just maybe, this would work out somehow.
When he saw her looking at him, Brad came over towards the bed, and after a moment’s hesitation, sat down next to her, watching Anarian a little obsessively.
“So,” he asked eventually. “The blue hair…?”
Lyrian shrugged uncomfortably. “She takes after me.”
It wasn’t an answer, not really. Lyrian knew what he was asking. She knew no human babies were born with blue hair.
She heaved a sigh. “She’s a wind dragon, like I am.”
His eyes widening was the only sign of shock Brad gave. “So, uh, that means...?”
There was so much to explain, so much he was going to need to know, as the father of a dragon. Lyrian didn’t even know where to start.
And that was before she considered the fact that she still wasn’t convinced they were safe from being followed by the Trima dragons. But she didn’t want Brad to get the impression she was avoiding his questions.
He deserved to know.
“Luckily, baby dragons can’t take dragon form until they hit puberty,” she reassured him. “You’re safe for a few years yet.”
“Great, just in time for her to fireball me when I won’t let her date the guy she wants,” Brad joked.
Lyrian’s heart gave an eager leap. Brad planned on still being around by the time Anarian reached puberty.
Or maybe he was still expecting her to come to America with him.
Lyrian ignored the fact that she’d almost been considering it earlier. That had been the fear talking. She wasn’t ready to give up on her brothers just yet.
The more she thought about it, the more certain she was that the attacking Trima dragon indicated that Calrian was alive and well, trapped asleep inside his Mesmer chamber. She needed to rescue him.
And keep Anarian safe at the same time.
Brad was watching her, his head tilted to one side, and Lyrian realised she hadn’t responded to his comment. What had he said again?
“Anarian won’t have any fire,” she said, a little distractedly.”
“Lightning bolts then?” Brad guessed.
Well, she couldn’t blame him for that one.
“Different dragons have different magical specialties,” she explained. “As a wind dragon, Anarian will be able to control the wind and the air.”
Brad heaved an exaggerated sigh. “That sounds a lot safer than fire or lightning.”
Lyrian gave a ghost of a smile. “Don’t be too sure of it,” she warn
ed him. “A serious wind can carry you quite a way.”
“Of course,” Brad said. “I’ll be careful.”
Then his expression grew more serious. “So what do we do now? We may have escaped this dragon enemy of yours, but it’s obviously not safe for us to go back to Henry’s and we can’t stay here forever.”
Lyrian knew the answer. The only answer.
The trouble was, would Brad agree with it?
Earlier, when they’d been sitting in the car, he’d said he wasn’t going anywhere until she found her brothers. Had he really meant that?
Did he plan to leave after that?
She had no idea, and she’d have to worry about that later.
Brad had also said he’d help her find this Lisa, this woman who may have a clue to where her brothers were. Had he meant that as well?
What if he had? What if she didn’t have to do this alone?
Lyrian hardly dared hope.
Well, there was only one way to find out.
“The only way to be safe is to find my clan,” Lyrian said firmly. “Two of us have no chance against the Trima clan alone.”
“How do we do that?” Brad asked quietly.
Lyrian stared at him.
He meant it.
He didn’t ask why that was the only option. He didn’t suggest going back to America, like she’d thought he would.
He’d just asked how he could help.
Lyrian’s heart lifted, and for the first time in a long time, she felt like she might just be able to.
The End
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She may not be a dragon, but it was her humanity they needed right now.
With time running out before his clan’s prince is discovered by mining or killed by enemy dragons, dragon shifter Jayrian needs to convince the elders to accept help from the humans. He hopes that the clever librarian, Gretchen, might be able to help him with that. He didn’t count on falling for her—that wasn’t part of his plan at all.
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If you haven't already, check out Karla and Taurian's story, beginning with Waking the Dragon.
When his centuries long slumber ends abruptly, dragon prince Taurian finds himself in a whole new world. Now, pursued by an ancient enemy, he finds his survival depends on the human woman whose presence woke him. Despite being irresistibly drawn to the half-naked man she discovered in an ancient chamber, Karla is sure he’s crazy. The sensible thing to do would be to drop him off at the nearest police station. But she soon finds out that dealing with dragons is never that simple.
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About the Author
If you read a Rinelle Grey story, you can trust in a happy ending. Love will always triumph, even if it seems impossible… Rinelle Grey writes feel-good romance usually in science fiction or fantasy settings. Her heroines are independent and headstrong, and her stories are hard to put down.
She grew up in a remote area of Australia, without power, hot water, or a phone, but now lives with all of those and her (happily ever after) husband, daughter, chooks, ducks and veggie garden.
She also writes fantasy under the name Rin Grey.
She loves to receive e-mails at [email protected], or follow her on facebook or twitter.
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