His mum gave a choked laugh. “At least you’ve stopped pitying yourself. Jane would like that.”
He stared at his mate’s sleeping face. “Yes, she would. Although I think she’ll be pissed to wake up and miss all the commotion with Delia’s return.”
“As much as I hate to say it, Kai, it’s probably for the best that she’s restricted to this room for now. Rhydian is still trying to weed out the human-hating extremists within the clan.”
“Bastards.”
“I agree, but cursing won’t change anything.”
His dragon spoke up. I bloody well disagree. It’s much easier to release anger with swearing.
He ignored his beast to say, “Zain and Sebastian should be here from Stonefire at any minute. They’ll protect Jane with their lives. More than that, I’d trust both of them with the other half of my heart.”
Lily smiled. “I didn’t know you were romantic.”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned today, it’s that Jane is my life. It’s not romantic, but a fact that if she died, I’d go crazy and possibly rogue.”
“Then we’ll just have to take good care of your Janey.”
Both man and beast agreed with that statement. As Kai and his mother fell into a comfortable silence, Kai memorized every line, freckle, and pore of Jane’s face. Doing so helped him to focus and calm his mind.
Because he had a feeling that more shit was going to hit the fan soon enough once Delia and the others arrived back on Snowridge.
~~~
Not for the first time, Rhydian Griffiths regretted succumbing to pressure from clan members to eschew anything human, if possible.
True, he had his own reasons for doing it. Namely, defending his human lover in his youth had earned him the scars on his face. Because of his past, he’d had to work extra hard to prove he had his clan’s best interests at heart rather than his own. Winning the leadership trial had never been enough.
His dragon growled. I still don’t understand the need to hide our feelings. Lili should’ve been ours. Instead, they locked us up and chased her out of Wales.
Liliwen Rosser had enticed Rhydian with her dark eyes and dark hair. Coupled with her laughter and zest for life, he had contemplated leaving the clan to claim her.
However, his mother and father had worked with his extended family to contain him, threaten the female, and drive them apart. Only his cousin Gareth had stood at his side.
Rhydian had only been twenty at the time, fresh out of the British Army. He’d challenged his uncles and lost badly.
The scars on his face reminded him every day of how changing the clan’s prejudices didn’t happen overnight.
His dragon chimed in. But it might be time, especially if we form an alliance with Stonefire. Many of their humans have helped us, even here in Wales.
We’ll see, dragon. For the moment, we need to focus on Delia, the children, and cleaning up the clan. Otherwise, Bram will never send someone to foster, let alone risk his clan to help us.
Then hurry up and do the job. I’m tired of being isolated and spending most of our time inside the mountains. A dragon should be free and soaring in the skies.
Rhydian resisted pointing out that Snowridge had existed for the last several hundred years inside the mountains.
He reached the landing area and spotted Eira, Wren, and several other Protectors in the sky. As they made their final approach, he noticed a few makeshift baskets clutched in Wren and Eira’s back talons.
It had to be Delia and the children.
Although as another trusted Protector, Delwyn, approached from the middle of the formation, Rhydian spotted another makeshift basket. Maybe there had been more children than just the few taken from his clan members.
Each dragon carefully laid down their package, be it baskets or crates of what he assumed to be chemicals confiscated from the farm near Dolgellau.
Since Maelon and his nurses had awoken and had been cleared for duty, they rushed toward the baskets. Rhydian followed closely on their heels.
The first one he approached contained Delia Owens. She was bound and wriggling, her pupils slitted.