The Dragon Guardian (Lochguard Highland Dragons 2)

Clearing his throat, he nodded to the school. “But we’d better hurry. Alistair Boyd hates tardiness and since he was kind enough to allow us to sit in, we don’t want to be late.”

Gina nodded. “Then let’s go.”

As she tugged him toward the building, Fergus smiled. Maybe after the lesson, when Gina was in a good mood, he could finally tell her the truth about being his true mate. After all, what male wouldn’t want the clever, stubborn, beautiful human for their own? He needed to claim her as soon as possible.

His dragon grunted. You’re not helping.

Pushing aside his beast and any thoughts about other males, Fergus squeezed Gina’s hand. She looked up at him with a smile and Fergus knew she wouldn’t look twice at Alistair. For the moment, her eyes were only for him.

Chapter Twelve

Gina’s heart rate sped up as Fergus guided her through the school’s main entrance. And not just because she was about to hear some actual dragon-shifter history. No, her heart also hammered because she would have the chance to see some of the young dragon-shifters.

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BroadBay had never allowed their children to be seen by humans. Well, at least, beyond the sacrifices who gave birth to them.

Since Gina was about to give birth to her own in a few weeks’ time, she wanted to prepare herself for the challenge. If Fergus had trouble controlling his own dragon, it had to be much harder for a child. Gina only hoped she could help when her own son’s time came.

Yet as they walked down one empty hall and then another, she darted glances at Fergus’s profile. Things were going well. Maybe Fergus could help her when she needed it. She had a feeling he would be a good father.

Fergus motioned toward a door on the left and she focused back on the school as he said, “In here. Follow my lead.”

Turning the doorknob, Fergus inched the door open slowly without making a noise. She had a feeling it wasn’t the first time her dragonman had snuck inside a place silently. Maybe someday he’d tell her about his past adventures with his brother.

As soon as Gina stepped inside the door, nine pairs of eyes turned toward her. Eight of them belonged to young teens and the remaining set was from the tall, dark-haired dragonman at the front of the room.

Before anyone could say a word, a bell chimed. The dragonman up front motioned toward her and Fergus. “These are our guests for the day. I’m sure you know Fergus MacKenzie as he and his twin have reputations at this school from more than a decade ago. He’s brought along a human female named Gina MacDonald. I expect you to treat both of them with respect. If we finish the lesson early, they might even answer a few questions.”

Various voices murmured, “Yes, sir,” before tearing their gaze from Gina and turning toward the front.

Fergus gently pressed against her back and whispered, “Let’s sit down.”

Gina was debating how she could sit in the plastic chairs for any length of time without fidgeting when Fergus guided them toward two padded chairs in the back. With a sigh of relief, she sat down. Fergus took one of her hands in his warm one. Placing her other one on her belly, she looked to Alistair Boyd.

Alistair began. “While dragon-shifters mostly kept to themselves during the medieval period in England, when the Normans took over the country from the Vikings, one event divided all of the dragon clans and they scattered around the country—we call it the Harrying of the North. Has anyone heard of it?”

Gina had no idea. However, during her time at college, Gina had suffered through several professors who could put someone to sleep with their voices. Alistair’s, on the other hand, was not only a yummy Scots’ accent, but also deep and full of energy. She actually sat on the edge of her seat, eager to find out what it was.

One of the male students spoke up. “Didn’t that happen in England? Why would we learn about it? Does it even matter?”

“Events often have consequences we can only see in hindsight. There might not even be a Lochguard today if not for what happened in 1069 and 1070 C.E.,” Alistair answered.

Before she could check herself, Gina blurted out, “How?” All eyes turned toward her. She drew strength from Fergus squeezing her hand and added, “I don’t even know what this Harrying is.” She shrugged. “I’m curious.”

Some of the students murmured, “She’s American.”

The corner of Alistair’s mouth ticked up. “I’m not sure most of the students know, either, lass.” He waved toward the boy who had answered. “But Rory seems to have an idea. What is it, lad?”

Rory straightened his shoulders and looked at Gina. She saw his pupils flash to slits and back before he answered, “It’s when William the Conqueror killed a lot of humans in Northern England to teach them a lesson.”

She frowned. “Why did he need to do that?”

Alistair replied, “The short answer is to prevent another revolt and establish his power there. He slaughtered families, burned crops, and destroyed houses. The most cited reference says 100,000 people were killed or displaced. However, historians dispute that number, saying there was no way William’s armies could have accomplished that much destruction given their numbers.”

Gina put together a theory. “Some dragon-shifters could’ve sided with the conqueror guy and helped him.”

Alistair nodded. “Exactly. Now, let’s get into why this is important.”