Tropical Dragon's Destiny (Shifting Sands Resort 10)

“I woke up there. Probably a traveler brought a seed pod back from a vacation; I only know that I woke up when I was a sapling in a pot. I was root bound, starting to die, so I picked up my pot and went looking for someone to help me. I found the lot with the happiest trees and went to ask them to save me.”

While Scarlet spoke, she sat down in the thick moss beneath her tree, and the ground beneath her raised into a mossy root chair that conformed to her shape and cradled her like a throne. Apparently, she was done hiding her abilities from him and the analyst in him desperately wanted to test what she could do.

He didn’t doubt she could raise the entire jungle onto its roots and march it forward in battle, if it came down to it. Could she use her power to protect the island while he battled the wyrm? Already, his mind was churning through possible solutions.

Mal sat carefully across from her, mimicking her motion, and was unnerved by the sensation of the roots beneath the springy moss rearranging themselves and lifting him into a chair.

“That lot, as you’ve probably guessed, belonged to Aaric Lyons, who was in the midst of preparing for his wedding.”

“To Coral Jennings,” Mal said, recalling his research.

“No, actually,” Scarlet gave a tiny, conflicted smile. “He was engaged to Rupert Beehag’s daughter, Anna. Coral was a landscaper who was there to do the finishing touches on the grounds for the ceremony. He took me to find her for advice on my tree... and met his mate. He had hired her by phone, and that was the first time they’d seen each other...”

Scarlet was avoiding his gaze, finding anything else to look at. Mal wanted to reach for her, badly, and his dragon was grumbling impatiently inside. He waited.

“They were very kind to me. I had nothing but a pot with a dying tropical tree in it and Aaric had me re-potted, took me into his household, taught me how to blend in, educated me, and eventually built a glass greenhouse where I lived for nearly twenty years. Then, he bought half of a tropical island and paid an exorbitant amount of money to have me freighted across the world and planted here.”

She pursed her lips, then went on evenly. “It wasn’t an easy road for them. She was from a poor area where shifters were being harassed and he was a young lord who was expected to make a brilliant match with an influential businessman’s daughter. Aaric chose to break off the engagement at the last moment and marry Coral.”

She shook her head. “It was messy. Anna was already pregnant—not by Aaric, but I think her father was hoping that her marriage to him would hide the shame, and instead, it became very public and ugly. I thought that Rupert Beehag took the disgrace very well; they continued business arrangements, and even made the purchase of this island together. But it’s clear he never forgave Aaric and, it appears, grew to hate shifters.”

Scarlet balled fists at her side.

“When Aaric vanished, the resort was almost finished, but it was discovered that he had been in financial straits. I wonder now, if Rupert didn’t play a large role in that, as well. The workers all quit and left, and Coral... Coral was devastated. She knew that Aaric was dead, even if she didn’t have any proof. She wanted to take their son to England, where she thought they would be safe, and Rupert, her good friend Rupert, made a very generous offer to buy her half of the island, leaving the option open to buy it back whenever she, or her heirs, could. It was quicker than a loan, and the contract looked ironclad. Rupert didn’t know what I was, of course... I was just Aaric’s secretary on paper, he had no idea I was tethered to the island. Coral... she thought she’d come back quickly, that it would take a few years at the most to figure out what had gone wrong with the bookkeeping and get it all fixed. A few years isn’t so long for a dryad.”

“She never came back,” Mal finished for her.

“I found out, decades later, that she died in a car accident, shortly after returning to England. Her son received a life insurance settlement that got him on his feet again, but he was just a kid, and he only knew me as an eccentric aunt. He had problems of his own, without wondering what had happened to me or worrying about some island he barely remembered. He got married, had a son... died a pauper. I didn’t know any of that... I was just... waiting.”

“For almost forty years.”

“Until cell phone coverage reached the island and I could communicate with the rest of the world again.”

“That’s why you were missing for so long.” Mal whistled. “You were actually here the whole time.” Alone, Mal thought. Alone on an island of your broken hopes.

“If you tell me I look good for my age, I will throw you off my island, reservation or not.” That was the Scarlet he knew so well, full of spice.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Mal said honestly. “My compliments are much more clever than that.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Scarlet said dryly. “The last time we spoke on the phone, I believe you called me a stubborn harpy who wouldn’t understand a smart deal if it bit me in the ass.”

For a moment Mal could only smile at her, bemused. “I had offered you twice the value of the island and a reasonable settlement on Jubilee Grant’s lawsuit simply to sever the lease. What else was I supposed to assume?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t make assumptions,” Scarlet said sharply.

She rose from her chair and paced away. The moss chair melted back into the earth. Mal rose and followed her.

The tree above them shuddered and Scarlet shut her eyes. “I found Aaric’s hide in Alistair's study, after we freed the zoo. There was a short time there, after his death, where the contract hadn’t been passed to Benedict yet and I could go there.”

“You were there when the zoo was freed,” Mal remembered.

“I made Jimmy invite me,” Scarlet hissed. “I was extremely persuasive. The contract allowed me to visit, though I could feel it dampening my power.”

Mal could feel her fury and helplessness. He remembered puzzling over the weirdly detailed specifications in the resort lease and the older contract that dictated rights of first sale. “The Beehags have always been very good at hiding their true nature,” he growled, remembering how betrayed he’d felt when he discovered what was happening at their compound.

“I still feel like I should have known what was happening,” Scarlet said quietly, bowing her head. The wind in the branches gave a sorrowful sigh.

“The contract...”