Rian stood and walked over to Rhydian, preventing him from replying to his beast. Rian lifted his stuffed rabbit and said, "Tell Mr. Cottontail he'll grow big and strong, Rhydian. He ate all his oatmeal, just like you said he should."
The toy was a sort of therapy for the boy, and Rhydian had long ago decided to play along until Rian healed a bit more. He fixed his gaze on the gray rabbit with slightly matted fur. "I'm proud of you, Mr. Cottontail. However, if you want to see my dragon later today, then you need to put your bowl in the sink, too."
Rian squealed and ran back to his dirty bowl. Before Rhydian could do more than blink, the boy had put the bowl in the sink and raced back. "When can we see your dragon? In two minutes? Five? Right now?"
Rhydian smiled. "After school. You know how your teachers don't like you missing class, especially since you're a little behind the other students."
Rian sighed loudly. "But maths is no fun. Or writing. Or human studies."
Rhydian had been careful about not dangling something he couldn't promise in the months since Rian had arrived on Snowridge. However, since the three months for the boy to be claimed had expired yesterday, he could finally admit his decision. "If you're to live on Snowridge, you need to learn all of that. Being part of a clan means you need to be the best you can be. But you can't do that until you figure out what you're good at. School helps you discover what your special skills are."
Rian's eyes widened and he jumped in place. "I get to stay on Snowridge?"
He ruffled the boy's hair. "From today, you'll be staying her
e. With me, if you want to."
"I do!" Rian wrapped his arms around Rhydian's waist. "You, me, and Mr. Cottontail will make our own family. And that way, I won't be alone again."
Rhydian's heart twisted every time the boy brought up his parents. He still didn't know how much he'd seen when it came to his parents' death—Rian's father had been a dragon-shifter, who had been drained of blood—but one day he'd find out.
"You're not alone, lad. I'm here."
Rian hugged him tighter and Rhydian placed a hand on the boy's head.
He had never expected to be a father. However, taking care of Rian over the last three months had been some of the best moments of his life. Well, best ever since he'd lost his love all those years ago.
And even though he hadn't been strong enough to claim the human female he'd loved back then, he'd do everything within his power to protect the half-human boy. Rian Maguire was his family now. And as any dragon-shifters knew, a parent protecting their child was a fierce thing indeed.
~~~
Delaney Murphy watched as the black taxi cab drove back down the windy mountain road. Only when it was out of sight did she finally turn toward the steep path that should take her to Clan Snowridge's land.
Getting to the remote dragon-shifter clan in northern Wales had taken her three days longer than expected.
Which meant she was a day past the deadline to collect her nephew.
Some of her friends had tried to dissuade her because he was part dragon-shifter. Needless to say, most of those people weren't her friends anymore.
Rian was her late sister's only child—and only living family member—which made him the only link Delaney still had to her older sister Rosaleen.
As she started up the trail, she tried her best not to think of her late sister. The one she hadn't seen for nearly a decade, ever since Rosaleen had run off with a dragonman she'd wanted to spend her life with.
Over the years, Delaney had occasionally received a letter from her sister, giving her a mini-update about her life in mostly vague terms. However, no matter how often she'd tried to convince Rosaleen to meet in person, her sister had always declined. And since Rosaleen's letters had come from different areas in eastern Ireland, it wasn't as if Delaney could go to the postmarked location, show pictures of her sister, and ask if anyone had seen her.
Even if she'd known Rosaleen's location, it still would've been difficult to connect. Her sister had illegally run away and eloped with a dragon-shifter. While there was talk about the rules changing in Ireland, so that humans and dragon-shifters could marry freely as long as they reported the union to the Irish Department of Dragon Affairs, it hadn't happened yet. As such, it'd taken Delaney longer than expected to prove Rosaleen was her sister, and therefore Rian Maguire was her nephew, especially since it had required both the Irish and British DDA offices to work together.
She kicked a small rock over the edge of the path and then another. Just remembering about how much time she'd wasted on DNA tests and interviews made her angry. And the last thing she wanted was for her temper to show when she finally met the Welsh dragon clan leader.
So she continued to kick rocks, each one helping to release her tension a little bit more. While a punching bag would've been better, she made do with what she had available.
By the time she reached the imposing metal gate emblazoned with the word Snowridge, Delaney had to take a second to catch her breath. Remote wasn't enough to describe how tucked away this dragon clan was. Why couldn't her nephew be with the clan in the Lake District? Stonefire was easy to find, especially these days—what with all the news reports and interviews that kept popping up on the telly.
Taking one last breath, she straightened and readjusted the bag on her shoulder. She had a feeling the dragons already knew she was there, but she still banged on the door. After about fifteen seconds, a Welsh male voice blared from some sort of hidden intercom. "Who are you and what do you want?"
The voice had been irritated and a little restrained. Just her luck, all the dragons in Wales would be grumpy and/or hate all humans. "My name is Delaney Murphy. I'm here to collect my nephew, Rian Maguire."
After a long pause, the male voice continued, "If that were true, the DDA would've told us you'd be coming."