Ostrian Read online

  She bit back a sigh.

  Ostrian didn’t seem to notice. He was off on a tangent and running with it. “Maybe it’s not the case for humans, but as soon as a dragon mates, he’s vulnerable. All someone has to do is kill his mate, and he’s dead. He doesn’t even have to be in the vicinity. Why any dragon agrees to mate at all is beyond me.”

  Privately, Mary couldn’t help agreeing with him, just a little. She wasn’t sure she’d feel game mating with someone under those circumstances. Especially not since most dragons seemed more likely to rush headlong into a fight than keep themselves alive. But she wasn’t going to tell him that, it would be like admitting defeat.

  Besides, she was pretty sure that if she found the right man, dragon or otherwise, she’d be throwing caution to the wind without a second thought. “When you love someone enough, I guess that doesn’t matter,” she said. “They obviously all think it’s worth the risk.”

  Her comment just made Ostrian frown. “All of them? Seven in the last month? Don’t you think that’s a bit of a coincidence?”

  Mary gave a laugh. “You’re seeing conspiracies where there are none. They’re young and impetuous. And they’re in love. Of course they’re all mating.”

  Ostrian raised an eyebrow. “This lair is full of young dragons, but we didn’t have matings this frequently before the humans arrived. You aren’t at all surprised that virtually every human who has entered this lair is now mated to a dragon?”

  Mary frowned. There had been rather a lot of human/dragon matings, but she didn’t think so many that it was in any way surprising. Especially not given…

  “I suspect that’s because nearly all you dragons are hunks, something we humans are very susceptible too.”

  Without intending it, her voice took on a teasing tone, almost as if she were…

  No, she definitely wasn’t flirting with Ostrian.

  “If you humans are infatuated by any dragon who looks good, we’re in trouble,” Ostrian sneered. “If you’ll fall in love with anyone with a decent body, then you have no real loyalty to your mate, or the clan. That’s even more concerning.”

  His words only emphasized the stupidity of falling for him. Why on earth would she do something like that? Was she letting sympathy for him cloud her judgement?

  Or was she, as he insinuated, letting a hot body turn her head. Ostrian may be older, but he was just as much of a hunk as all the other dragons. He might wear long robes that hid most of his body, but she didn’t miss the fact that his shoulders were broad, and the glimpse of forearm she saw when he pointed at her was tanned and muscled.

  Under all that grump and bluster, he could be every bit as sexy as Taurian or Verrian. If only he’d let her see.

  She blushed at the thought. What was she doing, thinking like this? She was well past the hot lust stage, well past the age when she was going to succumb to a pretty dragon, no matter how sexy he was. Especially one who was as pigheaded as Ostrian.

  He’d already made it clear he wasn’t interested in love. And while she might be quite content with a spicy fling, not with someone who was so scornful about love. There wasn’t anything sexy about that at all.

  That thought helped her lift her eyes to his and scowl at him.

  “That wasn’t what I meant at all.” How could he have twisted her words so? Didn’t looking at a sexy woman even move his needle? Maybe there was no hope for him.

  Ostrian raised an eyebrow. “You meant something else by your use of the word ‘hunk’ then?”

  If Mary didn’t know any better, she would have thought he was teasing her. But his expression was deadly serious. “I was… making a joke… but never mind.”

  “You think the fact that every human who has entered this lair has fallen in love with a dragon is a joke?” Ostrian said imperiously.

  He was having a go at her, he had to be. Mary put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You’re just saying that to be all dramatic. Every human in the lair has not fallen in love with a dragon. I haven’t, for one. And neither has Olivia, or Raven, or many others. Maybe, at a stretch, half of them have, but certainly not everyone.”

  “Give the rest of you time,” Ostrian said darkly.

  Mary stared at him for a moment. Did he really think she was going to succumb to the lure of a sexy dragon? She wasn’t that desperate. Not yet anyway. She was more than capable of focusing on his grumpy personality and ignoring his hunkiness. In fact, that wasn’t hard at all.

  She drew herself up and stared at him. “Are you saying you think I’m about to fall so hard for a dragon that I’m lining up to mate with him?” she demanded. “And just who do you think that’s going to be? You maybe? No one is ever going to look twice at you when you scowl and belittle them all the time, so I think you’re safe.”

  Ostrian’s jaw dropped, and he stared at her, dumbfounded. “I… I…” he stammered.

  “I didn’t think so,” Mary said in satisfaction. “So get over your nonsense about humans mating dragons, and realise that there’s nothing sinister going on here. Just normal youngsters falling in love.”

  That snapped Ostrian’s jaw shut, and he glared at her. “It’s not nonsense. Something is going on here, and I intend to get to the bottom of it.”

  Mary laughed at that. “Really? This is all some conspiracy then I suppose? And just who is behind it? A human maybe? Who’s sent all of us here to bewitch you poor dragons?”

  Ostrian looked down his nose at her. “I’m not stupid,” he said flatly. “I didn’t say it was a conspiracy, at least, not one created by humans. But all this mating is not normal. I intend to find out what it is about humans that apparently makes them so irresistible to dragons.”

  Mary raised an eyebrow. “And just how do you intend to do that?” She gave him a bit of a grin. “Maybe you should try falling in love with a human yourself? They say there’s nothing quite like experience to teach you something new.”

  For a moment, she could have sworn she saw a flicker of interest in his eyes, and it made her heart beat a little faster. His eyes were more blue than anything she’d ever seen before, like she could see the whole ocean reflected in them. How had she never noticed that before?

  He was more than just a hunk, he was fascinating.

  And maddening. A fact just rammed home by the way his face closed up and he said, “That’s not your problem.” He pulled his cloak around him and stalked off up the corridor.

  She should have left it at that. Should have headed back to the main corridor and found out what the others were up to. It was sure to be more interesting.

  But somehow, she couldn’t help hurrying after him.

  Well, someone needed to keep an eye on him.

  Chapter 3

  Ostrian could hear Mary’s footsteps behind him, and he wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or excited.

  That wasn’t quite true. He was sure he should be annoyed. She had scorned his concerns. Made it clear she thought he was making them up. She certainly wasn’t going to be any help in uncovering what was going on. In fact, she could well be following him to try to prevent him figuring it out.

  But that fact didn’t explain why his heart was pounding. Why he wanted nothing more than to turn around and stare into her eyes again.

  His mind shied away from the possible explanations for that reaction. He refused to believe that he was just as affected by the temptation of a gorgeous human woman as the younger dragons were.

  He was stronger than that. He certainly had no intention of succumbing to her lure, no matter how much she made his blood quicken. She’d already teased him enough. Suggesting that he try falling in love to see what it felt like. He gave a harrumph under his breath. He supposed she thought he should fall in love with her. She’d mentioned herself, when she was trying to insist that not all humans had fallen in love with dragons.

  It had made his heart flutter then too.

  He would achieve a lot more researching by himself, without distractions. She
’d be too busy trying to convince him that nothing was wrong. That this was all normal.

  When it was clearly obvious it wasn’t.

  Was that part of her plan?

  “Hey, wait up.” Mary’s voice was a little breathless.

  Without even meaning to, Ostrian slowed his stride slightly, enabling her to catch up within a few moments. She put a hand on his arm, leaning into him, slowing him even more. “Look, I’m sorry,” she said, her apology taking all of the force out of his annoyance. “I…” she took a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have teased you. You’re right, the fact that so many humans have mated dragons is a little strange.”

  Ostrian stared at her, not quite sure how to respond. He knew he should shake off her arm and take a step away, to keep himself safe, but he hadn’t… he hadn’t expected her to actually agree with him.

  He wasn’t sure when the last person had actually agreed with something he said. Not without sounding conciliatory, or like they were just doing it to get him to stop talking.

  “Well… so it is,” he said, not quite sure what else to add.

  She didn’t remove her hand from his sleeve. In fact, she tucked it through his arm and leaned in close as she started walking forwards again.

  Ostrian followed automatically, still feeling a little bewildered about her sudden change of mind.

  “So, how are you planning on finding out what is going on then?” she asked with interest.

  Was that it? Was she using her feminine wiles to interrupt his research? Did she intend to try to cover up anything he found, or try to convince him there was nothing there?

  Or was she simply trying to get him alone because she wanted to sleep with a dragon? She’d as much as indicated she was interested in doing so earlier. Not that pulling something like that on him would work. He’d had more than enough experience in avoiding seductions over the years.

  Ostrian searched her face, but could see nothing other than curiosity and interest.

  Well, that wasn’t quite true. He caught a glimpse of something else in her brilliant blue eyes. Interest, certainly, but not just for his research. His heart fluttered, despite his determination not to fall victim to her charms.

  The expression in her eyes wasn’t calculating though, or predatory. She seemed genuine.

  But that made no sense. She couldn’t be… she couldn’t be interested in him, could she?

  The very thought filled his heart with dread even as it set it pounding in excitement.

  It had been a long time since he’d had a woman interested in him.

  Ever since Hetrian, his son’s mother, had died. He’d been tempted to mate with her, especially when he’d found out she was carrying his child. She had been beautiful, tempting, and entirely too dangerous.

  But even for her, he hadn’t been willing to risk his own life. Hadn’t been willing to give up the responsibility to his clan, and take on that greater responsibility. And she’d understood, even if no one else had. No one else seemed to realise that he’d been devastated when she’d died.

  He’d seen the looks the other dragons had given him, the day she’d died in one of Ultrima’s sneak attacks. They’d all thought he should have had the decency to die with her, despite the fact that they had never actually mated.

  None of them realised that he’d done it for them. None of them had seemed to understand they could still benefit from his advice. It had only seemed to make them more annoyed at him. And that hadn’t changed in the years since, even though most of those who had scorned him had died long ago.

  Ostrian bit back a sigh. Mary’s interest in him couldn’t be genuine. She probably just wanted to discover what he found with his research, and she only wanted to find out why dragons liked humans so much so she could find a dragon of her own. He couldn’t deny she’d been interested in that.

  He was just a means to an end. And a good thing too. He had no intention of succumbing to the lures of a human. Not after he’d warned the other dragons to be careful of them. Even if she were a dragon, he would be keeping his distance. The dangers of love and mating were too great. He may be old, but he wasn’t so old that he didn’t still have many years of watching and protecting his clan to go yet.

  So he ignored the tiny ache in his heart that suggested that maybe this was a chance to do some personal research of his own, and focused on her question.

  What had she asked again?

  Oh yes, his plans.

  “Dragons have kept very careful records of our history and lives,” he said firmly. “I’m sure that there will be hints about what is going on in there somewhere.”

  She wrinkled her nose, not in annoyance or even disbelief, just in confusion. “But if there’s information on why humans and dragons mate so often, wouldn’t someone have noticed it before?”

  “Not necessarily. Our records span thousands of years. Few dragons have read even half of the information we have collected, much less all of it. I’ve read more than most, but even I have not read everything. It’s possible we could have missed something. Especially since we haven’t had any real contact with humans in hundreds of years. Information about our interaction with your species just isn’t something we’ve gone looking for.”

  “But I thought dragons had been hiding, and hadn’t had any contact with humans?” Mary said, frowning. “Are you telling me that’s not the case?”

  Ostrian didn’t bother to hide his sigh. Was she deliberately misunderstanding? “Since we came to this land, yes, we haven’t had much contact with humans. That was by choice. We left England to get away from humans, so we purposely didn't seek them out here.”

  The frown Mary had given him at his sigh was replaced with an interested expression by the time he reached the end. “I hadn’t heard that before. Why were you trying to get away from humans? Do you think it was because of this human/dragon love thing you suspect?”

  Ostrian tried not to squirm at her question. It was something dragons rarely talked about, not even among themselves. Discussing the matter with a human seemed almost sacrilegious, especially given the recent events. “Think about it,” he said shortly. “I’m sure the reason will be obvious.”

  Her forehead furrowed in confusion. “Not about the mating then. Why would a dragon be running from humans? It’s not like we’re a threat… Oh…” Comprehension dawned on her face, making Ostrian’s stomach clench. “Humans chased you out of England, didn’t they? Even back then, our weapons were starting to be a threat.”

  Ostrian lifted his chin. “One on one, even with weapons, you are no threat.” He tried to give her his best ominous look, but she must have missed it, because she didn’t even react.

  Instead, she was looking at him thoughtfully. “Given your history with humans, it must have been extra difficult for you to accept our help to defend your clan then.”

  Her immediate understanding was like a claw to the gut. Like a lightning bolt striking him where he stood.

  He’d been mistaken about her. She didn’t miss a thing.

  “We were doing just fine before you came along,” he said stiffly. Then to avoid seeing the knowing look he was sure would be in her eyes, he turned away, and hurried down the corridor.

  He was going to find out what power these humans held over dragons and figure out a way to overcome it. Humans were not going to save his clan, as the princes seemed to think. They were going to destroy it, just like they nearly had in England.

  And he’d be damned if he was going to let that happen.

  Chapter 4

  Ostrian hurried down the rocky tunnel, as though he couldn’t get away from her fast enough. Mary knew she’d said the wrong thing, she’d just been too surprised at the revelation he’d dropped in her lap to be diplomatic about it.

  The thought that dragons had come to Australia to escape the humans in England was staggering. Did the other dragons know about this? Had Taurian and Verrian accepted human mates despite knowing their clan’s past with humans?

&n
bsp; Was this why Ostrian had so many issues with humans?

  If so, she didn’t really blame him. She could only imagine what it would have been like, having your people chased and hunted wherever you went. She’d like to tell him that humans didn’t do that anymore. That they’d progressed past it.

  But she wasn’t convinced everyone had. The fact that the police were hunting dragons so fiercely, so determined to find them, said otherwise. She couldn’t even guarantee that they wouldn’t shoot one, if push came to shove.

  People would do all sorts of things out of fear. Especially those who felt it was their job to protect others.

  Ostrian was doing exactly the same thing, if only he could see it. He was pushing away friendship and help because he was afraid. Because he wanted to protect his clan.

  Maybe because he wanted to protect himself.

  Did she have any hope of convincing him there was another way?

  That while some humans hadn’t changed, many most certainly had. She and the others here in the lair were no danger to the dragons.

  Not intentionally anyway.

  Ostrian seemed to think that there was something going on with their mating magic. Something that might be a problem to the clan. Mary didn’t know enough about it to say one way or another. Oh, she’d heard whispers from the younger humans who had mated with a dragon. They’d talked about how powerful it was. How amazing. How filled with love they were for their mate.

  Mary really couldn’t see how that could be dangerous.

  But Ostrian seemed to disagree. His age, and possibly his years of responsibility, had made him cynical. He was far more likely to believe the negative interpretation of something rather than the positive one.

  Which was exactly why she couldn’t leave him to do this research on his own. He’d already convinced himself that mating humans was harming his clan, and he would ignore any evidence to the contrary.

  That was what he wanted to see. And people could twist anything around to convince themselves it supported what they wanted to see. She’d seen it time after time with humans, dragons would be no different.