Forgiving the Dragon (Dragon Forged Book 4) Read online

  Perhaps not so innocent. If she wasn’t careful, she’d play right into Ultrima’s hands. Warrian ground his teeth.

  Patrima grinned. “It isn’t normal in our clan.” He leaned against the wall, holding the empty bowl as though he intended to hang out and chat. “But it is becoming more common. My own mother’s a human, actually.”

  Two generations of mating with humans? For some reason that surprised Warrian. Maybe because he still hadn’t adjusted his thinking to the fact that three hundred years had passed. When had things changed and why? Warrian itched to know, but he bit his tongue.

  Rita would ask anyway. Her curiosity never seemed to waver, no matter how much danger her questions put her in. Warrian hid a scowl. He had liked that about her, until he’d found out she was collecting information to write stories about dragons to entertain the humans, not because she was actually interested.

  As he’d predicted, she immediately bit. “Your mother’s human? So dragons have been interacting with humans secretly for years then? Wow.”

  Patrima nodded. “My mother was the first in our clan, and it was hard on her at the time. Ultrima wouldn’t admit her, or me, into the clan at first. It wasn’t until my sister was born that he changed his mind.”

  His few hints only made Warrian more curious. Why had Ultrima changed his mind? Warrian itched to ask, fascinated in spite of himself. He wasn’t particularly surprised at Ultrima denying a human admittance to Trima clan, but to deny a dragon, even if he was half human, seemed a little strange.

  “Why?” Rita asked immediately. “Does Trima clan have an issue with humans?” She glanced sideways at Warrian as she spoke, but only for a second. As soon as her eyes met his, she looked straight back at Patrima. She hadn’t even touched the stew in her bowl, and Warrian’s stomach rumbled again. If she wasn’t going to eat it...

  “My sister is a life dragon,” Patrima said, watching Rita as he spoke, probably trying to gauge how much she knew.

  Warrian was glad Patrima wasn’t watching him, because he wasn’t sure he’d done a good job of keeping the shock and surprise off his face.

  “You mean a mating between a lightning dragon and a human produced a life dragon?” Rita asked, betraying to Trima clan how much she knew and asking the exact question Warrian wanted answered at the same time.

  Patrima didn’t seem surprised or bothered by her knowledge. He just nodded. “It did,” he confirmed. “That was when Ultrima realised the benefit that could be gained by an alliance with the humans, although he had plans for a more covert connection. Rian clan was the one who decided to announce our presence to the world. I hear we have you to thank for that?”

  Rita at least had the grace to blush. “Well, I didn’t know any dragons personally then,” she excused.

  “You wouldn’t have done any differently if you had,” Patrima insisted, amusement in his voice. “Ultrima said you were determined. That’s why he picked you. And it worked out even better than he’d imagined.” He glanced from Rita to Warrian, his implication obvious.

  His insinuation made Warrian’s blood boil. “Ultrima set us up,” he demanded. “He hoped we would fall in love. That bastard.”

  It was, of course, completely the wrong thing to say, as the hurt expression on Rita’s face showed.

  She covered it almost immediately. “Of course. Because falling in love is the most awful thing that could happen to anybody. You’re the bastard, Warrian. Not Ultrima. You know that?”

  Yeah. He did.

  And the amused expression on Patrima’s face said he agreed with Rita. But all he said was, “Well, you’ll have plenty of time to argue about it. Ultrima isn’t planning on letting either of you out anytime soon, so you might as well get comfortable.” He glanced from Warrian to the bowl of stew. “And I suggest you eat.” And with that, he left the room, the hide covering swinging shut behind him.

  Rita stared after him, carefully avoiding looking in Warrian’s direction.

  Warrian was relieved. He didn’t feel like talking right now.

  He didn’t know what he felt like. None of this was going the way he’d thought it would. That wasn’t entirely a bad thing, he was kind of glad not to be dead yet, but he couldn’t allow himself to hope things would continue this way.

  “Here, you might as well have this. I don’t feel like eating anymore.” Rita held out the bowl of stew to him.

  Warrian was so shocked by her offer, he could only stare at her in surprise.

  He would never understand women, human or dragon.

  Chapter 3

  Rita woke with a start, staring around the darkened cave, taking a few moments to orientate herself. That’s right, she and Warrian had been kidnapped by Ultrima, and now they were locked in this cave together for who knew how long.

  A scowl twisted her face. She had no idea what Ultrima’s aim was, but she was pretty sure it somehow related to her and Warrian getting together. Which meant his plan was going to fail. Because she wanted nothing to do with the arrogant Rian prince. And she was pretty sure he felt the same.

  She didn’t even bother to get up, just lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling, a feeling of hopelessness pervading her. Who knew how long would pass while they were trapped here, and in the meantime, Todd would be getting all the press, unimpeded. If they didn’t get out of here soon, her story would be old news. She bit back a sigh. But apparently not well enough.

  “Are you all right?” Warrian’s voice came from somewhere to one side, and Rita could almost picture him leaning against the wall, staring at her. Perhaps his dragon eyes could see better in the dark than she could. At least his voice no longer sounded angry, just tired and resigned.

  That didn’t mean she had to be nice to him. “Fine,” she said shortly, sitting up and dusting off some of the sand.

  Of course, after that, there was little else to do. The room lightened slightly as the sun rose outside, or maybe as the Trima dragons lit the torches in the room outside, but other than that, there was nothing to break the monotony of their incarceration.

  There was nothing to do except think. Unfortunately, few of Rita’s thoughts were any more pleasant than boredom.

  She didn’t want to think about Warrian or how he wasn’t the dragon she’d thought he was, nor about how messed up this situation was. Unfortunately, she could think of little else.

  It was almost a relief when the hide covering the door was pushed aside, and a slender woman with pure white hair and pale skin walked in. “Good morning. We haven’t been properly introduced yet. I’m Latrima.” Her voice was cheerful, as though they would welcome her. And Rita did welcome the plates of bacon and eggs in her hands. At least eating would occupy her for a few minutes.

  Warrian gave a characteristic scowl. Was he going to refuse the food again? Well, this time she wasn’t going to help him out by asking for a second plate. If he didn’t accept the food, he could starve.

  He had other things on his mind though. “If Trima clan thinks they can defeat Rian clan just because they have a life dragon, they have another thing coming.”

  Rita winced. Did he have to keep antagonising their captors? Was he trying to get them killed?

  She wouldn’t put it past him. He probably thought it would be heroic or something. He was such a martyr.

  But the Trima dragon, Latrima, didn’t make any moves to kill him at all, she just looked amused. “Oh, we know that won’t work. Rian clan has their own life dragon. Didn’t you know? Your brother, Calrian, has a grown up daughter.” And with that bombshell, she put the two plates on the ground and left.

  Warrian looked over at Rita accusingly, but she just shrugged and reached for a plate. She suspected this conversation would go better if she’d eaten. Probably if Warrian had too. He must have thought the same thing, because he took the other plate, and ate hungrily. Neither of them said anything for a moment, and when Warrian did speak, his voice was surprisingly reasonable. “Did you know about my brother?”

 
His words were calm enough that Rita even answered. “No, I had no idea. Believe it or not, Rian clan hasn’t exactly told me much at all. Just about everything I’ve found out, I discovered on my own. They’ve done nothing but shut me out of everything.” Her voice sounded whiny on that last sentence, so she snapped her mouth shut before she could say anything more. Admitting his clan didn’t like her probably wasn’t going to endear her to him.

  Warrian ate quietly for a few more minutes before saying, “I’m sorry for getting you into this mess.”

  His comment was so far from what she’d expected him to say Rita couldn’t help herself. Before she really thought it through, she admitted, “It wasn’t entirely your fault. I knew making a deal with Ultrima was a bad idea. I just... I just wanted to be part of this so much I overlooked that.”

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. The admission had surprised her almost as much as it had surprised Warrian.

  Where had that come from? She hadn’t been dying to meet a dragon, she’d been after a story to further her career. She wasn’t some ditsy female lusting after a hot guy. Her interest in this was purely professional.

  Or maybe she’d fooled herself too.

  “You know, I think I’d really love to hear that story. All of it,” Warrian suggested.

  For a moment, Rita was tempted to tell him. She’d been almost ready to confess everything after the dust storm. She’d been desperate to get it all off her chest. But that was before she’d known what Warrian had done.

  “How about you tell me why you lied about your sister first?” she threw back at him.

  That shut him up. Warrian’s face closed down immediately, and she could almost see him withdrawing. He ate the rest of his food without even looking up, then left the plate next to the doorway without another word.

  Rita bit back a sigh, regretting her accusation. Telling him the story would have been less boring than sitting here staring at the walls all day.

  How long would they be stuck here? Was there any way out?

  Warrian had offered her an option. He’d pointed out that if they mated, then the bond that tied them together would be gone. And if it was gone, then they might have a chance at escape.

  Or she might.

  She wasn’t a fool. She knew that even at full strength he didn’t stand a chance against a whole clan full of Trima dragons. He’d admitted as much when he’d instructed her to bring his clan back. But if he was fighting Ultrima and his dragons, then she suspected he’d be long dead before she returned.

  She wouldn’t risk it.

  Not because she was concerned about him. Not at all. If anything happened to him, it would make no difference to her. No, she was far more concerned about what his clan would do if she abandoned him in Ultrima’s lair to save her own skin.

  That’s what she tried to pretend, but she couldn’t even convince herself.

  This time she made sure to keep her sigh completely internal when she admitted, quietly to herself, that she still liked him. She didn’t want to see anything happen to him, no matter how much he deserved it.

  She really was a mess.

  She’d always known that, of course, but at least when Todd had screwed her around she’d been angry enough to leave him. She’d tried to do the same with Warrian, but that stupid Mesmer bond had gotten in the way. She couldn’t leave him until that was done. That had to be why she was having so much trouble moving on.

  Right?

  Maybe, if they slept together, she could finally be rid of him. It really was the sensible choice if she wanted any chance to get out of this.

  Except she knew it wouldn’t change how she felt about him. She could pretend it would, but it just wasn’t true.

  The truth was, when Warrian was gone from her life, there was going to be a far bigger hole than there had been when she’d left Todd.

  At least if he was safe and home with his clan, she could imagine him being happy. If he was dead, that would be far worse. And what if his tie to her was the one thing keeping him alive? What if Ultrima really was keeping him alive because he didn’t want to condemn Rita to death too?

  Besides, she wasn’t sure how happy Rian clan would be to see Warrian. His sister, at least, had to know the truth. If he escaped, would Warrian keep lying to them?

  That thought lay heavy in Rita’s chest. His family should know the truth. His sister deserved a chance at happiness, didn’t she?

  Or maybe she couldn’t forgive Ultrima for what had happened any more than Rita could forgive Warrian?

  This whole mess was starting to give Rita a headache. No matter how much she went around and around in circles, there was no way out. Not for her, not for Warrian, and not for Ultrima and Sarian.

  Maybe, if she ever got out of this, she should just disappear. Leave Mungaloo, the dragons, and all this mess behind. If she went to the city, surely she could find something to do there? Even if she had to wait tables, it would be better than this.

  But somehow, she knew she wouldn’t. No matter how much she might complain about the trouble she was in, it was beautifully ugly, temptingly complex, and exactly the sort of problem she enjoyed teasing apart. She just wasn’t used to being in the middle of the mess she was sorting out.

  But she wasn’t going to let that stop her.

  “I think it’s about time you told someone what really happened, don’t you?” she demanded of Warrian.

  “What, so that you can write it up and sell it to your people,” Warrian threw back at her.

  Rita gritted her teeth. Was he never going to let that go? They had to move past this. One of them had to make the first move.

  “Fine, I’ll tell you my story if you tell me yours. Deal?”

  Warrian hesitated, but she could see the indecision in her eyes. Finally he nodded.

  “Deal.”

  Chapter 4

  Warrian kept his expression neutral as Rita settled herself on the sand in front of him. He’d been dying to know the truth for a long time now, and he was finally going to get it. Of course, he was going to have to tell his own truth in exchange, he wasn’t quite so enthusiastic about that, but he’d worry about that when he came to it. For now, he couldn’t wait to learn more about Rita.

  Maybe, just maybe, once he understood her, he’d be able to forgive her.

  It shouldn’t matter. He knew there could never be anything permanent between them. Especially not since she wasn’t going to forgive him as easily as he would forgive her. But he couldn’t help wanting a connection with her anyway. Until he settled this matter in his heart, it weighed heavily on him. Having that weight removed would be enough.

  “I’m not really sure what there is to tell,” Rita started. “I needed a story, a big one, or I was going to spend the rest of my life a small fry reporter in Mungaloo. But you won’t understand that. It’s all so different for dragons.”

  She was right. He didn’t understand it. But he intended to figure it out. “What’s wrong with being a reporter in Mungaloo?”

  Rita shrugged. “Nothing ever happens here. The most excitement we get is someone doing burnouts in the main street or teenagers stealing Christmas lights. It’s dull and boring. I wanted to write about something exciting. Something that might be remembered.” Her voice sounded faraway and a little bit hopeless.

  Warrian felt a stirring of the sympathy that could lead to forgiveness. But he needed to know more. “Aren’t there other places you could have found a story? Or does nothing exciting ever happen in the human world?” Somehow he doubted that, not if any of the stories he’d heard about humans were true. And if Rita was anything to go by, they probably were.

  Rita shrugged. “Sure, there are plenty of other towns where stuff happens. I’ve thought about going to the city and trying to get a job there lots of times, but I guess I was just too scared.”

  That didn’t make sense. It didn’t fit with what Warrian knew of Rita. “Scared?” He raised an eyebrow. “You stood up
to a dragon. It hardly seems likely you were scared of going to the city. Or is there something there that is fiercer than a dragon?”

  This time Rita’s shrug was uncomfortable. “You wouldn’t understand. Anyway, that’s all there is to my story. Your turn.”

  “Uh uh. I’m not giving in that easily.” Warrian shook his head. “Try me.”

  Rita was silent, and for a while Warrian wasn’t sure if she was going to answer. But he remained quiet, waiting. It wasn’t as if he had anything better to do. And eventually his patience was rewarded.

  She gave a deep sigh. “I guess I was afraid of failing,” she said quietly. “If I didn’t go, I could pretend I would have succeeded if I had. If I went and failed, then I’d have to face up to that fact. And I couldn’t do that.” She turned away from him, scrunching herself against the wall, not looking in his direction.

  But Warrian could feel every bit of her pain. And he understood it more than she could know. His heart ached for her. But all he said was, “I don’t believe you’ve ever failed at anything in your life.”

  She gave a rough laugh at that. “I’ve failed at just about everything I’ve ever tried,” she insisted. “Every relationship I’ve ever been in has been a failure. I failed to impress my parents by pursuing a career they approved of. And I failed at this story too. Rian clan gave it to Todd, not me, even though I did everything they asked of me.”

  Warrian stared at her, confused and helpless. “What did my clan ask you to do?” He felt so out of the loop. “When did you meet Rian clan?”

  Rita leaned back against the wall, but at least she wasn’t withdrawing from him now. “I’d heard rumours for weeks, you know. A farmer whose cow went missing. A kid who’d seen a dragon out by the canyon. I’d thought it was just people imagining things, that the heat must have gotten to them. But then this woman I’d never met pulls me aside on the street and tells me there’s going to be something big happening out by the cliffs. I figured it would come to nothing, but I had nothing better to do. Of course, when I got there, there were fireworks and dragons flying around all over the place.”