The Dragon's Gem (13 page)

“
Your mother was killed protecting your brother and you. I was not there when the Wyvern attacked and she died because of my recklessness.” A lone tear dripped down one cheek and he turned away. “Regardless, now you know the story and you should also understand why Renault will blame you for his son’s disappearance.”

“What would I stand to gain by his disappearance? He had already bowed out and I was with Aurora when he went missing.”

“It doesn’t matter, he’s going to blame you because of my past mistakes, as irrational as it may seem.” He drew a weary breath and looked to the clock. “If you want to see Aurora, you had better get over there, it’s almost eleven.”

I began to leave but then turned back to look at my father
, wanting to make him feel better. “You know that you did the right thing back then, stop beating yourself up over it.”

“Go, see
Aurora and apologize,” he said. “One never knows how long we have with our mates.”

“I will,” I said
, closing the door behind me to give him privacy as he dealt with his emotions.

***
Aurora
***

I waited eagerly for most of the
morning, confident Draco would come as soon as possible to see me. As the sun moved higher in the sky, though, I became disheartened. Had it all been a lie? Had he morphed back into Dr. Jekyll again?

“Did you
have a good time last night?” my father asked as I walked into the library where I waited in vain for Draco to appear.

“It was fun. The kids here are so nice and they have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome.” I heard his sigh of relief and smiled
, happy to offer him something to alleviate his concerns about me.

“I’m glad
, Max told me how great the kids here were, but I was very worried that our moving here might not be the best thing for you.”

“Dad, I’m fine
, and I wanted this for you. You deserve to live your dream without having me burdening you.”

He took my hand and I felt him sit next to me. “Sweetheart
, you have never been a burden. I love you and I thank the lord everyday that I have you in my life.”

Tears welled in my eye
s at his heartfelt response. “If it weren’t for me you might still have her,” I told him.

“Because of you I always have a piece of her nearby.” I fel
t his finger brush across my cheek. “You are the best part of your mother and when I miss her, all I have to do is look at you and I and I am reminded that although our time together was short, in that time we created something perfect from our love.”

“Thanks
, dad,” I murmured as he hugged me close.

“I didn’t do anything but tell the truth,” he said, placing a kiss on my head as he rose from the sofa as the doorbell chimed. “I suppose this will be the younger Pendragon come to call on you?”

“Dad, please behave,” I warned, my cheek flushing furiously.

“It’
s a father’s right to harass his daughter’s boyfriends,” he said with a chuckle.

“He’s not my boyfriend…he’s…”

“He really wants to be her boyfriend,” Draco finished for me.

I felt him the moment he entered the r
oom. His essence washed over me, bringing great joy, erasing all of the sadness I had felt just moments before. “Draco, you don’t…” He took my hand in his and my words died.

“I do,” he said lifting my
hand and brushing the back of it softly with his lips.

“I think I’ll give you two sometim
e alone,” my father muttered, making a hasty departure, clearly uncomfortable in such an unfamiliar situation.

“How are you?” he asked
, brushing my lips with his own. My body trembled in response and he chuckled. “So you’re not immune to my charms.”

I sighed and l
aid my head on his chest. “I’m not immune to anything about you,” I confided.

“Good to know,” he murmured.

“I thought maybe you weren’t going to come today,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound whiny and needy.

“Yeah, about that.” He pulled me to his side, his arm around my back
, his hand on my waist. “I wanted to be here first thing this morning, but I was sidetracked.” His fingers drummed against my waist nervously and I knew something wasn’t right.

“Draco, what is it?” I asked worriedly.

“Soran is missing.”

“What?” I whispered
, thankful his arms were around me to keep me upright.

“It seems he left the restaurant last night and had an accident, but he wasn’t with his car and we haven’t been able to locate him.”

“What are the police saying?”

“We tend to
take care of our own business here. The police will not be involved.”

“Draco
, this is serious. The police need to be involved.”

“What do we tell them
, Aurora? That a fifty-foot-long Blue dragon is missing and to keep an eye out for him?” he snapped clearly upset.

Put that way, I was sure we
couldn’t involve them. “I don’t know, but surely there is something or someone we can call on?” I cried out in frustration.

He sighed and sat next to me
, taking my hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take out my frustrations on you.” He lifted my chin with his finger and kissed me softly.

“What
happens now?” I asked, willing to overlook his outburst, given the situation.

“To be honest
, I’m not sure. Soran’s father and mine do not exactly get along. I don’t think he will be coming to my family for help. Besides, my father is afraid that Renault will accuse me of harming his son.”

I realized that Soran and Draco didn’t get along
, but I didn’t know it was a family rivalry. “But you were with me,” I argued.

“Yeah, but you’re not exactly unbiased
where I am concerned. Trust me, Renault won’t take your word.”

“That is stupid! I like Soran and I
would never want him to be hurt,” I cried out.

“Renault won’
t see it that way. He is upset, and desperate to find his son.” He placed his arm around me and hugged me close. “Don’t worry. I will do everything I can to find Soran, and hopefully this will all end soon. Now since I was so delayed this morning how about I take you to lunch.”

*****

It was clear by the low murmurs and whispers as we entered the Dragon’s Lair, a local restaurant Draco favored, that someone had told people the Blues thought him responsible for Soran’s disappearance. No one dared to confront him, but the hushed whispers and his sudden tenseness let me know what was happening. It angered me that they would be so accusatory when he had done nothing to warrant it. “Maybe we should find another place to eat,” I said softly.

“I have done nothing wrong
, and I will not act as if I did,” Draco told me loud enough that anyone close by could hear.

“Ah
, Draco, come, come, I have a table for you by the window,” a friendly male voice called out.

Draco placed his hand on my back and I was able to see a rather large blurry figure move before us. “Thank you, Ignus,”
he said pressing his hand on my back and escorting me to a nearby table where we took our seats. “Ignus, this Aurora and Aurora, this is Ignus, the owner and chef of this fine establishment.”

Before I could say anything
, the man chimed in happily. “Ah, but I know who she is, young Pendragon, everyone does, and may I say it is good to meet you, young lady. We always wondered what kind of a female it might take to tame Draco, but I can see he lucked out and ended up with a Gem of the highest caliber.” He laughed heartily. “Now, what is it you two are hungry for today?”

“Aurora?” Draco asked. I wasn’
t sure what to say. I didn’t know what kind of restaurant we were in and I was sure they wouldn’t have a Braille menu, so I didn’t know what kind of food they served. Thankfully, Draco realized my position and rushed to assure me I didn’t need a menu. “Ignus can make anything, he does not use menus here so just make your request and he will see to it that is filled,” he said twining our fingers together on top of the table, allowing me to tell where Ignus stood.

“
How about a cheeseburger and some French fries,” I requested.

“Magnificent, I have the best burgers in town!” Ignus exclaimed.

“Let me have the same, and throw in a few sweet teas if you would,” Draco told him.

“I will send my daughter with the drinks and your food will be out shortly,” Ignus said
, his blurry image hustling away quickly.

“He seems really nice,” I said to Draco, feeling nervous now that we were alone.

“Ignus is one of my father’s dearest friends and he really does make the best burgers I have ever eaten.”

His finger stroked the back of my hand and I knew that he was not happy with the reception we had received upon entering. “Draco, you had nothing to do with Soran’s disappearance. Don’t let their gossip upset you.”

His finger stilled.
“How do you know that, Aurora? You barely know me, but you seem so confident that I had nothing to do with this.”

“Draco, I can read people pretty well and I can tell you are not the type to hurt someone for your own gain. Besides, what possible reason would you have for hurting Soran?”

“Maybe he was in possession of something I wanted?” he countered.

“And what could he possibly have that you would harm him for?” I laughed.

“You,” he said shortly, gripping my hand.

“I was being serious,” I said with a chuckle.

“So was I,” he told me, without a hint of humor in his voice.

“Here we go,” a female
said to my left, interrupting our conversation. “Two sweet teas as requested.”

Draco let go of my hand and
I slid it back onto my lap.

“So, are you g
oing to introduce me, Draco?” the girl asked.

“
Oh, sorry. Morgana, this is Aurora, Aurora, this is Morgana, Ignus’s daughter.”

“It’s great to meet you,” the female said in a perky, friendly voice.

“Nice to meet you too,” I said, still distracted by Draco’s comment. Surely, he didn’t mean what he had said. We hadn’t known each other long so there was no way he could be that emotionally tied up in me.

“I’ll just leave you two alone now, but call me if you need anything. It was good to meet you
, Aurora. I hope we can hang out sometime.”

“She’s nice
, you should take her up on that sometime,” Draco told me.

“I will,” I said looking in the direction of his voice.
“Draco, what did you mean when you said I was something you wanted?”

He sighed, the table creaked, and then I felt him sit next to me. “I meant that you are the one thing I want more than anything in this world,” he said so close to me that his warm breath caressed my cheek. He took my hand in his and brushed his lips across the back of it. “You are the only female who will ever hold a place in my heart and there is nothing I won’t do to keep you by my side.”

“Oh.” It was the only response I could manage. With his hand caressing mine, and his body so close, all I could do was remind myself to breathe, which was a monumental task in itself.

“I know you don’t understand right now how I truly feel about you
, but I will show you every day until you do and then I will ask you the most important question one of our kind can,” he whispered softly, his finger tracing my bottom lip.

“What question?” I murmured, but his lips brushed mine and everything but his searing kiss was forgotten.

“Okay, two cheeseburgers and fries,” Morgana said, obviously not in the least bit affected by our intimate position.

Draco pulled away, but stayed by my side and held my hand. “Thanks,” he said huskily.

“No problem, you two enjoy now.”

I heard her whistling as she walked off and my cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Eat,” Draco said lifting my hand and placing it on my plate so I knew where it was located.

I nodded, but I knew I wasn’t the hamburger I wanted. I wanted more of his sweet words, more kisses
, and more of his gentle touch. Somehow I ate enough to satisfy him and when Morgana came back to take our plates he paid the bill. We were walking out of the restaurant when someone slammed into my shoulder and I heard Draco growl loudly in protest.

“Back off,” he commanded.

“Soran is missing and you two are out on a date?”

I recognized the male voice as that of Soran’s best friend
, Damien, and knew trouble was brewing. “Damien, Draco spent all morning searching for Soran. He was the one who found his car,” I said, hoping to end their confrontation before a fight ensued.

“Isn’t it convenient that he knew just where to look?”
Damien replied with a snarl.

“What are you suggesting?”
Draco asked, his hand tightening on my arm.

“Just that it is odd we searched all night without a sign of Soran or his car, but you go out for
a few hours and find his car without much difficulty.”

“Damien
, I know you are upset but Soran left the restaurant before we did and Draco was with me the rest of the night.” I assured him.

“The entire night?” he replied
, his meaning crystal clear.

Draco let go of my arm suddenl
y and a loud swoosh of air caressed my cheek before the sound of his fist meeting Damien’s flesh rang out.

Someone pulled me out of the way and I heard Ignus’s booming voice fill the air.
“Not in here!” he bellowed.

“Aurora, it’s alright
; my dad is separating them,” Morgana said next to me. I realized she had been the one to pull me away from the fight and I smiled thankfully, but my worry for Draco must have shown because she rushed to reassure me. “Draco is fine, it’s Damien that is in bad shape. He should have known better than to suggest anything that might place you in a bad light. None of our males would ever allow their woman to be spoken about that way.”