The Dragon's Gem (14 page)

I wasn’t sure whether to argue that I was his woman or not. As far as I
knew we were just dating. He hadn’t asked me to be his girlfriend although he had made it clear he wanted that.

“Aurora, I’m sorry,” Draco
, said pulling me into his arms, allowing me to make out his form.

“Are you alright?” I asked
, my voice trembling.

“I’m fine,” he assured me. “Ignus
, thanks for your help. Send me a bill for any damage.”

“I will send the bil
l to Damien. He should have known better than to speak of your woman that way. I am sure his parents will see it that way, too,” Ignus answered with a grunt. “You two go on and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.”

“Thank you, it was the best burger I have ever eaten,” I told him.

“You’re welcome, come back again soon.”

“I will,” I promised
, as Draco placed his arm around my back and escorted me out of the restaurant. “He’s very nice,” I said as he helped me into the car.

“Ignus is
a Brass dragon. They are one of the friendliest dragon forms. He, his wife, and family are some of the nicest and most loyal dragons you will ever meet. He and my father have been friends since they were hatchlings and they fiercely defend each other, and each other’s offspring.”

“
I suppose that explains why he jumped to your defense so quickly.”

“Actually
, he doesn’t usually rush in to help in a fight, but given the circumstances he felt it might be best to help Damien before I throttled him completely.”

“I know what he said was wrong, but you can’t beat people up every time they say something bad about me,” I told him.

He laughed. “You have so much to learn about us, but know this, I won’t have anyone speaking badly about you,” he said, taking my hand in his own as he drove. “No dragon worth his salt would let another talk about his woman.”

“Am I your woman
, Draco? You have alluded to wanting me as your girlfriend, but you have never really asked.” I bit my lip waiting for his response, hoping I wasn’t being too forward.

The car
swerved and came to a stop. He clenched my hand tightly in his own. “I guess I haven’t been clear enough.” He reached out and brushed his knuckles down my cheek. “Girlfriend doesn’t even cover what you are to me, Aurora. For my kind, when we find our mate there is nothing we can do but love them. Believe me, I fought it at first, but there is no getting past the feeling I have when I am near you. ”

“But I’m b
lind.” It was a stupid thing to say, but it was all that came to mind.

He chuckled. “You don’t get it. We call our mates gems, because they are the rarest treasures we could find. A
ny imperfections are irrelevant. You could have two horns and four eyes and I would still want you.”

“I don’t
, right?” I asked with a slow smile.

“No, I really lucked out,” he whispered
, brushing my lips with his own. “You are beautiful,” he said, his hand sliding behind my neck pulling me closer as he kissed me again. This time the kiss was more demanding and I felt my heart pounding wildly in my chest as he cajoled me to open my mouth to him. Aside from Draco, I had never been kissed before, and I was extremely nervous I would seem like the amateur I was, but he didn’t seem to have any complaints. “So perfect,” he murmured as he pulled away. Then without another word, he started the car and we continued our way home.

***
Draco
***

It amazed me how quickly the female next to me had worked her way into my life and my heart. She was mine, and no one was going to say things about her that weren’t true, which was why Damien had gotten the brunt of my rage. I realized he was worried about his friend and future leader, but he had no call to bring Aurora into it. Even Soran, if he had been present, would have put him in his place for doing so. There was an unspoken code amongst all dragons concerning their mates. It was a disgrace in dragon society to speak ill of one’s mate and Damien was lucky to have gotten away with just a beating.

I pulled into the driveway of my father’s estate and parked in front of the
guesthouse, hating that our first outing together had ended the way it did. “I’m sorry about the fight. It wasn’t really how I planned our first date.”

“Date?” Aurora asked.

“Yeah, you know when two people go out and do something together,” I answered with a grin.

“I
know what a date is. I just didn’t know we were on one. I thought we were just having lunch,” Aurora said, making me shake my head in wonder at how innocent she was.

I got out of the car and moved to her side opening the door next to her and helping he
r out before pulling her into my arms. “Well then I suppose this means we will have to go out again.” My lips feathered hers teasing her with just a hint of a kiss. “Very soon,” I added.

“Draco, I …”

The front door opened and my father stepped out looking in our direction. “Ah there they are now,” he said to Aurora’s father, who walked out behind him wearing a frown when he saw his daughter in my arms. “See, I told you Draco would bring her back unharmed.”

I
realized immediately he had heard of my encounter with Damien, and had come to ascertain that all was well when I returned Aurora to her father. “Safe and sound,” I said playing along, taking Aurora’s hand and leading her up the stairs to her father.

“Is everything alright
, honey?” Aurora’s father asked.

“Everything is great
, Dad,” she said with a smile that could light up a room.

“Is it okay if I call you
later?” I asked squeezing her hand.

She turned and looked up at me
, squinting her eyes slightly as if trying to focus. “Anytime,” she answered breathlessly, making my heart skip a beat.

I let go of her hand, smiling widely
, and her father took her arm in his, looking between us curiously before saying goodbye and helping her inside.

“
So, what happened with Damien, as if I have to ask?” my father asked, wiping the smile from my face.

“Word travels quickly,” I replied.

“Ignus called and then Damien’s father rang to tell me he was paying for all of the damages and that his son would be punished for his words against Aurora’s character.”

“He’s lucky his son is s
till alive,” I told him sincerely.

He nodded. “He knows that, and he appreciates the control it must have taken you not to do just that.”

“I get that they are upset and blaming me, but to draw Aurora into it was just taking things too far.” My hands clenched at my sides and a small wisp of smoke came from my nose. “I want Soran found as much as they do so my name can be cleared and we can all move on.”

“Renault has been oddly silent
about all of this, which worries me,” my father confided. “I expected immediate accusations against you, but he has said nothing. In fact, Damien’s father didn’t say anything accusatory either.” He rubbed his neck, looking frustrated. “Let’s go and take another look at the accident scene maybe we can find something there that they missed.”

I nodded and we walked to the main house before shifting and flying high up into the sky, he
ading towards the accident site.

*****

We arrived at the site, disappointed to see that the car had already been taken away and the clearing was ransacked. “What do we do now?” I asked my father, angry that they had been so reckless with the only clues we had to Soran’s disappearance.

“Doesn’t it seem more than passing strange to you that they moved the car so quickly and have all but destroyed the accident site?” my father asked.

I hadn’t really thought about it, but now that he said it, I realized how very strange it was. The site should have been left undisturbed so any clues to Soran’s disappearance could be uncovered, but instead they’d dragged the car out of there and contaminated the entire site. My father knelt down and placed his finger in the dirt lifting it to his nose and taking a sniff, his nose wrinkling in distaste.

“What did you find?” I asked coming to his side.

He pointed to the rutted earth where they had pulled the car out. “Blood, Wyverns blood,” he finished.

“That’s odd. If they knew Wyverns had been here why didn’t they tell someone?”

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” He shifted, lifting his massive body high into the sky and waited for me to join him before we flew to the secluded estate where Renault and all of his Blue dragons dwelled. Immediately upon entering airspace over that large ornate mansion that was surrounded by hundreds of acres of forest we were meet with the loud protest of its guard. Four incredibly large Blue dragons advanced on us with their deadly talons gleaming in the sunlight, but my father flew on, undisturbed by their presence. As he met the first, he screeched loudly and the dragon paused midflight, nodded, then turned to screech at the others. They all backed away at once, giving us room to land.

Once we landed and shifted to our human forms another group of guards came to escort us to Renault. As we entered the stone building that housed the lead
er of the Blues, we were met with the fierce stares of his many guards. They held massive spikes in their hands lining the interior walls of the hall, ready to defend their leader and his home, if need be, from the threat we presented. The halls were silent, abandoned by the usual everyday activities of the household. It was not unusual: the women and children would have been sent into hiding the moment our presence was detected, but it leant to an eeriness that had me on edge and my father alert for any sign of trouble.

When we arrived
at a large oak door one of the guard pulled it open to allow us access. We entered a large chamber and found Renault holding a bottle of liquor on one hand, sitting haphazardly upon an antique sofa staring at an unlit fire pit despite the cold chill in the room. It became obvious why Soran’s disappearance was being handled so poorly. “Leave us,” he commanded his guard, who moved swiftly from the room, closing the door behind him.

“Why do you sit here in this dark cold r
oom when your son is missing?” my father asked, moving before the fireplace, blowing flame from his mouth toward the weathered wood inside the hearth, bringing it to life.

“My son,” Renault said with a laugh
tossing the bottle inside of the fireplace, ignoring the burst of flame the liquid left in the bottle caused. “My son is gone, dead I suppose.”

“W
hat the devil are you saying?” my father snapped. “He was in an accident, and is missing. You cannot give up hope like this.”

Renault looked up into my father’
s eyes, his own filled with regret. “I encouraged him to pursue that girl. If I had remained silent, none of this might have happened. He would have never been out with your mate that night,” he said looking to me with a sad smile.

My father cursed and grabbed Renault by the collar
, dragging him to his feet. “You fool! Aurora is Draco’s mate; the Wyverns were after her, that is why she was brought here. Your grudge against me and mine might have just cost you your son.” He released Renault suddenly and he fell back against the cushions, looking ashen. “When you get yourself together come and find me, until then we will be searching for your son.” He looked to me and inclined his head towards the door. “Let’s go, he is useless to us in this condition.”

We strode d
own the hall and the guards who were there looked down at their toes instead of meeting my father’s angry gaze. We reached the door when a soft voice called my father’s name and a petite female with hair so blonde it shimmered as she ran towards us, much to the guard’s dismay.

“Get out of my way
, you big oaf!” she cried when one guard dared to step between her and us.

“Renault did not give you permission to speak to these outsiders,” the guard told her.

“My mate is not fit enough to handle my son’s disappearance, but I am. I am no fool! I know the Pendragons are our only hope.” She placed her hand on his chest, sending a bolt of electricity through him and he crumpled to the ground. No other guard dared approach her after that. “Thank you for coming, I know Renault is an ass, but he is my mate so I must forgive his trespasses.”

“
I, on the other hand, do not have to be so forgiving,” my father said shortly.

“He needed a good kick in the b
utt and hopefully your visit has provided that,” she said with a smile.

“
It is, as always, good to see you, Ally.” My father took her dainty hand in his own and brushed his lips across the back. “Now, tell me what you know so far.”

She shook her head
, looking sad. “Not much. The car was dusted and searched but they didn’t find anything. Renault had it towed to the junkyard so they could keep searching it but so far nothing.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I don’t care what you have to do; just get my son back.”

My father nodded. “I will do everything I can.”