Chapter 10
Poor Brad was looking like he’d been zapped by the Trima dragon’s lightning. All that was missing was his hair standing on end.
Lyrian took the shotgun from his hands, and took him by the hand and led him inside.
Perhaps she should have told him about dragons earlier, then it might not be such a surprise now.
“A dragon?” Brad repeated. “It wants to kill you and Anarian? Why?”
They didn’t have time for explanations. Not now.
Lyrian calculated. It would take maybe fifteen minutes for the dragon to get to Ultrima’s lair, maybe a little more time for it to explain the situation to the others, then another fifteen back.
Then they’d have more than one dragon on their doorstep.
Lyrian handed Brad the shotgun. “You need to protect your daughter.”
Brad’s eyes widened. But he began to reload the shotgun, even while he kept talking. “Dragon’s don’t exist,” he said. “I have to be dreaming. But if I am, why haven’t I woken up? And how much of this is a dream?”
He broke off, and stared into Lyrian’s eyes. “Are you a dream?”
How could she convince him this was real? Deadly real?
And that she needed him?
Lyrian leaned forwards, and pressed her lips to his, feeling the spark igniting between them. “Do you think you can dream this?” she demanded, a little breathless from the passion that stormed through her. The danger only seemed to intensify it.
Brad stared at her. “Who are you?” he demanded. “What are you?”
Lyrian hesitated, but there was no escaping it now.
She let her eyes change, her pupils elongating into narrow slits. “I’m a dragon,” she breathed, directly into his mind.
His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.
For a minute, Lyrian thought he was going to back away.
Her mind panicked. What would she do without him? She hadn’t gone far from Henry’s farm, she didn’t know the area anymore, too much had changed in three hundred years.
She had no idea where she could go that would be safe.
But Brad’s jaw flexed, then hardened. He stepped forwards, his arms going around her waist and pulling her up against him. Hard.
“Is that why you broke up with me? Because you thought I couldn’t handle it?” he demanded.
Lyrian’s heart flip flopped. If only it was that simple.
“That was part of it,” she said breathlessly. “But mating is complicated for dragons. And now isn’t the time to discuss it. We need to get out of here.”
There was so much more she wanted to tell him, but not now. “I’ll explain later.”
Brad stared into her eyes. “Is that a promise?” he demanded. “You aren’t going to just tell me to go away again later, once you’re safe?”
How could he think that of her?
Probably because she’d done it.
That had been before Anarian though. “I won’t keep you away from your daughter,” she promised.
The fire in Brad’s eyes didn’t dim. “What about you?” he demanded. “Are you going to force me out of your life too?”
Lyrian’s mind spun.
It wasn’t that she’d wanted to, but she hadn’t had any choice. He couldn’t possibly understand. It was easy for him. He didn’t have a whole clan relying on him.
“Are you trying to say you won’t help me unless I agree to go out with you?” she demanded.
Brad stared at her blankly for a few moments, then abruptly released her and took a step back.
“Of course not,” he said flatly. “I’ll help you no matter what. What do you need?”
Lyrian should have felt relieved. He’d agreed to help her. That was what she needed right now.
But a part of her couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed he’d given in so easily.
If he’d insisted, then she would have had no choice. She would have had the perfect excuse to melt into his arms and mate bond with him. The perfect excuse to do exactly what she wanted to do. Protecting her daughter was more urgent than finding her clan.
She shook her head. What was she thinking? Right now, they needed to get out of here.
“We need somewhere to go,” she said quickly. “Somewhere that a dragon is never going to think to look for us.”
Brad gave a laugh. “Well, that sounds simple enough. One question though, where might a dragon think to look for us?”
Lyrian stared at him for a moment. Was he being serious?
Then he gave her a wink, which drew an unwilling laugh from her. Of course he had no idea. He’d only just discovered that dragons existed.
“Anywhere away from here,” she told him. “That dragon is coming back, and he won’t be alone.”
“Right,” Brad said immediately. His forehead furrowed in thought.
“Get Anarian,” he said. “And anything you’ll need for the next few days. I’ll think of something on the way.”
Lyrian almost sagged in relief that someone was taking over. That someone seemed to have an idea of what to do. Because she certainly didn’t.
She had no idea how they were going to get out of this.
Normally she’d go to her clan for help, but they were gone. Brad was all she had.
She headed into the next room and picked up the sleeping baby, staring at her for a few minutes, her heart overflowing with love.
She’d do anything to protect her daughter. Anything.
She couldn’t get to her brothers. Even if they were still alive somewhere, there was no way she could go up against the whole Trima clan by herself to rescue them.
She had to give up on them. She had to protect Anarian.
Brad could help her do that.
Maybe going back to America with him wasn’t such a bad idea. The Trima dragons could never follow her there.
She’d worry about that later. Right now, she needed to get out of here.
Lyrian grabbed a bag and stuffed some spare nappies into it. Luckily, she carried Anarian’s food with her wherever she went.
They didn’t need much.
Just somewhere safe. Preferably not alone.
Hopefully, they’d find that. Somehow.