Page 30 of Secrets of the Dragon's Heart

“Sorry, come in,” he said, holding the door open. “I’m just so surprised to see you, I don’t know what to say.”

“Dad’s wrong, Cameron, wrong to try and force you into a position you don’t want to be in,” Zach said. “I’m not taking his side anymore. I never should have. I just wanted his approval so badly, and I blamed you when I didn’t get it.”

“I think I’ll go make some coffee and give you two some privacy,” Kennedy said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

When Kennedy was gone, he gestured to one of the chairs by the empty fireplace, then sat in the one opposite his brother. “Did you really mean what you said?” he asked. “You’ve always been so squarely on Dad’s side, it’s hard to believe…”

“The last couple of years have really opened my eyes. Dad is so determined that it can only be his first-born son who leads the clan he’s tearing it apart,” he said. “Dad won’t listen to anyone, not even me. If something doesn’t change soon, the council is going to declare him unfit and remove him.”

“That would devastate him,” he said. “But that’s not going to make me change my mind. You should be the one leading the clan. You’ve been Dad’s shadow since you were a kid. You know the clan, and they respect you.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that. I always wondered if you thought I was up to the job,” Zach admitted. “I’ve been training for this my entire life. I just never thought the day would come when it might actually happen.”

“Well, it hasn’t happened yet,” he said. “We’ll have to appeal to the council. I’ll have to relinquish my right to lead, and they might not accept it. This isn’t something that’s done very often.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Zach said, a light in his eyes Cameron had never seen before. “I’ve got the council’s backing. We justneed Dad to give in, and this stunt you just pulled might just do it.”

“It wasn’t a stunt, you idiot, we were attacked by a tiger,” he said. “I had to shift to save Kennedy.”

“I figured that was the way things were after Max filled me in,” Zach said, pulling a velvet-covered box out of his pocket. “I thought you might want this.”

He opened the box, a wave of emotion washing over him, “Grandma’s ring,” he finally said, then looked up at his brother. “Thank you, Zach, I don’t know how you knew, but this is perfect.”

“Does she know yet?” Zach asked, looking into the kitchen. “If not, you might want to put that away.”

“I haven’t asked her yet, but I’m going to this morning,” he said. “I’m going to marry her today down at the beach right before we launch the balloon.”

“Wow, you’re not messing around,” Zach said. “Are you sure, Cameron? That might be rushing things.”

“It was Marie’s idea,” he said. “You remember her, don’t you?”

“Marie is here?” Zach asked. “How could I forget her? But the clan will never allow it.”

“Marie says it’s happened before. She says it’s in our history. If we’re bonded, the clan has to accept her,” he said. “We’ll have to pass some kind of a test in front of the council, but if we pass, we can be together.”

“Well, if you’re really supposed to be together, that shouldn’t be a problem then,” Zach said. “What exactly is this test?”

“That’s the problem, I don’t know, it’s buried somewhere in our history,” he said. “I don’t suppose you know someone who’s an expert in this stuff?”

“There are a few people I can think of, but it would take time,” Zach said. “And I don’t think we have enough of that.”

“Too bad we don’t have the library here,” he said. “I’m sure we could find what we needed between the two of us.”

Zach opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the air in the cabin began to crackle. There was a loud cracking sound followed by several thuds in the kitchen. “Kennedy,” he said, jumping to his feet and running to the kitchen, his brother right behind him.

She stood by the table, a stack of plates in her hands, staring at something in front of her. “Are you okay?” he asked. What was that noise?”

“Are those yours?” she asked. “I was trying to set the table when they just appeared out of thin air. Maybe you could get them out of the way. They look kind of old.”

“What the hell? Where did those come from?” Zach asked, taking a few steps toward the table. “These are the books that we need…”

He laughed, then walked over and picked up the books off the table. “Make yourself useful and take this into the other room,” he said, handing them to Zach. “Welcome to Heart of the Ocean, little brother. That was nothing, you should have seen the tiger the island sent after us.”

***Kennedy***

Kennedy plunged her hands into the soapy water, listening to the two men behind her as they flipped through the ancient texts spread out on the table, a little smile on her face, more contented than she’d been in a long time. As she worked, there were gasps of excitement followed by groans of disappointment, and a few muttered conversations, but the two were working as a team, and she could see how happy it made Cameron.

When she was finished, she turned to the two men. “I’mall finished here. I think I’ll go take a shower,” she said, drying her hands on a towel. “Are you having any luck?”

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