Page 10 of The Alliance

“I didn’t notice.”

“He is a gargoyle and very capable of defending my mate. Nadia also has not been more than a few metres from my mate the whole time.”

I gasped. “She said she couldn’t be bothered to move!”

Edith’s lips quirked into that half-smile again. “That is her way. She is still learning what to do with her power and how to present it. For thetime being, she likes to down-play it. I have learned how to wear my power and be comfortable with it. Your father wore his in his eyes, and liked to frighten people. How will you wear yours, Lord Somerville?”

It was a question I pondered long after I returned to my clan and settled back into the armchair with Blaze on my lap and my web of bonds around me.

Chapter 4

Dimpy

My dragon wasn’t the most dragony of creatures, and I barely got any interference from it. This week was going to be quite a work-out for my instincts, though. Already, my dragon had surged up inside me when Alfie had smacked Anthony’s arm away from Blaze.

My entire body had jolted with fear that my mate was hurt. I’d been at his side in a second, dragging him back, away from the threat. His scent had been hurt and confusion. For all he knew more about almost every type of magical creature in the world, my mate didn’t understand our instincts very well. He didn’t feel possessive or arrogant or vengeful, and so he didn’t consider that other people might have those kinds of feelings. My owninstincts were to hold him close and keep him safe, and I’d wanted to bundle him up in our room for the rest of the day as soon as Georgie confirmed his arm wasn’t broken, just bruised.

Anthony, however, wanted to be out there with all the newcomers. He wanted to speak to them and find out more aboutuasalandridire.

At first, I’d tried to persuade him to stay in our room but he looked at me with those big brown eyes and… well, he really, really wanted to go out there. I couldn’t deny him.

I stuck close by him, though. He wasn’t getting out of my sight for the rest of the day, probably for the rest of the week.

My instincts were unsettled and my dragon was awake inside me, even if it wasn’t trying to do anything right now. When aridirewalked into our midst, it sort of raised its head inside me and took stock of things.

It might be settled but it wasn’t going to stop watching, not now. It allowed my mate to enter the room where theridirewas, but it stuck close to Anthony. My dragon seemed to think that, if Nana had let this man into our territory, he wasn’t a danger to us. It trusted our elder.

And Kingsley wasn’t aridireany longer, I reminded myself.

Still, Anthony had been hovering around him, hoping to talk to him. We’d never been able to talk to aridirebefore and just because he wasn’t one now didn’t mean Kingsley didn’t know all about them. Anthony was desperate to mine some knowledge from him. He’d started writing lists of questions last night in case he forgot any once he actually managed to corner the man.

Unfortunately for Anthony and his lists, Arram had got to Kingsley first.

Kingsley was a serious-looking man who held himself constantly alert. Maybe because he was around dragons, I wasn’t sure. But he took everything seriously and listened carefully.

That was why he was getting on so well with Arram, I thought. The dryad was also serious, slow and watchful. The two of them had had their heads together for nearly an hour, talking in low voices about different types of magic.

That in itself was fascinating and, as soon as I’d realised that I could hear them but my mate couldn’t, I’d manoeuvred us both closer to them so Anthony could eavesdrop beside me. Hehad been practically squirming in his seat ever since, desperate to interrupt and ask more questions. Somehow, he’d restrained himself.

I glanced at my mate and admired his profile. His eyes were so dark and beautiful, knowing eyes, and so gentle too. The lean lines of his body were perfect, elegant and smooth.

I stood back against the wall and listened to Arram and Kingsley and watched my mate soak up all of the new knowledge. Somehow he always retained it all, and I couldn’t believe the sort of things he could remember. He was a walking encyclopaedia.

Suddenly there was a snarl from across the room and I jerked my head up in time to see Dee streaking towards her mate. For a horrible second, I thought she was going to attack Kingsley and my dragon rushed up inside me, ready to protect my mate.

If she fought Kingsley, it would be a bloody battle. There would be deaths from both families, for certain. Because my clan would defend Dee. And Kingsley’s clan would defend him.

It would be the end of an alliance.

Maybe the end of a whole clan.

Inside me, my dragon grew big and gave a sudden, worried rumble.

Luckily, Dee shot straight past Kingsley, merely shouldering him aside as she made straight for her mate. She grabbed Arram and hustled them backwards until they hit the wall and then Dee grabbed their neck and fused her mouth to theirs.

She kissed Arram passionately and Arram suffered her to kiss them. They even obeyed when she growled, “Shift.”

Arram’s body became wider, their skin darker as it turned to bark and Dee’s hands roamed all over her mate’s body possessively, touching and claiming them. Where she touched, small pink flowers appeared.

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