Page 32 of Purple Protector

Birch nodded. “But you weren’t able to catch them?”

“Unfortunately, no. They were gone by the time Aaron got to me. I’ve already talked to other guards and sent them to look around the palace, but it will be near impossible to find the dragon if they know we almost got them.”

Birch gritted his teeth. “We have to.”

The guard nodded. “I agree. I’ve been talking to people, and while I don’t have a name, I’ve been told that this dragon has been seen with Pearl.”

Birch didn’t swear, but it was a close thing. Of course the burnt orange dragon had been seen with Pearl. Birch had suspected that she might be involved, but without knowing who the attacker was, it had been impossible to tie her to the attack. It still was, but if they were able to find the attacker, they would be one step closer to confirming who wanted to hurt Aaron.

Or worse, kill him.

If Pearl was involved, she’d probably been planning on killing him. The thought made Birch want to rage, but he couldn’t exactly accuse Killian’s sister with no proof.

That meant that he would have to find proof.

The attack had to be linked to Pearl wanting the throne. She was careful, but hopefully, this would be her downfall. One way or another, Birch would find the connection between the attacker and her.

He left the guard and crossed the dining hall to talk to Aaron. His stomach turned at the smell of food, and he frowned. He hadn’t eaten lunch yet because he didn’t feel well, and it seemed like it had been a good idea to avoid food. He didn’t quite feel like he was about to throw up, but he would rather be anywhere but inside the dining hall. He hadn’t noticed before because he’d been so worried about Aaron, but now, he could see that Aaron was fine, and he couldn’t ignore it.

He would have to. He wasn’t leaving until he was sure Aaron was okay and didn’t need him. As much as he wanted to stay with his boyfriend, he had to return to Killian’s office to tell him and Marlin what happened. They needed to put together all the information the guards had found about the attacker and what Aaron had remembered today.

They needed to find the asshole.

AARON WAS RELIEVED when he noticed Birch striding toward him. He’d known Birch would come, but also that his boyfriend would have to do his job. Unfortunately for Aaron, that job wasn’t to be with him. Birch needed to find the attacker, and Aaron didn’t know anything more than what he’d already told the guard.

Birch kissed the top of Aaron’s head as soon as he reached him. “You’re okay,” he said.

Aaron nodded. “I am. I was scared for a bit, but the guard I stopped made sure I was fine and sent me inside the dining hall.”

“I already talked to them. You gave them a more precise description of the dragon who attacked you.”

“I didn’t remember any of what I told them until I actually saw the dragon again. It’s weird.” Aaron bit his lower lip. “I’m sorry. Maybe if I remembered what the dragon looked like sooner, we would’ve caught them already.”

“It’s fine,” Birch said as he squeezed Aaron’s shoulder. “No one blames you for this.”

“And I’m sure that Birch and Marlin will find your attacker soon,” Palmer added. He narrowed his eyes at Birch as if silently ordering him to do just that.

Birch quickly nodded. He was a little pale, and Aaron wished he could drag Birch back to their rooms and spend the rest of the day there, taking care of each other.

Unfortunately for both of them, they couldn’t. Now that they had a better description of the attacker, Birch and Marlin would get back to work and find them. That meant it would be long hours before Aaron could spend time alone with Birch. Hopefully, this mess would be over soon, though.

“We’ll find them,” Birch confirmed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to do it sooner.”

Aaron shook his head. “If it’s not my fault, it’s not yours, either.”

Birch grinned. “We can agree that it’s the attacker’s fault. They and whoever’s behind them are responsible for what happened, not you or me.”

Aaron didn’t miss the second part of Birch’s statement. He thought someone was behind what had happened to Aaron. It made sense. Aaron had never seen the attacker before the day he’d been attacked. The dragon would have no reason to attack him since they didn’t know each other, but there were dragons known by the entire clan, including Pearl.

She was the only one who made sense. She’d clearly disliked Aaron the one time they’d spoken, probably because he was human. More than that, she could use him against Killian. Aaron could only imagine what she would’ve done if her dragon had managed to hurt or kill him. She would’ve put the blame on Killian and insinuated that he couldn’t protect important visitors or clan members.

Aaron hated her. He needed Birch to stop her from getting Killian in trouble. That was why Aaron didn’t tell Birch that he wanted them to spend the rest of the day together. It was why he gently pushed Birch away after Birch kissed him. “Go and catch them,” he murmured.

Birch stared at him for a moment before nodding and pressing one last kiss to his forehead. “I will.”

Chapter Twelve

BIRCH AND MARLIN COULDN’T find Aaron’s attacker. He’d given them a pretty good description now that he’d seen the dragon again, yet it was like the dragon didn’t even exist. No matter how many times Birch and the others searched the palace, the dragon was nowhere to be found, to the point in which Birch was convinced they’d left.

---