Page 28 of To Spark a Dragon's Love
I couldn’t change the past, though. No more than I could apparently change the future.
Weak. Failure. Unworthy.
“Witches, seriously?” I asked.
Lucan’s deep-chested laughter barreled through the room. “Oh, they’ve gotten so much bolder this century too. There’s one in particular I can’t wait for you to meet.”
∞
“Riley is okay with this?”I asked my brother as we stoodnear the dais while the attendants filled chairs at the edge of the gardens and we waited for the women to come.
I hadn’t known Riley long, but I enjoyed her wit and was fond of the way she made my brother happy.
“She wanted to elope.”Lucan’s voice filled my head, drowning out the rampage of my beast.
All these supernaturals—the dragon clans, other shifter alphas and their mates, an ogre, the fae ambassadors, and Kieran’s witches among them—sat in attendance, on the edge of their seats, hoping for a good show.
You fail them all.
“You should’ve taken her somewhere else,”I told Lucan. He didn’t have to suffer this way.
“And leave you alone?”My brother clapped me on the back. The gasps from the crowd almost made me smile.“Someone has to make sure you don’t screw this up.”
A soft music played as the warm afternoon breeze ruffled the changing leaves on the aspen trees. Earth gave us a perfect autumn day for this ceremony. I assumed that was a blessing.
The crowd ceased their whispers, turning their heads away once they sensed the commotion behind them.
Little white shoes stepped onto the aisle.
Flower petals burst from an open hand in the traditional style of a human wedding. The girl walked fast, nervous and throwing petals in a hurry. Blonde hair and big green eyes so much like her mother’s stared up at us.
“Hey Lucan.” She gave a short wave as she dumped the rest of the flower petals, her nervousness easing upon seeing my brother.
Something like jealousy stabbed my chest.
The girl—Harper was her name—stepped up between us.
And then those green eyes pinned me in her gaze. “You’re the dragon that’s marrying my mom.”
My throat was dry as I nodded. “If that’s okay with you.” I hadn’t thought to ask. In my mind, the child was only a babe. Not big enough to talk. To care. I should’ve paid more attention.
They both deserve better than you.
A lifetime seemed to pass as Harper looked me over, judging me with her mother’s eyes.
“You’ll do.” She lowered her voice into a growling threat, “But you better be nice to her.”
Lucan coughed to hide his burst of laughter.“She’s fun,”he told me.
I could see that. My lips quirked as I nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
The crowd oohed and aahed as Riley walked down the aisle. Her steps were quick and her eyes were only for Lucan.
I stood back, giving him this moment. Seeing my little brother so in love warmed my normally cold heart. But that same heart stopped dead in my chest when I looked past the happy couple, seeing the woman fate decided would be mine.
11
Willow
