Page 83 of To Spark a Dragon's Love
She didn’t need to scream.
I heard her loud and clear.
Though I didn’t quite know how to get past the teeth of the saw until she released the trigger. Even Kieran and Lucan had their hands up, worried about how best to handle the situation.
I’d seen a lot of things in my long life.
This was a first.
“You’re right,” I soothed, letting instinct take over as I stepped in her direction. “I’m sorry. Can you put that down so we can talk?”
Willow’s whole body was shaking from the effort of holding the saw on and her teeth chattered as she slowly lowered herarms. I didn’t move fast, afraid to frighten her off, and stopped entirely when she glared up at me.
“No more,” she said.
I nodded.
She released the trigger and the saw died.
I scooped her into my arms, handing the saw off to whoever grabbed it behind me, and carried Willow down the hall.
Her exhaustion washed over me, pulling me under. I’d thought I’d spared her from the worst of my pain, but it only made her suffer in other ways. Purple bags lined her bright, tear-filled eyes.
You did this.
“I can’t…” I swallowed hard; my voice hoarse from disuse. But I knew she needed the truth. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“No one is telling you to figure it out alone,” Willow cried as she buried her face against my chest.
I held her close, breathing in her scent as my head cleared and my dragon retreated.
“We can do this together.” She fisted her hands in my shirt, inhaling my scent too.
I pressed my lips into a thin line and nodded. It’d do no good to rile her up further. By the looks of things, I’d already done enough.
Failure seemed to be what I succeeded in now.
“Forgive me?” I asked instead of drawing this out. I’d already wasted precious time being a fool.
“Always.” Willow sighed.
“Where’s Harper?” I adjusted Willow in my arms so I could look at her. My beautiful, exhausted mate.
“She’s mad at you too.” Willow blinked up at me. A shy smile toyed with the corner of her lips. “Luckily for you, she doesn’tknow how to use power tools and can be bought by a pretty dress.”
∞
I stood in the parlor waiting for Willow to come downstairs because she wanted to show me something. The phone rang and I ignored it, which was why I didn’t understand how Kieran expected me to want to speak with whoever was calling.
“It’s for you.” He held out the phone.
“Can it wait?” I asked, knowing by the look on his face that it couldn’t.
“He’s here.” Kieran handed me the device and turned away as if to give at least the illusion of privacy.
“Guardian Malachy, is that you?” The anxious voice of some human president spoke on the end of the line. They turned over so quickly, I didn’t bother remembering names.
“Just Malachy,” I gritted out through clenched teeth. “I’m no longer your guardian.”
