Page 48 of Brambles and Bellflowers
“That explains a lot…” Troy’s posturing deflated. He glanced at Titus, almost deferring, but not entirely either. “Whatareyou, anyway?”
“My father is a lion,” Titus answered without hesitation.
“Huh.” Troy sniffed. “My senses must be off. I can’t see that.”
Damen and Julian remained near the growing pile of supplies outside the van. From the surface, they seemed focused on their duties. However, as Damen tossed a bag onto a small mountain of supplies, his posture was tight, and his movements were shorter than usual.
And Julian, although he looked the most tranquil and involved in counting bags and issuing instructions to Brayden, could not hide the wariness across our bond.
For a moment, I thought the conversation had dropped, and we were on safer topics.
But then Troy had to open his big mouth again. “In that case, you really need to watch out,” he began, pulling at his shirt as professional ranger mode took over. “Not even your mate is safe. The Snallygaster will non-discriminately kill everything in its path.”
No!
My throat closed in despair as Bryce, who had become disinterested, perked up again.
“But she is cute,” Troy said. “And dragons like pretty things. Maybe it won’t kill her.”
“Adragon?” Titus’s voice was thick with scorn. “There’s no dragon here.”
His ironic statement pulled me from my spiraling emotions, and I turned my head to look up at him with narrowed eyes.
But there was no sarcasm in his expression—his features were perfectly calm.
“Of course there is!” Brayden—to my utmost horror—appeared at my side and swung his arm over my shoulders as he pulled me from Titus. I stiffened as he touched me, and he seemed to notice, but he didn’t let me go. “Forget it,” he mouthed, “It’s time to move on to Plan B.”
Plan B?Whatwas Plan B? I hadn’t even realized this was an issue until three minutes ago!
“Didn’t you do any research?” he asked Titus, his tone accusing. “How can you protect your mate like this? The Snallygaster is the vilest dragon of them all. It targets hikers, campers, and children alike.”
I stepped back and touched my lips as I blinked at Brayden. Why were children in a completely different category than hikers and campers? That grouping was all wrong.
“The creature doesn’t discriminate. It has downed thousands of cheeseburgers, laying waste to every campground throughout the region,” Brayden continued, waving his hand. “Countless clotheslines and tents have been ruined in its reign of terror. These are, of course, all things dragons do.”
“Dragons don’t do any of those things!” Titus snapped.
I gaped at Brayden. Why was he trying to make Titus angry?
“I bet he even has a secret hoard somewhere deep in the mountains.” Brayden sighed, his gaze trailing across the distance. “Aren’t you just itching to find the treasure?”
“Shove off, Brayden.” Titus glowered, eyes flashing an eerie red. This dragon talk seemed somewhat of a sensitive subject for him. “I hear enough of this from Miles. Go wait for us at the hotel.”
Miles…
I twisted my hands together as my breath caught.
Did he know what lived out here before he started his journey? According to the articles, the Snallygaster was deadly, and some recent sightings had been reported.
No, I believed hehadto know. It was the only thing that made sense. In his letter, Miles said he left to become a better man. Plus, he seemed to enjoy tormenting Titus.
Was he trying to prove himself by battling a dragon? The fool. What if he’d been eaten?
No… I shook my head. He couldn’t have been eaten; we would know it.
Maybe?
I didn’t understand how any of this worked, but Damen seemed confident in the effectiveness of the Quintet Bond alert system despite the contrary evidence. That’d been the point of our calm and rational discussion during our trip here.
