Page 12 of Rhadan

Tempest put her hand on his arm. “Of old age?”

“I wish that were the case, and it was my intention to stay with her and appear to age beside her. It was the least I could do after I ruined her life.”

“I don’t understand. You don’t think she loved you? Why did you ruin her life?”

Rhadan took a deep breath, but it did nothing to quell the uneasiness in his stomach. Speaking with Tempest was a gift, regardless of the dark nature of their conversation. Not knowing what she would say or how she would react was a scary prospect. Still, he would take the uneasiness over the fake adoration he was used to. If she ever looked at him with love, it would be real. Unfortunately, what he was about to tell her may eradicate his chances. “Elia was the daughter of a landowner. When our parents died. We lived in the caves. After the village was destroyed, we retreated for hundreds of years. I was woken by my brethren because they needed my help.”

“What happened?”

“Humans had begun to stake a claim on the land and ours had been claimed by Elia’s father.”

“But you could just change his mind or something?”

“Yes, but he had filed the documents and there were investors. We had not learned the ways of the new world as we should have and did not know how to regain the land that housed our cave.”

“What did you do?” she asked.

“Legion asked me to attend an investor meeting. They had planned to build a new village close to our cave, and we needed to stop the construction. I went to the meeting as planned and listened outside the door where the gentlemen were in session.”

“You went in and influenced them?”

Rhadan huffed. “That never transpired, not the way I had planned, anyway. I was at the door and concentrating on what was happening inside, when a girl approached me.”

“Elia.”

“Yes.”

“What did you do?”

“I was about to send her away, but her father mentioned explosives and mining the caves. My power flared in Elia’s presence,” Rhadan said. The pain in his voice was evident.

“Oh no.”

“She was all over me. And I had no way to reverse what I had done.”

“So, you married her?” she asked.

“I entered the meeting with Elia on my arm. She introduced me as her fiancé and said she wished to have the lands they were discussing as her dowry. Her father doted on her and agreed. All the men were... impressed by me, so they agreed to my terms.”

“What happened?”

“I moved Elia to the caves and told her the dragons were my family. She was kind and happy to cook for us, and I began to enjoy having her around. I think we all did. She had a wicked sense of humor and she integrated into our lives quite well for a few months.”

“Months?” her surprise showed in her tone.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“What changed?”

“She asked me if I wanted children, and my heart broke for her. Only a mate can produce young with a dragon. She was not a being of magic and there would be no offspring. I told her what I could. I said I was infertile and that if she wanted another, I would understand. She stayed, and that made the coming days worse.”

“She was mad about not being able to conceive?”

“No. She became... unstable.”

“How so?” she asked.

“She began to accuse me of cheating on her when I never left her side. The others tried to reassure her, but she was convinced I had another woman. She accused me of not loving her and despite my repeated attempts to calm her, she became violent.”

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