Page 17 of Fated for his Flame

“No, of course not.” I didn’t know for sure, but I’d heard the rumblings. “But I would say you have repaid us many thousands of times over. After all, we never killed any of your people. The same can’t be said for you.”

I knew my response wasn’t helping the matter, but his self-righteous bullshit was rubbing me the exact wrong way.

“You deserved it,” the old man snapped furiously.

“Really? We did? All those tens of thousands of innocent people who had no idea what happened. They deserved it, did they?”

A wave of his hand indicated his level of care. “This is the fault of your people and government. You have a democracy—”

“A republic,” I muttered, earning myself a glare.

“You elected your leaders. Therefore, you are responsible.”

“The war is over,” I pointed out. “We’re at peace now, remember?”

“Oh, yes, I remember.” He was suddenly a step closer, the fires in his eyes now blazing, drowning out the normal iris and pupil. “What I don’t remember is inviting one of their whores into my house to defile it with her—”

“That is enough,” Silas snarled, coming to stand between us as he finally interceded. “She is here because she came with me, father. I invited her. Unless you would cast out your son?”

I held my breath at the sharpness of the challenge between them.

The older dragon stared down his son for a full minute before leaning slightly to the side. “Leave us,” he said coldly. “We have things to discuss.”

Silas turned his back on his father, looking at me with eyes that said far more than he ever could.

“Wait here,” he said. “I’ll find you when this is done.”

I noticed the subtle difference in what he said. It wasn’t much, but the way he’d disobeyed his father’s orders while still achieving the same ends was well done. It put Silas in charge of the conversation and what would ensue and not his father. It wouldn’t last, I was sure, but the old man noticed it, too.

“You wanted a council,” Silas growled as his father looked ready to argue some more. “Let’s go have the family council. I’m sure those who are here are ready by now.”

Then he walked deeper into the house, forcing his father to accept the slight change in plans.

I watched them go.

“What the fuck have you gotten yourself into?” I moaned to no one but myself once they were out of sight.

When I’d discovered Silas came from a powerful family, I’d hoped it would be a help in achieving my mission.

Now, it appeared it would be the exact opposite.

Perhaps even terminating it—and me—early.

Chapter Nine

Silas

Four other members of the family eventually caved to my father’s shouting and were assembled in his study.

“What is the meaning of this, Azarel?” Annabelle asked as she strode into the room, taking us all in, her glare just as cold as it had been earlier. “There is work to be done.”

“This is more important.”

I eyed my father, not bothering to hide my reaction to his insistence a human in his house was the end of the world as he saw it.

For as long as I could remember, well before the war had broken out, he’d hated them. They were inferior, and he saw them as an infestation on the world, like termites, deserving little more than to be eradicated. When the sovereign had first proposed the idea of demanding human women as tribute, he’d gone apoplectic. I expected more of the same now.

“Is it?” That was Casseel, my cousin. He sounded irritated, too.

---