Page 19 of Betrayed By Dragons

The pain of it takes my breath away.

"He was right," he insists. "Nobody wants a leader who goes to pieces--"

"You were a child." I put my hand over his heart. "A child who'd just lost his mother, and you wanted your father's comfort. His love."

"I don't get to--" he starts, shaking his head, but I'm not having any of it.

"Everyone deserves someone they can fall apart with." I put a finger to his lips when he parts them again to protest. "In private, fine, but it's true. You needed that." I swallow, my throat raw. "You need that now. Whatever happened..."

"It was nothing." He laughs, and it's only half a lie. "Nothing compared with my mom getting gunned down in front of me."

"Jesus."

"It's fine." He kisses the top of my head. Already, he seems lighter, but I'm not letting this go.

"Nothing about this is fine."

"I mean--" Exhaling roughly, he rubs his hands up and down my arms. "My mother died a long time ago. I dealt with it."

Yeah, I doubt that. "But..."

"I'm not looking for sympathy for something that happened ages ago."

"I'm pretty sure you could use some." I lift a brow, challenging him to tell me that I'm wrong.

"Maybe," he allows. His gaze softens. "I'm just saying. The men in my family never show emotions. It's weakness."

He honestly, truly believes that, and it makes my heart want to crack in two.

"That's not true." I spread my fingertips out across his chest, as if I can force him to believe what I'm saying with my touch alone.

Am I a hypocrite, though? After my mother left me with my aunt, I spent a lot of time hiding my feelings. My relationship with Storm was a secret; I couldn't let on how much Fury and Jasmine and their minions got to me without inviting even more torture.

I wasn't alone alone, though. I had my cousin Brynn, and I vented to her as much as I could.

"Did you have anyone?" I ask.

"My friend Ben. He... He helps."

"Good."

"Li, too, sometimes." A shadow crosses Jianyu's eyes. "Though he's too loyal to my father to talk to about anything close to the crown. And he..."

His mouth closes, his jaw flexing.

"He...?" I prod.

"He trusted the wrong people today," Jianyu says grimly.

Something in my stomach sinks. "Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine." He doesn't sound concerned, but the bitter edge to the words makes me pause. I'm pretty sure we're getting near the root of whatever sent his dragon tearing across the sky in a rage just now.

Carefully, running my fingertip along the neckline of his undershirt, I ask, "Will you tell me what happened?"

Emotions flare and fade in his eyes, and his grip tightens around my arms. I must wince. He drops his hands and looks away.

"Nothing happened."

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