Page 11 of Dragon's Honor

A Dragon Accused

A month later…

Ash paced across his living room floor. His skin prickled with agitation. It was the middle of the night, the gibbous moon hung just outside his balcony, mocking him. The moon could see her.

Her.

The woman who wore his heartstone. How the hell had she gotten ahold of it? He couldn’t be mated to a human, but according to the Tourmaline Clan witch, it was completely true. His heartstone had found his mate, and he’d let her go.

He couldn’t be king with a human female by his side. The clan would never accept her. She wouldn’t be able to handle everything happening in the dragon world. They were in complete disarray.

Which boded well for the clan conclave happening in the morning. To bring formal charges against another ruler of a clan was a big ordeal.

Bringing a woman who knew nothing about his world would be a mistake. For both of them. Fate had screwed up somewhere. Even with so few female dragons left, he couldn’t be mated to a human. And he wasn’t arrogant enough to think one of the dragons belonged to him.

He shouldn’t be mated at all. The whole thing was preposterous.

Yet, he ached to find her again. He had her phone number. He could call her. Text her. Something. She would respond. He knew she would.

Unless…?

She didn’t know what the heartstone meant. She didn’t know she was meant for him. What if she was falling in love with someone else?

He let out a snarl.

The night was endless as he paced, trying to numb his mind with infomercials, and then paced again for good measure. Sleep was completely elusive.

Near dawn, he stepped out onto his balcony that overlooked the ocean, stripped out of his clothes, and jumped off the stone wall into the air. Like breathing, his body shifted into his dragon form. He headed for the destination of the conclave.

By the time he arrived in Bermuda, he was frayed with exhaustion. The flight had taken more out of him then he anticipated. Of course, if he’d managed to sleep before his trip it wouldn’t have been so hard. He dove into the ocean before he got too close to the shore for anyone to see him. The sea creatures darted away from him, even the big tiger sharks. Dragons were big, fast, and there was next to nothing that they feared.

Except, Ash was desperately afraid of what Finley wearing his tourmaline meant.

He climbed up out of the ocean in his human form, trying to focus on the matter at hand. Charges had to be brought. The dragon responsible for killing his parents had to be punished.

Henrik strolled toward him in the sand. He tossed Ash a bag full of clothes before he made a scene. Even on a secluded beach, public nudity wouldn’t go over well. “You look like hell.”

Ash toweled off and then pulled on pair of shorts and a tank top similar to what Henrik was wearing. “I’m fine.”

“The more you say that, the less I believe it’s true,” Henrik replied.

“Is everyone here?”

“The Opal Clan and Turquoise Clan have yet to show.”

Ash nodded. “Let’s go.”

The meeting tent took up most of the white, sandy beach. They had cleared off any humans and there were plenty of guards to keep them away. Ash headed into the tent flanked by his brother.

Of the six clans, three were already seated around the table.

Ash stood in front of his place marker, meeting the eyes of the kings one by one. He was a kid compared to the others at the table. If his father hadn’t been murdered, he would’ve been much older before he took the throne.

The others stood when the saw him.

Marcus of the Lapis Lazuli Clan held out his hand. “Ash, I’m sorry for what happened to your family.”

Ash shook his hand. “Thank you, Marcus. I hope that you will all hear me out today when I bring forth charges against one of our clans.”

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