Page 2 of Her Dragon Defender

Unless Diana's mate had a sister, maybe...

Blaze shook his head. No, fated mates were a fairytale, not something for him. He was too down to earth to believe in fairytales. His future and any legacy he might leave were in the gardens he planted and helped grow. Very few people throughout history had created gardens that survived for centuries, but that was what he intended to do at the Hea Sanctuary, when it was ready for him to start planning. He had so many plans...

He dumped the final load of mulch into the garden bed and raked it flat. There. Done. Now he could go inside and shower, once he'd put his tools away. The last time he'd forgotten to clean up after himself, the (now retired) head gardener had given him an absolute earful about the importance of keeping your tools sharp, shiny and tidy. Blaze thought he might have been six or seven at the time, and by the time the gardener was finished with him, he'd reduced him to a snivelling mess, swearing six ways to Sunday that he'd always take care of his tools.

As Blaze hung up the shovel on its hook, he wondered which of the gardeners he'd put in charge when he inevitably left for Hea Sanctuary. Whoever it was would probably still defer to him on the big decisions, but someone would have to manage his parents' estate on a day to day basis.

Something to worry about tomorrow, or at least after dinner, he decided as he dusted off his hands. Shower. Then fresh clothes and down to the dining room. Because he'd never hear the end of it from his mother if he was late for dinner.

THREE

"I opened one of your letters by mistake this morning. Here." Dad tossed the envelope onto Blaze's plate.

Mum frowned. "Is that what I think it is? Blaze, you'll never find your fated mate if you keep treating women so badly they take out restraining orders against you. That's the third one this year. Brando, you need to take your son aside and teach him how to properly treat a woman."

Blaze rolled his eyes. "I know exactly how to treat a woman, and the only reason I don't have a fated mate is because I haven't met this mystical paragon yet. I'd put money on it that this complaint was made by a man, and not only did I not lay a finger on him, I never even set foot on his property." Blaze unfolded the letter, and let out a whoop. "Yes! It's from Tremotino, the same as the other two. I'm now not allowed to set foot on his pretentious new development, Babylon Springs." He shrugged and tossed the letter across the table to his mother. "Read it for yourself."

Mum's frown only deepened. "What did you do to annoy this man so much?"

Blaze grinned. "I may have done a flyover of his site, which he was going to dig up for a housing development, without doing the proper archaeological investigations to determine whether or not it's a historic site. Then I posted a video of how the recent drought has exposed the underlying structure of something at the site, which looks a whole lot like the replica of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon that was reputedly built here, bankrupting the owner. I also may have done a follow-up video, when the archaeology team sent me samples of some of the plants they found on the buried terraces, mixed with glass from the greenhouses that must have been built on the terraces to keep the plants alive, as they all appear to be species that would be more at home in Iraq than here." He shrugged. "It's not my fault he was hiding one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World on his construction site. If he'd only brought the archaeologists in at the beginning instead of trying to destroy an important historical site, he wouldn't be looking at a two-year delay on his project, if it even goes ahead at all. The National Trust asked for a copy of my report, and it looks like they might just start lobbying for responsibility for the site. They asked me to do some preliminary costings for restoration works. In truth, Tremotino should be thanking me. If the National Trust can drum up the funding to restore these gardens, the prices for their new estate next door will go through the roof. Even if they make him pay for the restoration, which might end up being one of the conditions for development approval. Either way, I saved a little bit more history for people to appreciate."

Dad lifted his wine glass. "Well done, son. What were the other two for? I forget."

"Cemeteries. Both of them. One was right next to the ruins of an old church, so of course there was going to be a churchyard...but the other was a whole bunch of war graves, buried there right after a battle. It's amazing all the things we're finding because of droughts lately." Blaze grabbed his own wine glass and drank deeply, before he said any more.

"Droughts, or someone flying overhead and searing the grass and soil beneath? It's one thing to keep the frost off your own vineyard, but another to risk setting fire to someone else's property." Mum shook her head.

"Now, Mum, you're the one who taught me how to defrost a vineyard before the vines are damaged. I've never set a grassfire in my life, least of all on Tremotino's land. The drought was going to dry out his grass anyway. He wasn't taking care of his lawns properly. I just helped things along a little, to reveal the secrets hiding underneath, while I just happened to be flying over, that's all."

"You're lucky no one's seen you and captured it all on video. That's the last thing we need – for our secret to go public. Maybe you should lie low, and just stick to filming things for your own gardening show for the moment. Surely you have enough clients who want their gardens to go viral. All these restraining orders still won't make you look like a desirable mate. I'm not getting any younger, and I'd like to see my grandchildren before I'm too old to play with them!" Mum stabbed a piece of roast meat with the carving fork and transferred it to her plate, which she then engulfed in gravy.

"Isn't that why you sent Diana to Mirror Academy? I think you'll have a better chance of grandchildren with her than you will with me. At least she's going to the Mirror Academy social events. I've been so busy with work, plus next week I start the landscaping for Hea Sanctuary, so it'll be finished by the time we move in there. Between actually doing the work and videoing it all for my channel, I'm not going to have time for anything but work for months. Even if I was looking for love, which I'm not, my best chance would be to wait until we move into our new house at Hea Sanctuary, where I won't have to worry about keeping secrets, because everyone in the community will be like us. You wait. I bet Diana won't be settled in her animal sanctuary for a week before she's picked out someone perfect for me, because she'll know everyone in the village already. Better than anyone I might hook up with without her help, for sure."

Mum made a disapproving sound in her throat. "I though we raised you better than to hook up with anyone. Ordinary humans might do that sort of thing, but as an Argyros, you have a responsibility..."

Blaze strongly suspected Dad hadn't told Mum about some of the hijinks their ancestors had gotten up to over the centuries, and Blaze wasn't about to enlighten her...or tell her about some of the things he'd done while he was university. Some things you just didn't talk to your mother about, which was why he just smiled, nodded, and ate his dinner, until her lecture was done.

"Are you listening to me, Blaze Argyros?"

That was his cue. Blaze swallowed. "Yes, Mum."

Dad came to his rescue. "So, what's the plan for Hea Sanctuary? Landscaped gardens for aesthetics to help them sell the remaining blocks, hobby farming to sell the off the grid angle, or native plants to blend into the surrounding forest?"

Dad might not be a gardener himself, but he'd watched enough of Blaze's video channel to know the sorts of projects Blaze took on.

"Actually, the Sanctuary will be a mix of all three. The priority for the design has always been to plant species that are best suited to our soils and climate, in keeping with the sustainability of the project, so the buildings on the outskirts of the village will have landscaping that tends toward native vegetation, as they'll be closest to the forest. This will include the grounds at Diana's sanctuary, to make it easier for animals that can be rehabilitated and returned to the wild." Diana had insisted on doubling the size of the sanctuary grounds, to the developer's annoyance, but in the end, even Shaw had caved in to her. Diana was just that persuasive.

"Will residents be able to plant their own gardens, or are you doing that for them?"

Blaze smiled. "Both, actually. They get to choose which trees and shrubs get planted in the layout they decide, and we'll finish the rest of the garden and raised garden beds with a mix of perennials and herbs, which they can swap out as the seasons change. The common areas are all planned out, and will probably be the first sections we plant. Because there will be restrictions on which plants and pesticides and stuff residents can use in the Sanctuary, all the gardening supplies and services will be provided by the same company. Mine for the first year, but after everything's established, we're looking at contracting it out to a gargoyle gardening company, if we can get them on board. Shaw said he'd speak to them, and maybe offer them something to sweeten the deal if they'll relocate to the Sanctuary permanently." A muffled chime came from his pocket. "I bet that's Shaw now."

Sure enough, the message was from Shaw – but it wasn't about the gargoyle gardeners. "It looks like I won't be starting work at the Sanctuary next week. There have been some delays, so they're not ready for me yet."

Dad didn't look happy, but Mum beamed. "So you're not busy, then? In that case, could you get in touch with Diana? I'm sure she's eager for an update on her animal sanctuary, and you know she'd love to hear from you. I know she's busy, but she always has time for you. You'll do it, won't you, Blaze?"

Do a favour for both Mum and Diana? Even if he'd wanted to refuse, he couldn't. Blaze sighed. "Of course I will, Mum."

FOUR

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