Page 12 of Purple Protector

“This is Taylor,” Marlin said, pointing at the man who was still sitting. “He used to be in the human military. Or maybe he’s still in the military? I’m not sure.”

Taylor shook his head. “Sometimes, I wonder if you listen when Palmer and I talk.”

Marlin grinned. “Not really. I’m distracted by your humanness.”

Palmer rolled his eyes and offered Aaron his hand. “I’m Palmer. I’m a doctor and work in the infirmary. If you need anything, that’s where you’ll find me.”

“Aaron,” Aaron told both of them. “I just recently arrived.”

“We know,” Taylor told him. “Everyone’s been talking about you.”

Aaron had expected that. He wished people didn’t talk about him, but he understood why they did. “Do I want to know what people are saying?”

Taylor laughed. “Probably not.”

“Don’t listen to my brother,” Palmer interjected. “It’s true that some people aren’t happy with your presence here, but most dragons are just curious. They’re not used to having humans in their clan.”

“I have to go,” Marlin said. “I trust that Aaron is in good hands?”

“We’ll protect him if we have to. Well, Taylor will. I’d be useless in a fight.”

“We’re not going to have to fight anyone, are we?” Aaron asked. He was getting worried.

“I sure hope not,” Marlin told him. “But you need to stay away from Pearl and anyone who associates with her. They’re dangerous, and they wouldn’t hesitate to use you to hurt Killian.”

That didn’t sound good, but while Aaron had questions, he wasn’t about to ask Marlin. Instead, he nodded and promised he wouldn’t go anywhere near Pearl. He waited until Marlin had disappeared in the crowd that was leaving the dining hall to turn to Palmer and Taylor. “What’s going on with Pearl?”

Palmer sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“If she’s going to use me, I need to know.”

“You’re not wrong. Well, you might know that Killian has a lot of half-siblings, all on his father’s side. I’ve been told the entire list, but I lost count. Some of them are neutral and just want to be left alone, but others fully support Killian in his role as king. Then, you have half-siblings like Pearl, who think they would do a better job than Killian on the throne.”

“Is Killian the eldest?”

“He’s not. He’s king because his father had him with the queen. That’s enough for most of the siblings to agree that he’s the rightful king.”

“But Pearl doesn’t.”

“She’s not the only one. There was a problem recently with one of Killian’s half-brothers, but he seems to have vanished. It’s one of the reasons Pearl is so confrontational. She says she’s looking for answers as to what happened to their brother, but we all know that’s bullshit. She wants the throne, and while she’s not ready to act for now, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was eventually.”

That was a lot to take in. Aaron wasn’t surprised that some people disagreed with the way Killian led the clan, but he hadn’t expected a family fight. “But Killian is protected, right? By Marlin and Birch.”

Taylor nodded. “They’re good at what they do. They’re also Killian’s personal friends, so they have an incentive to keep him safe. I wasn’t sure it would work since they’re so close, but it seems to. I wouldn’t worry about Killian if I were you.”

Aaron wasn’t worried about Killian, or rather, not only. Of course he didn’t want anything to happen to Killian, but he especially didn’t want anything to happen to Birch. What if Killian was attacked, and Birch had to step in?

It was his job, and he would do it. Aaron had seen how close the three of them were. He wouldn’t expect anything different from Birch and Marlin.

Things weren’t the way he’d expected them to be when he’d first arrived at the palace. It would make for an interesting story, but at the same time, he felt it put him in some danger. Pearl had looked like she wanted to eat him up for dinner, and not in a good way—not that Aaron would have said yes to that.

He really hoped he would make it out of the clan in one piece.

Chapter Four

THE CLAN WAS FASCINATING.

Aaron had been here a week, and he was still learning about the clan dragons. He’d added dozens of questions to his list, and he couldn’t wait to talk to Hedley. He wanted to get the impressions of a human who’d become the king’s consort. Unfortunately for him, the interview that had been scheduled a week ago had been moved because something had come up for the king and Hedley.

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