Page 50 of Dragon His Heels
Chapter 15
“The deceased Rojo dragons have been returned to their colony. Their reeve stated that he appropriately reprimanded Darius Redd, who also happens to be his son. He also stated he would sign a peace treaty, if someone would write one up.”
The room fell silent, and Talia glanced up from her computer screen. She hadn’t actually been taking notes like she was supposed to be doing. Instead, she’d been daydreaming, imagining a world in which Gabe didn’t give her the cold shoulder, didn’t treat her like a pariah, didn’t refuse to speak to her, and in fact, would actually allow himself to be in her presence beyond these meetings.
Everyone was looking her way, expectant. She sat straighter in her chair.
“Sorry, did I miss something?”
Gabe, seated as far away from her as he could and still be in the same room, rolled his eyes. “The Rojo reeve agreed to sign a peace treaty.” He bit off the words, as if the act of speaking to her was as annoying as a persistent fly buzzing around his head. “Can you write one up?”
“Yes, of course.” She tapped on the computer keys, her gaze riveted to the screen, while the meeting once again commenced around her.
There’d been a lot of them lately. Meetings with the Elders. They weren’t happy that their reeve had been in a battle in his own territory, on his own property. They weren’t happy the children had been momentarily in danger, although Ilsa had apparently acted quickly and tucked them away so the little ones weren’t vulnerable. They weren’t happy that no one had been aware of what was going on until it was almost too late.
So the meetings were to plan for the colony’s safety. To up security. Well, create it in the first place. Some weren’t happy that Gabe had let the Rojo dragons go, when, according to eyewitnesses, he could have killed Darius, the one who started it all. Others were pleased with his restraint, applauded him for being a just and fair leader. About the only thing they could agree on was relief that he hadn’t died.
“One last thing.” That was Gabe’s voice, interrupting one of the Elders. “My daughter.”
A murmur went up among the gathered dragons. By now, everyone knew the truth: Ruby wasn’t Gabe’s biological child. Unlike his decision not to kill Darius, the colony was pretty much in agreement over her decision to lie to Gabe about the child’s paternity.
She had become enemy number one…well, two, if one took the Rojo dragons into consideration. She had become what she strived every day, every moment of her life, not to be: a failure. One poor decision—no matter her reasoning behind it—had destroyed everything she’d worked for.
“I want to formally adopt her,” Gabe said. “And, yes, I want to declare her my heir, but I understand your hesitation. I’m willing to wait on that. But I’m not willing to wait for the adoption. She’s mine.”
Oh, how Talia wished he would say that about her. “You’re mine, Talia. Don’t ever leave me.”
But he didn’t. He wouldn’t.
He hated her for lying to him. She had tried to explain. She’d yelled, she’d cried, she’d begged, and each and every time, he refused to hear her out. She’d broken his trust, which was apparently the one thing he held in high esteem. Trust. Who knew? He didn’t seem to care about anything else, yet lying to him was the one thing he couldn’t forgive.
The worst part was, she’d done it to save the child he now claimed as his daughter.
“That’s fair,” Adelbern said. “At the upcoming colony meeting?”
“Yes,” Gabe replied.
“It will be done,” another Elder declared. “Now, can we end this meeting, please? I could use a drink.”
Talia slammed her laptop closed and bolted from the room. Normally, she hovered, hoping for the chance to speak to Gabe, but not tonight. She needed to get out of here. Like that Elder, she could really use a drink. It had been a hell of a long two weeks.
***
“Your wounds have healed nicely,” her mother said by way of greeting a short time later. Apparently, that drink was going to have to wait.
Talia touched her throat. Yes, the physical signs of the battle were gone, but the emotional ones…she was beginning to believe they’d never heal.
“Where’s Jasmine?”
“In her room. She’s been waiting for you to come by.”
Just as Gabe had avoided Talia for the past two weeks, so had she avoided her sister.
At the end of the hall, she paused in front of the closed door and knocked twice.
“Come in.”
Well, at least someone appeared to be doing better over these past two weeks. Jasmine looked phenomenal. Better than she had before she’d left, six years ago.
