Page 80 of Fated to the Grumpy Dragon
I laughed then left the shop and took a slow, meandering route through the marketplace and the buildings beyond, trying to come up with a plan on how to draw Killian out and get him to confess where others could hear.
This needed to come to an end before he exposed our home to the humans.
My wanderings took me out of town and along the beach. I skirted the fire pits, filled with half-burned logs but empty of the vibrancy they’d bring come nightfall. I lingered near one for some time, sitting on a log nearby and staring into the pit of ashes and blackened logs.
How was I going to do this? Going at it alone just didn’t make any sense. I was outnumbered three to one. While I would take myself over any of the three in a one-on-one fight, numbers told a story all their own.
I needed some help.
“Rhyse?”
Looking up, I blinked in surprise. “Dillon? What are you doing here?”
Dillon smiled, the motion pulling back the tanned, weather-beaten skin of his face. Just another dragon who spent most of his time in the outdoors. Unlike most dragons, however, Dillon always kept his thick black hair short, less than a finger’s length, whereas mine fell to my shoulders.
“Just out and about,” he said with a wave of his hand. “A beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“It is,” I agreed, nodding at Isaac, who’d also made his way down to the beach but kept walking on past, heading up the shore away from town. “Lovely morning after all that rain last night.”
“So, then, why are you sitting way out here, hunched over a dead fire, looking like the surf just stole your prized possession?”
I looked at Dillon sharply. Could he know about what Killian and the others had done to my house?
“Hey, don’t get angry at the messenger.” Dillon tossed his hands up, proclaiming his innocence.
“I’m not,” I said, shaking my head. “I just hadn’t realized it was so obvious. I just needed to clear my head.”
“Clear your head?” he stroked his chin while repeating my words. “That sounds … are you telling me this is all over that girl?” He laughed.
I glared, but that just made him laugh even harder.
“Emma,” I said. “Her name is Emma. And no, it’s not all over that.”
I had Killian and his activities on my mind as well, so I was technically telling the truth, even if most of my thoughts continued to dwell on Emma.
They shouldn’t. She’s safe now. Away from me. Away from here. I need to stop thinking about her.
“Of course, Rhyse. Whatever you say. Emma. I wasn’t trying to be insulting. Damn, man, I’ve never seen you get this bent out of shape over something, let alone someone. You need to be careful.”
“Careful?”
“Yeah, cause if you keep going down this path, you’re going to end up falling in love with that human woman—Sorry, with Emma.”
I rocked backward as the words landed like lightning bolts, rocking me to my core. Behind Dillon, Sven appeared at last, trudging up the beach, carrying some heavy bags on his shoulder.
But I barely noticed.
“Holy shit,” I muttered to nobody but myself as I shot to my feet, startling Dillon, sending him back a step in surprise. “Holy shit. How could I have not seen it?”
“Seen what?” Dillon asked suspiciously, glancing over his shoulder.
“It was right in front of my face,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Clear as fucking daylight, but I was too stubborn to see it.”
“What are you saying you see, Rhyse?” Dillon asked, taking another half-step back.
Sven came up to stand nearby, dropping the bags he was carrying.
“Emma,” I said, shaking my head. “I was so busy trying to deny it, to say it wasn’t possible, but then I went and did it anyway. Don’t you see, Dillon? You’re right.”
