Page 20 of Fated to the Grumpy Dragon
“Get out of my way, Killian,” I said as my least favorite person on the coast moved to block my path. “I don’t have time for you.”
Reece and Calan were with him, looking smug.
I slowed to a halt when the other dragons didn’t move. Emma was nothing in my arms. A feather, nothing more. I could hold her for as long as these bozos wanted to mess around with me.
“That’s a lot of blood, Rhyse. Everything okay?”
“Just fine,” I said with an unpleasant smile. “And also, shockingly, none of your business. Like most things around here.”
“If you’ve gone and killed someone, that’severyone’sbusiness,” Reece snarled.
I lifted an eyebrow at Killian. He sighed.
“Reece.”
“What?”
“Shut up, I’m doing the talking here.”
Reece’s mouth snapped closed. Killian grunted, his eyes turning back to me then to Emma. They widened with shock.
“A scale? You? There’s no way someone took you as their mate.”
The trio started laughing like hyenas. Killian’s brow furrowed so deep he almost disappeared underneath it. Reece bent over at the waist, his thick black hair masking his face but not his laughter. Calan mimed wiping tears away from his eyes.
“Is that what you were busy doing during the war?” Killian continued. “Wooing someone? Did they choose you because you were the only one left here? Being a coward while the rest of us fought.”
I gritted my teeth and took it. Words were nothing. I could handle that. I was more than used to it, having dealt with it my entire life.
“Who’s the unlucky one?” Killian craned his neck, pretending to get a better look. “Must be ugly and desperate.”
Lightning flickered in my eyes as my dragon tried to leap to her defense.
“Ooooh, he’s getting mad now, boys.” More laughter.
“Get the fuck out of my way,” I snarled, feeling the electricity begin to charge the ions in the atmosphere around me.
Every dragon could breathe fire. The reds did it hotter, but we all could breathe fire.
Only blue dragons could control lightning. As I began to do now, furious at how they were talking about Emma.
“You want to fight, do you?” Killian chuckled, rolling his neck. “Seems a little unlike you, don’t you think, boys? But if he wants to go, then by all means, let’s—”
“Killian,” a new voice said. “Leave. Now.”
Dillon pushed his way through the border of the crowd, looking coolly at Killian, until the other dropped his gaze, relenting.
“Whatever. This loser isn’t worth my time anyway,” he said, waving off his goons and melting into the crowd.
“You okay?” Dillon asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said. “Thanks for the assist.”
Dillon just made a noise, and then he, too, was gone.
I started marching up the hill, wondering why the other shifter had intervened. There was no need for it. He stood to gain nothing by helping me. So, why had he?
I didn’t have the answers, but it was a more eventful set of questions to dwell upon than the ones that had been occupying my mind until that moment. Namely, the big one.
