Legend of the Inero Dragon (23 page)

"I didn't think about that, to be
honest."

"Sometimes I wonder if you think, period."
The words flew out, and she immediately clapped a hand over her
mouth. She hadn't intended on saying it. Then again, even if she
thought them he would have still heard them anyway. The ability to
block him out was still one she was having a hard time mastering,
especially now that she was further along in her pregnancy. The
baby would be out in only a couple of months, and as she developed,
her needs became more vocal. Thankfully, at this point in time she
was quiet, because Kat didn't know what she would do if she had to
fight with Matt and the baby at the same time.

He didn't reply for a while nor was he
thinking anything. If he was, he did so in a way that she couldn't
pick it up.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Matt shook his head. "You're right. I should
have been more considerate of you and at least told you what I was
doing beforehand. I see that now. It's unfair of you to say I don't
think, though, because I do often, and about you. Everything I've
done has been for you. To see your smile, to make sure you're safe,
or to give you anything else you might need."

"I said I was sorry."

"I know, but…" He stopped and shook his head.
"Never mind, you're right. You said you were sorry and that's all
that matters now."

Kat stared at him, surprised at how easily he
let it go. Normally, Matt was a bit more aggressive. He hated to be
wrong. "It's just like before. I need you to communicate with
me."

"Yes, I understand that. Why are we
continuing this conversation?"

She stood up. "Tell me about this dream you
had. It's affected you a lot. I don't think I've seen you this
happy and relaxed for a while."

"I wish I could remember more of it, of
everything, actually. The only thing I do remember is that I was
afraid while casting this spell, then I drifted to a new place. It
was home but I wasn't here at the castle. I remember seeing
skyscrapers in the distance and lots of green, which reminded me a
lot of the country of Oceina. Someone was with me, and they said…I
don't remember what they said, but I know it confirmed everything
my father has been telling me. I can feel it here." He tapped his
chest. "I just know. Which sounds silly but it's true. That's about
it. Everything else is a blur outside of blue eyes. Somebody had
blue eyes."

"I don't understand."

"I don't either. The only thing I know is I
haven't felt this much peace since the night you were first mine
and I knew you were safe."

Kat's eyes brimmed with tears. This time
happy ones that were accompanied with a smile. She didn't want to
cry. All of the stupid hormones were making her whole system go
bonkers. "You felt peace because I was safe?"

"Of course I did, silly. What else would I
feel? You were finally in my arms where you belonged." He got out
of the bed and, as if to prove his point, held her close from
behind.

Chapter
Forty-Five

"Are you sure you're okay?" Gwen asked him
for what felt like the millionth time. She knew she should have
probably let it go. She couldn't help it. Jason wasn't acting like
himself. His body was tense and he was jumpy. He flinched just
about every time she touched him and he had a short fuse. Every
little thing set him off.

"Yes," he said, his jaw clenched.

"Because you're—"

"Tired. I told you that."

She nodded, wanting to believe him. She'd
seen him be tired before. Groggy, out of it, and a little testy was
how he normally behaved when he felt that way. He was none of those
things. Something more was going on, and it hurt that he wouldn't
tell her what it was just yet.

"It's done though, right?" she asked,
deciding to take the conversation in a new direction. Maybe he'd
open up to her more if she took a new approach to the issue.

"Yes, it is finished."

"Now we can leave."

"I have one last thing to do. In order to do
so, I must remain on my father's good side," he said, giving her a
weak smile. This was the first thing he'd done that was normal
since he came back from his meeting with Lynx and the prophet. That
was around a day ago.

Gwen sat in a chair, placing her hands on her
knees because it was the only thing she could think of to keep
herself calm. She felt like throttling him. Why did he have to keep
playing his father's games?

"And what is that?" she asked.

"Warn the Oceina."

She raised an eyebrow. Her
hands moved from her knees to her hair.
Warn the Oceina? Is he nuts? What could he possibly tell them
anyway that they don't already know?
"And
how are you going to go about doing this? Without getting caught, I
mean."

"When the council reconvenes next weekend
for the swearing in of the new Oceina Lord, I can tell them then.
They deserve some kind of advantage. At the very least, they should
be allowed to know why all of this is happening."

"And you have all of those answers?"

"I know enough. It's something." He sat down
next to her with a heavy sigh and grabbed her hand. His touch was
so tender and sweet. She had a hard time staying mad at him for all
of his earlier bizarre behaviors.

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Don't
think that one sweet gesture is going to make up for you being a
jerk to me all day." Her tone was playful. She felt this would be
the easiest way to let him know he had hurt her without him
becoming defensive.

"I didn't know how else to communicate to you
to drop it. You keep pestering me."

"Because you're acting different."

"I'm exhausted. Physically and emotionally
exhausted. That stupid ritual took a lot out of me and a lot of
strange things happened. I'm trying to recover from it all. Which
would be a lot easier, I should add, if you didn't ask me every
five minutes if I'm sure I'm fine." He glared at her. She couldn't
think of a time he'd ever done that before.

Gwen scowled at the scolding, even growled a
little. He was right though. She needed to back off for his sanity.
When her intuition told her something was off, she couldn't ignore
it easily. It was hardly ever wrong.

"I won't do it again," she said after a
moment. "It must have shaken you up badly if you're reacting to it
so strongly. What happened there?"

Jason quickly shook his head. "If I want to
talk about it later, I will. I promise. Right now I need to process
the whole thing, and I need to plan our next move carefully. If I
can play our cards right, then we can…"

She leaned toward him, trying to encourage
him to continue. "Yes?"

"Everything will be a lot better," he
said.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm
sorry for upsetting you."

When he kissed her forehead, everything
started to feel right again. These were the things she knew and
loved about him: his calm presence, his level head, and his small,
tender affections, among other things.

"I'm going to rest now. Hopefully that will
help."

Nodding in agreement, she
let him go. Hopefully it would. Her pesky gut intuition told her
otherwise.
Put up your guard and watch him
carefully.
Whatever happened in the
ceremony left him a changed a man.

Chapter
Forty-Six

Downtime was plentiful during the trip to
the Dragon Council. Because the Oceina Lord was new, most of the
time was dedicated to him learning the ropes of the system. It
annoyed Matt to no end. Wouldn't it have made sense for the Oceina
to name a replacement that had the knowledge to lead a nation
instead of a man so young? The Lord couldn't have been any older
than eighteen. He answered to the name of Darien. In the end, it
only made Matt's job easier. With weak leadership, they'd be much
easier to overtake.

The meetings were dull to
sit in on. So much of the information was being repeated for the
new lord with no real progress on any issues being made. More
specifically, the main issue, which was the 'Inero plague,' and
what the other lords wanted to do about it. Matt's father hoped the
other lords would aid their cause, but Matt knew better. The Aero
would stay hidden in their mountains, and the Oceina would claim
ignorance. Matt could practically feel the bitterness seething off
of the young Oceina Lord as he sat in his chair.
Good, be angry with me. I can't wait for another
go with you.

He smirked, imagining their next meeting.
Next time, Matt wouldn't hold back. If the rumors he'd heard about
the Oceina Lord were true, then he was Touched just like Matt. It
was only fitting that the two would square off. He'd overpower the
Lord and give the man a reason to be afraid.

Matt stepped outside into the breezy,
tropical air of the island. It was later in the afternoon, and he
needed to decide what to do with his time. He'd already checked in
with Kat, who was sleeping at the pool. He was grateful she had
someone he could trust to watch over her in his absence. At first
he'd been unsure of Lenora, but she'd proven her worth. He could
see how happy and complete she made Kat feel. His bride finally had
the family she had always dreamed of. Things finally felt like they
were coming together for him. All he had to do was make things
better between him and his brother. He'd been neglecting their
relationship to take care of Kat and work for Lynx. And he hated
that.

Where are you?
he asked, hoping Jason would hear. Ever since the
summoning ceremony with the prophet, their ability to communicate
was out of whack.

Me?
Jason replied.

Yes, you.

I went out for a walk. I wanted to make use
of the time off instead of sitting around and doing nothing.

I'm doing the same, actually. Can I meet
you? Where are you?

I just left the garden out front of the
Oceina housing. Next I'll be entering the Aero garden. I figure it
doesn't hurt to explore, right?

Matt clenched his fists. His brother didn't
understand, so he couldn't be scolded. Besides, it was just like
Jason to want to explore the other territories. He was curious and
peace loving, but did he have to pick those two places to venture
into? The Aero weren't involved in the quarrel brewing between the
nations. Nor would they ever be. The Great Aero Lord had made it
clear in the meeting that he didn't sympathize with the Inero at
all. Matt didn't want to be anywhere near their territory.

He spotted Jason looking at some small, white
flowers in the garden. The two briefly made eye contact then Jason
walked toward him. Matt was glad he didn't have to leave the path
in the trees he was wandering on.

"Restless too?" Jason asked with a half
smile.

Matt nodded. "The hall is getting stuffy and
I'm tired of listening to the others complain. What are you doing
out this way?"

"I told you I was going for a walk."

"But I mean this way. You didn't want to walk
by our housing?"

Jason rolled his eyes. "I've seen everything
over there. I'd like to explore the whole island if I could but I
don't think I'll have time. All I know is that I need to move."

Matt moved closer. He could smell the sour
scent of nerves coming off of Jason. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because you're
not
okay and I don't
know why you're lying about it," he said.

Jason folded his arms in front of him, a deep
scowl on his face. "Everyone is saying that to me lately. I'm not
sure how to feel about it because
I
feel great."

Matt shook his head and he rolled his eyes
slightly. Why was Jason jumping on him and being so defensive? "I
wasn't sure if maybe you were feeling anxious since you're
honeymooning after this. You're going to be taking a huge step.
It's normal. Everyone feels this way the first time."

"Oh, I thought you meant…"

Matt raised both of his eyebrows, waiting to
see if he'd continue.

"You're right. I'm sure it's stupid of me to
feel this way," Jason said.

"I don't think so. But, then again, I felt
just as stupid," he said, offered his brother a small smile.

Jason sighed. "The meetings aren't helping
any. There's so much tension."

Matt watched him, studying his face, trying
to figure out what was going on in his head. "Why are you here? You
didn't have to come this time. If it stresses you out, and there's
no purpose to you coming, you should have just stayed home."

"No purpose to my coming? What is that
supposed to mean? Just because I'm not the favorite doesn't mean
I'm completely worthless to the family."

"I didn't say—"

"But you implied it by suggesting my work and
input isn't needed here. You told me I needed to put in my time for
the cause, which I did. If I'm going to put in more of my time, I
want to understand why."

The two stared at each other in silence. Matt
wasn't sure what else to say. Why was Jason lashing out at him so
much? This wasn't like him. How out of touch were they from each
other? He wasn't sure if he recognized his twin at all anymore.
"That isn't what I meant. I don't see why it matters either way.
You've made it clear you don't want to be a part of this or to help
your family."

"Because I'm still looking for a reason that
this is a good idea," Jason said, pushing past his brother. "Have a
safe trip back. I don't think I'll be there to send you off
tonight."

Chapter
Forty-Seven

Jason waited on the bench out in the
courtyard for the Dragon Lord of the Oceina. Nervous knots tied in
his stomach. He almost wanted to forget the entire thing. The fight
with his brother the day before left him feeling like a traitor,
even if he was doing the right thing. Relaying what he knew would
be how he proved his worth to the cause. It just wouldn't be for
the side his family preferred. On top of that, all throughout the
last council meeting he had watched the Lord's body language,
trying to get a feel for what the man was like. From what he
remembered of his father, Orion had been a kind and calm man. His
son, Darien, didn't come across as being similar in demeanor. The
young man, who probably wasn't much older than Jason, would
certainly sit in his chair in a cool and collected fashion. Jason
saw the fire in his eyes. He was waiting for a reason to exact his
revenge.