Revealing the Dragons (Stonefire Dragons #2.5) (10 page)

Mel took a deep breath through her nose to settle her stomach and replied, “No, so far, so good.”

“Right, then my first question is why did you write the book? There are a number of theories and rumors floating around, as you well know, but what is the truth?”

Mel kept her voice strong. “The truth is I wanted to share how the dragon-shifters live here so everyone can see they’re not so different from us. There is no ulterior motive, no plan for world domination. Anyone who says otherwise is just being silly.”

“You must admit that a person who can change into a fifteen-foot dragon in a matter of seconds is scary to regular humans. If the government were to allow dragon-shifters and humans to interact freely, how would we prevent rogue dragons from terrorizing the population?”

Anger coursing through her body, Mel squeezed her leg with one of her hands to help tamp it down. Her voice was calm yet steely when she replied, “Human psychopaths roam the street and more than a few are killers. Yet do you put away all humans with a temper to prevent a future possible murder? No. It’s the same with dragon-shifters. There are a few bad eggs, but as you’ll see with some of my clan members today, dragonmen and women are just trying to live their lives without being hunted, targeted, or drained of blood.”

“I assume you’re talking about the dragon hunters and the problem of them selling dragon’s blood on the black market. Rather than us talking about it from secondhand knowledge, how about we bring out one of your clan members?

Her part of the interview seemed extremely short, but there wasn’t anything she could do but nod. Maybe she’d have a chance later to talk more about her time with Stonefire.

From the doorway on the far side, one of the BBC staff guided in Hudson. Once he sat down next to Melanie, Jane smiled at the dragonman and started up again. “Hudson, thank you for meeting with us. I understand dragon hunters killed your wife a few months ago. Please, tell us what happened.”

Mel watched Hudson recount the story as they had rehearsed. The dragonman was solemn and his voice only cracked twice during his retelling. Melanie’s heart squeezed at the pain in his eyes. She didn’t know what she would do if she lost Tristan.

Still, since she’d heard the story ten times before, her mind wandered once Jane asked him a few more questions. Had Arabella arrived yet? Would she even go through with it?

No. Stop doubting yourself. Tristan will take care of it.
If anyone could convince her sister-in-law to do something, it was Tristan. And even if he had trouble, he’d call Bram.

Focusing back on Jane and Hudson, Melanie pushed thoughts of Arabella out of her head. Whatever her sister-in-law ended up doing, her clan members needed her support.

~~~

Arabella watched first Hudson, then Evie with Murray, and finally Nikki leave with one of the news staff. As each of her clan members left, it became harder not to bolt. It was nearly her turn.

Melanie had been fantastic in her section of the interview, being both strong and passionate without devolving into petty comments. Her sister-in-law might have been a politician in another life.

Her other clan members had done fairly well, too. Even when Hudson broke down when describing his mate’s death, Jane Hartley had even reached out to comfort him, not caring he was a dragon-shifter. If that had been the response of a seasoned journalist, then the general human population had to be moved as well.

Mel’s plan might be working, even without Arabella’s help.

She eyed the door. If she left now, she would still have time to leave the cottage before they called her.

Then Tristan walked into the room with Bram and any hope of escape faded. The only two males in the entire clan who could convince her to carry on with the interview had arrived.

Bram moved to her left and Tristan to her right. Bram was the first to speak. “You still up for this, lass?”

“Like I have a choice.”

Bram studied her before replying, “You have a choice, Arabella. If you want to go to Lochguard, you’ll do this. If you wish to back out, I’ll support you, but that signals you’re not ready to leave the clan.”

She looked back to the TV screen. Nikki had become quite animated, gesticulating with her hands and moving her arms to describe how the dragon hunters had captured her.

Tristan’s voice garnered her attention. “You’ll do fine. Remember what I told you.”

Right, positive thoughts.
She recalled her research on Clan Lochugard.

The Scottish clan was situated in the northern Highlands, nestled next to a lake. Peaks and rolling hills surrounded the clan lands. While similar, the lake and hills were different from the Lake District and more than anything, she wanted the chance to explore them. With time, maybe even fly over them.

Then Finlay Stewart’s handsome face flashed into her mind, and she only just prevented herself starting.
Why am I thinking of him? He’s bossy, pushy, and far too cocky.

Out of nowhere, her dragon said,
But he is fun to tease.

She paused a second before forcing herself to reply.
W-what did you say?

Don’t fear me, Ara. We will have fun in Scotland.

Arabella blinked. A part of her wanted to keep talking with her dragon, but another part of her felt odd. While her inner beast had been there all along, they were essentially strangers and she had no idea how to act.

Yet she’d just talked with her dragon for the first time in almost eleven years. A deep-seated loneliness she’d ignored for so long eased a fraction and her heart warmed.

The feeling prompted her to stand a little taller. She’d come a bloody long way for her recovery. If she truly ever wanted to heal, she needed to leave Stonefire for a while and figure out who the hell she was, as well as what she wanted from life.

One of the news staff entered the room and motioned for Arabella to follow. She could feel both Tristan’s and Bram’s eyes on her, so she looked to each one in turn. “I’ll be fine.”

As she walked to the staff member, Arabella admitted she had no idea what would happen after the interview, but she did know one thing. She would finish the interview and go to Scotland in two months’ time.

She was tired of fear and hiding. From here on out, she was determined to be whole again.

~~~

Tristan waited until Arabella was out of earshot before he looked to Bram. “She’ll be fine.”

“I sure hope so, Tristan. Dangling Lochguard like we did just doesn’t seem right.”

“It’s the only thing she truly wants. Much like Mel forced her way into Arabella’s life, she needs to be pushed in this, too. I’m sure you saw her eyes flashing to dragon slits.”

“Yes, but I’m going to give her a few tests before she leaves. She won’t know that’s what they are, but I don’t want her breaking down in front of Clan Lochguard. Her pride may never recover.”

“We can discuss that later. Right now, I want to listen to my sister and mate, so shut it.”

Bram shook his head, but remained quiet.

On the TV, Arabella sat down in the final chair, the furthest from both Melanie and the journalist. At least the distance kept the human from touching Arabella, which was one less possible trigger for his sister’s past trauma.

Tristan crossed his arms over his chest and moved his gaze to his mate’s face. Few would be able to tell, but she was gripping her leg tightly to restrain herself. Jane Hartley had barely talked to Melanie. His mate wouldn’t like that one bit.

When Arabella started talking, he listened. “Yes, my name is Arabella MacLeod and I was taken, beaten, and tortured by a group of Carlisle dragon hunters when I was seventeen years old.”

Even though Arabella’s voice was a little less confident than he liked, Tristan was proud of his sister.

Jane asked, “Is that where your scar and burns came from?”

Arabella paused and then replied, “Yes. A group of men held me down, poured petrol on half of my body, and set me on fire.”

The journalist paused. Her voice was soft when she finally spoke, “Did they give a reason?”

Tristan gripped his arms tighter.
As if they needed a bloody reason.
Dragon hunters were evil.

His sister, however, was more diplomatic than he was. “A dragon’s blood can’t heal anything until a dragon-shifter hits maturity. Melanie stated as much in her book.” Arabella glanced to Melanie and then back to the journalist. “They wanted to weaken me so it would be easy to keep me captive until I hit maturity.”

Jane Hartley cleared her throat and asked, “Some say we already spend too much money tracking down the dragon hunters. What would you say to those people?”

Arabella frowned. “After today, I would hope they’d think twice before saying such crap. Each of us here has suffered because the laws surrounding the dragon hunters are too lax. Human law prevents us from taking care of the threat ourselves, so the law either needs to be changed or the DDA offices need to step up their game. Too many dragons are dying because of the limbo we’re placed in.”

Bram murmured, “She’s doing extremely well. If she’d never been attacked, she might’ve been like this always. She might even have gone after the clan leadership.”

Tristan’s dragon spoke up.
I agree with Bram. Arabella is more of a leader than anyone admits.

She’s kept herself locked up for years. Of course they would think so.

She will do extraordinary things in the future. I believe in her.

Before he could think too hard on his dragon’s words, Jane was talking straight to the camera again, signaling the end of the interview. Tristan focused on her words, “I wish to thank all of our guests for sitting down and talking with me. I’m sure I’m not the only one who will do some thinking and reevaluate my views on dragon-shifters, dragon hunters, and their interactions with humans.

“If you’re curious to read more, you can download a free three-chapter preview of Melanie Hall-MacLeod’s book,
Revealing the Dragons
. The web address is on your screen, or you can go to our website for the link.

“Stay tuned for the hourly news update with John Smythe. This is Jane Hartley reporting from Clan Stonefire in the Lake District. Good evening.”

The screen switched to another program and Tristan moved to the door. He needed to check on his mate and his sister. Judging by Melanie’s face, she wasn’t happy about the whole thing and he wanted to calm her down before her temper got the best of her.

Chapter Nine

Melanie forced herself to smile and shake hands with Jane. As soon as she could extricate herself, Mel moved toward the far door.

She still couldn’t believe the bloody woman. Mel had barely said a few sentences the whole time. How was she supposed to make a passionate speech and sway hearts and minds if all she did was sit there?

Not paying attention to where she was going, she rammed into a hard chest. She was about to apologize when she saw it was her mate. “Tristan.”

Without a word, he engulfed her in his arms and hugged her close. The contact helped to ease her angry tension a fraction. Her mate’s voice rumbled in his chest. “You were brilliant, just as I thought you’d be.”

She looked up, glanced around, and whispered, “I barely did anything. She wouldn’t let me talk. The speech I rehearsed was all for nothing.”

One corner of Tristan’s mouth ticked up and she glared. Ignoring her glare, he said, “You did fine. The stories from the others were more powerful than anything else.”

She let out a deep breath. “I know, but I wish I could’ve done more. Still, Arabella was fantastic. She didn’t break down once. She’s come a long way from the first day I met her, Tristan. She’s ready to go to Lochguard.”

Her mate grunted. “We’ll talk about that later. For now, I want to get you home. There’s bound to be a response to what was said during the interview and we should be ready.”

Mel looked behind her, but Bram was talking with Evie and Arabella. Nikki and Hudson were already gone. “We should invite your sister.”

“I think she’s already going with Bram and Evie. Knowing my sister, she wants to make sure Bram puts in a call to Lochguard without delay.”

Sure enough, Arabella waved a hand at them, turned around, and left.

Tristan moved so that he was at her side with his arm around her shoulder. She sighed. “Do you think the dragon hunters, or even the newly reformed Dragon Knights, will retaliate now?”

As they maneuvered to the front door, Tristan squeezed her shoulder. “I don’t know, love. But if I know Kai, he’s already planning defensive and offensive strategies.”

“Is that why he was standing off to the side for awhile, inside the interview room, staring at the journalist? So he could gather information for his plans?”

“What are you talking about?”

Mel leaned a little more against her mate. “Well, he stood with his arms crossed and stared at Jane Hartley the entire time. Has the clan worked with her before?”

“Not to my knowledge. He was probably just keeping an eye on you. As much as we’d like to trust the BBC, not everyone will have pro-dragon views.”