Page 22 of Guardian's Dilemma
“I like to protect my clan – that’s my job. And it doesn’t matter if they’re weak or strong, they’re mine to protect. But they are not my equals. I could never be fated to be with somebody who was weaker than me.”
It took me a second to absorb that. “Wait, you think I’m your equal?”
“Of course.”
“You defeated me.”
He shrugged. “I did, yes. This time. But you’re strong and powerful, you’re highly trained, clever, practical, ruthless… I could never be with some little innocent like Morgan.”
Something ugly flared through me. I didn’t stop to identify what it was, I only asked, “Who’s Morgan?”
“My cousin.”
The ugliness faded but didn’t vanish. “Why were you thinking about being with him, then?”
Glimmer’s lips pulled back into a smile and he gave a soft laugh. “Because he mated a warrior from another clan. They were fated mates. And the warriorlikedthat Morgan was so little and innocent and weak.”
He sounded as though he could hardly understand it. Against my better judgement, I began to puff up with pride.
This was not meant to be a serious conversation! I wasn’t meant to listen to what this dragon said and picture myself standing beside him, taller, darker, equally as powerful…
I opened my mouth, not even sure what I was about to say, but Glimmer cut me off before I could speak.
“And, no, I won’t tell you anything about that clan.”
He said it with a finality that already I knew meant he would not be persuaded to change his mind. It also jolted me back to reality. I had completely overlooked that little morsel of information. A dragon clan? A whole clan? I’d thought somewhere at the back of my mind that I’d found the last dragon clan in the country.
It reminded me that I should have been asking those questions.
I thought I’d try it. No point in wasting good intel, right?
“Why won’t you tell me? It’s not your clan.”
Glimmer drew back and I only realised how close he’d been to me when he was no longer there. I wanted to lean forward, into his space.
“Firstly, I won’t help theridireto harm any dragon, whether I know the dragon or not, whether I like the dragon or not, whether I am allied to the dragon or not.Ridireslaughter my kind for the power they can gain from our blood and our skin and I won’t be party to that.”
Ok, I’d made a mistake because that was a mood kill.
Damn, I just didn’t have any experience of seducing anyone. When I’d been training, we’d managed to sneak out regularly to drink and let loose and get laid, but I’d never slept with anyone I knew and I’d never had to seduce them, either. All I’d had to do was give them a nod, really, but that was because I picked up guys in clubs and we had a mutual understanding that we’d use each other’s bodies to get off and then we’d go our separate ways. For the first time ever, I wished I’d spent time practicing that art the way I had practised using my sword.
“Secondly,” Glimmer continued, “One of themismy clan. My cousin. I will not allow harm to come to him.”
Trying to make up for my mistake, I said, “You’re protective of your clan.”
“Yes. I’m the Guardian.”
I barely resisted rolling my eyes that time, but his focus was back on me, his eyes locked on mine, and I was sure he was leaning forward again, leaning into my space. He hadn’t made any mistakes yet but he would. Especially if I could convince him that we reallywerefated mates. If he was dumb enough to believe that, he would believe anything.
“Aren’t you too young to have such responsibility?”
Okay, I was buttering him up. It never hurt to tell people how great they were. If there was one thing I’d learned from Leonard, it was that flattery really did get you places.
“You know dragons age slowly. But yes, I am young. I can assure you, I earned my place. I can protect my clan better than anyone.”
This time, I had the wit not to mention the fact that I walked through his so-called protections without even having to expend any magic.
It worked.
