Page 69 of Guardian's Dilemma
I was awed and a little wary. That was a lifetime of training ingrained into me, and I couldn’t undo that in a couple of weeks. A dragon about to shift was always a danger.
Only, I stayed hidden below the blankets with this dragon, running my hands over his form, learning it, and trying to convince myself that it wasn’t just a little bit hot when it absolutely was.
At last, Glimmer prised his mouth open and said, “Thank you.”
“What for?”
“For calming me down.”
I kept my hands on him, glad it had helped.
“Will you tell me why you did that?”
He swallowed. I saw the shift in his eyes again.
My hands pressed harder into him, my eyebrows pulled down into a frown and my voice was hard as I said, “You’re the one who said we should talk to each other.”
I did not examine the fact that he’d saidmatesshould talk to each other.
He must have noticed, though.
“I feel like I’m being torn in two.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to be with you.”
“So?”
“So I want to spend my time with you. I want to- to claim you. I want us to train together and live together.”
I… did not hate the idea.
Glimmer continued. “But I want to protect my clan, too. I want to see them and smell them, to know that they’re safe. I want to circle the boundary and lay more spells. I want to fight anyone who tries to break in.”
“And that’s tearing you in two?”
“Yes. Because you might leave. And then I’ll have to choose. And I don’t know how I can do that. I can’t leave my clan. They need me. They need my protection. You don’t need that. I know you don’t. But I don’t think I can bring myself to let you go off without me. And I don’t think I can bring myself to go with you and leave my clan.”
His breaths were coming in shallow bursts and I could practically feel the tension roll off him.
To my shame, I hadn’t considered it from his perspective before. I hadn’t thought that he might let me leave, or come with me. I just knew that he wanted to keep me. It hadn’t occurred to me that he’d give me the choice about it.
Maybe I’d been pushing him, testing him to see what he’d do, to hear what he’d say. I’d wanted to know if I was free to leave. I’d never considered whetherhewas free to leave.
“Why do you want to protect them?”
“Because they need it.”
“Do they deserve it?”
“They’re my family.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
“They’re my treasure. Whether they deserve it or not, they’re mine to protect.”
I was so surprised that I jerked back. Glimmer made a move to grab me, as though afraid I’d fall out of the bed or something.
