Chapter Nine

Silas

Four other members of the family eventually caved to my father's shouting and were assembled in his study.

"What is the meaning of this, Azarel?" Annabelle asked as she strode into the room, taking us all in, her glare just as cold as it had been earlier. "There is work to be done."

"This is more important."

I eyed my father, not bothering to hide my reaction to his insistence a human in his house was the end of the world as he saw it.

For as long as I could remember, well before the war had broken out, he'd hated them. They were inferior, and he saw them as an infestation on the world, like termites, deserving little more than to be eradicated. When the sovereign had first proposed the idea of demanding human women as tribute, he'd gone apoplectic. I expected more of the same now.

"Is it?" That was Casseel, my cousin. He sounded irritated, too.

Both Sandrah and Ellen, twin sisters from my mother's side, looked bored already. Their eyes continued to dart between me and my father with almost eager anticipation.

They think I'm going to challenge him at last.

The rumblings had been increasing the past few years as my father's unwillingness to change slowly stifled the growth of our family, allowing rivals to begin to catch up. As the eldest son, his position was mine to inherit … if I challenged him for it.

I hadn't. Not yet. He was my father, and a part of me was still attached to that loyalty. Even if I was beginning to doubt his worthiness.

Now was not the time for that, however, because I wasn't sure how any of them were going to react to the news. Instead, I stayed silent. Better to let him make a fool of himself than to risk doing the same.

"My son has betrayed us."

I rolled my eyes. "That's a bit overdramatic, don't you think?"

Azarel stabbed a finger at me. "You brought home a human and are claiming her as a mate."

Hearing him put it in those terms drove that point home. She was there as my mate. A woman I would be with for the rest of my life. I'd known her for hours, and now, I was defending her to everyone as if she had my undying loyalty. I barely knew her. That was insane.

But I couldn't deny the reaction of my dragon. I didn't understand it yet, but the beast in me had never acted that way. Never been so active, so insistent and demanding about a particular person.

"Is this true?" Annabelle asked, her eyes zeroing in on me. "Is this the same one you had outside?"

"It's true, yes," I said, sweeping my gaze around the room, gauging them. My aunt seemed the only supporter of my father, which was normal. "The sovereign suggested I take part in the choosing ceremony. She knows I hadn't found a suitable match, despite trying everything else."

Casseel snorted, and I met his eyes in agreement. The only thing that had been tried was my father marching an endless parade of acceptable dragon women in front of me. Only the ones he chose. I'd never been allowed to look myself. Azarel couldn't risk his son finding his mate in someone who was ‘below' us.

How ironic my dragon is choosing a human now.

"You didn't try anything!" my father shouted into the silence that followed, his already big chest puffing up as he went on a diatribe about humans, my lack of willingness to choose a mate, and more.

I waited for him to run out of steam as his descriptions grew crasser by the second.

"Are you done yet?" I asked calmly after several minutes.

A longer stream of cursing followed. I waited it out calmly, wondering if maybe I'd made a mistake. Not with Chloe. That still remained to be seen. Rather, by not challenging my father. He was ruining our house and throwing away its power. Perhaps soon …

"How about now?" I growled, cutting him off.

His jaw snapped shut, and he glared at me stonily, the signature storm cloud gray-blue eyes of our bloodline getting ready for a thunderous second round.

"Your whore is not welcome in my house," he said, his voice like two boulders grinding against one another.

"One," I snapped, drawing up to my full height, "she is not my whore. Second, if that is the case, then I am not welcome in your house."

In a flash, he was inches away from me, eyes wide, full of what he saw as righteous fury. It had been years since I was afraid of my father, however, and I didn't even flinch. He wasn't weak at all. Among his peers, he was still a force to be reckoned with. But I was in peak shape and had just spent eight months fighting and training furiously. It would not be a contest.

He knew that, and I knew it, but to back down now would be to lose face. To admit he was wrong. So, it left us at an impasse. I glared down at him, matching his look as only a son can.

For a moment, I thought he might concede because of that. But he didn't.

"I will not support anything to do with a human," he said tightly. "Nor will any of us."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your proposal, the one you wish me to take before the Council," he said. "The governorship you want to create for yourself, it will never happen. Not while she's sinking her hooks into your mind."

"That again?" I snapped. "How many times do I have to tell you this proposal is for our family. Not me. I don't give a shit if I get the position. But it must go to our family. If it goes to any of our rivals, it will give them a major leg up on us. Perhaps enough to shove us aside as the strongest. And you're willing to toss that away because some ‘weakling human' is apparently able to control me? Is that all you've got?"

I should've stopped one sentence earlier. Challenging my father to do more was not smart, not when he was in one of his moods.

"No," he snapped, while our other family members followed the argument like fans at a tennis match, heads whipping from side to side. "That's not all. I'm telling you now I'll be watching her. Judging her. Waiting for her to screw up."

"Is that a threat?" I asked, confused.

"She's using you, my son. They all are. That's why they're here. Do you really think anyone would volunteer to be a dragon's concubine? No, I don't think so. They want something. They're on a mission, we just don't know what it is yet. But when I find out what it is, I swear you will kill her yourself, or I will. And then you will finally accept a true and proper mate. But until that time, you are not welcome in my house."

"And when she doesn't?" I was going out on a huge limb. There was every chance he was right. But I couldn't ignore my dragon. There was something different about the woman. Something that called to me. I had to explore it. Explore her.

"She will."

I was growing so sick and tired of his righteous attitude that I snapped and threw down a gauntlet. One I knew he would refuse but others would know had happened. A first step. "When she proves herself, will you accept you're wrong? Will you finally step down and let me lead the house?"

There were sharp inhales around the room. It was the first time I'd openly said anything about him stepping aside. It was a step from which there was no going back.

"Not with her at your side," he snarled, oblivious to what had just occurred. "Never. If you drop this charade and take a proper mate, then we can discuss it. Until then, I am in charge. This is my house."

My right hand clenched into a fist. "Trust me, we all know it's your house, Father. That's why it's shrinking while our rivals grow. Because we're outdated and refuse to move forward, such as with this governorship."

"Youth and being rash," he scoffed. "That's what this is."

Sometimes, I wasn't sure if it was willfulness or blind ignorance that powered such comments of his. More and more, I was beginning to think it was the latter instead of the former.

"Better than being old, monolithic, and scared of change."

"Scared? Scared? You think I am scared? I am scared of nothing! Least of all you!" he roared.

I threw my hands in the air. "Of course, that's what you focus on. Not the actual problem."

Spinning on a heel, I ignored the others as I stormed from the room, not responding to his shouts to come back and that we weren't finished.

In my mind, it was over. I just didn't know what the next steps were. I needed time to figure them out.

I found Chloe waiting for me down the hall.

"Come on," I growled, grabbing her hand, too angry to be overwhelmed by my dragon's electric response to her touch. "We're leaving."