14. Kingsley

Chapter 14

Kingsley

S eren had come back from the beach at lunchtime, shining with joy and boundless energy. "Dane's training Alfie this afternoon so I've got time to show you round," he said to Glimmer. As he spoke, he leaned closer and wrapped his arm around Glimmer's neck.

Glimmer let him. Their hands were all over each other.

Not in a sexual way, obviously. I knew that. They were cousins, for a start. And Glimmer was my mate.

Even so, I could see straight away that he'd missed his cousin. Seren was a ball of energy and Glimmer looked more animated around him.

My mate touched Seren's head, ruffling his hair .

"So what do you Hoskinses do for fun, then?"

Seren rounded on him with his eyes shining. "We get to do whatever we want."

The frown that appeared between Glimmer's eyebrows made me want to chuckle. He had no idea what that was like. To be fair, I didn't either. We both knew our duty and that was all.

Glimmer was the Guardian. He guarded.

It didn't really occur to him to do much else.

"So what do you do all day?"

The way he said it made me think that he was shuddering inside at the mere idea of having all day stretching before him without his duty to fill it.

My mate had no chill.

He'd only agreed to come here – even though it was obvious that he missed Seren and wanted to set eyes on Morgan again – because Alfie was coming and he needed to protect his family rather than just the territory. The territory was a means of protecting his clan, not something to protect in and of itself. Some people forgot that.

"We take turns to cook and we play with the children—"

Glimmer cringed guiltily but Seren didn't notice.

"—and we put protections down around the territory."

Finally, I could see the spark of recognition in Glimmer's blue eyes. They lit up at the prospect of being able to protect his family, especially when they'd be away from him.

And while they'd been talking, I had seen what he was doing.

His fingers ruffled Seren's hair and he wrapped his arm around Seren's neck in a hug, and he touched the buttons on Seren's shirt, and all of it might look to an outsider that he was just being very touchy, but he wasn't.

My mate was layering protections over his treasure as he spoke.

We'd spent a long time training together now. We knew the way each of us worked. We had learned to combine our magic so that it was stronger than either of us could achieve alone. When we worked together, two and two added up to five.

I sent out my magic to twine among Glimmer's as he added a few spells to make sure Seren was safe, that he was protected, that Glimmer would know if he were injured .

Even when he was supposedly relaxing, meant to be on holiday, Glimmer was working. I nearly laughed outright at my mate. He really did have zero chill.

And what was even funnier was that I could see Seren doing the exact same thing. His protections were all the same. I guessed he couldn't work magic in the same way that Glimmer could, but he had a particular talent for one kind of protection which even I had to admit was incredibly strong. I was grateful to Seren for putting that protection on my mate.

The two cousins jostled and bumped each other, tussled and hugged, and all the time they were building their protections.

Glimmer turned his eyes on me. "Let's go and see the Hoskins territory."

I shook my head. "You go. I'll stay here."

Glimmer frowned but there was a flicker of relief in Seren's expression. If I were being kind, I'd say it was because he wanted to spend time with his cousin without someone else hanging round them. If I were being less kind, I'd say that Seren wasn't as afraid of me as the rest of them were but he still preferred to speak to me when he was around others, especially his mate or his elder. Either of his elders. That was only common sense.

Since I wasn't great at acting, and since Glimmer would smell it if I tried to lie anyway, I went for the truth. "You don't have long together. I really don't mind you spending time alone with Seren."

He was torn. Seren must have realised it, too, because he joined me in persuading Glimmer to go and have fun for an afternoon.

"The children have toys to play with! They've got a ball. Do you want to try and play again?"

I might not have had much of a childhood myself, but it still broke my heart a bit every time I realised that Glimmer had had even less of one. I answered for him.

"Yes, he does. I'll see you at dinner."

I was turning away when Glimmer grabbed me and pulled me close to him. It felt strange every time he did that, because he manhandled me so easily despite the fact he was shorter than me and slender, delicate and pretty. He crushed me against him and claimed my mouth hard, forcing his tongue between my lips.

I let him kiss me and, okay, that wasn't exactly a hardship, but I knew if he did it for much longer, I'd change my mind about letting him go and I'd throw him over my shoulder and take him up to our guest bedroom.

With a final bite on his lip, I pulled away and saw with satisfaction that my mate's lips were red and puffy. It annoyed me that they wouldn't stay that way. I wanted him to walk around all afternoon, looking like he'd been thoroughly kissed by me.

"Go and enjoy yourself," I said, and this time when I turned to walk away, he let me.

He did wolf whistle me as I went, and I heard him say, "My mate's got such a fine ass."

I grinned as I rounded the corner. Glimmer was ridiculous, but I admit I didn't hate it when he admired my body.

I kept walking, trudging along the corridor and hearing Seren's voice fading away as he took Glimmer off wherever they were going.

It wasn't that I instantly regretted sending my mate and the comfort of his protection away from me, but I did gather my power closer. My senses became sharper as I focused on what was around me. I couldn't even help it. It was instinct.

I had barely got used to being around so many dragons at the Somerville castle. Being at a different castle, with a whole load of different dragons, was testing me.

For so many years, I'd felt a dragon's presence like a dark spot on the horizon. I'd been told they were evil. That the magic I could feel emanating from them was destructive. It was hard to undo a lifetime's training in only a few weeks, but I was trying.

I was really trying.

Being around so many dragons, though, was making me tense and nervous, my instincts shriek.

I could sense them nearby. I'd started to get used to being around Glimmer's family but at least I knew them. He knew them, and had told me all about them.

He told me stories of how human they were. That his Aunt Isabella pretended she couldn't understand English, even though she answered questions asked to her in English, only she answered in Italian. That Glenwise always complained when Glimmer needed him to help carry some dead bodies to the incinerator but he always did it and checked Glimmer over to make sure he wasn't injured. That Rhod always walked round with a clipboard. That Silvia always smelled of paint .

I'd started to get used to those dragons. I'd started to feel their presence without feeling like an evil storm cloud was about to engulf me.

Here, though? There were too many unfamiliar dragons.

My instincts told me that I was under attack. I couldn't convince myself that my instincts were wrong, either, since I knew – logically – that they saw me as a ridire .

The Hoskins clan were wary of me. Their eyes followed me suspiciously. Every mated dragon stepped in front of their mate when I walked past, even if they didn't realise they were doing it. It was sometimes just the slightest movement, but they were positioning themselves between me and their precious mate.

It made me feel… strange.

I'd spent my life being told that dragons didn't feel love, and yet that's what this was. Love. Those dragons wanted to protect the people they loved the most.

I couldn't blame them for it. Admired them for it, actually.

Only I was constantly aware that they saw me as a threat. I was the enemy .

I walked the long corridor, not sure where to go next. I didn't want to interrupt Glimmer's time with his cousin. They hadn't seen each other in so long, and Glimmer missed Seren more than anyone else. They deserved some time together.

I kept walking.

I did it just to give myself something to do. If I didn't stay in a room with any of the dragons, I couldn't frighten them.

It was boring, though. I didn't want to lay protections in someone else's territory. The Hoskins elder hadn't given us permission to do that and it seemed rude. But that meant I couldn't be useful here. I had no purpose, other than to make sure I didn't frighten people, and the best way to do that was to not be around them.

So I walked.

I was seriously considering going up to my room and… staying there, bored out of my mind. That's when someone called my name.

"Kingsley?"

I stepped back a few paces and through the door I'd just passed. John Hoskins, the elder's mate, was sitting in a large armchair by the fire.

"Good afternoon," I said .

"Please join me. Unless you were busy," he added.

"Not at all."

I really wasn't busy.

The room was large and well-lit, but it had a homely feel to it. Probably the rugs and stuff. I wasn't particularly interested in home décor.

As I crossed to the chair opposite John, which he indicated, I nodded at Darren. The gargoyle was standing beside John, against the wall. I knew enough of gargoyles to know that they did that, stood back, observed, guarded. They were excellent fighters. Their magic was defensive.

Sure enough, when I sat and studied John, I could see all sorts of protections over him.

If the elder had to be away from her mate, it seemed logical that she would leave the gargoyle to watch over him.

"It must be strange for you to be around so many dragons."

I nodded. "A bit."

The older man smiled at me and something about it was so understanding that I actually expanded on my answer.

"I can sense them all around me. Surrounding me."

"I suppose that makes you feel trapped, if you've always thought of dragons as your enemy."

The simple way he put it made something inside of me crack. For a man with no power, he somehow understood exactly what it was like for me. To be the odd one out among the creatures my body told me were dangerous.

My throat became tight and I was afraid my voice would squeak if I spoke, so I nodded.

"Does it bother you that your mate is a dragon?"

"No." I was grateful my voice stayed steady.

"But his family is a different matter."

"I don't mind them being dragons. I just need to get used to them. And not frighten them."

"Ah, yes. They are rather wary of you. It's amusing, actually, to see them all bristle when you walk in, even though they are the apex predator in the room."

"Dragons are deadly warriors," I agreed.

John shrugged. "Some of them are. I don't think Dimpy has been in a fight in his life. And he's unlikely to start now. His mate has an aversion to blood. "

I nodded, slightly bemused.

John asked, "You're never worried that your mate is afraid of you?"

I snorted with amusement. "I'm more worried that he's not afraid of anyone, least of all me. He's the Guardian." I paused, realising I'd just repeated the phrase Glimmer had used to describe himself when we'd met, and I hadn't understood at all. "I mean, he's a warrior who takes his responsibility of protecting his clan very seriously. He defends them. Against anything, including ridire ."

"Yes, I believe Edith is giving the alliance some time to settle and for Alfie to become comfortable with his role, and then she'll have some questions for you about how best to defend against ridire ."

I was not at all sure I wanted to speak to Edith, but I knew better than to say so.

John seemed to notice, though. He shrugged apologetically. "I'm afraid dragons are like that. Very protective. Especially the elders. I'm surprised she hasn't asked you already. No dragon has ever had the chance to talk to a ridire before."

"Ex- ridire ," I corrected.

"Oh, yes of course! "

I realised I'd sounded terse, so I tried to smooth things over. Didn't want the Hoskins elder to burn me for making her mate cry or something.

"I've already spoken to Arram Elm. And I believe Anthony Beckinsale was interested in learning more about ridire magic, training and culture."

John gave me a sympathetic look. "He means well."

"He's an expert in the cultures and biology of magical creatures. Even I've heard of Professor Beckinsale. He's well-known among the ridire . Don't worry," I added at his alarmed look. "The ridire have no interest in him. Their focus is only on dragons. Sorry."

"No need to apologise for other people, Kingsley. Now, what do you say to—?"

Whatever John was going to suggest, he never got to say it. He was cut off by Darren's sudden growl of, "The armoury."

John's voice became sharp. "Has something happened?"

"Someone just broke into it."

"Can you tell who?" John was already standing, heading for the door .

Darren was right beside him. "I only know it's been breached."

Whatever they might normally do when someone tried to enter their armoury, today they were going to check it out. And that was because the armoury was at the heart of their territory, the place where the weapons were kept, the place that symbolised how the dragons would defend their clan to the death.

I suspected the two androgynous Hoskins dragons might actually be the ones who'd broken in, since it was clear they loved to cause trouble, but I wasn't going to speculate out loud. At least if they were off causing other mischief, they were leaving me alone. Yesterday had been a long, long day of keeping my temper.

Whether it was because I was curious, whether it was because my instinct was to make sure that Glimmer's treasures were safe if any of them had been the ones causing trouble, or whether I wanted to ensure John was protected, I couldn't say. All I knew was I followed the two of them along the corridors as they hurried towards the armoury.

By the time we arrived, Cuthbert and Anthony were already there along with Glimmer. Several people were rushing down the corridor from the other side. They all looked at each other.

"Who was it?"

"What happened?"

I knew it couldn't have been Cuthbert and Anthony who'd broken in. If nothing else, they were allowed inside.

Had they been showing Glimmer and forgotten to disable the defences?

They didn't talk to him or look at him, which made me start to suspect I knew exactly who had broken into the armoury. I should have realised he would.

As more people arrived, I studied my mate. Sure enough, as I'd started to suspect, there was a soft sunset-orange glow of magic around him, the shade it went when he was using his magic to conceal himself. Everyone walked straight past him, completely unaware that he was even there.

As the corridor filled with people, he shimmered into sight and began to mill around with the rest of them, blending in. Nobody would know it had been him.

I relaxed a fraction. I didn't want my mate in trouble. My instinct was to protect him, even though I knew he'd rarely need my protection. That didn't stop me wanting to keep him safe, especially from dragons, with their dark magic surrounding me and the feel of them so close and palpable.

When Edith stalked through the crowd and they parted, letting her through, my instincts shrieked. She had her dragon simmering under the surface, obviously spooked by the attack on the armoury. I found myself gathering power to me automatically and began to spread it over myself, layering it up over my chest and neck, my two most vulnerable areas.

"What happened?" she asked.

Cuthbert stepped forward. "Someone opened the armoury door, Nana."

I began to shuffle through the crowd, not wanting to put myself in the middle of the dragons but needing to be near my mate.

"It must have been someone without authorisation," said Edith.

I tried not to look guilty as she swept her eyes over the gathered crowd.

Nobody would know, I reminded myself. Nobody had seen Glimmer .

Then my mate did what I'd been dreading. He stepped towards Edith.

"It was me, Lady Hoskins."