However, before she could ask or say anything else, Rian said, "Well, I want to try this stew. Just to make sure I like it."
She smiled and met the boy's eyes. "Go ahead and eat."
Rian didn't wait for any more encouragement. And as he continued to nearly inhale the contents of his bowl, she surmised he liked it.
Rhydian's sexy voice filled her ears. "This is good, Delaney. I have nothing to compare it to, but I doubt there's any Irish stew better than this one."
His compliment warmed her insides as she watched him overenthusiastically eat his dinner. Between him and Rian, the stew would be gone in a flash.
She should follow suit, enjoy her meal, and move the conversation to something easy. But the longer she kept her idea secret, the heavier it felt in her stomach.
When Rhydian was midchew, she blurted, "The idea I had was to host a boxing match. Me against another female with some degree of training, like one of the Protectors."
To his credit, Rhydian calmly swallowed his food and didn't start choking. His gaze assessed hers. Maybe some would look away at the intensity, but she only matched it.
She needed to prove herself in some way to the clan. And this was all she really could do.
And so she waited to see how the dragon clan leader reacted.
~~~
Rhydian's first instinct was to say no bloody way. No matter how skilled or strong Delaney may be, dragon-shifters were stronger. Flying, in particular, toned their bodies in ways humans could rarely match.
And yet, hearing how she'd gone through so many activities to find the one thing she loved—boxing—made him resist his first urge.
If someone had tried to tell him he could no longer fly, would he do it?
His beast huffed. Of course not, unless it would kill us. And even then, we'd have to think about it.
Careful to keep his tone even, he said, "Most of our female Protectors aren't trained in boxing. In fact, there's only one who has tried it even a little. So your idea probably won't work."
"Then what will? From everything I've heard from Rian, Eira, and even the DDA, most dragon-shifter clans tend to view humans as physically weak and not good for anything but having babies. Strength is held to such a high standard with your kind, and I need to prove I'm not a delicate flower. And I'd rather do it in one go instead of over the course of years and years, having to prove myself to every individual here. I had to do that at the school today, and I didn't like the distrust they showered on me with Rian there. I'm sure he gets similar treatment as there aren’t many half-human children here, right? But if I can prove I’m strong all around—both mentally and physically—then it might make things easier for him in the long run, too."
Rhydian hadn't heard any reports about other students mistreating Rian. But he'd been so busy healing the clan after rescuing the children three months ago, it was entirely possible it was happening and Rian had kept it to himself.
Fuck. Had he really overlooked that point so easily? The more he grew to know Delaney, the more he realized how sharing Rian’s upbringing would be best for the boy.
Speaking of the lad, Rhydian glanced at Rian to see if he was listening in. However, the boy was happily eating his stew and sharing it with his stuffed rabbit. As long as they kept their voices from being too loud, they should be able to have a quick conversation.
Although he didn't want a quick one, but still, with a child, that would have to be enough until after Rian went to sleep later.
Rhydian leaned over a fraction toward Delaney, trying his best to ignore how her scent grew stronger and made his dragon hum. "I don't know if there's a quick, fix-all solution, Delaney. Humans haven't lived on Snowridge for decades."
His dragon growled. Of course there's a fairly easy solution. If she were our mate, most people would leave her alone.
I'm not going to propose that to her.
Delaney's voice prevented his dragon from speaking. "What did your dragon say? If what I learned earlier today, about how intricate your dragon halves are when it comes to living life—at least according to Lily—then he should have a say in this conversation, too."
His inner beast raised his head and smugness filled his eyes. Rhydian ignored him. "That may not be the best idea."
Delaney searched his gaze a second before leaning even closer and whispering, "We're going to pause this conversation until Rian is asleep. Then we're going to finish it."
At the firmness in her tone, Rhydian blinked. He'd never met a human with such steel and spine before.
And he rather liked it. No, more than like—he loved it.
He nodded and then Delaney turned toward Rian, chatting about something he didn't quite follow.