Jack moved to lean sideways, and Melanie sighed. "I hate to miss the others' arrival, but it's probably for the best. We'll see you soon, Rhydian."
The female's warm smile was contagious and his own lips turned upward.
Once the family of four and Kai were gone, Rhydian waited with Wren for the others and asked, "Have you met the other Protectors coming?"
"Not since the clan leader trials down south, for Clan Skyhunter. But if Lochguard is allowing the twin females to come here, then their leader must trust them."
In dragon-shifter lore, twin females were a sign of change and forthcoming peace. They were incredibly rare among his kind to begin with since dragon-shifters populations skewed male. On top of that, he hadn't ever heard of a human and dragon-shifter pairing producing a set of female twins before, either.
His beast said, It'll be good for the students. After all, if a pair of half-human female twins are supposed to bring peace and prosperity, they may start to see mixed children in a different light.
I hope so. Rian wants more than anything to go back to school.
Even though it'd only been a week, the boy hated being at home. Rhydian and Delaney had learned just how close he'd become to his friend Osian, as well as most of the teachers. Given the recent upheaval in the boy's life, he deserved stability again.
Several more dragons came into view and Rhydian focused on them. He'd been forewarned about Fraser MacKenzie—the father of the twin girls—and he needed to try and be courteous and not rise to the bait.
~~~
Delaney stood outside the school's auditorium with Rian at her side and smiled down at her nephew. "Are you ready?"
He bobbed his head. "Yes. Rhydian taught me how to look brave, even if I'm a little nervous."
It twisted her heart to think such a young boy had to learn such a lesson so soon, but hopefully today would change things to the better not only for Rian but her, too. "And just remember, there are loads of other half dragon-shifters in there. You'll get to meet them before any of the other students come in."
Rian tugged her hand. "Let's go, Auntie Laney. I want to meet them."
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and guided Rian inside.
In the middle of the big room stood a much larger group of people than she'd thought would attend. Some she recognized from articles and news reports she'd seen online—such as Melanie Hall-MacLeod—but the others were unfamiliar.
However, she didn't have long to catalogue the different people before a little girl who probably wasn't even yet two walked over and wrapped her chubby arms around Delaney's leg.
She smiled. "Hello, little darling, who are you?"
"Bell. Me Bell."
An American woman's voice filled her ears. "Good job, Annabel." Delaney then met the gaze of Melanie, and the woman continued, "You must be Delaney." Melanie looked down at Rian. "And you're Rian, aren't you?"
Rian tilted his head. "You talk weird, like in the cartoons."
Melanie laughed. "Yes, my accent does stick out here. But I hope we can still be friends?"
Rian studied Melanie a second, and it pained Delaney to know the boy was more careful than many his age.
He finally bobbed his head. "I think so. Rhydian said you were great. And human, too. Like my mam was."
Melanie's gaze turned sympathetic. "I'm sorry about your mom, Rian. But from what I hear, Rhydian and your aunt love you very much."
Even though she and Melanie had just met, Delaney's eyes teared up a little. The other woman had no reason to try and help Rian, and yet here she was, doing so.
It seemed the rumors about Melanie Hall-MacLeod having a huge heart were true.
A Scottish male's voice drifted from behind Melanie. "So here's the wee lad then." A tall, ginger-haired bloke carrying a baby—the man had to be Fraser MacKenzie according to the descriptions she'd received—moved next to Melanie before crouching down. "I hear you haven't met many half dragon-shifter children to date. Come say hello to my daughter, Skye. She's just like you—half human and half dragon-shifter."
Rian leaned over and stared at the sleeping baby. "Are you sure she's part dragon? She looks like any other baby to me."
Fraser scrutinized Rian's face. "And you look like any other boy to me."