"Me, too."
Kai barked they were leaving. The male was definitely too familiar to do so to Rhydian, but they were heading out before he could do more than blink.
His dragon spoke up. I like them being here. I hope we can have more visitors soon.
In a strange way, Rhydian did, too. Let's focus on the operation with Stonefire and claiming Delaney first. Then we'll think about a gathering of some sort with other clan members attending.
And to help reach that point quicker, he left and walked to his office. He had a lot of administrative duties to tackle before he could talk with Kai, let alone with Delaney, too.
Chapter Twelve
A few days later, Delaney was checking her chicken pie in the oven when Rian yelped from the living room.
After closing the oven door, she raced into the room to find him sitting on the floor with his head to his knees, his hands over his ears. Dropping to his side, she asked, "What's wrong, Rian?"
"I—"
He stopped and leaned against her, curling more into himself.
Oh, no. Something was definitely wrong.
And while she needed to call Rhydian, she couldn't do so until she made sure Rian was okay.
Gently stroking his arm, she asked, "Does it hurt?'
"No." He grunted a few times before falling silent.
The silence cut through her heart. She'd tried her best to learn what a dragon-shifter child needed, but it clearly hadn't been enough. He needed a dragon-shifter's help.
Before she could think of how to get it, Rian sat up and growled. After a few more minutes of him shaking his head while keeping his eyes tightly shut, he finally dropped his hands and opened his eyes.
His dazed look only made her heart beat faster and her stomach churn. However, Delaney did her best to keep her voice calm as she asked, "What happened, Rian? Are you all right now?"
Before he could answer, his pupils turned to slits and stayed that way.
She drew in a breath. Had his dragon finally come out and spoken with him?
It should make her happy since many people had thought he would never have an inner dragon presence. However, no one knew if Rian's dragon would be normal or not after his time with the dragon hunters.
If Rian’s dragon didn't act right because of the medical experiments everyone thought the hunters had performed on him, she would work even harder to find a way to help the other dragons take down the bastards.
No. She wouldn’t think of how things could go south. Delaney needed to be positive right now, for Rian's sake. His dragon had to be okay. He just had to. She’d only just found her nephew and couldn’t bear the thought of losing him forever.
And not just because of her sister’s pleading, either. Rian was her son now. She loved him with everything she had, and Delaney would do whatever she could to help him.
Focusing on Rian, she kept her voice even as she asked, "Did your dragon start talking with you, Rian? Did he finally come out to play?"
It took a few beats, but his pupils became round once more. The boy visibly slumped, as if his dragon had sapped all his energy. "Yes and no. He's hungry. And loud. And keeps roaring."
Her belly churned even more. Maybe the doctors and Rhydian had been right—something was wrong with Rian's beast. "Does he threaten you? Or say bad things, such as wanting to hurt people?"
Rian's eyes changed again. What she wouldn't give to be able to hear what was going on inside his brain.
She eyed her mobile phone in the kitchen. Could she leave long enough to get it and not upset Rian or his dragon? Because Delaney was running out of options and recognized that Rhydian would have a better idea of how to handle the situation.
Then the boy spoke again, his voice halting. "Food. I want food. Lots of food."
The strange changing of his tone tipped her off. It was like when Rhydian let his dragon take control to talk with her. She just needed to placate Rian's dragon a little, distract him with something to eat, and then she could contact Rhydian.