no idea how to act.
Yet she’d just talked with her dragon for the first time in almost eleven years. A deep-seated loneliness she’d ignored for so long eased a fraction and her heart warmed.
The feeling prompted her to stand a little taller. She’d come a bloody long way for her recovery. If she truly ever wanted to heal, she needed to leave Stonefire for a while and figure out who the hell she was, as well as what she wanted from life.
One of the news staff entered the room and motioned for Arabella to follow. She could feel both Tristan’s and Bram’s eyes on her, so she looked to each one in turn. “I’ll be fine.”
As she walked to the staff member, Arabella admitted she had no idea what would happen after the interview, but she did know one thing. She would finish the interview and go to Scotland in two months’ time.
She was tired of fear and hiding. From here on out, she was determined to be whole again.
~~~
Tristan waited until Arabella was out of earshot before he looked to Bram. “She’ll be fine.”
“I sure hope so, Tristan. Dangling Lochguard like we did just doesn’t seem right.”
“It’s the only thing she truly wants. Much like Mel forced her way into Arabella’s life, she needs to be pushed in this, too. I’m sure you saw her eyes flashing to dragon slits.”
“Yes, but I’m going to give her a few tests before she leaves. She won’t know that’s what they are, but I don’t want her breaking down in front of Clan Lochguard. Her pride may never recover.”
“We can discuss that later. Right now, I want to listen to my sister and mate, so shut it.”
Bram shook his head, but remained quiet.
On the TV, Arabella sat down in the final chair, the furthest from both Melanie and the journalist. At least the distance kept the human from touching Arabella, which was one less possible trigger for his sister’s past trauma.
Tristan crossed his arms over his chest and moved his gaze to his mate’s face. Few would be able to tell, but she was gripping her leg tightly to restrain herself. Jane Hartley had barely talked to Melanie. His mate wouldn’t like that one bit.
When Arabella started talking, he listened. “Yes, my name is Arabella MacLeod and I was taken, beaten, and tortured by a group of Carlisle dragon hunters when I was seventeen years old.”
Even though Arabella’s voice was a little less confident than he liked, Tristan was proud of his sister.
Jane asked, “Is that where your scar and burns came from?”
Arabella paused and then replied, “Yes. A group of men held me down, poured petrol on half of my body, and set me on fire.”
The journalist paused. Her voice was soft when she finally spoke, “Did they give a reason?”
Tristan gripped his arms tighter. As if they needed a bloody reason. Dragon hunters were evil.
His sister, however, was more diplomatic than he was. “A dragon’s blood can’t heal anything until a dragon-shifter hits maturity. Melanie stated as much in her book.” Arabella glanced to Melanie and then back to the journalist. “They wanted to weaken me so it would be easy to keep me captive until I hit maturity.”
Jane Hartley cleared her throat and asked, “Some say we already spend too much money tracking down the dragon hunters. What would you say to those people?”
Arabella frowned. “After today, I would hope they’d think twice before saying such crap. Each of us here has suffered because the laws surrounding the dragon hunters are too lax. Human law prevents us from taking care of the threat ourselves, so the law either needs to be changed or the DDA offices need to step up their game. Too many dragons are dying because of the limbo we’re placed in.”
Bram murmured, “She’s doing extremely well. If she’d never been attacked, she might’ve been like this always. She might even have gone after the clan leadership.”
Tristan’s dragon spoke up. I agree with Bram. Arabella is more of a leader than anyone admits.
She’s kept herself locked up for years. Of course they would think so.
She will do extraordinary things in the future. I believe in her.
Before he could think too hard on his dragon’s words, Jane was talking straight to the camera again, signaling the end of the interview. Tristan focused on her words, “I wish to thank all of our guests for sitting down and talking with me. I’m sure I’m not the only one who will do some thinking and reevaluate my views on dragon-shifters, dragon hunters, and their interactions with humans.
“If you’re curious to read more, you can download a free three-chapter preview of Melanie Hall-MacLeod’s book, Revealing the Dragons. The web address is on your screen, or you can go to our website for the link.