“No. I am not.”
“Yes, you are,” I insisted. Pointed back to the wall with the pictures of all the women with lavender eyes and gorgeous, dark curls, I asserted, “Martha would never hurt anyone.”
“That’s what everyone said about the last Queen.”
“Wait. There was another Dragon Queen?”
“Several.” His eyes were glassy and unwavering from the scratched-out carvings. “Only one survived.”
“Where is she?”
“Buried.”
“What are you saying?”
Inhaling painfully, Barney laid his hand across his torso and exhaled. Turning all the way around, he took a single step in my direction, and the words just started coming as if he had no control.
“Look, I’m gonna be straight with you.”
“That would be new.”
Ignoring my jab, he just kept going, “I didn’t escape to hurt Martha or…” He pointed at me. “Or you, for that matter.” Pushing a thick clump of greasy hair out of his face, he went on, “I escaped because I love her.”
I didn’t have time to think. Every protective instinct I had jumped into action. Closing the distance in the blink of an eye, I fisted what was left of the color of his orange jumpsuit and lifted the smaller man off the ground. Glaring at him, I seethed, “What the fuck did you say?”
“Whoa, chill out, Big Man.” Barney choked as I continued to squeeze. “Not like that.”
Dropping him as fast as I’d snatched him up, I stood perfectly still, scowled as I looked down my nose at him, and snarled, “Explain.”
Clearing his throat a couple of times, he swallowed hard, then sighed, “Not romantically, Dipshit. I love her like a brother, protectively.”
“What in all that’s holy are you talkin’ about?”
“Are you gonna listen?”
“Yes.”
“And not try to strangle me again?”
“No promises.”
“Wow.” Chuckling sarcastically, he shook his head and scratched at his scraggly beard. “Okay, here it is.” He inhaled again, shrugged, and went for it. “I promised my grandmother… On her deathbed… That I would protect Martha at all costs.”
“Wait. Aren’t you the one who tried to incinerate her– and your own brothers?”
“I was not trying to hurt anyone. I was trying to talk to Martha… To tell her what my grandma told me… To warn her. But Geoff and Wilbur were following me. They started the fight. What was I supposed to do? Let them force me back home before I had done what I was there to do?”
“Sounds better than blasting everyone with Wyvern Fire.”
“I did not…” Huffing an exasperated breath, he slowly shook his head. Then, looking up with a glint of rebellion in his eyes, he charged, “Do you want to know why I’m here and my connection to your Mate, or would you rather I just let you go?”
“Just talk.” Yes, I was a dick. No, I didn’t believe him. Yes, I wanted to know everything. So, I gave him a sharp nod, softened my tone, and added, “Please.”
“As I said, my grandma told me to protect Martha when we were still kids. She had been sick for a long time and kept saying that she had something to tell me when the time was right.”
“One night long after, my mom woke me up and said Grandma had called for me. I got right up, got dressed, and went next door. Sure enough, she was ready for me. She told me where this cave was and that I had to come down and study everything. Then she said that no matter what, I had to protect Martha Dellencourt. That she was the key to everything.”
“So, that’s what I did.” Tapping his temple, he kept explaining, “I committed everything to memory. Every day when I left, I went straight to my hidey hole and wrote it all down.”
