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“It’s not shacking up.”
Faye grinned. “I knew it. I swear Bram plans these things to extend his reach. First Arabella coming to Lochguard and now you to Glenlough. I wonder where he’s going to set his sights on next?”
Arabella MacLeod was originally from Stonefire and had mated the Scottish clan leader the year before.
Aaron sighed. “Not even Bram is that powerful or omniscient to plan such things.” He noticed Grant had tossed on a kilt. “Let’s go. The sooner you’re debriefed, the sooner we can put you in position.”
Aaron started walking and the others followed. Grant spoke up. “Are they finally going to tell us what the challenge is? I can’t bloody judge something I don’t understand.”
“Yes,” Aaron answered. “It’s been kept a secret from most everyone. The judges will all review the plan and voice any objections. If there’s perceived bias, then the challenge will be delayed as the judges hash out changes.”
Faye asked, “Are the other judges already here? I’ve never met anyone from the French clans before.”
“They should be,” Aaron said. “Clan PerleForet is being guarded by one of the other Protectors. You already know the Snowridge pair sent to participate as judges since we all met during the exhibition in Scotland. They sent Wren and Eira.”
Aaron, Faye, Grant, and several other Protectors had served together to protect artists from their respective clans as they participated in an art exhibition that had toured around Scotland. The event had been a sort of outreach between humans and dragon-shifters.
Faye smiled at Grant. “I was busy keeping my mate from killing everyone with a glance, so I didn’t get as many opportunities to talk with the Snowridge Protectors.”
Grant growled. “You spent too much time talking with the bloke from Northcastle.”
Faye shrugged. “We needed to learn about the Northern Irish clan.”
Aaron jumped in. “You may want to keep from mentioning that clan for the time being. Tensions are high here between the two clans.”
“Oops, sorry. I didn’t know,” Faye replied. “I still say we should have a huge party and invite all the clans of the UK and Ireland. With some alcohol and closely watched fight sessions, we’d all get along before too long.”
Grant motioned in front of them. “Let’s finish this first, love, and then we can worry about uniting everyone.”
Faye beamed. “I’m going to hold you to that later.”
As Aaron watched the pair flirt and argue, he didn’t doubt their love for each other. He wondered if he’d have the same with Teagan. Even if she lost, which he didn’t think would happen, he wasn’t giving up on her.
His beast spoke up. Can we start yet? I want this to be over so we can focus on Teagan.
Soon, dragon. It’ll start soon.
They reached central command, and Aaron guided the Scottish dragons inside. He only hoped the challenge was approved by all the judges. He was bloody tired of waiting for this day to end.
~~~
Teagan pasted a smile on her face and walked into the conference room where Orin Daly and Padraig O’Leary sat waiting. While Hugh was participating in the challenge, the meeting was for clan leaders only.
The two males looked at her. Orin, from Greenpeak in Killarney, was first to speak up. “Making us wait to assert your authority isn’t going to intimidate us, girl. Keep that in mind.”
He’d called her “girl” on purpose, but Teagan wasn’t going to rise to the bait. “Believe it or not, I’m not going to drop everything and neglect my clan just to please you.”
The older of the two males, Padraig from Wildheath, frowned. “I hope you were releasing my captive clan member as promised.”
“Oh, he’ll be released once the trials are over.”
So he couldn’t cheat was left unsaid. The bastard hadn’t cracked during his stay on Glenlough.
Teagan continued, “All of your appointed judges are being debriefed as we speak. Once they approve the set of challenges, we’ll begin. This is your last chance to back out and call it off.”
Orin raised an eyebrow. “Getting cold feet, are you?”
“No, I look forward to it,” Teagan said without missing a beat.
