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Yasmin placed a hand on Layla's arm, and she instantly met her sister's gaze as she whispered, "But if Azar finds out I'm here, his clan will come after us. Anyone who helps us is in danger."
Azar Samadi was the male whom Yasmin had been arranged to mate. She didn't know much about him, to be honest. But if he still held a grudge after all these years, Layla would never be able to forgive him.
Her dragon whispered. Worry about that later. For now, focus on Yasmin.
Right, her sister, who looked so pale and frail.
Layla wanted nothing more than to comfort her sister, but she focused on the long term and kept the syringe where it was. Putting as much truth in her words as she could manage, Layla replied, "Finn is a good clan leader, one who's managed to get out of a lot of difficult situations over the last few years. He also has strong allies who will stand by him. So don't worry about putting us in danger, Yas. Finn will find a way to protect us all. Please, trust me on this, if nothing else."
Yasmin's pupils flashed to slits and back before she nodded. "I trust you." Her eyes moved to Phillip. "Let's try, Phillip. I'm so tired of running."
As Phillip stroked his mate's forehead and murmured soothing words, it was plain to see how much he loved Yasmin. His voice softer, Phillip finally spoke to Layla again. "Okay, we'll go. I'll carry her back to Lochguard."
Removing the needle from near Yasmin's arm, she nodded. "If you need to rest for a few minutes on the way back, just let us know."
"I won't have to rest," Phillip growled.
"Of course not," she murmured, not wishing to prickle a protective mate unnecessarily. "But let me help you arrange the IV drip once you have Yasmin in your arms. I don't want to take it out again."
And as she helped arrange her sister in Phillip's arms and then packed up her bag, Layla hoped Finn wouldn't murder her later on for speaking on his behalf.
Her dragon huffed. Of course not. He'll always help the clan when asked, even for those who have been gone a wee while.
Aye, I know. But I can't imagine he'll be happy with the news.
Well, it's a good thing we won't have to be the ones delivering it then. Faye and Grant will do it.
You're horrible, she replied with a half laugh inside her head.
Before she knew it, they were all making their way back toward Lochguard. And Layla did her best not to think about reunions, arguments, and everything else that would come later. For the moment, her sister was back and coming home. That was all that mattered.
Finlay Stewart crouched in front of the large, wooden desk inside his office and watched the baby golden dragon underneath as she scurried back and forth, daring him to snatch her. Every time he tried to catch his daughter, she scurried out of reach. For a baby dragon, she was bloody fast.
Using the soothing voice that worked best on his wee rascal, he said, "Freya, love, come on. Daddy needs to do some work."
He waited until she came a little bit closer before he tried to grab her. However, she dashed right by him and ran across the room.
His inner dragon laughed, the bastard.
Normally, Finn would love nothing more than to play with his daughter for a short while. But his near-daily conference call with Clan Stonefire's leader, Bram Moore-Llewellyn, was due to start in ten minutes. And if Freya remained in the room, she would undoubtedly jump into Finn's lap and try to steal the camera time for herself. For who knew what reason, she'd taken a shine to the other dragon clan leader, which meant she'd preen and try to charm him the entire time and nothing would get done.
His mate, Arabella, always smiled smugly when Finn complained of his daughter being too charming for her own good. His mate would then mention it was only fair—a charming daughter for a charming father.
Not about to let the wee rascal win this time, Finn scanned the room and devised a way to corner and catch his daughter. He was about to make his first move when the door opened, revealing Grant McFarland and Faye MacKenzie. At the sight of their tense jaws, he sighed. "Now what?"
Freya raced right past them into the hallway, and he heard his mate's voice say, "I have her!" before Faye and Grant walked into the room, shut the door, and Faye said, "You might want to sit down for this."
He searched his cousin's eyes. "Just tell me, Faye. Is it the hunters or Knights again?"
She shook her head, her wild hair bouncing around her face. "No. It has to do with Yasmin MacFie and Phillip Lamont."
Finn frowned as he tried to recall what he knew of the pair. "Didn't they both go missing, years be
fore I took over the clan?"
Grant grunted. "Aye, that's them and they've returned. And before you say that's a good thing, it's quite possible that keeping them on Lochguard means one of the Iranian dragon clans will come knocking at our door. And not in a good way."
Sliding into his chair, he sighed again. "Aye, I'll sit. Now, tell me everything."
