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I was starting to respond again, but he continued, “Listen, Freya. Don’t just wait for us to finish so you can tell us we are wrong. We’ve dealt with those in this cave in a way you never have, for an awfully long time.”
“I lived here, too,” I protested, “for most of my life. I know what the folks are like.”
“No.” Nico and Soren stopped in front of us, but it was Nico who spoke. “You had a limited experience from your previous position and only a brief exposure so far as your betrothed.” He held up a hand and, as Jude had, continued on without letting me speak. “Soon-to-be betrothed. Now, if you would settle down, let us have our say, then we will listen to anything you want to reply with.”
“Fine,” I muttered. “Go ahead.”
Nico sat on my other side, and Soren in the arm chair across from us, and a silence descended for a moment that allowed us all, I suppose, to gather our thoughts. Sometimes in their presence I was breathless. Not because they were handsome, although they were. Each of them in his own way. But so were most of the dragons—it went with the territory and the type. Although I hadn’t seen many other shifters, since my kind was notoriously snobbish and preferred not to mingle with any but their own, occasional travelers with things to sell or messages from elsewhere did pass through, giving me a basis for comparison.
Or maybe it was just me.
But sitting between two of them with the third just as focused on me, I found it hard not to squirm. Their intensity held a heat that swelled in a wave, making me lean back to ease it a little. If I couldn’t withstand a single conversation, sitting nicely on the couch, how could I handle it when our relationships went beyond that to touching? Jude still held my hand, as well, and I was fighting the urge to jerk free and run to my bedroom.
As if he sensed my thoughts, he tightened his hold and used it to tug me to lean against him. “We’ve managed to get her worried.” He smiled down at me. “And that’s not our intent. So, before lunch is ruined and we scare you into complete paralysis, let’s get started. Nico?”
I reluctantly broke my gaze away from Jude, with whom I felt most comfortable so far, and focused on Nico. “Go ahead. I’m listening.” I didn’t muster a smile, but then neither did he.
“Freya, we want to talk about the mountain.”
“Me, too,” I burst out, leaning forward. “It’s getting worse, and I’m afraid that if we don’t do something, we’re all going to be…”
“To be what?” Soren asked, drawing my attention to him. “What do you think is going to happen? And what is this something we need to do?”
I sagged back against Jude. “I don’t know exactly, but it’s trying to tell us something. We can’t just pretend it’s normal.”
“Okay.” Nico let out a long breath. “So at this point, here’s the thing. We believe you.”
“That’s great.” Relief flooded me. “So you’ll help me convince the others.”
“No.” Nico took my other hand in a gesture that surprised me. Gentle but firm, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “As I said, we believe you. The others do not. They think you’re overreacting to something, or maybe there is nothing at all. And if you keep insisting, their patience will eventually end. We’re afraid you’ll come to harm. We aren’t limitless in our power, at least not yet.” He toyed with my fingers. “And we can’t stand that idea.”
My chest twisted. “You’re really worried about me?”
“I am as well,” Soren said softly. “We all are. And while we appreciate your alarm at the mountain, we need to ask you to stop shouting it from the rooftops. It’s going to cause a problem. It already is, in fact.”
“You need to tone it down, for now,” Jude echoed. “For your own safety.”
Even him? “But how can I just pretend there’s nothing wrong when I know that’s not true. The mountain’s behavior is extraordinary. It’s trying to communicate with us, to warn us.”
“And as we just said, we believe you.” Soren sat so casually, it was hard to believe we were having such a serious discussion. “But how about this, you don’t talk about it outside these doors, but we will help you figure it out?”
“You will?” I studied the trio with awe but saw nothing but honesty and concern. “You will.”
Chapter Three
They were worried about me. Not because of their reputation or social status, but they were concerned for my well-being.
This, I didn’t expect. Dragon matings were more like business transactions. Everyone kept their shields up and their lips curled, waiting for something. They looked at having a mate as a competition.
Mating wasn’t supposed to be like that. It was supposed to be a give-and-take,everyone on the same teamkind of thing.
“C-can we…” I stuttered, not wanting to spoil this moment. “Can we go out and see it?”
They all shared a look but it was Nico who nodded. “Let’s go out there together. At least this way, there are four witnesses.”
Soren stared at Nico. “You think having more witnesses will cause them to change their minds? When was the last time you were aware that the High Council used intelligence and logic in any of their decisions?” Nico cocked one eyebrow. “You’ve got a point. Still, I don’t want her going out there alone.”
“Fine, I will take some notes while we’re there.” Soren was on the case. It was endearing to see him so borderline obsessed with this whole thing.
