Page 31 of Dragon Unbound (Dragon Kings 3)
Chapter Twelve
Long after Tamlyn left him, her last words turned over in his head again and again. He sat on the floor in the dark, leaning against a wall in his chamber with his knees up and his arms resting atop them. There had been disappointment and resignation in her gaze, but that wasn’t to be helped. She wasn’t the one attacking the dragons. However, he was going to find out who it was and put an end to it.
He understood why Brandr and Eurwen kept the humans to their lands so they didn’t interfere with the dragons’ lives, but the mortals with magic were stuck in the middle. The humans didn’t want them because of their abilities, and the dragons didn’t want them because they were human. It seemed to Cullen that if any group could get along, it was the dragons and the magic-bearing humans.
It was a long shot to be sure. But someone had to try. If things continued as they were, there would be a war. Those with magic would only take so much before they turned to the only weapon they had—their powers—and used them on the humans. After the mortals had ruthlessly hunted and relentlessly killed those with magic, Cullen couldn’t blame them.
The humans had been in power for a long time, but the tides were slowly shifting to those with magic. The mortals wouldn’t see it until it was too late. Then the persecuted and oppressed would take their vengeance. It would be a slaughter.
Based on what Cullen had learned from Jeyra and Varek, as well as Tamlyn and her friends, the humans deserved everything they had coming. That didn’t mean he liked the idea of it. He would never understand why people couldn’t be more tolerant, more accepting. Just because someone was different didn’t make them evil or wrong. It just made them different.
He sighed and got to his feet. He was restless. He tried to tell himself it was because he was impatient to see Stonemore for himself, but it had nothing to do with that. It was about Tamlyn and their kiss.
Unable to help himself, he touched his lips. He could still taste her desire, feel the need that had rushed through her. Hear her ragged breaths. He’d wanted to claim her body right then, but somehow, he had gotten control of himself and ended the kiss. The way she’d responded to his kiss told him that she’d wanted it as much as he did, but when she jumped away from him, it had hurt him—though he wished he could deny it.
He ran a hand down his face in frustration. What he needed was a cold shower.
Instead, he walked from the chamber. Cullen had no destination in mind other than to explore more of the ruin complex. He found more corridors, rooms, and other courtyards, but nothing came close to the first one. It wasn’t magic but science that shed the light through the patios, but that didn’t make it any less stunning.
When he first came to the ruins, he’d thought it might be an ancient city for those with magic. There was no evidence of that except for possibly the stone. He hadn’t investigated that too much since his attention was on other things, but the stone had probably been mined from somewhere on Zora.
Somehow, Cullen wasn’t surprised when he ended up back in the great hall. At least that was what he called it. It was grand, and it was similar to the halls from castles. He walked to the pool and looked up at the tangle of roots. Some were no larger than his arm. Others, he wasn’t sure he could get his arms around.
He was awed by the way they had disrupted the architecture by pulling apart some of the stones. Yet it was the root system that now supported the temple. To become a stunning work of nature that complemented the ruins instead of distracting from them.
Cullen lowered his gaze to the water and waited. Jenefer had been following him for some time. He didn’t alert her to give her a chance to see that he was an ally. He understood the Amazon’s wounded pride. She was their protector, and he had stepped on her toes. Cullen was used to working with other alphas, but he hadn’t taken into consideration that Jenefer wasn’t.
“You can come out of the shadows,” he said as he turned his head toward her.
She moved out of the darkness of a hallway beneath the flickering light of a torch.
He turned to face her. “If I wanted to harm anyone here, I could’ve already done it.”
“You expect us to trust you so easily?”
“Trust has to be earned.”
Jenefer walked closer and stopped about six feet away. “Tamlyn is willing to put her life in your hands.”
“But you willna?”
“She isn’t thinking straight. She sees a Dragon King who wants to help. What she sees is someone who can do what she’s been unable to do.”
Cullen asked, “What’s that?”
“Save all of us.”
He shook his head. “To do that would mean war.”
“You’ve known Tamlyn a few hours. We’ve known her for years. We’ve sat with her when she was unable to locate one of the children from her visions. We know how she suffers after. We know how she puts her life at risk to rescue each kid.” Anger rolled from Jenefer. “You give her false hope.”
“I doona. I told her I can help, and I shall.”
“For how long?” she snapped. “A week? A month? Do you think this ends for us then? It will never end as long as we’re persecuted and exiled.”
Cullen drew in a slow breath. “I doona know how long I’ll be here. I’ve not made any promises other than I’ll not instigate a war.”
“It would’ve been better had we never met you.”
He opened his mouth to respond when Sian shouted Jenefer’s name as she came running into the hall, out of breath. Cullen spun to the petite Alchemist, but her gaze was on her lover.
“She’s gone,” Sian said, her face lined with fear.
Cullen took a step toward her. “Who?”
“Tamlyn,” Jenefer said as she strode past him. To Sian, she said, “Stay here. If the dragon’s right, this place is protected. You know where to take the children.”
He rolled his eyes. “You are protected.”
“Find her,” Sian said, ignoring him. “After this morning, this is definitely a trap.”
Cullen made his way to the women. He looked at Sian first. “You and the kids are safe, but take them to a secure location in the complex if you have it.” Then he turned his head to Jenefer. “I’m going after Tamlyn. Will you work with me so we can bring her back?”
“Jenefer,” Sian admonished when the Amazon hesitated.
