“Yes, sir.”
I looked back at Dean. “I heard Elsa scream. I had a busted nose and bled everywhere. The guy had a knife, and he was walking straight toward her.”
“You believed her life was in danger?” asked a younger dragon.
“I did then, and I still do. I ran at him, tackled him from behind.” I tightened my mouth at the memory.The big guy in a filthy sweatshirt, hood up, stinking like he’d slept in a sewer. He elbowed me in the face to get me off of him, but Elsa had a chance and took it. She ran for the kitchen.
“He hit me again,” I went on after swallowing hard. “I rolled off of him, and he went for Elsa again, chasing her.”
“Then what?”
“She bolted for the backyard with him right behind her,” I said. “It’s as though he had something against her, needed his vengeance. But that’s impossible. Elsa stayed at home, wasn’t involved with drugs or gangs.”
“You think this dude was hepped up on PCP?” Ian sneered.
“I think it’s highly likely, yes,” I replied evenly.
“Tell us what happened then,” Dean said quietly.
“He reached her.” I stared into blank space, remembering the horror of the moment, the knowledge that I’d be too late, I couldn’t stop him before he brought that knife down and into her chest. “She screamed, falling onto her back with him poised over her.”
“And you shifted.”
“I shifted.”
I clutched my hands together until my knuckles glowed white. “I grabbed him with my talons, sent my fire into his body. The PCP didn’t even allow him the realization that a dragon just killed him. He died, and his ashes blew away.” I smiled grimly. “The neighbors never heard or saw a thing.”
“But your wife did.” Ian gazed around the council in triumph. “You let ahumansee you in your dragon form.”
“As Elsa lay on the lawn staring at me in horror,” I replied dryly, “that’s an affirmative.”
“I’ll ask the questions, Ian,” Dean said tersely. “Other than your wife, no human saw you that night?”
“No, sir. That neighborhood had houses spaced widely apart, large lots. I returned to my human form immediately and tried to comfort Elsa. No lights came on, no faces appeared over fences at ask what happened, no cops were called. It’s as though nothing at all was wrong.”
“And your wife?” the younger dragon asked.
“She was terrified,” I said simply. “She left us two days later. I never heard from or saw her again until she demanded a divorce a few months ago. She wants nothing to do with – us.”
I forced myself tonotlook at Declan.I’m sorry, little man. Life sucks sometimes.
“I see,” Dean commented. “It appears to be a clear case of self-defense. We can’t always control our surroundings, or the humans we live among. I personally have kept an eye on your Elsa, son, and she has never spoken of dragons. At least not publicly. Her social media is silent on the subject.” He smiled. “She rants on occasion regarding deceiving husbands, however.”
“Oh.” I coughed nervously. “I’ve never followed her.”
“That’s it?” Ian demanded, his voice raised. “You’re not going to banish him?”
“What is it you have against Avery?” Dean snapped. “You knew this was merely a formality. Had Avery come before us three years ago, we’d never have had to send you to find him.”
“He killed ahuman,” Ian gasped. “That’s against our laws.”
“There are exceptions,” the younger dragon growled. “Self-defense is one such, you idiot. Had you told him back then to simply come and chat with us, this would long be over.”
Now I gasped. “This – this was just aformality?”
“Of course,” Dean replied. “We never thought we needed to charge you with a crime. We had some of the information from that night, the rest had to come from you.”
I glared at Ian. “He told me I’d be banished for certain. He had me believing I needed to run for my life. So I did. I couldn’t have you taking Declan from me.”
