“Yes,” her father quietly.
“Did you also tell him that no dragon was to look upon his face again and if any dragon was found to be knowingly in his presence, they would face the same fate as him?”
“Well, I…”
“Did you say it?” she pressed.
“Yes, I said it.”
“Well then, I’ve already told you that Wyatt is my mate. We were together, in the human worldafterhis banishment, so if you’re going to make good on your promise to execute him then you’d damn well better kill me too. After all, how would it look if you had one rule for yourself and your family and a different rule for everyone else in the clan?”
Her father heaved a sigh.
“Amelia,” Wyatt pleaded. “What are you saying?”
She squeezed his hand. “I’m saying what needs to be said. What happened to Axel wasn’t your fault. It was an accident. Your punishment was too harsh, and you’ve already suffered enough. This has gone too far. It needs to end today. If it doesn’t, if they kill you, then they’d better kill me too, because my life won’t be worth living if you’re not in it.”
Tears filled Wyatt’s eyes. “You know, right before you were stabbed, I was on my way back to tell you I’d come to a decision about us.”
Amelia sucked in a sharp breath. “You were? What was your decision?”
He stroked the side of her face lovingly. “That I didn’t care about the elders’ threat anymore. And if you wanted to be with me then I was all in.”
Amelia choked out a sob then flung her arms around Wyatt’s neck and hugged him tightly against her chest.
“Joseph, you would execute your own daughter’s mate? How could you be so heartless?” Amelia’s mother snapped, glaring at her husband. “Amelia is right, what happened to Axel wasn’t Wyatt’s fault. They were just kids. They made a mistake in going there that night, but he wasn’t to blame for Axel’s death. I know that tensions were running high because Axel had just died, but enough is enough. If you go through with this, you are not the man I thought you were. And you won’t just be losing a daughter, you’ll be losing a mate.”
Amelia opened her mouth to thank her mother for standing up for her when Silas and the guard came striding out of the cave. He was smiling from ear to ear as he strode towards Amelia’s father.
“You called for me, sir?” he said brightly.
Then his gaze roamed over the small gathering and when he caught sight of Amelia and Wyatt, his steps faltered, his smile fell, and his face paled.
“Silas, would you care to explain why you tried to murder my daughter in cold blood?” Amelia’s father said, his words dripping with fury.
Silas’ gaze came back to Amelia and Wyatt and his mouth opened, but no words were forthcoming.
“Answer me!” her father roared.
“I, I thought he was human,” Silas said.
“And because you didn’t know Wyatt was a dragon, you thought he would have no way of knowing what she was, no way of bringing her back here before she died, is that what you’re saying?”
“I thought she was fucking a human!” Silas spat. “Disgracing us all! I didn’t know what he was. She’s mine! You promised her to me! Then she left before we could marry, humiliating me, humiliating us all!” He jabbed a hand through the air. “She should be mine! No one knows her as well as I do. How do you think I found her? When we were kids, we always said we would travel together one day, to fly away and see the world. She told me everywhere she wanted to go and I remembered. I remembered it all. She should be fucking mine!”
Fury rose up in Amelia’s chest like it was a living breathing thing and when she opened her mouth, a wisp of smoke escaped.
“Silas Blackstone,” her father intoned, before she could get a word out. “By attempting to murder one of our own, you have broken our most sacred law and are hereby sentenced to death. All those who agree, speak now.”
Every elder present said, “I agree.”
“It is decided,” Joseph said. “You have twelve hours to say goodbye to your family before you are executed.” He turned to the guard. “Take him to the holding cell.”
“You’re making a mistake!” Silas shouted as he was led away.
Joseph turned back to Wyatt and heaved a sigh. “And on the matter of Wyatt’s punishment? What say you?”
Wyatt’s father Lorenz stepped forward. “I believe my son has been punished enough for his actions that night. Who is in agreement with me?”
