“He turned up at home in the middle of the night, stark naked, with his leg clawed open and burned all down his side.”
Ollie made a sound, and when I looked over, he was quivering. “He was burned?” he asked. His horrified eyes found mine, and he must have read in them what had happened. Because it had irritated meintenselythat I hadn’t managed to flame Chris.
“Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.” Ollie was shaking, his head buried in his hands.
I shoved my chair back and went to him, gripping his good shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay, Ollie.”
He looked up at me in shock. “How can it be okay? I flamed him so badly he had to go to hospital.”
“To stop him from killing either of us. And maybe Mia if she’d moved the wrong way.”
June gasped, but I couldn’t deal with her. Ollie was my priority.
I crouched beside him and looked into his face. “You didn’tmeanto hurt him.” I was certain of that. “If you hadn’t intervened, things would have been so much worse.”
“You’re sure?” He was breathing raggedly.
“On my treasure,” I promised him. “You did the right thing for all of us. Had our fight continued, either Chris or I would now be dead.”
“Ollie.” June’s voice.
The only reason I didn’t snarl at her for interrupting was because that would upset Ollie further.
“I love Chris more than he’ll ever understand, and I hate to see him hurt, but he wasn’t in his right mind. It sounds as if you averted an even worse outcome, and I’m sorry it’s come at such cost to you.”
I put my hand on Ollie’s back, careful to avoid the burn. “You okay?” I asked him, before remembering an earlier conversation and the expectations that were built into my question. “Do we need to talk more now, privately? Because we can do that. I’ll come back to June later.”
He attempted a smile at me. “I’m all right,” he said, and sat up straight.
I took my seat opposite June again. She put her watch on and looked steadily at me. “Archer, I owe you an apology on another matter, and I don’t know what I can say that would convey how very sorry I am. I’m not sure where my head was back then, but I should never have done or said what I did. Iamsorry, you know. I have been for a long time. I’ve just never had the guts to tell you.”
The mere mention of what had happened caused my insides to clench. Smoke wisped from my nostrils, but Junedidn’t flinch. She sat quietly, her eyes on my face, apparently sincere, as I tried to soothe my dragon.
“Thank you,” I managed, though my voice was shredded. I believed she meant it, but it didn’t change what had happened.
I now had to decide what to do about her and Chris.
Part of my challenge when learning how to be the head of my family was that I’d had no role model. I had no idea what my father would have done in any given situation, which was perhaps as well, as I’d always be tempted to do the opposite.
I looked at June’s pale face, at Ollie’s pleading expression, then I fixed my eyes on the table while I thought. A strong head of family would kick Chris and June out without hesitation after what they’d done. They could go and live with June’s family, so they wouldn’t be cast out entirely from dragonkind. Although, the Smythes didn’t have the best reputation. There was no guarantee they’d take in June and Chris unless there was some advantage to them in doing so. The two of them might end up living in exile from all other dragons. Which was what they’d deserve, I thought, remembering Ollie’s terrified eyes as Chris had held him by his throat and threatened to kill him.
A good head of family would be strong, decisive and wouldn’t hesitate. But Ollie had helped me realise there were different types of strength. His empathy, even now, was willing me not to expel June and Chris. I could feel it.
Somehow, June’s response to Ollie’s earlier distress, the way she’d reassured him, had altered the way I saw her, as had learning about Chris’s treasure. Chris had been unbelievably stupid, but what had happened afterwards had been out of his control. Punishing someone for a lapse in judgement didn’t sit right with me. How could it, when I thought of all my mistakes?
None of that removed what they’d done so many years ago. My dragon stirred once more, uneasy and unhappy at thememory. June’s apology was sincere, but it didn’t make things right.
And then I remembered Ollie’s unhesitating generosity when he forgave me for my accusation. How could I do less than Ollie?
I looked at June, whose eyes were scared as she stared back at me. She knew what was on the line, what I was considering.
“Chris will need to apologise to Ollie for threatening him and hurting him, as well as to me,” I told her. “If I believe his apology to be sincere, and if I believe you’ve both given up on your idea of setting up a rival branch of the family, then I’ll leave this matter—bothmatters—in the past.”
Her chin wobbled, and her eyes filled with tears. “Thank you,” she whispered. She took a few deep, steadying breaths and blinked back her tears. “I can assure you, Archer, neither of us has any idea of trying to replace you any longer. Not only does it seem to have been an illegitimate claim, no one else in the family would stand for it now. You’ve earned their loyalty, and more than that—their love.”
I didn’t know where to look. I thought she was trying to soften me up with such a ridiculous statement. When I glanced at Ollie, he was beaming at me, his face full of pride, though I wasn’t sure why.
“Yes, well,” I said gruffly to June. “I expect to see Chris as soon as he’s well enough. No excuses.”
