Chapter 25
TYREL
I booked the earliest flight I could get off the island and left my father a message to let him know that I was coming and he better be there with all the information I needed.
When the plane finally landed in human territory, I couldn't get through the security checks fast enough.
I hadn't even brought any luggage, since I wasn't planning on staying long.
Just long enough to grill my sire about the bonding ritual.
I'd told him to come to a coffee shop just outside the airport, so I went there, sat at a table close to the door and waited.
To his credit, he didn't keep me waiting for long.
I'd only just been served my first cup of coffee when he showed up, dressed in business attire.
I almost didn't recognize him. He'd aged, as humans were wont to do, and I'd never seen him in a suit before.
But the look on his face as his eyes fell upon me said everything.
For some reason that I couldn't relate to, he was happy to see me.
That feeling was definitely one-sided. I, for one, couldn't wait to get out of here.
"The matter must really be urgent for you to actually come out here," he said as he took seat.
"It is. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't waste too much of my time. I've done what you asked; I'm here."
"So you are." For a full minute, it seemed that all he wanted to do was stare at me.
"I could have sent you a picture if you only wanted to look."
He cleared his throat. "Excuse me, it's just… You've really grown up."
"That tends to happen to children when a few years go by."
"I realize." He straightened in his seat. "How's your mother doing?"
"You broke her heart, thank you for asking." But that was not what I'd come to discuss.
He sighed. "It was her who threw me out."
"You simply ran one night."
He shook his head. "You were young, and I'm not surprised that's how you remember it, but that's not exactly how it happened."
I raised an eyebrow at him. He couldn't even own up to his actions now? That wasn't going to impress me.
"I know you don't believe me, but it's got everything to do with the very ritual you're so curious about."
"The bonding?" Judging by my mother's reaction to the topic, I could believe that it had sparked some dissent between the two of them.
"You two are fated mates?" That was a bit harder to believe.
If they felt that same pull toward each other that I felt toward Adrian…
how did they manage to stay apart? In my mind, I was still in the hospital with my mate, where I belonged.
"I realized it when I read the books," my father said.
"But how could you be fated for Mother when you couldn't resist her magic?"
A soft smile died on his lips. "I could have. I chose not to."
"What about my magic?"
He shook his head. "It's more difficult with the dragons you're not fated to."
"So you ran."
"It wasn't because of you, Ty."
"Don't call me that. I'm not a child anymore." And now that nickname was reserved to people much closer to me than he was. Mostly, I liked the way it sounded when it fell from Adrian's lips.
"You may have grown up, but you'll always be my child."
I huffed before I could stop myself. This man was endlessly frustrating. If only he'd just tell me what I needed to know already…
"I didn't run because of your powers," he continued. "Your mother threw me out after I tried to get her to do this ritual with me, and now that you're sitting in front of me, I kind of understand her reasons… I don't want you to do it."
"Don't act like you care about me after you picked Kylan all those years ago." No matter what he said about his reasons for leaving, he'd still made a very clear choice.
"I couldn't take both of you. I couldn't have done that to your mother.
After everything I still loved her. Even now.
" He looked so sad as he said that, I almost believed him.
"I didn't pick you because you would not have been happy living with me in the human world.
I couldn't have raised you right, but it seems your mother did a fine job of that. "
"Kylan's a disgrace to the family name," I said, because I didn't know what else to say, and because I couldn't let this man get to me now. Not after everything.
He had the audacity to laugh at my words. "Maybe. But he's happy. At least he was last time I checked."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Tell me how the bonding works. I have a mate to get back to and I'm not going to keep him waiting forever."
"There's nothing I can do that'll stop you, is there?"
I shook my head. Nothing could stop me from saving Adrian.
"At least be aware of what you're doing. You'll be tying your life force together. He won't age as quickly as normal humans anymore. He'll be stronger, and he'll be by your side until you die. But when he dies… so will you."
"Then I just have to make sure that nothing happens to him."
"I'm sure a lot of dragons thought that way back when this ritual was still popular, but it was eventually discarded because a lot of your kind died way before your time, further decimating your numbers.
Have you never wondered why there's so few dragons you fit on a few small islands around the world?
I'm not saying it's the only factor, but it surely plays into it. "
"Why did you want to bond with Mother if you're so against the idea now?"
"I've read descriptions about the connection it achieves between two people. They sounded intoxicating. Probably why young dragons kept doing it. But that's not why you want to do it, is it?"
I shook my head, although I didn't feel the need or the desire to explain myself to him. "You didn't only want the connection. You also wanted to live longer."
"I'll admit that would have been a nice bonus for me. Your mother wasn't that invested in the idea, though. She got it into her head that I was using her."
"Were you?"
"Would you believe it if I said no?"
I shrugged. None of that mattered now. Not truly. "Tell me how it's done."
He sighed and then he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. Before he unfolded it, he asked: "Will I ever get to meet your mate?"
I looked at the paper, then at him. "If this saves him, I suppose I can allow a visit. A short one. You can see your grandkids."
His eyes widened. "I have grandkids?"
"You will, in a few weeks. Twins." I actually felt a little proud as I said that.
"Wow. That's great. They'll drive you insane."
I laughed in spite of myself. I'd gladly let them drive me insane if they were just born safely and without hurting their other daddy.
Meanwhile, my father finally unfolded the paper. It had a collection of runes on it.
"This is the ancient language of your kind," he said.
"I can see that." I couldn't read it, but I'd seen the writing in text books before. "What does it say?"
"I'm not too sure myself, to be honest. I know the last part is your name. Like a signature."
"A signature? What do I do with these runes?"
"You turn into your dragon form, and then you write them onto your mate's skin using your claw."
I winced. "That sounds painful."
"The cuts don't need to be deep, but they do need to be there. There's no way around that. Then when you're done, you cauterize the wound by breathing your fire on him."
"I'm not going to burn him."
"It won't hurt him at that point. At least, that's what the texts say."
"If I trust you on this and I end up hurting him, I will hunt you down and make sure you hurt worse."
"No need for threats, son."
I pressed my lips into a thin line, hoping for both our sakes that he was right. "Is that everything?" I asked.
"That's everything."
"Good. Then we're done here." I stood and threw a few dollar notes on the table to pay for the coffee I didn't even drink.
"When can I see my grandkids?" my father asked, still sitting at the table.
"I'll call you when they're born." Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. For now, I had to go see to Adrian, and that was exactly what I did.
It was while I was waiting at the airport that I received a phone call from Dr. Meloy's office. It was his assistant who called.
"Something wrong?" I asked, hoping that the answer would be no. But why else would they call?
"I have to inform you that your presence is required at the hospital."
I clutched the phone in my hand, nearly breaking it. "I'm on my way there, but it'll be another hour before the plane departs. What happened?"
"I'm afraid your mate has been unresponsive for the past hour and we need you to confirm your decision on whether to prioritize the patient or the babies before things become critical."
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, trying not to panic. This couldn't be happening. Why now? Adrian must not have been feeling well earlier, and he'd let me go anyway.
"Don't do anything until I'm back. Shit." I couldn't stop the word from escaping me. I had to do this bonding thing and do it fast.
"Sir?"
"I'll be right there." I hung up, cursing silently.
I had to get to Adrian as quickly as possible.
No time to wait for that stupid plane to depart.
The rational part of my mind told me that he'd likely still be fine by the time I arrived, but I couldn't take any chances.
If the authorities caught me, I'd get into trouble, but right now, I didn't care.
I had somewhere to be, and so I walked out of the airport, and as soon as I could see the open sky above me, I changed into my dragon form and flew.