Chapter 21 #2
Drake takes a step toward her, but she holds up a hand, stopping him in his tracks.
“Don’t,” she gasps out between sobs. “Just…don’t.”
He looks defeated. Like a dark cloud has settled over his shoulders, weighing him down. The copper in his hair catches the sunlight, but there’s nothing bright or hopeful about him right now. He looks like a man who’s just lost something important.
“Amelia,” he says, his voice rough. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t—”
“I’m leaving,” she interrupts, her voice cracking. “I can’t stay here. I can’t—” Her breath hitches. “I have to leave the island.”
“No…please…wait.” The words come out sharp, almost desperate.
Drake moves toward her again, and this time she doesn’t stop him.
He kneels down beside her, and I see his hand hover near her shoulder before dropping back to his side.
“You don’t have to leave. You can stay as my secondary rider.
You can keep working as my PA. Nothing else has to change. ”
“Everything has changed!” Amelia’s anger flares briefly before collapsing back into grief. “Don’t you see? I can’t…” She shakes her head, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. “I just can’t.”
She pushes herself to her feet, swaying slightly before finding her balance. Without looking at any of us, she starts walking toward where the vehicles are parked at the edge of the field.
Drake starts to follow her, but Reed steps into his path.
“Let her go,” the Councilor says firmly. “She needs time to process this. You can talk with her back at camp once she’s calmed down.” Reed’s expression softens. “You need to speak with your new rider. That takes priority right now.”
Drake’s jaw clenches, but he nods. He watches as Reed follows Amelia, leaving the two of us alone on the field.
The silence stretches between us, heavy and awkward. I don’t know what to say. What can I possibly say? I just destroyed his partnership with someone he clearly cares about.
Finally, Drake turns to face me. His expression is guarded, but I can see the storm of emotions churning just beneath the surface.
“I’m sorry this turned out the way it did,” he says, his voice low. “But it is what it is. This is the situation we’re in now.”
“I’m so sorry,” I blurt out, the words tumbling over each other in my rush to explain.
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.
I couldn’t just leave Georgia. I thought she was going to die.
I thought that dragon was going to kill both of us, and I just reacted.
I wasn’t thinking about the plan or the consequences or—”
“Stop.” He holds up a hand, cutting me off mid-ramble. “Harlow, what you did out there…it took courage. Real bravery.” His eyes meet mine, and I see something that looks almost like admiration. “I have the utmost respect for what you did. I admire your courage. You don’t have to apologize for it.”
Warmth floods my chest.
“You’re not angry?” My voice comes out small.
“No.” He shakes his head. “I’m not. This isn’t your fault. Neither of us could have predicted this would happen. A dragon choosing a new primary rider is almost unheard of.” He runs a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face. “How were we supposed to know?”
I swallow hard, not trusting myself to speak.
“You’ll begin training in the morning,” he continues, his tone becoming more businesslike. “I know you’re not happy about this situation. I’m not particularly thrilled about it either. But we’re going to have to learn to deal with it.”
He pauses, seeming to choose his next words carefully. “I need your cooperation. Your understanding. I know you have a lot waiting for you back home. I know this isn’t what you wanted.” His eyes search my face. “But would you be willing to give it a chance? To, at least, try?”
“Do I have a choice?” The question comes out more bitter than I planned.
His expression darkens, and for a moment, he looks remorseful.
“No,” he admits. “Not really. The rest of the Council will expect us to try. They need me to remain in my position, and I need a strong primary rider to do that.” He shrugs, the gesture at odds with the tension in his shoulders.
“The simple truth is that I can’t be a Council member without a rider.
Eventually, they might let you leave. But for the foreseeable future, you’re stuck on Draig Island. Stuck with me.”
I don’t hate the thought as much as I should.
I’ve clearly lost my mind.
“I would hate to see you have to step down from your role as a Councilor,” I say. “I know you’re doing good things for the Tributes. Working to change things, to make them safer. You could bring real change to this island.” I meet his eyes. “I’d hate to be the one to stop all of that.”
Something shifts in his expression. The tension in his shoulders eases slightly, and relief flashes across his face.
“Thank you,” he says quietly. “That means more than you know.”
I don’t respond.
“I’ll arrange for you to be permitted to phone home,” he continues. “I read your file, so I know that your parents are both deceased and that you don’t have any siblings, but you can call your boyfriend, and anyone else who is important in your life.”
My boyfriend. For a second, I want to correct Drake, to tell him that I don’t have a boyfriend, because technically, Miles isn’t my boyfriend. We agreed to wait until I was back to see where things went. I don’t do it, though.
“Thank you,” I tell him. “I’ll do that. I’m sure Miles will want to hear from me.”
Drake nods. “I’m sure he will.”
I force myself to smile, to look excited about the prospect, even though the hollowness in my chest just grows deeper.
“I’m sure he’s worried.”
Drake studies my face for a long moment. Then he nods once.
“I’ll try to make this whole ‘ride the dragon’ thing work,” I tell him. “But I have to be honest – I doubt I’m cut out for this. I’m clumsy, I’m scared of heights, and I’ve never been particularly athletic. I don’t know what kind of rider I’ll make.”
“All I ask is that you try,” Drake says, and there’s something almost like a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You might surprise yourself, Harlow. You might be more cut out for it than you think.”
He turns then, bending down to grab his pants from where he left them folded on the grass. As he does, his ass is right there, all those muscles flexing as he moves.
I stare for a few heartbeats too long before catching myself and whipping my head around, my cheeks flaming. Heat floods through me. I feel it acutely in places I have no business feeling it.
Shit.
I really need to get over this insane attraction to Drake. Especially now that we’re going to be working together. I’m his rider. That’s all it can ever be. I don’t want to end up like Amelia. In love with someone I can never have.
I start walking toward the vehicles, putting distance between us. Behind me, there’s the rustle of fabric as Drake pulls on his clothes.
My life well and truly sucks.
My entire world has just been turned completely upside down, and there’s nothing I can do about it.