Dragon Blood (Completed)

Open Communication Is Key

Chapter 21

"Can I speak with you privately?" he asked Lavender when he found her in her rooms.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Lavender, please, I need to tell you something important."

"After that kiss this morning, I'm not sure I can trust you to keep your passions in check right now."

He was annoyed, but felt that what he needed to tell her was beyond his irritation over the lack of privacy. "Please keep an open mind," he pleaded.

"Yes, I'll listen," she assured him, squeezing his hands.

"When Paige arrived, she was very frightened because there were no other Bluescales in the room. Then she saw Drake, the dragon who killed her family. I don't really know what she was thinking, but she got Dean and herself to one of the waterways." He watched her features turn down as she realized the subject he wanted to speak to her about was Paige.

"Please, I just want you to understand why I haven't been myself lately."

She drew in a breath. "Can't we just forget all this and return to our lives?"

"That's what I want more than anything, but it's only right that the one's we love hear the truth. You deserve my honesty."

She looked back at him evenly for a moment, taking in his features, as if she was trying to decide between two equally, unappealing activities. "Very well."

"None of us realized they were Bluescales at that point," Zane continued. "Drake knew who she was. He tried to convince us to send them back without question. He said that since she was speaking Balaan's language, she had to be a criminal.

"She sent Dean into the water. My first thought was how could she do that? How could she send a little boy into the water without knowing where it went or what it was? I tried to stop him, but she prevented me. I grabbed onto her in an effort to stop her from jumping to her death as well. It was at that point Drake attacked her, then shoved both of us into the water.

"Drake knew exactly who she was, that she and Dean were the last Bluescales. I think he was just taking a chance pushing me in the water, hoping I would get separated from her and die in the tunnels. Of course, he would have assumed she was a Yellowback like her mother. He probably thought we would both drown.

"But when we were in the water, she didn't let go of me, even though I was struggling to save myself. When I was about to run out of air, she managed to give me a breath.

"In that moment, all I could think about was how much I wanted to live, and how much I wanted to see you again." He edged closer to her, gripping her hands tighter. "In that moment, I didn't care that she was a scared kid or that she had just killed her brother. All I cared about was getting more air from her.

"I forced her mouth back to mine, taking a breath, then I did it again, but that time, I took a longer one. I took all her air, and she couldn't take in any more with me sucking the life out of her. She tried to fight me but I'm stronger than her. I didn't let her pull away.

"I thought I'd killed her. I was willing to kill her to save myself. I was willing to trade her life for mine. All I could think about was you." Zane looked in her eyes, trying to see what she thought of him.

"Don't put this on me."

"I'm not putting anything on you. I just want you to understand that you are my reason for living." He searched her eyes, hoping to find understanding and forgiveness, but she kept looking at him impassively.

"Luckily, she wasn't dead, only unconscious for a moment. When she came to, she saved my life when she could have let me die. She knew what I had just done and she saved me anyway."

"So this is why you are so overly protective of her? Why you let her do whatever she wants?"

"She's never said anything about it. Not how I tried to killer her, or how she saved my life. All she's done is try to keep her brother safe while trying to find a way to stop Balaan."

"Zane, she's reckless. She has no regard for her own life. If she won't even keep herself safe, then she puts everyone around her in danger. She shouldn't be allowed to get away with it, just because she is one of the last Bluescales and the only dual-natured in a thousand years. I know how important she is to our way of life, to the entire realm for that matter. But do you know how important you are to me? Just because she saved your life does not mean that everything she does is irrelevant.

"It's not because she saved my life, it's because she has seen the darkness in me, one I never dreamt existed. She has not held it against me the way everyone at Blackskin does. I can't tell you how nice it's been to walk around this castle and not have to worry about frightening anyone with just a look."

"And you think I would hold that against you?"

"No. I've just been so ashamed of my actions." He hung his head, unable to look her in the eyes any longer.

"Feeling ashamed of yourself does not make it okay for you to condone her actions the way you have, or to hit her like you did."

"Those things were not because I felt ashamed, they were because I knew it had to be done."

"What else will you feel needs to be done?"

"I don't know what it will take to stop Balaan, but what we have been doing in the past has not been enough."

"Stopping Balaan is not your job. That's why there are guards and armies."

"Lavender, don't you see the potential here?"

"Not this again."

"Lavender, sweetheart, I need you on my side here."

"Zane, I love you. You are my future, but you can't ask me to accept you putting your life in danger. We are royals. We have a responsibility to maintain our safety."

"At the expense of others? I've already done that, and I can't do it anymore."

"Our lives are more important than any others. Without us, the whole realm would perish."

"Do you hear what you are saying? How wrong that is?" Zane sat back on the low table in front of her chair, pulling his hands away from her. He looked into her beautiful green eyes, remembering the first time he'd realized he loved looking into those bright green eyes more than any others. They were flying through the countryside in a storm. She was radiant as the lightning struck in the distance, and the winds made him shift awkwardly. She laughed at him, her eyes dancing with exhilaration.

"Can't you just support me in this? We are to spend the rest of our lives together. This is our future."

"Can't you just stop with this new obsession you have with supporting her lunacy?"

Zane's frustration was growing, and he stood to pace the floor by the fireplace. How could she not see the possibilities in what Paige had found? He didn't want this to drive a wedge between them. He needed her support, though he just felt it was too important to let go.

"Please." He leaned against the back of the chair. "I need you here with me."

She raised her chin to him. "Aunt Sandra is sending for Celia, and she wants me here to look after her while she returns to Greenwing, so I'm not going anywhere. But I don't see how I can ever support you risking your life. You will be king one day."

He went back to her and bent to put his hands on her cheeks. "We'll get through this, right?" He kissed her forehead. "I need you. None of this would mean anything without you."

"I have to make arrangements for Celia's arrival." She stood and crossed the room to open the door, indicating that she wanted him to leave.