Valentine (The Dragon Kings Book 3) (14 page)

Hazel was quiet during dinner. Aspen and Sid teased each other quite a bit. Val wanted to reach over and grab Hazel’s hand, but he was afraid of her reaction. He decided to start with a question.

“Did Aspen tell you about us?” he said and pointed to Sid and himself.

“You mean that you are liaisons or something for the dragons?”

“Yeah. I’m sure you have questions.”

She took a bite of food and pursed her lips. “All that stuff you said on the airplane about being an orphan and never being off the island, was that just a story?”

“Oh no. That was all true. I grew up among the dragons. Aside from my family, I had very little human interaction. It’s why I sometimes don’t understand what things are.”

“Why come here? Is your father really here?”

“Yes, he is. And I’m also helping with the search for the human killer. The dragons need us to communicate for them.” Val thought he was doing a pretty good job sticking to the story. Hazel seemed convinced at least. It helped that most of it was the actual truth.

“Can you talk to the dragons?” She leaned closer to him, and he inhaled her sweet scent.

Runa piped up. “You can talk to me. Why are you asking him if he can talk to dragons?”

Hazel narrowed her eyes. “But you said not all dragons could talk.”

Val interjected. “That is true, but they all can communicate. Mostly through their minds.”

Aspen glanced over at Hazel. “It’s true. I talk to my black dragon all the time. Rowan’s done it too.”

Hazel squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t think I’m going to ask any more questions. I don’t like the answers I get.”

Val let her be after that. He didn’t want to push her. When she was ready, she’d ask.

After dinner Hazel and Val helped Sid and Aspen all throw away the containers. He wanted to stay close to her.

“I should go. I want to check out Rowan’s room.” Hazel pushed her chair away from the table and stood up.

Aspen slid closer to Sid. “I’m not leaving yet. Give me a couple hours, and I’ll take you home. Promise. Really, you’re not going to find anything in there. He didn’t go home first.”

Hazel picked up Aspen’s keys from the counter. “Says you. And Aspen, you said you’d take me home after we ate. Come on.”

Aspen pouted. “One hour.”

Sid looked at Val and mouthed, “You’re welcome.”

Val appreciated Sid’s thoughtfulness at giving him more time with Hazel, but he didn’t think she’d give up that quick.

“I’ll take you home,” he said.

Aspen started laughing. “You haven’t learned how to drive yet. Remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, looking at his shoes, embarrassed.

“Look, if you can provide the car, I can drive. I’ll bring it back tomorrow,” Hazel said and crossed her arms.

Val looked up. “Can I come with you? I haven’t seen much of the area yet, and I’d like to go for a drive.” She’d probably say no, but it was worth a shot.

Hazel studied him for a second before she finally said, “Sure. I want to come back here and talk to Aspen about what I find anyway.”

Sid rummaged around a drawer and then threw her a set of keys. “This has keys for all the cars in there. It’s supposed to snow, so you should probably pick something that has four-wheel drive.”

Hazel followed Val out to the garage. She was quiet while she studied the six vehicles. To Val they all looked similar. He didn’t understand why one would be better than the other. Finally, she pointed to a truck. “That one.”

Hazel hesitated before getting in. “You know, it might be easier if I just go alone.”

“I’m pretty good at searching for things. Maybe I’ll spot something that you don’t. Come on. I want to see more of the area. I promise I’ll be helpful.”

She sighed but then nodded and unlocked the doors.

He sat in the passenger seat, and Hazel climbed up in the driver’s seat.

“Do you have a license?” Hazel asked as she pulled out of the driveway.

“Yeah. Obviously, I didn’t earn it. But Theo gave me one in Hawaii. Along with a whole bunch of paperwork I didn’t know I needed. I still have no idea what a voter registration card is.”

Hazel hesitated for a second. “Yeah, you probably won’t use that. Do you want to learn how?”

“To drive?” Val shrugged. He figured he wouldn’t be around long enough to really need to. Once he found his queen, they’d live among the dragons. Especially considering that they had a war to fight. “Too much going on right now to think about driving.”

Hazel sighed. “You got that right. Do you think Rowan was kidnapped?”

“I don’t know.”

“I want to find him. To make sure he’s okay. That’s all.”

Val looked over and saw a tear slide down her cheek, and his stomach hurt for her. He unbuckled his seatbelt and slid close to her.

He brushed away her tears. “Hey, don’t cry. We’ll find him. I’ll help you.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. You’d probably just slow me down.”

He clenched his fists. “What makes you think that?”

“Because you aren’t vested in the search at all. Plus, you can’t even drive. I’ll be better off on my own. But I might bring Paul with me after tonight. You’ll just get in the way.”

“Who’s Paul?” Val knew this already, but he wanted to hear her story.

Her lips twitched. “He’s an old boyfriend from school. He’s in the National Guard, so he can get me into places I couldn’t otherwise. I’ll have to talk to him after I drop you off.”

Jealously bloomed in Val’s chest, and he moved away from Hazel before he did something stupid, like try to kiss her while she was driving.

“What about…”

“Us?” Hazel finished for him. She stopped at an intersection and looked right at him with a seriousness she didn’t have two seconds ago. “I told you before I don’t do commitment. Honestly, I was hoping I’d never see you again.”

Pain knifed through his chest. “You’re saying that kiss meant nothing?”

Hazel frowned, confusion etched on her features.

“Look, I, Val…I can’t explain it. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I can’t be with you.”

Val closed the distance again, but he didn’t touch her. “There’s absolutely no reason for us not to be together.”

“Yeah, there is.” She pushed against his chest. “You need to buckle your seatbelt.”

He did as she asked, and she continued down the road. Val wasn’t going to let her get away without explaining. “What’s that? Please explain it to me because I don’t get it. Do you find me repulsive?”

Hazel pulled into her driveway. She put the car into park and looked over at him. “I like you. A lot. But my life is complicated, and your life is complicated, and I just don’t want to get involved with anyone.”

Val racked his brain. He had no idea how he was going to win her over. She didn’t say anything else as they walked up to the house. It was much smaller than Sid’s but had a wide front porch. Hazel let herself in.

“Are your parents home?” he asked, following her in.

She shook her head. “They’re at work. They’ve started the second search of the park.” Then she headed up a set of stairs.

They walked up the stairs and into a small bedroom. The bed was neatly made up, but aside from the large television on the wall, a dresser, and a fairly empty bookshelf, the room was empty.

Hazel opened a few drawers, and Val looked in the closet. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. A few button-up shirts hung on hangers, and on the floor of the closet sat two pairs of shoes.

“Do you see a suitcase in the top of the closet?” Hazel asked.

“No. There’s nothing up there. His drawers?”

“Mostly empty.”

Val shut the door and sat on the bed. “Pretty inconclusive, huh?”

Hazel sank down next to him. “His suitcase is gone, and his drawers are empty. I’d say he ran away. But Aspen said I can’t tell my parents what’s going on. I don’t understand why. Plus according to Aspen, there is the possibility that he was kidnapped with that Skye chick.”

Val put his hand over hers, and since she didn’t remove it, he left it there. “Look, our family is pretty messed up. Maybe he was taken, and maybe he ran on his own. Tell you what, why don’t we go to Florida and see if we can find any information on Skye. Maybe someone’s seen her. If she’s not with him, she might have at least seen him.”

“Aspen said they’ve been trying to find her.”

“Just dragons or eagles acting on orders. They didn’t have your need to know. Come on. I’ll take you.”

She stood and paced the room. Val wanted to know what she was thinking, but he let her be.

Finally, she sat down and put her hand on his cheek. “Val, I’m scared.”

He barely heard her words, completely surprised by her sudden affection. All he could think about was her hand on his face. “Of what?” he asked.

She crossed her arms and looked out the window as she spoke.

“Of this, of us. Of falling in love. Teddy hurt me so badly. I can’t go through that again. When he left, I thought for sure I’d never be happy again. Paul let me see I could be in a relationship without love. He’s easy. I can get him to take me to Florida. Aspen will tell us where to go. You’ll just distract me.”

She wrung her hands and wouldn’t look at him. Val wanted her to keep talking to figure out her innermost thoughts. “You know, keeping everyone at a distance must feel pretty empty.”

She laughed. “That’s the thing. It’s not. I’m happy. I enjoy my life and my flings. I don’t want the intensity of a serious relationship. Because I can’t handle the aftermath when it inevitably falls apart.”

Val stood close to her. He took both of her hands in his and looked deep into her eyes. “I have never felt this way about anyone before. I love you.”

Hazel let out a loud laugh and ripped her hands from him. She backed away, crossed her arms, and raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve been taking lessons from Teddy, huh?”

“What are you talking about?” His face flushed. He’d just opened up to her, and she shot him down.

“Teddy used those
exact
same words the day before he disappeared.”

“I didn’t…I don’t even talk to Theo. I meant them.” One of these days he was going to beat the crap out of Theo for what he did to Hazel. But first Val had to convince her he wasn’t like him.

“Yeah, that’s what he said too. This isn’t going to work. You’ll break my heart, and I don’t think it can survive that again. I’ll take you home, and then I’ll call Paul to take me to Florida.”

She ran from the room. He didn’t follow. He’d opened up too soon, and now she would keep him at arm’s length. Not only that, but he’d run her right back to that idiot Paul. Dammit. He wished someone had taught him how to do this. Because he was blowing it big time. Some king he would be. He couldn’t even get the future queen who’d already sealed herself to him to love him.

V
AL TOSSED AND turned all night. His bed was comfortable, but he flung his pillows everywhere. Hazel’s words kept bouncing around in his head. He didn’t know how to show her he wouldn’t hurt her. He supposed he could talk about the mark and what it meant. Would that convince her?

He checked his phone throughout the night. One a.m. Two a.m. Four a.m. He finally got up at six.

No one else was up yet. He went into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and pulled out an apple. When he turned around, he was surprised to find a pretty redhead sitting at the kitchen table. She smiled at him.

“You must be Val.”

“I am. You are?” He took a bite of the apple, sleep fogging his brain.

“Pearl. Obsidian’s sister.”

Sid had mentioned his sister was on the council. “What brings you here?”

“Nothing good.” She sighed. “I wished I’d lived five hundred years ago instead of now.”

“Why?”

“Because everyone I love is going to die.” Her face was pale, and her shoulders tight. Val tried to make sense of what she was saying. He wanted to say something that would make her feel better, but he couldn’t think of anything real.

Runa came flying into the room. “There you are, Val. I couldn’t find you.” She landed in front of Pearl. “I woke everyone else up. They’ll be down in a minute.”

“Thank you,” Pearl said and patted Runa on the head.

Runa growled. “I’m not a dog.”

Pearl gave her a grin. “I know. I’m sorry.”

Within minutes, Sid and Aspen joined them. Val tried to clear the sleep fog from his brain, trying to understand what was going on.

Pearl jumped up and threw her arms around Sid. She quickly let go of him and addressed both Sid and Aspen. Val felt like an intruder. “I was up north with Theo spying on the arctic dragons, and, Sid, I’ve got bad news.”

“What?”

“Olwen is dead.”

“What?” Sid whipped his shirt off and ran to the small bathroom off the kitchen. Seconds later, he came back, with his fists clenched.

“What’s the matter?” Aspen asked.

“Jolantha is gone as well,” Sid said, pointing to his chest.

“What?”

When Sid had transformed as a dragon a few days ago, there had been seven seals on his chest. Now there were only five.

“Does that mean they’re being targeted?” Pearl asked.

“Probably. Dammit. I shouldn’t have the let the council talk me out of finishing the seals.”