The Platinum Dragon's Mate - Zoe Chant Page 0,15

back at them. “What does Athena think about all this?”

Santos, at least, looked suddenly abashed. Shiloh just rolled his eyes.

“I think that I can make my own decisions about where I live and who’s a kidnapper,” Athena snapped, “and I think I don’t really want to be around any of you assholes right now. I’m going flying.” And without another word, she crouched and shifted, and a red dragon leapt into the air where she’d been standing.

She circled to get altitude, the gusts from her wings making everyone on the ground have to brace to stay standing upright. Sage was pretty sure that had been on purpose.

Santos looked like he desperately wanted to go after her, but he stayed in human form, eyeing Shiloh warily. “Can you accept that she’s capable of making her own decisions?”

“How am I supposed to know what sort of methods you Oak Ridge people use to influence women’s minds?” Shiloh was furious, which wasn’t good. “That lion shifter told us you’d seduced his own woman away from him, too! Apparently that’s just how you do things.”

“Apparently it’s a hell of a lot nicer for women in Oak Ridge than it is here or with Victor’s clan!” Santos ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t understand what’s so difficult about this. You give women a chance to make their own decisions, do something other than get married and have babies, have some actual power if they want it, and yeah, I think they will leave home and go where they can do what they want! It’s not rocket science!”

“Santos.” Reid’s voice was even quieter than before, now, but it made Santos stop and look. He took a deep breath, his shoulders dropping.

“I apologize.” The words sounded like they were ground out between his teeth. “We’re supposed to be negotiating, not arguing.”

Shiloh looked like he wasn’t quite sure what to make of this, so Sage took advantage of the window and stepped forward.

“Maybe it would be best if Athena, Alaric, and Santos stayed together for the time being,” she said, “a ways back from town. Reid can remain here as a show of good faith, but we’re not going to be doing any true negotiating until my father returns.”

Or after that, if Sage knew Jeremiah, but they’d cross that bridge when they came to it.

“We don’t want to start any fights,” she said firmly, speaking for everyone even though she knew that wasn’t true for...maybe even most of the people standing here. “It seems like that’ll be easier if we keep the groups apart.”

“Agreed,” Reid said swiftly, and she immediately felt better knowing that he was supporting her. “Santos, Alaric, how about you go find Athena and let her know? Maybe she’ll be—less angry, after some time flying.”

“Unlikely,” Alaric said dryly, and Santos looked like he wanted to agree but wasn’t about to say so out loud.

Sage thought Athena had plenty of right to be angry, after Santos and Shiloh had been arguing about who was kidnapping her without asking her opinion at all, but she kept her mouth shut. They didn’t need any more arguments.

Fortunately, everyone else seemed to agree, because Santos and Alaric shifted and leapt into the air, leaving Shiloh, Yuri, Micah, Sage, and Reid all standing there looking at each other.

“Yuri? Micah?” Sage ventured. “Did you have a complaint against our visitors?”

They looked at each other, seemingly a little surprised to be asked. And honestly, normally Sage wouldn’t have invited their opinions, since they weren’t usually interested in participating in the sort of...full-throated...debate that Sage and Shiloh were used to.

But she was hoping...

“No,” Yuri said finally. “We were just supporting Shiloh.”

Micah nodded silently.

Good. Good. “Well, if they’ve been behaving themselves so well in enemy territory, hopefully Santos will be happy to stay apart with Athena and Alaric until Father gets back,” Sage said, going for a no-nonsense tone that implied everything was settled. “For now, I want to get back in and check on my daughter.”

“How is she?” Shiloh asked, in a much smaller voice, as Sage turned around.

She looked back. “She’s going to be just fine,” she said, not bothering to hide her relief. “Reid says as long as she stays quiet for a day or two, there’s no reason her arm shouldn’t heal up good as new.”

Shiloh’s gaze flicked over to Reid for just a second, and then back to Sage. “Good,” he said. “I’m—glad.”

Sage just nodded at him, and headed back to the house, Reid a strong, reassuring presence