the wind and quickly chilling air? I might even scent a storm on the rise.”
Wow. As she glanced up at the cloudless sky, she realized that Tristan knew how to lay it on thick.
At first, she thought it wouldn’t work. But then she heard the lock click. Tristan turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door.
He took one step inside and said something in that language she couldn’t understand. However, it didn’t irritate her this time. For all Melanie knew, Arabella might hate English because of the dragon hunters who’d harmed her all those years ago.
The musical syllables of the dragon language stopped and Tristan turned back to her and said in English, “Can you come to the door but not enter quite yet? Ara wants to assess you before letting you into her house. I told her you were one of the good humans, but she is unconvinced.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his words. After all, Tristan had just admitted she was one of the good humans.
Before Melanie could reply, a woman’s soft yet sharp voice said in English from behind the door, “Belittling my judgment isn’t going to help you, Tristan MacLeod.”
Mel bit back a smile and decided it was best to approach the door without saying anything. Tristan still blocked the doorway, so she stopped beside him and waited. He reached out a hand as if to touch her, but then he lowered it before he could make contact with her arm. He stepped aside and Mel decided not to let his almost-touch bother her.
She took a deep inhale and moved into the doorway. At first, all she saw was the outline of a tall, thin woman. But then the tall, thin woman moved into the light and Mel was careful to keep a faint smile pasted on her face as she got her first glimpse of Arabella MacLeod.
The dragonwoman was nearly as tall as Tristan, probably about six feet, and had the same dark hair and brown eyes. But that was where their similarities ended.
A thick, jagged scar ran from Arabella’s right temple, down across the bridge of her nose, and ended near the bottom of her left ear. The right side of her neck was covered in skin that had recovered from a very bad burn; the pink, crinkled skin told her that whatever had happened to Tristan’s sister had been painful both at the time and during the long recovery.
But it was Arabella’s eyes that Mel noticed most. A mixture of hatred, fear, shame, and sadness shown in them, as if Arabella MacLeod didn’t believe anything good would ever happen to her again.
She was on the verge of losing hope.
Tears started to prickle her eyes, but Mel took a second to fight them before she held out a hand and said, “I’m Melanie Hall, Mel to my friends. It’s nice to meet you.”
Arabella gingerly took her hand, but rather than shake it, the dragonwoman raised it to her nose and inhaled. As soon as she had, she dropped Mel’s hand as if it had burned her and looked at Tristan. “The human female is carrying your child. That is the only reason I will let her in here. But if her behavior makes me suspicious, you will leave. Those are my terms.”
Mel glanced over at Tristan, and he nodded at his sister before giving Mel a reassuring look, as if to tell her she’d done well so far.
She had no proper training when it came to dealing with survivors of tragedies, so she decided to fall back on her anthropology training. She would observe Arabella and her surroundings to find out what she could without talking to the dragonwoman directly. At least, until she could figure out how to deal with the woman’s less than cheerful past and her hatred of humans. Tristan’s sister melted into the darkness of the corridor.
Standing her ground, Mel waited until Tristan placed a hand on her lower back and said, “Come. Let’s go inside.”
Mel nodded. Without realizing it, she leaned a little against Tristan’s side as the dragonman led her into the cottage. The contact reminded her that if she could deal with Tristan-the-asshole, she could very well deal
Wow. As she glanced up at the cloudless sky, she realized that Tristan knew how to lay it on thick.
At first, she thought it wouldn’t work. But then she heard the lock click. Tristan turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door.
He took one step inside and said something in that language she couldn’t understand. However, it didn’t irritate her this time. For all Melanie knew, Arabella might hate English because of the dragon hunters who’d harmed her all those years ago.
The musical syllables of the dragon language stopped and Tristan turned back to her and said in English, “Can you come to the door but not enter quite yet? Ara wants to assess you before letting you into her house. I told her you were one of the good humans, but she is unconvinced.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his words. After all, Tristan had just admitted she was one of the good humans.
Before Melanie could reply, a woman’s soft yet sharp voice said in English from behind the door, “Belittling my judgment isn’t going to help you, Tristan MacLeod.”
Mel bit back a smile and decided it was best to approach the door without saying anything. Tristan still blocked the doorway, so she stopped beside him and waited. He reached out a hand as if to touch her, but then he lowered it before he could make contact with her arm. He stepped aside and Mel decided not to let his almost-touch bother her.
She took a deep inhale and moved into the doorway. At first, all she saw was the outline of a tall, thin woman. But then the tall, thin woman moved into the light and Mel was careful to keep a faint smile pasted on her face as she got her first glimpse of Arabella MacLeod.
The dragonwoman was nearly as tall as Tristan, probably about six feet, and had the same dark hair and brown eyes. But that was where their similarities ended.
A thick, jagged scar ran from Arabella’s right temple, down across the bridge of her nose, and ended near the bottom of her left ear. The right side of her neck was covered in skin that had recovered from a very bad burn; the pink, crinkled skin told her that whatever had happened to Tristan’s sister had been painful both at the time and during the long recovery.
But it was Arabella’s eyes that Mel noticed most. A mixture of hatred, fear, shame, and sadness shown in them, as if Arabella MacLeod didn’t believe anything good would ever happen to her again.
She was on the verge of losing hope.
Tears started to prickle her eyes, but Mel took a second to fight them before she held out a hand and said, “I’m Melanie Hall, Mel to my friends. It’s nice to meet you.”
Arabella gingerly took her hand, but rather than shake it, the dragonwoman raised it to her nose and inhaled. As soon as she had, she dropped Mel’s hand as if it had burned her and looked at Tristan. “The human female is carrying your child. That is the only reason I will let her in here. But if her behavior makes me suspicious, you will leave. Those are my terms.”
Mel glanced over at Tristan, and he nodded at his sister before giving Mel a reassuring look, as if to tell her she’d done well so far.
She had no proper training when it came to dealing with survivors of tragedies, so she decided to fall back on her anthropology training. She would observe Arabella and her surroundings to find out what she could without talking to the dragonwoman directly. At least, until she could figure out how to deal with the woman’s less than cheerful past and her hatred of humans. Tristan’s sister melted into the darkness of the corridor.
Standing her ground, Mel waited until Tristan placed a hand on her lower back and said, “Come. Let’s go inside.”
Mel nodded. Without realizing it, she leaned a little against Tristan’s side as the dragonman led her into the cottage. The contact reminded her that if she could deal with Tristan-the-asshole, she could very well deal
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