Bianca D'Arc Dragon Knights 2 Border Lair

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between the two men as Darian poured out a mug of tea for himself and found an
apple to munch.
Jared. Darian tried to find the words to broach the subject that was clearly
standing between them. I m sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I couldn t help
myself. When I first saw Adora I realized very quickly that she s different
from any woman I ve ever met before.
You re damn right she s different. Jared was going to be belligerent about
this, he realized. She s royalty, Dar.
She s also a warm, mature woman with a woman s needs. She needs love, Jared.
Darian tried to speak gently, not wanting to rile his old friend.
Love? Is that what you call it? Because all I saw last night was you nailing
a willing wench. He shot Darian a look of disgust. How could you?
Jared s deep voice was hoarse with emotion, accusatory and gruff as he glared
at Darian. If looks could kill, he d surely be dead.
Look Jared, don t jump all over me for this. If you wanted the woman, you ve
more than had your chance. She cares for you. Don t you think I saw that right
away? But I also saw you, in denial, ignoring her. You were hurting her with
your indifference, man. Don t fault me for stepping in and making her happy
where you ve only made her miserable, longing for things you won t give her.
She needs someone to care for her and make her feel wanted, cherished, and
loved. She s lost her home, Jared. He shook his head. That s something I
have a little experience with as it happens. She needs someone to hold her and
make her feel safe and needed.
Jared rocked back on his heels, deflated. Damn it all to hell and back
again. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and sat hard on the sofa.
You re right, Darian. I m an ass.
Darian sat down in the nearby chair, watching his old friend closely.
Jared sighed hard and shut his eyes tight for a quick moment, the pain of the
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past hours clear on his face. Darian sensed a break in the wall surrounding
his old friend and took the chance to get everything out in the open.
As gently as possible, Darian spoke into the heavy silence. Ana and
James are gone, Jared.
Jared sucked in a sharp breath as every muscle in his body tensed.
Darian s heart went out to the man, but this needed to be said. Jared was
living in a world of hurt, much different from the carefree, jovial man Darian
had once known. He owed Jared his support and help in becoming that man once
again. No one should live with the kind of burden Jared kept firmly planted on
his shoulders.
I know that, Dar. I don t need to be reminded. I live with the guilt of their
deaths every day of my life.
Guilt? Darian was truly puzzled. Jared opened his eyes and ran a hand over
his rough face.
I should have been with them, Dar. I should have protected them.
Instead I was off serving my king while they were murdered in their beds by
greedy thieves in the night.
Darian was silent a long moment. Could that be what Jared really believed
about the attack on his family? How could the man not know the truth of those
dreadful days? No wonder he was so changed. Jared blamed himself for something
over which he d had no control or responsibility.
Darian knew he could relieve some of that guilt and perhaps focus the anger of
this brave man on something more productive than wallowing in his imagined
sins of the past. Darian weighed his words carefully, then finally spoke,
albeit a bit hesitantly.
Those were no simple thieves, Jared. He leaned forward as Jared listened
intently. I found out not long ago that your family was targeted by
Lucan. Even back then, he had designs on the throne of Skithdron and worked to
throw your country into chaos. You were too close to King Jon and his sons.
Too protective. Too smart. Lucan needed you out of the way. He succeeded when
he ordered his assassins to kill your family. You left the king s service and
his way was clear.
Jared was as near to tears as he d come since that day he had learned his wife
and young son were dead. To learn finally who was responsible was both a
terrible shock and, oddly, a relief. Jared felt like the weight of the world
had been lifted off his shoulders. It focused him. As did his anger.
Jared s anger was slow to build, slow to burn, but once it got going, it was
an unstoppable inferno. He felt the fire rising in his veins, but he needed to
have all the facts before he would decide on a course of action. The wisdom of
his years had taught him to think before loosing the rage within him. While it
was still possible to reason somewhat clearly, he needed to hear everything
Darian knew.
Are you sure? The Lucan I met years ago was a sweet child.
Darian scoffed, He s a maniac, Jared. I believe he killed his own father.
Do you think ordering the deaths of an innocent woman and child would bother
such a demon?
Sweet Mother of All.
Jared staggered to his feet, emotion overwhelming him. He fought down the
sizzling anger, but it bubbled up from within, threatening to break him into a
million pieces, never to be reassembled. All the years he d wasted, blaming
himself for something perpetrated by an enemy.
Certainly, he still felt remorse over not being there to defend his family
when Lucan s assassins came to call, but knowing their deaths hadn t been
random violence somehow made it easier to bear his own guilt. The assassins
would have waited until he was gone from home to hit their targets, no matter
if he were down the road or in another country. When Skithdronian assassins
targeted a person, they didn t miss.
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Now Jared knew where to place the blame for his family s demise, the anger and
shock of it boiled through his veins like acid. Lucan had won. He d succeeded
in taking Jared from the work he loved for his king and his land, and nearly
succeeded in taking Jared s life too. If not for Kelzy, he would have killed
himself in his grief long ago. Only the dragon had saved him, bringing
him a new purpose.
But Jared s family wasn t the only one to pay the price for Lucan s political
designs. No, the old king and his wife had been murdered too. Soon after Jared
left the court because of the tragedy in his life, King Jon and his
Queen had been killed, forcing young Roland to assume the throne long before
his time.
Like patterns in the sand, the lines of deceit were becoming clear. Jared s
mind spun as he realized the depths of Lucan s treachery. His family s
destruction was just the beginning of the devastation Lucan had visited upon
the people of Draconia. Jared had felt terrible guilt at the deaths of the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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