Chapter Three
1140 Words
Amelia
Wiping my sweaty hands on my black trousers, I threw a look over my shoulder to where Wren waited in the car. Looking just as murderous as he had done yesterday when I had asked him.. well demanded his help in finding Rhydian.
It had taken just one phone call, which told me the resistance knew exactly where the boy had been taken. Not that it surprised me. Nothing surprised me with the resistance.
They knew everything.
And yet they hadn’t gone to help the boy. They had let him be taken. A small scared boy ripped from his father because of something I had done.
Because I had left.
The guilt was eating me up.
So here I was, outside the offices of some swanky boarding school. And I wasn’t leaving until I had seen him.
I had to at least make sure he was ok and being looked after properly. It was a small mercy that the council hadn’t locked him up somewhere. After all, Rhydian was a dragon.
Kind of.
He didn’t exactly have his animal yet, the ruling council had made sure of that. It was just one of their more dickish of moves but then it was what they were known for. They went after families, even those families who were loyal to them.
The council made me sick.
They had ripped me from my family as well. I had been alone. I wouldn’t have Rhydian alone. I would make sure he knew he had me, even if I couldn’t rescue him right hat moment. And I couldn’t Wren had been right about that.
I couldn’t offer him the safety he needed. Not yet anyway.
“I am here to see Rhydian Llewelyn,” I said to the woman at the desk, she was impeccably dressed, her lips curling as she took in my attire. Let her look, I may not be the same professional businesswoman I had been months ago but she still lived inside of me. Just waiting to get out. I had stared down scarier people than her.
I didn’t blink, but one eyebrow did arch as I waited for her to at least acknowledge me. It was fine, I could wait. Sooner or later it would happen.
“And you are?”
“Amelia” I paused, why hadn’t I thought about how I was going to introduce myself? “Amelia Llewelyn, his step mum”
Her eyes blinked rapidly for a second as I waved my hand in front of her face. Two rings glittered there. Though I couldn’t remember taking them from the chain around my neck.
That was all it took, she could be rude as all hell to a complete stranger but mention Dewis name and that all changed.
“One moment please Mrs Llewelyn”
I swallowed back the reaction being called that name always had on me. I had to keep my cool.
“Let me just make a quick call”
Shit.
If she phoned the council then I was as good as gone, Wren would be dead. But no. I shook my head more to clear my thoughts than anything else. This was a human school, Wren had researched it extensively. The council wouldn’t attack us here. And Wren had already arranged for me to move again.
God, I missed my life.
My old predictable mundane life before Dewi Llewelyn had kissed my knuckles over a table and sent my life into free fall. I had thought that day that the oracle would steamroll my life but no… it was a devilishly handsome dragon with whiskey coloured eyes that turned scarlet whenever he was turned on.
“ok that’s fine” She placed the phone back almost silently. “I have messaged up to his class for him to be brought down”
“Who did you need permission from?” and who would grant it?
“The boy's father of course” She was looking at me like I had grown another head again.
Damn it. If she had phoned him that meant he knew where I was. Which was so much worse than the council. Would he come for me?
Did I want him to come for me?
“Amelia”
The sound of his voice, so excited brought me to my knees as I sank down with my arms open. He rushed into them. His small face crumpled as tears flooded from his eyes. “Oh, sweet boy” I held his head to my chest, smoothing his dark hair back.
He smelled the same as he always did. Of clean innocence and tears sprang into my eyes.
“Ssssh sweet boy, it's ok, it's ok” I was repeating the same words over and over like a mantra. Half to him and half to myself. “Are you ok?” Rhydian?”
“You came back” He fought to regain his place back at my breast, his tears had already left a damp patch on my forest green sweater. “You came back for me”
“I told you, sweet boy, I will always come back from you”
His eyes sobered instantly and he pulled away, looking as serious as his dad ever did. “You left”
“I know Rhyd, but I'm back now and everything is going to be ok. I promise”
“You left me and daddy, and then the bad men came and hurt him.but not as much as you hurt him” There was a clear accusation in his tone. And again I was floored by the wisdom in his young eyes. “Why did you do that?”
“I'm sorry”
“My daddy needed you, I needed you” He took a step back, wiping the back of his hand over his red-rimmed eyes. “And you didn’t love us enough to stay and fight” His words were condemning and I shrank back. This wasn’t how it was meant to go.
“I love you very much Rhydian “
“But you don’t love my daddy, he is dying and you don’t love him enough. So I don’t love you any more”
Dying? What did he mean?
“I am ready to go back to class now Miss” He straightened his shoulders. A miniature Dewi Llewelyn.
“Rhydian?”
“I don’t want to talk to you, I want my daddy” He marched off without looking back as tears streamed down my face.
Well s**t, that hadn’t gone as expected.
- Writer
