The Dragon God

Chapter Nine

Arthur hadn't come straight out and said it. What was it he had said?

Ivan 'The Big' has met with the most unfortunate of fates.

Not only was the dragon dead, but Ivan's own father had reveled in it. Absolutely delighted in it, from the looks of things. The thought was chilling, adding layers to the maniacal presence Arthur Nicholaisen had always exuded.

Just how far would he go for power?

It couldn't go without consideration that the man had been plotting it for a very long time. How old was Arthur? Ivan had to think about his age. Hundreds of years old. He had probably been thinking about how to gain the God Stone for generations. But the more Ivan thought about his father intentionally thinking about the previous Dragon God, the more uncomfortable it made him.

Ivan glanced at Ina, despite his thoughts being in a much darker place. She was the only thing that kept him from breaking down and returning to his duty as the obedient son he had always been expected to be. Was this what it meant to have weakness? Certainly, Ivan had always been compared to his older brothers as the weakest between the three of them. But this was a different weakness. This wasn't a lack of fire, it was being struck by the image of a woman in his old sweatpants, who had them tied up so much at the waist that they looked almost as though she was wearing a long skirt.

He regretted, momentarily, having destroyed her bra. She looked a little uncomfortable in his tee-shirt, nipples rubbing against the fabric with the sort of pertness that he only imagined must have been uncomfortable. She met his eyes.

"You gonna talk to me about what you're thinking?"

"Trying to figure out where to go," Ivan lied. But, now that he had said the words aloud, he knew that it needed to be a consideration. They couldn't just stay in his nest until Arthur found them. Ina couldn't go back to the city, no matter how badly she wanted to look for her brother and his wife. Ivan couldn't take Ina with him to face off with his father.

Wait, was he actually thinking that was an option? Facing off against Arthur would be suicide! Ivan's body ached at the memory of the fight they'd had in his office. It had taken time to heal—even if he had healed quickly—and Ivan had no doubt in his mind that Arthur wouldn't just let him fly into the sunset if they met face to face again.

"You figure out where you need to go, but I have to get back and check on Kaiden."

"You do understand that if you go back into the city, you're going to die, right? My father has people out looking for us. Just because we got lucky enough for Ryan and Jack to find us first, doesn't mean next time it'll be someone who likes me."

The expression that Ina gave him made Ivan want to snarl and swear. She could look so arrogantly determined! How had he ever fallen in love with such a difficult individual?

"You're not going back to the city. Neither of us are."

Before Ina could protest, Ivan put both hands up to silence her. He lowered them when he realised that she would respect his wishes and not protest, but it took a moment for him to try and gather his thoughts again.

"Fuck you, Ivan."

Goddamnit, he thought. For a moment, Ivan found himself thinking the same thing that his father had said aloud many times when he was younger; The humans' energy for causing trouble never wanes. It had come unbidden, but Ivan squashed it immediately. Had his brothers been in danger, would he not have risked his own safety to protect them?

Maybe. Maybe not. Dragons had a little different of a mindset when it came to life and death situations. But if it were his mother and an egg? No doubt in Ivan's mind told him that he and his brothers would have done absolutely everything in their power to protect them.

"You say it, but I know you aren't going to make it back to the city without my help."

"And where the hell are you going to take us?" She replied. Ina put her hands on her hips, tipping ever so slightly forward. Ivan wondered if this intimidation tactic worked on her brother. "Because if your old man is so determined, then I don't think there's gonna be very many places to hide."

"Do you think I don't know that?!" Ivan suddenly boomed. He was surprised at his own volume, instantly regretting it when he heard Ina gasp. She stood upright again, stepping back. He shrank at the sight. "Sorry. I'm sorry, Ina. I'm just—I'm frustrated. I'm confused. I don't know what to do."

Ivan slouched on the bed, letting his head fall into his hands. He inhaled and exhaled a couple of times, trying to calm himself. It wasn't working very well.