Flame Touched

Chapter Twenty-Seven - Camila

When Eian came home, Camila had been all set to greet him and welcome him back. She found herself genuinely missing his company for the two hours he'd been gone. Then she heard the second voice with him, and decided to hide in her room until their guest left. Eian had called the older man Father a few times. She'd heard enough stories to know his father was not someone she wanted to meet if she could help it.

Once the talking ended, she waited a few more minutes before coming down the stairs. Eian sat on the floor in the entryway, sorting through his last box. Neat piles were spread out over the tile. He glanced up at her on the stairwell, and his face lit up with a smile.

"So you are up. Couldn't tell," he said.

Camila sat on the bottom step. "I've been awake all day. I didn't want to interrupt anything important."

"It's just sweaters and pictures." Eian picked up a maroon sweatshirt, grimaced, and then tossed it aside. "Not sure why I own so many. Doesn't get that cold here. Kind of ugly, too."

She leaned her head on her hand, trying to relax. "Your dad was here. I meant him."

"Oh, he helped me move."

"On the day you didn't need a lot of help," she observed.

Shrugging, Eian stretched out his legs. His gaze settled on his feet. "At least he tried. Most of my brothers wouldn't get the privilege."

"It's a privilege to have attention from your parents?" She scoffed at the idea. Wow, his dad is a bigger piece of work than I thought.

"I have hundreds of brothers." Eian frowned. "So yeah, it kind of is."

Her heart broke for him right then and there. "That's sad. He's your father, you know? You should be more than just some kind of...accessory to him. Then again, if how he treats his wives is any indication, I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"I'm not an accessory," Eian seethed. He squeezed his eyes shut. "No, he's not the perfect dad. Not everyone can be as lucky as you were to have both our parents around to spoil us. I mean, my father is the leader of an entire country. Not just a farmer."

What sympathy she felt for him, momentarily left. It'd come back again later after she calmed down, she was sure. For the time being, she was more than happy to be infuriated with him. "I couldn't care less what his profession is. You make a lot of excuses for his crappy behavior. Maybe he should have thought through his decisions before ruining the lives of so many people with his selfishness. To me, it explains a lot about his leadership skills and how they've impacted all of us poor, pathetic, humans."

"Can we not fight about this?" Eian pleaded.

"Don't insult my family." She glared.

He glared back. "Don't insult mine."

Find something good to say. Being on his bad side isn't smart. He still controls my entire fate. "I guess it was extra special he came to help you." She couldn't manage much else that was kind.

Eian relaxed a little. "Yes, and not expected. He's been going out of his way to talk to me more. I thought maybe it was because Matt's gone, but now I'm not so sure." He shook his head, the smile returning to his face. "Anyway, we mostly talked about the Dragon Council coming up. No biggie. Wouldn't be what I'd call deep bonding, but I'll take it. You know? We've got to start somewhere. Might be easier since I'm considered a grown up. My brother's always been more mature in the ways that matter to my father. I am too, now. Sort of."

"What's the Dragon Council?" she asked, wanting to get the conversation off of family. Eian clearly had a lot of unresolved issues with his. Under other circumstances, she'd be a lot more interested in helping him figure the drama out. But he was still keeping her from home. She was still at his mercy. The bitter side of her wanted to flaunt those facts. At least he could be around his family. They might have been getting along fine, but she was still his prisoner...of sorts. Someday, they could get to the level of being friends. He couldn't expect that kind of devotion from her only a couple of days into their peculiar arrangement.

When Eian gazed at her, she noticed a degree of hurt present in his eyes. "The council is where we meet with the other tribes of dragons. Other nations, I should say."

"You're going to meet with dragons from all over the world?" She gasped. "I mean, I get why, it's just...wow. I'm still having a hard time grappling with the dragon piece, though."

Eian sighed. "Right, well, all of the pictures of the other kinds of dragons are real. We all live in different areas and have magic related to where we survive best in nature. Desert, fire, 'nough said, yeah? Water dragons settled farther north by the lakes, rivers, and oceans. Even farther are the air dragons. They prefer colder, crisper climates for whatever reason. Though, they like to vacation down here to joyride on our hot air thermals. Lastly, the earth dragons are by the mighty mountain ranges to the west."

"Aero, Oceina, Terran, Inero," Camila said. "Of course. All the names are for the dragon types. And for the record, I knew there were different species of dragons. I believed that even if I haven't seen any of the other types in person. What I didn't know was if you all...kept to yourselves, or if you intermingled."

"Here in Inero, we keep to ourselves," Eian said. He shrugged. "Toward the northern border you'll find Oceina farmers, and at the islands you'll see Terran. Out in Terran, they encourage diversity more. Oceina are fairly okay with it as well, but they don't have the same kind of programs the Terran do."

"Programs?" Camila raised an eyebrow.

"School, work, trade, citizenship guidelines. Each country has its own set of rules. In Oceina and Terran, they're the most relaxed. My father likes to keep things secure here," Eian said. "We have some student exchange programs, but not too many want to venture down this way. The desert isn't anywhere near as beautiful as the massive skyscrapers they have everywhere else." He bit his lip. "It's not a secret we're...behind...developing. Why study here when you can get a better education somewhere else?"

Camila ran a hand through her hair, playing with a strand of it while she thought about his words. "I never thought about going away for school. Granted, I was homeschooled, but the expectation was for me to stay in my hometown. Most of the other kids I knew growing up had similar aspirations. Only a couple came to the city to try and 'make it big'. Can't say I've heard anyone have a desire to leave Inero all together."

"It's become harder to do these days, especially for humans."

"Oh."

Eian rolled his eyes. "Yeah, oh." He waved a hand in front of his face. "Anyway, I'll be going to the council this year and hopefully I'll make a few connections with some of the other tribes. Those can never be a bad thing. They're fascinating. I love seeing how the world works."

"I'm sure it'll be interesting," she said blandly. Not meaning to rain on his parade, but there was a huge factor he hadn't addressed yet.

"You're mad," he said. She opened her mouth to protest, but he continued before she had the chance. "I can smell it on you."

I forgot he could do that. "Just curious what I'm supposed to do. Come with? Doesn't seem like a place for women. Not with so many dragons walking around. We'd only get in the way of your superior—"

"Stop it," Eian seethed. "No, the women don't come. We have three weeks to discuss what you want to do. I thought it might be a good time for you and Navi to do girl stuff together. Or Rei. Or another wife. They're probably all excited to get to know you better."

"Why?" This time, Camila rolled her eyes.

"Because they care about me." He climbed to his feet. "When I get back, we'll go see your parents. It should be a safe enough time to go. I'd offer sooner, but that wouldn't look good to my family. You definitely can't be with them when I'm not around. Not unless you have a death wish for all of you and then some."

She hugged herself. "So harsh. Why?"

"The secret is that important to keep," he whispered. "For what it's worth, if I was in charge, I'd do things a lot differently." He offered her his hand. "Dinner?"

Slowly, Camila stood as well, turning to go back up the stairs. "I've lost my appetite."