Page 8 of The Dragons’ Eternal Mate

“I thought about it for a moment. I was all set to run to the den until…” I pinned my stare to a blotch on the carpet, running over it with my eyes. “He wants you all out of the picture, too. No other Alpha but Bastian. I was sure Cyrus would use me to hurt you, and… I couldn’t go through that pain again. The dragon fire… The only place I knew for sure I’d be safe was with Kiki. Considering she’s gone, this was the next best thing.”

“I’m not going to let him get away with this, Rowan. I swear to you. The days of that asshole thinking he can do whatever he wants are over,” Bastian promised, buckling his seat belt beside me.

“You can’t guarantee that,” I said.

“Fucking watch me,” he insisted with a low growl. “As soon as I get my hands on Cyrus, he’s dead.”

I turned to him in surprise. “But that’s your father. I couldn’t ask you to…”

He leveled me with an unshakable look. “Rowan, the moment I found out what he did, that man was dead to me. He orchestrated my misery all these years. I failed you by not protecting you six years ago. Trust me, I won’t make that mistake again.”

I blinked several times, then leaned back in my chair, trying to absorb his words. Bastian was certain. Anyone could see that. But agreeing with him meant I was too. Was I?

Did I want Cyrus dead? Yes.

Did I want his son to be the one to end him?

That I wasn’t sure of.

Even though he was an unbelievable asshole, I knew Bastian had once respected his father. They’d had a relationship. All these years, he’d been trying to make the man proud. At least, from what I’d heard and understood. All that was just… gone. Regardless of what happened now, that was fucking sad.

“Let’s just make sure Ma is okay first,” I said softly, closing my eyes and leaning back.

“You focus on getting her better. We’ll focus on keeping you safe,” Bastian assured me.

The flight attendant walked through the small cabin, checking we all had our seat belts fastened before takeoff. When she came near me, Bastian let out a low growl. Thankfully, she took it in her stride, simply nodding before walking toward the cockpit.

“What was that?” I asked.

“No one is getting near you. After what happened, I don’t trust anyone with your safety but us.”

Part of me wanted to smack him and wave off his intense concern, but another part of me thought it was best to indulge his behavior. We’d all been through a lot, and even I could tell he was a dragon on edge.

There was also the fact that he had a point.

Our circle of trust was getting smaller and smaller.

“You should get some sleep,” Bastian told me, undoing his seat belt.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep in these chairs. Don’t worry,” I said, shaking my head. “I got some rest before we left. I’ll be all right.”

“There’s a bed in the back,” he informed me, jerking his head toward the rear of the plane, where a door led to a cabin.

I hadn’t even considered what amenities a private jet would have. It’d all happened so quickly. The two of them had arrived, I had been scrambling and raiding Cormack’s supply, and then we were leaving. I’d been ruminating for hours about Ma. I had no idea how bad it was, and even on a jet, I wished we could get there faster.

That wasn’t happening, though. Maybe it was a good idea to at least close my eyes and lie down.

“Really?” I asked, craning my neck to look behind me.

He stood, holding out his hand. “Come on.”

“I don’t need to—” I started, but he cut me off.

“You need to be rested so you can help Ma when we arrive at the horde lands.”

I couldn’t argue with that logic. We both knew it was true.

Sighing, I took his hand and accepted his help. It escaped my notice until then that Grey was watching us with a smile plastered on his face. I glared at him. This was not the time. Though I couldn’t blame him for wanting to focus on anything else right now.