Goodbye Sister

LOCH

Adara.

~I apologize. ~

At the destroyed bar inside the wreckage of Club Emerald’s arena, I pound back a shot of vodka.

Then another, and another.

“If only I was stronger,” I mutter to myself.

Shame fills me. I feel tiny and pathetic.

So I do what I always do.

I hurl a chair into the freshly cleaned stadium seats. Everything will need to be remodeled and rebuilt, anyway.

~Why not let loose a little anger? ~

I tear the bar top off its hinges and flip it to the floor. Glass and coasters coat the floor in a cacophony of broken glass.

“Loch!” Maddie shouts, her little hands balled into fists. “Stop this!”

“Go away, rat,” I spit, swigging straight from the vodka bottle.

“No,” she says, crossing her arms and pushing her lush breasts together in her tight black gown. “You’ve been acting wild. We’re talking about it.”

I fling a barstool across the room and put a hole in the wall with it.

“Your orders are meaningless.”

She’s delusional if she thinks she can control me.

“If you want to be strong,” Maddie says, leaning on a hip, “then this isn’t the way. A real man could open up about what he’s feeling.”

“What are you calling me?” I bark.

Maddie’s expression softens. “You’re my mate, Loch. I love you.”

My chest tenses at those words.

~Where is there room for love when I’ve lost my sister? When I wasn’t strong enough to save her? When I let down all those people who trusted us for their safety!~

“ENOUGH!” I shout, sending the vodka bottle at Maddie.

Luckily, it flies clear over her head.

She doesn’t flinch.

Instead, she marches over to me.

“Done being an asshole?” she asks, hugging me tightly around the waist.

Her touch, no matter how much I try to focus away, is electrifying.

Slowly, I bring my hands around her and plant a kiss on her lips.

“If you want to be strong like the man I know you are, then you need to stop holding in your emotions, Loch.”

~What if somebody is watching us right now? What if somebody sees that…?~

A tear drips down my cheek, and I fall back onto a bar stool.

In a piece of broken glass from the bar shelves on the floor, I can see the reflection of my eyes.

Crimson, just like Rex’s.

~Lochness…~

If I can’t control him, then there’s no point in trying to unlock it. And if I’m hurling bottles at the one woman who loves me, then I’m losing that fight…

“I’m sorry, Maddie.”

Maddie sits on my lap and throws her arms around my neck.

“I feel like a fucking failure. I let you, Adara, and everyone else down.”

I sniff once and another silent tear falls. “But that’s no excuse for how I’ve been treating you. That ends now.”

I lace my hand in hers and squeeze it, hoping she understands how serious I am.

“There’s my strong man,” she says, kissing my cheek. “The strongest people make themselves vulnerable, not pretend that they’re invincible.”

“You’re wise for a rat,” I grunt.

We laugh together.

My chest feels airy, like I can breathe fully again. Like there isn’t a mounting tension on my shoulders every second.

“Hey,” I say, grabbing Maddie’s chin and raising it towards me, “I love you, too.”

We kiss until it’s time to leave.

HAEL

At the podium, I look at all the dragons present. Dane, Aneurin, dressed in flannel shirts like they’ve got no idea what manners are for a funeral.

Rex, with his thousand-yard stare and huge muscles.

No Onyx, no Loch. No Silver, no Storm.

Still, I continue with the eulogy.

~Where the fuck is everybody? ~

I try not to assume the worst. I try to avoid thinking that they’ve been attacked.

~But where else could they be?~

Still, I need to be professional. Adara’s life must be respected.

“Adara will always be remembered,” I say, tears building in my eyes, “as a loving sister who cared for children and wanted to give them a life better than what we had to endure growing up.”

There’s a small applause, and the coffin is lowered into a ceremonial tomb surrounded by black roses.

I step down from the podium and Summer comes over to me, sobbing. She hugs me, and it takes me by surprise.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,” she says. “Maybe…maybe I could have…”

I put my hands on her shoulders and say, “It’s alright. Please, don’t put any unnecessary pressure on yourself.”

We have enough of that already with her mates here.

Speaking of which, Dane and Aneurin hesitantly approach me. I break the ice and extend a hand out towards Dane, then his brother.

We shake, and as authentically as possible, I tell them, “I appreciate you all coming out to join us today.”

~Especially when my own fucking family isn’t here. ~

Loch is probably throwing a tantrum.

“Of course,” Aneurin says, clearing his throat. “I wish it were under better circumstances.”

Dane bows his head. “You have our condolences.”

Just then, I see Maddie leading Loch in. They’re both a bit lovey-dovey, so that means Maddie has pulled him out of his ass.

~Good job, mouse.~

“I hope your horde has been building well,” I tell the brothers.

They both nod, and Dane even gives a cheeky grin.

“It’s been building,” he confirms, “and that’s partly why we wanted to come here.”

Summer steps forward. “We know Nautica is back. Something much larger than this one attack is at play. If the horde is to be protected, then we all need to…”

“Group together,” Loch says strongly, cutting in smoothly. “We were at our strongest when we all worked with one another. We’ll be back there if we do it again.”

To my great surprise, Loch initiates the handshake with Dane and Aneurin. He even smiles while he gives it to them.

The brothers look at one another like it might be a trick.

But it isn’t.

“I agree,” Aneurin says. “If we work together, then the Dusk Mountains and Requiem City will be safe from the slayers. Forever.”

Maddie leans against me. “I like the sound of that.”

Rex and Hazel are off on the sidelines, listening. We’ll need their help too.

But for now, this is going incredibly well.

We can all look past our history so we can build a better future.

Maddie and Summer catch up, and I pour Dane and Aneurin a drink.

It’s time for the reception, and it’s time to make a plan.

Despite all the conversation, laughter, and drinking between dragons, there’s an eeriness to the air.

The church’s clock tower rings.

I spin over my shoulder to face the bell.

I just can’t shake the feeling that this funeral is being watched…