The dragon made a disgruntled noise in his throat. He picked up his tea and sipped the steaming liquid before lightly placing it on the table. “It goes back to the god wars that created the Ordas and the Godstone. From my understanding, dragons have never been particularly numerous, but our population was largely decimated during the war. The gods used us in their fight, and we paid the price. When the war was over, our clan leaders thought it best to retreat to the Isle of Stone and cut off all contact with the rest of the world.”
He paused and rubbed his forehead. There was no missing that the mention of the godstone was singular and not plural. Did his grandfather know about all the godstones or that the Fire Stone even existed? Dread started to unfurl in Caelan’s stomach. There was a good chance Omari Nori was not going to be pleased to hear his grandson was bonded to multiple gods and needed to meet with a fourth in order to defeat the Goddess of the Hunt.
“We kept an eye on the human world, but from a distance. When we learned of Erya’s Godstone and the duty of the Guardian, we decided that we could offer a dragon as protection.” Nori made another dismissive sound and waved his hand. “It has always been a token effort, but it was our way of assuaging our conscience. We supposedly made our contribution to protecting the world.”
Caelan reached over and placed his hand on Nori’s arm. “You gave your son to protect my mother. I wouldn’t say it was a token effort.”
His grandfather’s smile was sad. “I didn’t give him willingly. The first couple of years, I cursed the Takahashi and the Talos family. I cursed the dead gods for taking my only son from me.” He stopped and shook his head. “Then he sent his first message. It just said, ‘I have no regrets.’ ”
“That was it?” Eno demanded and winced as if he hadn’t meant to ask that aloud.
Nori chuckled. “Kei was a dragon of very few words. He’d always had big plans while living here. He wanted to finally seize control from the Takahashi, to get rid of our more barbaric old practices, to remove the laws that said half-breeds could not be part of the clans. I couldn’t understand what he might have encountered that would keep him from regretting this new path in life.” He smiled at Caelan. “A year later, I got another message that said, ‘I love her.’ ”
Caelan’s heart swelled. His mother had been loved. He hadn’t been sure. He’d hoped, but he’d never known definitely.
“When you discovered you had a grandson, was the message simply ‘I have a boy’?” Adrian asked with a grin.
Nori rocked back with a surprised cackle. “No! For Caelan, he wrote me a book. Twenty pages and a stack of pictures.” He looked at Caelan and shook his head. “An entire page dedicated to the perfection of your toes. My taciturn son found his inspiration in you. We still shared letters only once or twice a year, but now they were always pages and pages dedicated to you.”
“Did my mother know Hagen—I mean Kei—was a dragon?”
“Not until after you were born,” he admitted softly. “I know he agonized over whether to tell her for a long time, but he also knew it was her duty to produce an heir that would become the next Guardian of the Godstone. He worried the goddess would not accept a child who was half dragon.” Nori cocked his head and smirked. “I take it the Goddess of Life had no problem with your heritage.”
Caelan shook his head. “It never came up.”
What would we care? You all belong to us, Tula commented a bit indifferently. Her voice was a whisper across his mind and he started. His thoughts had been so centered on Nori and his family that he’d briefly forgotten about the gods he was bonded to.
“I was sure that I’d never see you in my lifetime,” Nori admitted. “I tried to tell myself that the notes and pictures Kei sent were enough. But when we heard that Takahashi Souta had returned to the island, I hoped that maybe you might follow him.”
“Retrieving Souta was not our only reason for coming to the Isle of Stone,” Rayne stated evenly.
“Don’t,” Caelan snapped and then lifted pleading eyes to his advisor from across the table. He added a bit more softly, “Not yet.”
Rayne’s worried gaze swept over his face. “I’m sorry, Cael. We’re running short on time. If your grandfather can help, we can’t miss the opportunity. Both for Drayce and…” He left the rest hanging unsaid and heavy in the silence.
“Caelan?” Nori prodded, and it was like being called before his mother all over again for some infraction. He was a king and a wielder of godly powers. How could this man instantly make him feel like a kid?