Page 35 of Dragon My Crazy

“I can have my wizard…”

“No.” I fell short of admitting that his wizard was the reason why Seth had been worried. “I’m fine.”

A knock at the door saved me from the explanation. I opened it to find a goblin woman who must be Nak’s wife. Her skin was a rich tan, kissed with the faintest hint of green. Black tattoos—clan marks, if my memory served me right—traced up one of her arms. A practical braid kept her dark hair in check, though a few rebellious strands had already escaped.

She wore an apron over her dress, the pockets bulging with tools and bottles and… a half-eaten sandwich? Her grin was quick, her eyes sharp with amusement.

“You must be Elana. I’m glad to finally meet you.”

“Dizzi will be helping out instead of Luella for the next little while,” Emmett said. “Luella’s in the city caring for her mother.”

“Did something happen?”

“A car accident. But she’s alive, got away with just a mild concussion.”

“I’m sorry to hear. Is Leroy with her?” I asked.

“Yes. I insisted I’ll survive without him for a few days.”

That meant I had a few days to figure out how to hide my magic again.

“Now that I’m here, why don’t you two go grab breakfast?” Dizzi suggested, urging us out the door. “I’ll watch her until you get back.”

Emmett held out an arm, and this time I took it without even realizing it, and we headed down to breakfast just like we’d done every day this week.

Chapter 16

Emmett

Theknockcamejustas I was pouring myself a whiskey on the rocks. I knew who it was before I even opened the door—the scent of smoke and brimstone preceded them. Blaze and Flame stood in the hallway, or rather, they hovered. Unlike the last time I’d seen them, they wore name tags, probably to make it easier for others in the castle to tell them apart. I heard they’d made friends with the staff, which was the thing Leroy had been so upset about.

The air in the room grew thick with the scent of smoke as Blaze and Flame took their positions before my desk. But despite looking like they were ready to drop a match into dry tinder, all I felt was a slight heat from them.

“Tell me what you’ve learned about the stranger in town.” I leaned back in my chair.

The two nearly identical djinns exchanged a look before Flame spoke. “Before we do that, we request that this room be completely private and warded. And we ask that you use one of Sena’s old spells to prevent anyone else from listening in.”

I frowned. “How do you know about Sena?”

“It’ll become clear soon.”

I retrieved one of the last premade privacy wards from my desk and tore it open. The spell spilled out, circling and encompassing the office. “It is done. Now speak, djinn.”

“The man you saw in town isn’t Samuel,” Blaze said.

I exhaled sharply. “Did you find out who it is?”

“Not exactly. But we know he’s a wizard,” he said. “He doesn’t seem to have any connections with Samuel. But he’s definitely a magic user.”

I nodded, processing this. I had told the two about the call Elana had received on Sunday. I almost wished the bastard would call again so we could trace it back to him. But he hadn’t done so yet.

“So we don’t have definitive proof that Samuel knows Elana’s here,” Flame said, eager to spill the beans. “We can confirm, however, that Samuel is free. The EA is trying to keep the details under wraps. We know that they have a team looking for him. But there is something else you need to know. It’s aboutyourwizard, Leroy.”

I tilted my chin, appraising them. “What about him?”

“He’s a lying liar,” he said, his voice low. “Your wizard has been playing you for a fool for some time.”

I stiffened. “That’s impossible. He’s been with me for decades.”