Page 4 of Dragon My Crazy

“Omelet?”

“That’s what Seth and I called the egg.”

I frowned, considering how close my child had been to getting scrambled during her misadventures before hatching. I hadn’t even known she’d existed at the time. Melantha’s mother, a cruel and wily she-dragon, had tricked me out of my genetic material. Then she’d gotten herself spelled into a one-hundred-year sleep after losing a challenge. I’d known about the stolen DNA and had orchestrated her punishment myself by furtively assisting my brother win the bet. I just hadn’t known about the already-incubating egg.

The moment I’d seen it in that video, cradled in the human named Meera’s arms, I’d known that there was no way I could get rid of it. My life had changed that instant. I’d never considered having a child, but now that she existed, I knew I’d do anything to protect her. And so, fatherhood had been thrust upon me with no warning. And I was completely out of my element.

“You called my daughter Omelet?”

The manticore shrugged his giant lion’s shoulder. “We didn’t know it was a girl. I guess it’s ‘Omelette’ now.” He grinned, and it wasn’t a pretty sight, unless you had a thing for sharp teeth and canines. His eyes drifted over to the man who was even now disappearing back through another door into the museum. “Since you’ve got this, I’m heading back to the ballroom. Elana better return in one piece.”

He left and I followed Elana and the wizard, all while wondering what the catch was and what was said to Mateo privately through his headset. Had it been Desmon?

But there was no time to ponder that now because the wizard was following Elana across the balcony. She hadn’t been the only one to decide to take a walk out here after the dessert and before the raffle. The balcony was filled with people gazing westward toward the setting sun.

Elana was walking faster now, clearly aware that she had a tail. She stepped back into the museum through the next set of double doors. Sure enough, the man followed her through.

The little witch continued down the hallway and turned a corner. I followed behind the man, and he didn’t once notice me. Sure, I had my ring which hid my aura, but a wizard of his caliber should at least be wary of his surroundings in general. Was he so enamored with her magic, so greedy to get his hands on her power, that he couldn’t look away? What did the idiot think he could do in a place like this? It was swamped with guards and cameras.

I wondered if Elana noticed me. If she did, she didn’t give it away.

She stopped under a spot of light just outside of an archway to one of the museum exhibits. A camera above her head was pointed right at her spot. She turned with a glare at the man with her arms crossed.

The fire in her eyes was mesmerizing.

She spoke softly, but the threat in her voice was unmistakable. “What the hell do you want?” Her magic danced around her, sparkling like a warning.

The man stepped back, as if stunned. And the way the wizard hesitated, you’d think he’d never heard a woman speak before.

Chapter 3

Elana

“Well?”Iasked,keepingmy chin high. “Out with it. What do you want?”

The wizard recovered quickly, pulling his wits back about himself. “Is it so wrong to want to say hi to an old friend?”

I snorted as ungracefully as I could. Back when I was trained to be a wizard’s wife, I’d never have dared to do such an unladylike thing. And now that I thought of it, perhaps their reaction was tome using the word “hell” and demanding anything from them at all. “I don’t believe we are friends.”

The man clutched his heart. “You wound me, my dear.”

“I’m not your dear. Did Samuel send you? If so, you can tell him to keep rotting in jail.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Forget Samuel. He’s a has-been. He never did treat you right. We aren’t all assholes like him. Some of us actually cared about our wives.”

There was a distant look in his eyes, and I suddenly remembered who he was. He was Lucille’s husband. Poor Lucille had died in childbirth, and since husbands were not allowed in the birthing chamber, Roland had not been there to save her with his magic. He never did remarry, which was strange considering his one and only heir hadn’t made it either.

I narrowed my eyes at Roland. What the hell was he up to?

There was a clearing of a throat, and Emmett stepped in between us. Despite being no bigger than a human in this guise, he seemed to take up all the space.

“There you are, sweetheart. Ready to go watch the sunset?”

“Who the hell are you?” Roland demanded, clearly not seeing past Emmett’s human form.

Emmett ignored the question and offered me his arm. Roland sputtered like he couldn’t believe someone dared interrupt hisconversation. I took Emmett’s arm just to see Roland blow a gasket.

“Nice catching up, Roland.” Not. “Enjoy your life.”