Page 8 of Dragon My Crazy

Tansy, with her usual enthusiasm, was attempting to teach us how to change the color of a blue crayon to red. It seemed like a simple enough task, but magic was never as straightforward as it appeared.

Shelby, who had taken magic lessons with Tansy when she herself was learning as an adult, did it on her second try. Meera, who had a mystery magical talent she had yet to discover, but still had some control of her magic, turned the crayon purple. Carly, who had the unique ability to get visions and sounds from magical inanimate objects, had a brief but amusing moment when the crayon told her it was very confused about its identity. We all laughed, the tension easing.

But me? The one who was supposed to have the most magic of them all? I did diddly squat.

I schooled my features, trying not to let the disappointment show on my face. I wasn’t a quitter. I decided to give it one more try. Because here was the thing: if I couldn’t control and use my magic, I’d need to be protected for the rest of my life. And I’d already lived so much of my life cowering or hiding in fear. I refused to let that be my future too.

I eyed the words in the children’s spellcasting book, then repeated them, focusing on the crayon sitting innocently but rather confused on the counter of the tiki bar. I thoughtred, red, red, willing the color to change with every fiber of my being. Suddenly, the crayon glowed red hot, the heat radiating off it in waves.

But before I could celebrate, it combusted, bursting into hungry flames that also ate up the napkins next to it. The fire was bright and fierce, the crayon’s wax melting onto the counter, feeding the flames.

Chicken Nugget, Tansy’s sun conure, flitted away from the flames, landing on the safety of Eamon’s shoulder.

Luckily, while the magic had set the crayon on fire, the fire itself wasn’t magical. Tansy, having set numerous objects on fire while she learned to control her own magic, was prepared. She grabbed a jug of water kept nearby for just such emergencies and poured it over the flames. The water hit the fire with a loud sizzle and a pop, steam rising in thick clouds. We all leaned back from the counter as smoke billowed into the air, burning my eyes, but the fire was out.

I waved my hand in front of me, trying to clear the smoke, and coughed.

“It’s definitely red now,” Carly said, her eyes on the charred red wax on the counter. “I’ll call that a success.”

I managed a weak smile, but inside, frustration bubbled. This spell was from a children’s book, and here I was messing it up. It was a stark reminder of how far I had to go.

“Carly’s right. It’s red, so you did it,” Tansy said. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.” She put up a hand before I could speak. “And don’t deny it. I’ve been through this before, and I wassooohard on myself. Wearerelated, you know.” It was her soft smile that made everything all right.

The fact that my daughter was alive, and grown, and sitting in front of me was already a miracle. I had to count myself as one of the luckiest women in the world. For two decades, I’d wondered if giving my baby girl away to a witch in a desperate attempt to save her from a life of being nothing more than chattel had been the wrong move. I wondered if I’d ever see her again.

And now here she was, happy and well, and a part of my life. It was more than I could’ve hoped for, especially since the witch who had taken her off my hands, promising her a bright future, had been unbeknownst to me an evil spirit looking for another ripe, young body to take over. The spirit was now locked up tight; she wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone anymore.

Chicken Nugget flew back over to perch on Tansy’s head, all while making a loud hissing sound that was eerily similar to the sound of the fire going out.

The wind kicked up out of nowhere, whipping across the rooftop patio. Despite the clear sky, we found ourselves wrangling umbrellas and covering our finger foods lest they get blown away.

We beat a hasty retreat inside the penthouse, the double doors sealing shut behind us. The moment we stepped over the threshold, Chicken Nugget, who’d been clinging to Tansy for dear life, abandoned ship. She landed on one of the two giant birds-of-paradise plants flanking the entrance.

The rest of us stepped into the penthouse, which was a prime example of elegant masculinity: dark woods, metal, granite, and leather.

Carly stretched, her colorful bracelets jingling. “We should probably head back. Q-Tip’s gonna start plotting my demise if I don’t feed him soon.” Her Holland Lop bunny was usually a chill little guy, but today he’d been in a mood, so we’d left him to toss his hay around.

I had my own plans for the evening. While I wasn’t necessarily expected to cook for Desmon and his household, and he had a private chef who made most of the meals, I found I enjoyed challenging myself in the kitchen. Desmon had already requested a seafood pasta with scallops and prawns for tomorrow night from his chef, so I thought I’d try my hand at a Basque cheesecake for after. If I got started today, it would be perfectly chilled by tomorrow.

Hugs were exchanged, goodbyes murmured, and then Tansy was opening a portal in the middle of her living room. Unlike most portals, which showed a glimpse of the other side, this one wasa swirling black vortex with no hints of what lay beyond. Just darkness. Which was fine by me, since that usually meant it led straight to Desmon’s library.

When we stepped out the other side of Tansy’s portal, it wasn’t Desmon’s library like we’d expected. Instead, we landed in the hallway just outside it, a dead giveaway that our resident dragon was currently holed up inside with company. Desmon only used it for private meetings. Emmett’s smooth honeyed voice came from behind the door.

Carly shot me a look that said Oh, this is interesting and leaned against the library door, listening intently. We’d talked about Emmett after the gala, and I’d told her and her alone about our dancing on the balcony. Unlike me, she didn’t think he’d danced with me just to entice me to work for him. And I’d had to remind her that he’dalreadyoffered Meera a luxurious life by his side if she’d raise his kid.

Ugh! The guy probably thought he was God’s gift to women. I didn’t need that energy in my life, no matter how much I wanted to see the baby myself.

His voice rumbled through the portal, and my mind flashed to the way his hands had felt on my waist, and the easy way we moved in each other’s arms. I’d hidden the scale away at the back of my bottom drawer so I wouldn’t be tempted to rub it.

I shouldn’t eavesdrop. But Carly’s eyes gleamed with mischief as she pressed her ear against the door. Technically, as Desmon’s mate, Carly would find out what they spoke of anyway. They held no secrets from each other. And I was supposed to be more mature and “know better,” but spending time with Carly and allthe other women had brought out my daring and fun side, a side I never knew I had. I stayed frozen in place, my curiosity getting the best of me. Emmett’s words were muffled, but the desperation in his tone was unmistakable.

“…need to shift soon… stuck as a dragon.”

Desmon rumbled something I couldn’t catch, but I stayed, listening, piecing together a few words here and there.

“… no human side… time running out.”

Stuck? As a dragon? That didn’t make any sense unless he wasn’t talking about himself.