AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“A bit?” she clipped, oozing sarcasm.
“You look like you’ve been through a hurricane,” Levian observed with a scathing glance at both of the men. “How on the mortal plane did you get here?”
Barith’s grin twisted into a scathing look of his own. “A Stepping Stone.”
Levian sniffed haughtily. “One of mine, no doubt. Where did you start from?”
Neither Barith nor Sirus said a damn thing. Gwendolyn, on the other hand, did not understand their silence and replied, “New York. I still don’t know how.”
The mage’s brows shot up. “That’s quite far,” she remarked, sounding a touch impressed and more than a little intrigued.
Sirus gritted his teeth. So much for not sharing any details.
“Would you like a drink, darling?” Levian asked Gwendolyn with what seemed like genuine, honeyed warmth. “Or something to eat? You must be famished after the hell these two have put you through? I can only imagine.”
Gwendolyn placed her hand over her stomach, but Sirus heard it growl at the mention of food.
“She needs to eat and get warm,” he interjected. She glanced over at him and then down. A little rise of pink spread over her cheeks again.
“Aye,” the dragon agreed, clapping his hands together. “I know just the thing. There’s nothing a cup of chocolate and a heavy splash of good scotch can’t fix.”
The shift might have been unrecognizable if Sirus hadn’t been watching her so closely or standing so near. It was subtle, but Gwendolyn’s entire body tensed and relaxed all at once. And she made a sound. A little breath of a sigh. She liked either chocolate or scotch very much. Sirus assumed that, since he’d spotted several boxes of chocolate cereal and no bottles of whiskey in her apartment, it must be the former.
“That does sound nice,” she admitted.
“Scotch?” Levian scoffed. “It’s not even six in the morning.”
Barith came up next to Gwendolyn. “The time doesn’t matter if you’ve not been to bed,” he shot back smugly. “And you’re one to talk. I’ve seen ye roll awake before the cock even cracked an eye to drain a bottle of brandy more times than I can count.”
The mage scowled so deeply her face wrinkled around her mouth, but she didn’t take the bait. Instead, she rolled her eyes. With a satisfied smirk, the dragon wrapped an arm around Gwen’s shoulders, dwarfing her.
Sirus stilled, his eyes lingering on the spot where the dragon’s giant hand touched her.
Barith was playing his role to perfection. All charm and smiles and warmth, trying to set her at ease. The dragon’s efforts to comfort one of their marks had never warranted anything more than vague recognition from Sirus in the past—it was better if they were at ease and cooperative—but the easy comfort with which Barith had nearly scooped Gwendolyn up irritated him.
“I’m sure we can scrounge up something in the kitchen,” Barith said softly, motioning her toward the hall. Gwen followed his lead and sauntered away, leaving a trail of her lilied scent as she went.
“Find something for her to eat,” Sirus told the dragon.
Gwendolyn glanced back at him, those green eyes daring to find his. She had been about to say something, then her brows furrowed with concern. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Sirus blinked, shuttering his irritation in an instant. The woman had astutely recognized his tension. More, she’d seemed concerned by it. It was unsettling.
“He’s fine,” Levian answered for him, waving an errant hand to shoo her off. “Sirus always looks as if he’s got a bone to pick or an axe to grind.”
He cut the mage a look, finally pulling his gaze from Gwendolyn. Levian smirked in return.
Gwendolyn didn’t look entirely convinced, but she let Barith lead her off toward the kitchen.
“She’s a unique creature,” the mage observed the moment Barith and Gwendolyn were out of earshot. “Solid.”
Solid? The descriptor was odd, even for Levian.
Sirus refocused himself on the mage. “Why are you here?”
They’d only managed to find their mark and escape by the skin of their teeth. And now they arrived to find Levian coincidentally waiting for them. Sirus did not believe in coincidence.
The mage cocked a brow. “As charming as ever, I see,” she replied without a hint of surprise. “You seemed to already know why I’m here or have you forgotten already?”
