“Still, one crops up every generation or two.” Leroy’s unwelcome addition made Marquis shudder. An omega familiar that manifested dragon could be a terrible thing if the clans decided he was their property. For coven and clan law spoke clearly, that without a mage’s magic, one that shifted dragon was dragon, regardless.
“Don’t say that shit. We’ll have someone jinx it.” Marquis swore under his breath and rested a hand over his forehead. “When are we meeting?”
“Day after tomorrow. We’d do well to leave tomorrow evening.”
Marquis drummed his fingers on the doorway where he stood and frowned, glancing up at the sky above. “I suppose I’ll prep for the meeting and get staff on making sure we have plenty of fairy dust.”
“Trinkets and trivial wish crystals. I had an idea you may not like, sir.” Leroy cleared his throat and Marquis dared to ask.
And Leroy was right—he didn’t.
Chapter Sixteen
Mads
He ate the orange grudgingly and stared out the window, mind wandering to his tasks for the day. Doing nothing was a pretty full schedule, it turned out.Medication time, I suppose.
Mads hefted himself up and strode to the bathroom where his pillbox lay, staring at the muted colors of small pills. Each one did something different, but it was for the best—unless it wasn’t.
As he popped the cap to his pillbox cell and readied his coffee, Midnite strode by, giving him a second glance. “Hold off on taking thatjustquite yet.”
Mads glanced up in time to see Nite rifling through his jacket pockets until he turned out a crumpled handful of little pink plastic envelopes. “What’s this?”
“Pregnancy tests.” Nite gave him a telling look.
Mads frowned as he turned one over and stared at the writing and very industrialized human packaging. “Are they magic?”
“No. I mean, they might as well be. The point is. Pee in a cup—probably can find an old deodorant cap or something—then dip this for five seconds and wait.” Nite rummaged around and popped the cap off a container of shaving cream. Mads stared at it then back up at him.
“Pee in this.” Nite gestured it at him.
“Sounds like magic to me.” Mads stared at the cap and frowned before gently taking it.
“Pee.” Nite frowned and shooed him into the restroom before shutting the door.
Mads stared at the cup and the toilet as he lined things up and contemplated the process of relaxing enough to pee.
It took a minute, some errant dribbling and a nervous pace before he wiped up, washed his hands, and flung the door open, proudly gesturing toward the cap. “There. Perform your piss magic.”
Nite blinked slowly. “Well, alright, then.”
He unwrapped the little stick, poked it into the cup, laid it atop the wrapper after, and stepped back. He leaned against the doorframe and picked at his fingernails.
“So, how do we know?” Mads stared at the stick as a wash of pee soaked through the thing, carrying with it a red dye.
“If it’s positive, you’re pregnant. If it’s negative, you’re not.” Nite shrugged.
Mads watched as the dye left a violent red line then a second one, this one slightly less dark. Two lateral lines. That meant equal? Or was it two negatives? “And what if it says equal? Or is it two negatives?”
Nite leaned over, brows high. “That’s positive.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not pregnant?” Mads shrugged. There would be other heats.
“No, I mean…” Nite flipped over another packet and pointed to the back. “Two lines is positive. The dark one, that’s just a practice line. The right one that’s lighter, that’s the one that the dye sticks to the pregnant chemicals and they are too big to keep moving, so they hang out there.” Nite’s explanation made sense, Mads supposed.
“So, this means that I’m pregnant?” Mads stared at the test, his heart skipping a beat.
“Yep,” Nite said, plucking Mads’s pillbox off the counter and giving it a shake. “Call your doc and ask him if any of your meds are problematic.”
