A taxi pulled up by the curb, and Teresa climbed out.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Princess Charming,” Gabriel said. “Huh. She somehow looks a little less bitchy this morning.”
Winthrop had been sitting on the bench next to theirs with a scowl on his face, looking as glum as ever. He glanced up when Teresa walked towards them.
“Gabriel, I need to talk to you privately,” Kelly said, and he let her tug him away, heading down the sidewalk and leaving Teresa and Winthrop alone. Teresa sat down on the bench next to Winthrop.
“What’s happening over there?” Gabriel stared at them in astonishment.
Kelly snorted. “What do you think’s happening? Okay, let me explain it to you. Sometimes, a boy and a girl like each other very very much…”
“Really? Teresa and Winthrop?” He looked at Kelly questioningly, then glanced over at the two of them again. “Yeah, I could see it. They’ve got a lot in common. They’re both like human versions of Eeyore the Donkey.”
Kelly strangled on a laugh. “Oh God. No, no, no. Now I’ll never get that image out of my mind.”
“You’re welcome.”
Winthrop and Teresa were leaning in close, and Teresa was saying something to him, with an intense look in her eyes.
Then Winthrop reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Oh my God,” Gabriel said to Kelly in a low, shocked voice. “That look on his face. I’ve never seen that before. It’s terrifying. He’s…he’ssmiling.”
A few minutes later, Teresa and Winthrop seemed to have reached some kind of agreement, because Teresa actually smiled back as Winthrop pulled out his cell phone and began entering her number into it. That was the first genuinely happy smile Kelly had seen on Teresa’s face in ages, she realized. Whenever she’d been with Chad, her smile had had a tense, frantic quality to it.
Off in the distance, Kelly heard the sound of sirens. She glanced at Gabriel, who was frowning now. “They’re heading north,” he observed. “The same direction those dragons flew a little while ago. Well, whatever’s happening, I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.”
As the Kingsleys wrapped up their business a little while later, several patrol cars pulled up and parked next to Gabriel.
Principe Teague climbed out, accompanied by half a dozen dragon centurions. Calder climbed out of one of the cars.
“What a surprise to see you here,” Teague said. “Why is it that every time you’re nearby, something bad happens to the Maplethorpes?”
“Fortunate coincidence,” Gabriel said with a nasty smile, his eyes blazing red. Kelly smelled a faint hint of sulfur as smoke drifted from his nostrils.
“You don’t have any proof that they have anything to do with this,” Calder said to Teague with annoyance.
“I’m your Principe.” Teague’s lips curled back in a snarl. “You do not question me in front of others.” His centurions gathered behind him, their expressions hostile.
“You’re the Principe of the ice dragons. I work for the Dragon Elders, not for you.”
“The last thing we need is your help,” Gabriel snapped at Calder.
Calder snorted. “Good, because I’m not trying to help. I want to see the investigation done properly, and the right people punished for this crime. At this moment, despite what Teague is saying, the centurions have no reason to think it’s you.”
“No reason? Every time there’s an attack on the Maplethorpes, they’re right there!”
“They’re three miles from the house.” Calder met Teague’s gaze with a steady, unflinching glare.
“Punished for what? What happened this time?” Tabitha said irritably. “Did Pandora’s extensions catch on fire?”
“Very close,” Teague said, his eyes glowing blue. “The Maplethorpes’ house caught on fire. Four fire dragons flew over it and burned it to a crisp. If the Maplethorpes had been home at the time, they’d have been killed.”
There were several gasps of shock and surprise from the Kingsley family members.
“Nice try,” Teague sneered. “So you’re pretending you didn’t know? That’s what we’re going with?”
He glanced over at Kelly. “Got anything to say for yourself? We’ve been doing some checking up on you. You can manipulate power gems, which means that you shouldn’t have anything to do with the Kingsleys.”
