Page 13 of Immortal Bonds

For a moment, Creighton considered showing the pictures to the other person. Then he remembered that these were based on real dragons that lived in San Noctis, and he didn't want to risk outing Eden or the order itself.

It wouldn't take much for someone to piece together who ordered it and where it was going. Then he'd be liable for Eden's secrets — them being exposed and the potential backlash that could be faced if these people found out. In reality, he probably should not have been making the stuffies at all.

But Eden was a friend, and the way he looked at the images made Creighton feel okay about it. No one made that type of face for something they hated. It wasn't like he was creating voodoo dolls or something. There was admiration there, and longing.

The clerk led Creighton over to the first batch of fabric. The silver was an easy match. The first few he picked up were rough, but the fourth was absolutely perfect. He didn't even need to pull the photo out to know. It was unique enough that he could sense it.

Creighton was then led to another section where the red was supposed to be. Instead of finding a perfect match like he had hoped, he was left astounded. "There's barely any red fabric here," he said, pointing to the pitiful shelves.

The clerk grabbed the back of his neck. "Not a lot of people ask for anything red these days. You know we have a low vampire population."

He did know. Part of the reason he moved to San Noctis was because they didn't have many vampires. In fact, he might have been the only one. He didn't see anyone else. And anytime he ordered at the coffee shop, it seemed as if they didn't use blood often enough to have it stockpiled like the other ingredients.

Creighton shook his head, pushing away the thoughts. "Do you have any other reds? Because this isn't going to work."

The sales associate looked out of the front store windows. Creighton knew they weren't ignoring him. More like they were probably cataloguing whatever inventory was in back so they could answer his question properly. He appreciated that, especially when the man blinked a few times and then turned back to him and said, "Actually, I might. Give me just a second."

He left Creighton standing there in the store and went through the back double doors. For a moment, Creighton stared at them, sending all the goodwill he could towards the worker in hopes that he would return with what Creighton needed.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, when he returned, he had a bundle of fabric in hand that Creighton immediately knew was it.

"Yes," he said. "This is perfect."

"Good," the other man said, "because I had to climb all the way to the tippy-top to get it."

"The tippy-top?" Creighton asked incredulously, since the store wasn't all that high.

"The shop is run by someone with magical powers. So the back is a bit of a warehouse situation where things are up really high sometimes, especially if they're not used often."

Creighton nodded in understanding. It would make sense for a store like this to have reserves and not have them easily accessible, especially for something they didn't use often. He pushed away his questioning stare in order to thank the man properly and pay for his fabrics.

He had one more store to head to before he could go back to his shop and get his work done. He'd be pulling some pretty long nights until Eden's gifts were ready.

The minute he was back outside, he felt a shift in the air. Like something was hovering nearby, or a change in the atmosphere. He chalked it up to being inside for too long. The journey back to his store was nerve-wracking. Every street he took felt like more and more eyes were on him. He cursed his inability to smell, because had he been able to pick up scents, he would know if there was more than one person or if he was simply having a moment of paranoia.

Maybe thinking about Eden's two dragons and the potential conflict it was going to cause had him in a state of unnecessary duress. By the time he made it back to his shop, Creighton's nerves were shot. He didn't want to be alone, but he also didn't want to try and go somewhere with people. That was exhausting even just as a thought.

He took a moment to gather himself, then sat down at his station to get started. He didn't have much time, and quite frankly, this was going to be a tedious job, the time constraint making it all the more important he get it done.

Why did Eden need these two dragons before the council vote, and was he going to regret taking on this job?

Time would tell.

CHAPTER 5

THALRIC

Meeting his nephew again for the first time with his mate was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Thalric had been looking forward to the exchange, yet it seemed the universe was determined to make things complicated.

Every single instance in which he tried to get time with the pair was met with an obstacle. Either they were busy spending time together and bonding, or they were in a different meeting with council members discussing options.

Meetings that, by all rights, Thalric should have been a part of, except Mira, his dear, sweet, wonderful sister, had become obsessed with spending time with him. She had forsaken a lot of her duties as queen in order to gather him up, sometimes with Silas. Other times with one of the kids, they would go round and round doing everything they used to do in their childhood like playing hide-and-seek or baking together in the kitchen.

He found himself a big brother again. He didn't mind, obviously. He loved his sister.

But he had come with a purpose. He'd come for assistance and answers. The more time he spent distracted, the less likely it would be for him to truly be active in the situation at hand.

The whole reason he came meant, of course, that the first time he met Romilly and Archer, it was because of a meeting. He'd finally told Mira that he needed to learn more about the council's wishes, and he couldn't do that if they were bonding. She'd pouted for a moment, but with help from Silas — who had come to fetch Thalric for the meeting — they convinced her that she could spend more time with him later.