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“You don’t worry about that,” I say, trying to smile, though it trembles around the edges. “Erik protected you, didn’t he?”
Lilli nods her head again, looking up at Erik with wide eyes. “You’re the biggest dragon I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh, have you seen many dragons?” Erik asks with a chuckle.
“I see them on TV all the time,” Lilli says. She dips her cookie in her milk, takes another bite, and then says, “You were a good ‘tector, too, Mommy. You called the sun and made all the bad guys go away.”
Tears prick at the corners of my eyes, and I ruffle Lilli’s hair. “Of course, little bug. I’ll always protect you.” I reach into a basket on the countertop behind me and pull out Lilli’s headphones. “Want to watch a movie?”
A couple minutes later Lilli is ensconced in a movie playing on my laptop, her headphones over her ears so she can’t hear what Erik and I are about to discuss. Erik stands in front of me in a wide-legged stance, arms crossed over his chest.
“Thanks for that back there,” I say. “I’ve never seen a dragon shifter in action up close.”
There was something so raw, so primal, about Erik in the form of his beast. It made me feel like a princess in a fairytale. If the princess had really naughty thoughts about the dragon…
“You were pretty impressive yourself,” Erik says, snapping me out of the gutter. “Those runes were wicked cool.”
I smile, despite everything. But it falls again just as quickly. “To be completely honest, I was really hoping this whole time that you were wrong about the Night Guild. But they found me after all.” I suck in a shaky breath. It feels surreal. Surreal and terrifying.
“I wish that I were,” Erik says with a frown.
“What were those things back there?”
“Shadow goblins,” he responds. “Your light show scared them off, but they’ll be back in greater numbers. The fact that the Guild sent them after us changes things.” He pauses and takes a step closer, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Listen, I need to get you and Lilli out of here. I’m going to call in some of my colleagues, and once you’re gone, I’ll wait for those bastards to show back up, and then I’ll make one of them talk. Lead me back to the ones in charge of all this.”
I shake my head. “No way. I’m not leaving.”
“Astrid—”
“Hear me out. I know there’s something in my books about balancing Darkness and Light.” I shake my head in frustration. “I just need time to find it, and then we can change the rules of this fight. Change them once and for all.”
“Time is something we don’t have,” Erik says grimly. “You and Lilli need to get somewhere safe right away.” He pulls out his phone and sends a quick text. “They’ll be here soon.”
“Who?”
“Some of the dragon shifters who work for me, and a witch from the Raven Society,” he says. “The dragons will fly the witch here, since she’s never been here before, and then they’ll use a transportation spell to get you out of here. You’ll be in Scotland in a matter of moments. They’ll put some spells on you to keep you from being tracked. From there, you’ll fly dragon express to my home in Switzerland.”
I blink. “You came up with all of that just now?”
Erik smiles. “I’ve been in this line of business a long time.”
“That’ll buy us some time, but it still doesn’t solve the ultimate problem.” I can feel a frenetic buzz of magic running through my veins. “Until the Night Guild is taken down, Lilli and I won’t be truly safe.”
“You’re right,” Erik says softly. “None of us are, not until we get rid of them. But you’ll be as safe as anyone can be.” He takes another step closer to me, his chest brushing up against mine. He runs one hand down my arm and squeezes my hand. Heat runs through my body like a streak of lightning everywhere he touched. “I promise you, Astrid, I will do everything in my power to keep you and Lilli safe.”
“If you really mean that,” I say softly, “Then you’ll let me help you. We can fix this, Erik. Once I find the spell I’m looking for, we can end this.”
Conflict flashes over his face. “But what about Lilli?”
I turn and look at her, sitting there eating her second cookie, the glow from the laptop playing over her face. “She should still go to your house,” I say, my words leaden as they fall from my lips. “As long as you promise me the Raven Society will protect her as well as I would. The Society hasn’t exactly been kind to me in the past.”
Erik squeezes my hand. “It sounds like the coven here is behind the times, and they’ve treated you poorly. But I swear to you that my friends running things now would never judge Lilli because she’s part fae. They’re fighting against just that kind of bigotry. She’ll be safe with them. And with my own shifter guards.”
I suck in another deep breath. “Okay.” I glance over at Lilli. “I think it may be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but if sending her away is what keeps her safe, that’s what I have to do.”
