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I picked up some of the books I had bought at the bookstore a few days ago, piled them up on one of the side tables, sat on the couch right beside them, and browsed through them.
“Are we having a party?”
I glanced up. Roman entered the living room, cutting a dashing figure in a dark suit. He smiled at me. I smiled back, though I wished that my heart had lurched at the sight of him. He might be my mate, but my memories were all so banged up, the bond seemed to be lost in there too.
“If Ivy had her way, we’d have a party at least twice a day.”
“What? No. At least three times.” She winked at me.
Roman sat beside me, eyeing the books on the table and the one in my hand. “How many have you finished?”
“None, to be honest.”
He mocked gasped. “Raika isn’t reading a book per day? That’s impossible. Are you sick?”
I hit his arm with the book. “I’ve been busy with training.”
“And keeping me busy,” Ivy said.
“What, would you rather be out looking for the dragon yourself?”
“Oh goodness, no. That’s why we have soldiers. They do the dirty work for us.”
I laughed, grabbing the next book in the pile. It was a middle-grade fantasy book about a warrior girl. What was this doing here? I wasn’t into middle grade, was I? Maybe in the past, when I was their age. For some reason, I felt like adult fantasy suited me better … but this one. I turned the book in my hand, puzzled.
“Is there something wrong?” Roman asked. “You seemed to like that book in the bookstore.”
I did? I thought back to our time at the bookstore. It felt hazy, as if I couldn’t recall the trip. I inhaled sharply. Oh no, what if I lost even my new memories? What if I had one of those memory problems where the person could only remember the last hour or day, or whatever.
My heart pounded against my rib cage. I needed Dot. She could look into this, into my mind. And—
The sound of the front door opening echoed outside the living room. We all stood as footsteps neared us. A maid appeared in the doorway and gestured for someone to come forward.
A man walked into the living room. I stared, taken aback by his appearance. He was tall, probably six-three, with broad shoulders, and strong arms, mostly apparent from underneath the sleeveless leather vest he wore, along with matching pants and combat boots. A large crossbow peeked out from across his back. He regarded us with his dark green eyes before running a hand over the top of his head. His light brown hair was longer, the side shaved short. However, the most intriguing part of him was the deep, light red scar across his left eye and eyebrow. It didn’t take one bit away from the beauty of his face and the sharpness of his features.
Ivy stood. “You must be the bounty hunter.”
The man inclined his head in agreement. “Kaz, at your service.” His voice was deep and rough.
“Come.” She beckoned him forward. “My father will join us shortly and—“
“I’m here.”
I snapped my head at the sound of his voice. My father marched through the entrance from the dining room, Rotgar close at his heels. My father wore a nice suit and looked slightly better. Dot’s potion must have done the trick, for now.
I stood to meet him, but he waved me off.
Rotgar stood by the wall again, while my father took his usual armchair and gestured for Kaz to take a seat. The bounty hunter didn’t hesitate. He slipped his crossbow from his back. Ivy and Roman tensed. Knowing Ivy, she had her darkfire at her fingertips, ready to blast the stranger if he as much as looked at our father the wrong away.
I frowned, realizing I hadn’t had the same reaction. I sat there, watching everything as if it was a movie playing on the TV.
The bounty hunter rested the crossbow beside the armchair right across from my father and sat down, facing him fully. Didn’t he know who he was dealing with, or was he always this brazen?
Shooting a veiled look at me, Ivy sat too.
My father narrowed his eyes at Kaz. “We heard you’re the one to hire to capture big creatures.”
“Yes, sir. Anything you need.”
