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Now, the penthouse smelled of perfume and faint smoke. Not a surprise with her brother being a dragon mated to a fire elemental. The scent remained even though those two stayed in human form—thank goodness, since her brother’s inner beast had stretched as long as a semi-truck the one time he’d let that side of himself out during the Senate massacre. He and his girlfriend Mina had saved the rest of the witch world.
“You sure you’re okay with me leaving you to go to the party tonight?” Josh asked, coming out of the bedroom he shared with Mina in a fancy suit that must’ve been custom-tailored to fit him. He glanced at the ruined cityscape out the windows. He didn’t give her time to answer. “I’ll stay here with you instead. Mina can call her sisters, and I’m sure their men can cover—”
“I don’t need a babysitter.” Joelle didn’t want to remain cooped up inside, let alone with an overprotective dragon of a brother. She forced a smile. “Go to your party. Everyone expects Mina to be there, and do you want your mate being flirted with by every eligible witch bachelor? I mean she’s practically a queen now. Who wouldn’t hope to match with her, since you two haven’t been officially outed onThe Hex Reportyet?”
Josh made a rumbling noise that sounded suspiciously like a growl. “I don’t know why you read that gossip site. It’s nothing but trash talk and rumors.”
“Your grandmother loves it.”
A dark flush stained her brother’s face all the way to the tips of his ears. “My grandma also thinks I’ve married aprincesaand waits for a big wedding so she can invite her witch friends.”
“Who do you think sends me links to the latest articles fromThe Hex Report? Without your grandmother, I wouldn’t know about the official fall of the Senate, your witch’s rise in power, or tonight’s party since you tell me nothing.”
“I don’t want you going out there trying to help again like you did at the massacre.”
“Trying to help? When I, along with your witch girlfriend and her sisters, saved the world from a terrible prophecy?” Joelle fought the rage simmering through her. She’d had enough of being treated like a sheltered child. “I don’t need a keeper.”
“We had barely got you away from the Order, and you almost died. Hell, my girlfrienddiddie and even your healing powers couldn’t save her.”
“But you brought her back to life. You gambled everything on your ability to come back from dragon form even though you’d been warned it was impossible. You risked it all for true love. I’m just asking you to trust me to leave this penthouse without immortal guards now and then.” She raised her voice, tired of navigating everyone else’s emotional landmines. “I’m a grown woman, not your baby sister.”
“It’s not safe,” he bellowed back. “And you’re still my sister whether you like it or not.”
She sucked in a breath. “That’s not what I meant. We’re family no matter what.”
Mina hurried into the room, fire sparking from her fingertips. “What’s going on out here?” She rub her hands together and shook them, putting out the sparks. “I thought I’d have to vanquish some big scary monster, but no, it’s just a silly sibling squabble.”
Josh huffed. “As if you and your sisters haven’t almost leveled a few buildings with some of your arguments.” He crossed the expensive rugs to kiss his witch’s curls. “You look beautiful.”
He’d spoken the truth. Joelle hadn’t seen a dress like Mina’s outside of magazines, television, and celebrity gossip sites. It made her look like the embodiment of her elemental magic. Joelle grinned at her. “Stunning. You’ll steal the spotlight from the reality stars. They won’t know who’s part of the show and who’s a celebrity guest.”
“Really?” The witch royal who had captured the hearts of every journalist atThe Hex Reportran a hand along her side. “Not that I’m a celebrity. I’m so nervous. Other than meetings with political alliances, I haven’t been out in public since the Senate fell.”
“You’ll be great,” Joelle said, not doubting her almost sister-in-law. “Smile, wave, enjoy the human party without the pressure of having to be in charge for a night. Besides, according toThe Hex Report, Witch’s Bane will be there.” She and Mina both loved the witch rock band’s rebellious music. “You’d better get going to make it past the mobs of fans.”
Mina blinked. “Did you want to go? I could’ve called and asked them to add you to the list.”
Josh held their embossed invitation in his hand. “Or I can stay here with you.”
Shaking her head, Joelle told him, “Stop being the overprotective brother and go to the party with your mate.” She didn’t want them hovering any more than she wanted to stay locked in yet another house.
“Don’t leave the penthouse,” Josh said. “The fridge is stocked, and we’ll be back soon.”
They left, and the apartment seemed massive without them. Between the expert soundproofing and the thirty floors between her and the streets, the place was near silent. A helicopter thumped by at eye level, and she remembered the ride away from Alexei, how she’d thought she would see him again.
According to her brother, the demon prince had met with Mina several times to save the city and plan for interspecies partnerships, and he hadn’t asked about Joelle. Not once.
Of course, her one tiny mention of the man’s name had brought on a long list of reasons why shemust nottalk to her rescuer.
She headed for her room, a night of streaming television sounding better than watching the flashing red and blue strobes of cop cars below, the searchlights against the darkening sky announcing distant clubs, or the blackened concrete foundations where historic buildings had stood only weeks ago. Sinking her toes into the plush carpets in the hallway beneath the framed magazine covers of Alexei’s supermodel cousin, she paused outside the goblin royal’s former room. Josh remained in denial about his uber-famous roommate leaving this realm for good. He kept the door closed and her things exactly as she’d left them.
Joelle stopped at the door, her hand on the knob. She shouldn’t. She hadn’t before, and for good reason. It would be an invasion of privacy…except, if the woman truly had gone to the goblin realm to serve as their queen with the only passage closed forever, then who would know if she took a quick peek?
Waiting for alarms to go off or a magical ward to trip, she walked into the room, taking in the racks of shoes, shelves of photographs, and so much gold. The sparkling color had been woven into the bedspread, the rugs, the drapes, even the wallpaper. A huge vanity dominated one wall with a lighted mirror, rows of product, and makeup brushes in every size imaginable.
A prickling sensation danced over the nape of her neck.Paranoid much?Looking over her shoulder toward the empty hall, she felt ridiculous. She was alone. No one would care if she snuck a look at the pretty things. In one of the photos on the top shelf, she spied Alexei with his arms wrapped around his supermodel cousin and a shorter woman, all looking elegant in formal wear.
Glancing down, Joelle compared her own outfit with the mustard stain across her chest to the glamorous group. She only owned four pair of yoga pants and a few t-shirts with graphics of cartoon puppies and kittens. No wonder everyone treated her like an overgrown kid.
