AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Keon pulled me close while I shook.
Mahon, though, gave a little exasperated flick of his head. “Lemuria is used to dealing with powerful Ethereals with exotic capabilities. These things have happened before, and they will probably continue to happen. You are just the newest entry in an existing file.”
My eyes welled up with emotional tears.
Keon kissed my hair.
We went back to West while I tried not to think about anything. Because invariably I thought aboutfalling, and I started to feel myself fall backwards, and I had to clutch Keon’s wrist to steady myself again.
We got sideways looks as we walked through West’s streets, Mahon with his splattered firefly skin, Keon slightly charred a deep bronze all over, and me like I’d lost a war with a flaming grape monster. Mahon ignored them all and pretended like absolutely nothing unusual had happened. In fact, instead of going to the roost, he insisted that we find a proper meal.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I gestured with my grape-stained hands.
“Yes.”
“But there will be questions,” I muttered. “And that means rumors. And hashtags.”
“And this is a new and novel experience for you how?”
“I can see why Dekka loves you.”
We ended up at one of the smaller eateries that wasn’t on my favorites list, but Mahon enjoyed their unique blend of tea and spicy kale chips, and it was out of the way without beingtooout of the way. I pulled apart my steamed bun to expose the delicious mulberry center before taking a bite. Dragons stared at us as we ate, and the owner tried to maintain her composure while trying not to stare at my hands, which drew attention to the purple in my hair, and when we made eye contact, I knew what she saw.
That I had purple eyes. And not the human version, but the dragon version: distinctly luminescent discs of color with no limbal ring, and a bright, vivid shade of lilac. Nobody was ever going to argue I had blue eyes that appeared violet in the right lights. My eyes werewhat brand of colored contacts are you wearingshades of violet now. Oh, and the purple shocks going through my hair, and how the rest of my previously brown hair now reflected violet and purple. Like Auryn’s dark hair reflected gold, not blue.
She almost dropped the trays as she set them down on the table.
Mahon sipped his tea.
Keon scrolled through his tablet. I didn’t have the courage to look at mine. But Keon was frowning thoughtfully as he moved through a number of different feeds and windows.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Aside from just about everything.
“Nothing. I need to go to a meeting. Hekon has the file bundles segmented and we’re ready to move to the next step of analyzing what exactly we have. But he wants to do it in person. Brainstorming.”
“You aren’t allowed to tell her anything,” Mahon reminded Keon. “It all goes through Dekka.”
I sighed.
“But you are welcome to dance for her as you see fit.” Mahon managed to be both utterly disapproving and totally deadpan at the same time.
Keon and I blinked.
Mahon wasn’t done. “In fact, I’m beginning to wonder why I do not see and hear more of you. I see a great deal of the other consorts, but you are not even like an irritating cat that cannot decide what side of the door he wants to be on. Are you unfamiliar with doors?”
“Mahon,” I whisper-whined.
“I didn’t want to impose,” Keon replied like Mahon wasn’t spilling hot tea all over his lap.
“Impose? Were you not aware she and her consorts have an entire floor? That we have built it out for her, as one does for adult offspring?” Mahon replied. “Perhaps the other consorts forgot to mention she is no longer relegated to a mere room, but has a roost of her own. Third floor.”
I tried to dissolve into goo. Didn’t work.
Mahon threw one last bit of shade. “I presume youdounderstand the function of stairs.”
“I am acquainted with both stairsanddoors.”
“How excellent. I will not even have to explain locks to you, since we have none. Now.” Mahon dismissed him with a flick of his fingers. “You have somewhere to be and it would be rude for me to keep a Wyrm waiting.”
