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“Alistair’s right,” I tell him. “Your family is stupid for not appreciating you. That’s their loss. But I appreciate you, and my family loves you. You heard Isaac today. My mother would never get over it if I let you go. Even Grandmother likes you, and believe me, that’s an achievement.”
“She’s not that bad.” He hesitates. “Though dinner tonight was… interesting.”
I scoff. “That’s one word for it. I think Wil is the only dragon she kind-of liked. Definitely she was grateful that Asher talked her out of having Fabian and Ronan stay with her.”
“I wonder what’s going on with Ronan,” Cam muses. “He obviously doesn’t want to be here. At first I thought it was the location and the weather, but he doesn’t even seem excited about the cave.”
I noticed that too. The man’s face looks like he’s being punished in the worst way possible. “Maybe there’s someone at home he doesn’t want to be apart from,” I suggest.
“Maybe. That still wouldn’t explain why he’s not even the tiniest bit interested in what’s behind the puzzle. Fabian was super excited.”
“I’m sure he’ll settle in. He might be one of those people who doesn’t show much on the outside. Steffen always looks like he thinks someone’s about to attack him. Ronan’s his brother—maybe his default is that he’s miserable and uninterested.”
That seems to cheer Cam up. “Like you demons with your faces!”
“There’s nothing wrong with my face,” I protest.
He grins, proclaims, “I like your face,” and proceeds to kiss me all over it.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Cam
“I’m kinda startingto get worried about him,” I say to Zac, my gaze on Ronan as he talks to Arne at the bar. Fabian left on Wednesday, and Ronan’s spent the time since talking to everyone who was involved in the decision to move the settlement here fifty years ago. The dragons are trying to find any information about the area that might point to what’s in the cave. And if there isn’t any, it’s still good to have. Next week, he’s going to fly to some longer-established towns and see what folklore he can pick up. We know that the area, and the village, are loosely named for the “hoard” that’s here, so there’s a good chance of dragon legends and lore too.
The only problem is that Ronan isn’t trying to hide how miserable he is. People have noticed. At first they were sympathetic and extra nice to him, but that just seemed to make it worse.
“He’s an adult,” Zac says heartlessly. “He’s not sick, just moody. He’ll be fine.”
Uh-huh. I’m not sure why people think he’s the kind, gentle cousin. “Only two hours to go until Micah gets back,” I mutter. He had a client meeting he couldn’t put off any longer. He did manage to schedule it for Saturday so I wouldn’t have to go to the cave with anyone else, which I appreciate—it would feel weird working with Zac or someone there. They don’t know my system.
Micah also voluntold Zac to have lunch with me at the pub so I wouldn’t get lonely or forget to eat. He’s always thinking of little details like that.
Zac’s been in a shitty mood all week, ever since Garrett told him off for being unsympathetic to Ronan. I think there’s probably something else going on with him too, but I’m not sure if we’re good enough friends for me to ask.
Of course, if we’re not, he’ll just snap at me. And since he’s been alternating between snappy and apologetic for the last hour, that won’t be anything new.
“What’s going on with you?” I demand.
He has the gall to look surprised. “What do you mean?”
I roll my eyes. “You’ve been Grouchy McGrouchFace for days now. C’mon. We nearly dated. You can tell me.”
To my relief, he laughs. “Next time Micah pisses me off, I’m going to remind him that Grandmother thought I was a better choice for you.” He winks at me. “It’s not too late, you know.”
Knowing Zac as I do, I’m a hundred percent sure he’s not propositioning me. “Not too late for what?”
“To tell Micah we’ve secretly fallen madly in love and want to be together.”
A choking sound gets my attention, and I look up at Ronan. He’s standing beside the table with wide eyes.
“Hey, Ronan! Join us. Have you had lunch?”
He takes a step back, gaze swinging from me to Zac and back again. “No, thanks. I just wanted to s-say… uh. To ask if I can come to the cave one day next week?”
“Of course. Just let us know which day and we’ll bring you with us.” I smile brightly at him, hoping to make him feel more at ease.
He nods and takes another step back. “Okay. Thank you.”
