Chapter Four
Xav
Daliah was taller than I expected her to be from the time I spotted her video chatting with Teddy. She was a dragoness after all, but her name and voice put in mind of someone much more petite. She carried herself well even if her voice was uncertain as she called out for her brother again. Part of me wanted to dissolve into ice and chase her down the alley. Mosly because it would’ve entertained Sequin to the ends of Earthside, but Liatris would bitch at me for hours. Not that he was my boss but his latest lecture points to me and Selt were on the ethics of magic. Apparently, we both lacked in that department. I was the same as I’d always been. Just on the Starscale worlds that meant I stood out against the backdrop of everyone tripping over themselves to be extra nice.
“Sequin?” Daliah said again as the door fully opened and she slipped outside.
“Daliah,” Sequin said, trying to cross his arms while still holding onto my hand. Since he didn’t want to let go of me he ended up with his arms only half crossed and holding my hand – my casting hand – against his chest. Since Daliah didn’t smell like she was there to fight I let him keep his hold on it. Besides, touching him made this whole thinking like a walking, talking human a lot easier. Not that I randomly dissolved in front of anyone else, but his scent alone was enough to put me at ease. Besides, he saw me in my most basic form and didn’t run off screaming into the night.
“Can I help you?” Sequin asked a second later when Daliah hadn’t said anything else.
“I--- Over the family link, I felt---” she tripped over her words and Sequin didn’t bother to help her.
I almost didn’t take pity on her. I almost left her hanging with her tail out in the breeze as her brother would’ve been happy to do but she was here. She was trying. She smelled like she was trying at least. Let her have an inch. I reached out with the hand not clutched to Sequin’s chest and introduced myself as her brother’s mate.
“So, I haven’t lost my mind. Having kids is enough to make you feel like you have,” she said and smoothed down her hair. “If I can get your email, I’ll send you the schedule for all the wedding stuff. I think there’s still time to get you fitted for everything. Maybe you can make sure Sequin is there on time.”
Sequin’s grip on my hand tightened enough that I didn’t promise her anything. Instead, I told her the truth. I did not in fact have an email. She blinked at me as if I was telling a funny joke.
“I’m not lying. I only got a permanent phone recently,” I shrugged. “Barely use it. In fact, I don’t even have it right now. It’s in the diaper bag but don’t worry. I won’t keep Sequin from going to anything he wants to attend. He’ll be there – wherever there is – as much as he wants to.”
Daliah scowled at her brother, and I fought off the urge to step in front of him. This wasn’t a fight. Well, not that sort of fight anyhow. A puff of smoke came from her nose and then a ring wafted from behind me. The dragons were having some sort of smoke off. Fire burnt hot within me. I could be fire too. I enjoyed being fire even if it was more destructive than ice if I didn’t watch it. I imagined the blaze burning over my skin until I was only blaze.
“You set him on fire!” Daliah said, moving forward as if to slap out the fire burning in my hair.
I dodged her hand, laughing.
“A trick?” she blinked, her scent shifting to feeling foolish as if my fire were a prank.
“A natural ability. All the smoke got it worked up,” I shrugged. “Look, I’m more than happy to play mediator. I won’t say I’m unbiased because no one is. What I will say is that you two wouldn’t fight so much if you didn’t care about each other. If you really hated each other you’d be no contact or have killed each other by now.”
“I don’t hate him. I want him back,” she crossed her arms and scrunched her eyebrows together in a way that made her look more like Sequin.
“From me?” I arched a brow, feigning ignorance.
“From how far he’s crawled up his own ass.”
“He’s yet to show me that trick,” I said and stepped fully in front of Sequin.
Her eyes widened and flicked to both of my hands. Sequin still had the one and I wasn’t about to hit or cast on her. Her shoulders relaxed. She was just as lost as Sequin on how to fix this. I wanted to drag my mate away from all the people both mine and his and forget about all the stupid social rules of Moonscales and Starscales. Except, there was the wedding. Shit! Would he expect me to have a big wedding like Daliah and Rosemary were having? I wasn’t wearing a robe dress for anyone. I’d rather get married in fig leaves.
“You missed the fitting tonight,” Daliah said as if she couldn’t think of anything else to say. “I was going to be mad at you. I am mad at you but then I checked the family link and here you were with him! You didn’t text me or poke me or anything. Sequin, what do you want me to do? She’s not in your house anymore. She’s not moving Mom’s stuff anymore. I don’t know what else you want. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life apologizing for wanting my mate to be happy. I hoped when you met yours, you’d see but maybe you can’t.”
I glanced at Sequin over my shoulder. He opened and closed his mouth.
“Maybe he wants you back too, Daliah,” I said, hoping I picked up on what he wanted to say correctly.
“I haven’t gone any fucking where! People change! That’s what we’re supposed to do!” she growled, tossing her hands up in the air.
“Then maybe you’ve just grown so much you’ve outgrown me,” Sequin growled back.
I almost stepped aside and let them argue it out but didn’t trust my already tingling fire to behave itself if they fought like dragons. Two against one was never fair and now that my ‘cat’ was out of the bag I had no reason to stay solid and take any hit that might’ve come my way. So I stayed put hoping my unfamiliarity would keep the siblings from coming to blows.
“Do you smoke?” I tossed the question out into the alley way.
“I used to but---” Daliah said.
“Rosemary would kill you?”
“It would’ve stained the walls and Sequin wanted nothing to do with that,” Daliah corrected me.
“Here, take one. No walls to stain out here,” I said, offering her the pack. “We all just need to take a step back. I know I’m the odd guy out here, but I don’t know what you’re fighting over. I thought I did but I’m not sure I do. So, maybe if we all just took a step back, we could figure that out. Is your tailor still around? Maybe they could go ahead and do his fitting and you all could tell me what the hell happened.”
“He doesn’t care about the fitting,” Dahlia rolled her eyes taking a long drag off the cigarette. When it hit her soul, some of the tension fled her shoulders and she mumbled something about how much she missed smoking.
“Maybe that’s because black and pink are weird wedding colors,” Sequin said, and I rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“Okay, Teddy’s right,” I said, lighting up my own cigarette.
“About what?” They asked in sync.
“That you two just need some time apart from each other.”
“Not while I’m trying to get this wedding together and then there will be your wedding too!” Daliah said, taking another drag.
“I’ll get married at Sandy’s and make everyone come dressed up as meatballs if you fucking get under my scales about that, Daliah!” Sequin growled and I laughed before I could stop myself.
“And here I was thinking you’d grow up when you met him,” Daliah said, jabbing her cigarette in my direction. “I came out here because Rosemary thought it’d be a good idea to offer you a chance to have a double wedding. I told her it wouldn’t fix anything! I told her!”
“So, you didn’t even want to talk to me! Rosemary made you!” Sequin growled and I rubbed the bridge of my nose again.
“No! I didn’t! I knew you’d be like this!”
“You’re in love with her and that’s great but I’m not going to make your woman my personality!” Sequin growled. “It’s like you met her and she gobbled you up and spat you out and now you only like what she likes!”
Daliah threw her hands up, thanked me for the cigarette, and stalked back into the club. Part of me thought I should’ve gone after her but that was probably more what Sequin wanted to do than what I did. Instead, I turned to face him. His eyes were misted over but he shook his head. Some things couldn’t be fixed but I didn’t count their relationship among them.
“We can go after her, if you want,” I offered.
“You don’t have to be that sort of sweet,” Sequin shook his head.
“What sort of sweet? The sort where I don’t want you upset if something can make it better?” I stepped closer to him, sliding my hands on his hips.
“The sort where it’s the first night we met and you offer to chase after my sister instead---” he blushed. “Well, instead of all the things mates normally do.”
“Well, I don’t know about Moonscales, but as for me, I want my mate happy. Romping can wait if it needs to. I want you, Sequin, but I want all of you and I want all of you happy.”
“Then you met me at a really bad time.”
“That’s fair,” I nodded. “Fair but changeable, I think.”
“Can we go for a walk?” Sequin asked and I offered him my arm.