21. Henry
Henry
Maya fell immediately back to sleep, though tears still streamed down her face.
Ledger looked at me in concern, but I just shook my head.
It hadn’t been her crying that had woken us; no, it was the high-pitched noise that had come from her throat before she started sobbing.
My dragon had practically forced a shift from the panicked noise, and now there was no fucking way I’d be falling asleep.
With careful movements, I shifted her so she was pressed into Ledger, and stood.
I was ninety-nine percent positive she was a phoenix—the only thing keeping me from being one hundred percent sure was the fact that I hadn’t seen her shift yet. If she wasn’t a phoenix, I had no idea what she could possibly be. I needed to talk to someone who knew more about that lore than I did.
I walked into my room and got into the shower. Nearly five a.m., and my day was already starting. It was going to be a long one, too—not only were we hosting an event here tonight, but the politics behind the Dragon Council being here were touchy.
Once fully dressed in a suit and walking downstairs, I picked up my phone to call the only person I thought would know anything about this. Croy Lee.
“Henry,” his southern accent drawled, “what can I do for you?”
I had no idea when the man slept, because every time I called him, he was awake. A wolf shifter who had separated from his pack, he worked closely with the Dragon Council as a scholar.
“Are you available to come over this morning?”
“I’m assuming you aren’t in Washington?”
I chuckled. “You would be right.”
“How does fifteen minutes sound?”
“Perfect. Be sure to bring everything you have on shifter lore,” I said before hanging up.
I really hadn’t needed to remind him—it was practically impossible for him to forget anything, considering he held the entire contents of his files not only in his head, but on his computer.
Despite having entertained myself with a stint in medical school, finally gaining my license once I turned eighteen, my real passion had been focusing on the computer system he and I had developed.
One that Microsoft and Apple had been trying to buy out for two years now.
The only reason I’d been in high school, or pretending to be, was to keep an eye on the twins.
I’d been able to complete medical school at a local university in the evenings while still attending high school during the day.
I didn’t want to consider what that said about the stringency of the programs at both Earth realm institutions.
Although, now that Maya was in the picture, I was grateful for the lie about high school.
If Washington was our sanctuary where we could act like humans, this was the limelight.
Our estate staff were already prepping for the event out back, and the media was lined up outside.
I couldn’t blame them—we were interesting, and Maya had made the morning news.
I smiled, thinking about how stunning she looked walking around this place like her cute little butt owned it.
And she did, for the record. As of this morning, our lawyers were adding her to everything.
I must have been lost in my thoughts because the purr of a Lamborghini startled me, and I slipped on my sunglasses to step outside.
Croy was a large individual, and I had no idea why he insisted on such a tiny car.
He flashed the media a wave and walked up the steps, meeting my handshake as we walked inside.
Marco was already dressed, sitting in the living room with the newspaper and a cup of coffee.
Not unusual for before eight, but then again, I didn’t think he’d been sleeping well lately.
“Croy,” Marco greeted. “Good to see you.” I hadn’t mentioned to Marco that I’d called Croy, but I’m sure he’d already figured out the reason he was here.
“You as well,” Croy drawled, his Alabama accent thick. He settled on the couch, slipping out his laptop, as I sat in an armchair and tried to figure out a way to ask him about phoenix lore.
“So what information do you need?”
“What do you know about phoenix lore?” I tried to act relaxed, but Croy’s raised eyebrows had me stilling. He put the laptop to the side and leaned forward, grabbing the coffee that had been brought out to him.
“Why the hell do you want to know about them?” He chuckled, and my dragon threatened to make a defensive noise.
I offered him a dry look, and he ran a hand through his hair.
“Alright. Well, phoenixes are a bit different than your average shifter, and unique enough that I don’t even need to look this up for you.
First, until they reach eighteen, the only real magic they possess is the ability to regenerate.
Past eighteen, they have to be the one to instigate any shift, usually through high emotions or frustration. ”
So I was at least accurate about that.
“In terms of dragon lore, phoenixes are said to be the only true mates to dragons.”
“Right,” Marco said. “There’s no such thing as a female dragon, nor are there male phoenixes.
So dragons mate with phoenixes to produce children who are dragons if they’re male, and phoenixes if they’re female.
That’s about the extent of our knowledge, though, since they’re so rare.
None of us has ever met or heard of one, other than the queen. ”
“They’re highly prized after,” Croy admitted, “considering we haven’t had any in hundreds of years.
Religious cults are said to have killed most of them off by draining their blood, believing the regenerative qualities were the same that brought their Jesus Christ back to life or something like that.
The concept became particularly popular during World War II when the Nazis were rumored to be looking for the Holy Grail and other religious items. They believed, and passed down the belief, that phoenixes were the Holy Grail of creatures.
You know humans, always looking for some type of immortality. "
Oh shit.
“Their blood, for the record, doesn’t help humans at all. Or at least, it hasn’t been shown to.
“They used to try to drain them when they were younger, weaker, and sometimes it worked, sometimes not. Some would even just be reborn again and again under that torture. No one has found if there is a true way to kill a phoenix. When they stopped being reborn, the natural assumption was that they died. I’d imagine, though, that it was something different.
After all, they are considered the greatest survivors within the supernatural world. ”
“I bet that the ‘baptism’ she mentioned was their first attempt,” I said to Marco, thinking of her story about burning during her baptism. Her mother must have drowned her, and she regenerated. This was so fucked up.
Croy went to ask what I was talking about when a soft voice sounded. “Does that mean she tried to kill me that first time?”
Smart, brilliant Maya. My head snapped around to find her standing on the grand staircase, looking into the family room in just an oversized shirt and soft robe, her thick hair laying in waves around her head like a halo.
I was so caught up on how beautiful she looked that my response times were slowed.
Several things happened at once.
A growl ripped from Croy’s chest, and Marco tried to move to block her from him, but the wolf shifter had her pinned in a blink of an eye.
I growled, jumping over the back of the couch and rushing to them, really hating that we were going to have to kill such a useful person.
But then I saw Maya’s face and placed a hand on Marco’s shoulder to stop him from moving forward.
Maya was completely and utterly unfazed by Croy.
Instead, she laid a hand on his rumbling chest and offered him a small smile. I watched in horror as Croy leaned forward to run his nose along her neck, Maya relaxing into it, a bright pink blush lighting her cheeks.
What the hell was going on here?
“You’re a wolf?” she asked curiously. Her voice seemed to snap Croy out of it, causing him to step back and mutter a curse.
I’d seen the man experience a lot of different emotions, but this? Never.
“Yeah,” he whispered, his throat still producing that sound.
“Neat.” She flashed a smile and walked past him toward the living room, picking up Marco’s coffee and curling up in his seat. The three of us were still frozen.
“What the fuck was that, Croy?” Marco asked, nearly vibrating with energy. It went without saying that Croy was as close as he could be without being family—we didn’t let many people into our house so easily—but I could see that Marco wasn’t only confused, but territorial.
Croy pinned him with a look, his eyes nearly black. “I could ask you the same fucking thing. Why is my mate here with you?”