Room for Three (Monsters of Veridia #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

Corin sprawled across the reading chair, one leg draped over its arm, the other stretched toward the coffee table. He'd assumed seventeen different positions in the last hour, trying to kill his boredom, trying to attract Azelon's attention.

Nothing had worked.

"I cannot believe we've been trapped in this strange building for an entire week." Corin flung an arm over his eyes. "The wilderness was at least interesting. This place is just..." He waved his free hand vaguely. "Rectangles."

Across the room, Azelon didn't bother lifting his strikingly yellow eyes from the book he was examining. His blue fingers traced the spine with evident fascination, the bioluminescent markings along his forearms pulsing softly.

"These 'rectangles' contain entire worlds." Azelon turned a page while his strong tail curled around his leg. "The stories are remarkably vivid."

Corin sighed. "Are those rectangles really more interesting than me?"

"Without question," Azelon replied, still not looking up.

The dismissal stung more than it should have.

After everything they'd been through—after Azelon had literally rescued him from his nightmares—the beautiful Tideborn still maintained this maddening distance.

Corin felt that familiar tightness in his chest, the buildup of emotions he couldn't quite contain.

Around them, the air in the bookstore grew charged, a restless energy rippling outward from where Corin lay. The lights flickered slightly. A stack of bookmarks on the counter scattered as if caught in a breeze, though no windows were open.

Azelon finally glanced up, his expression unreadable. "Control yourself."

"I am controlling myself," Corin snapped. Seriously, Azelon should know that much. "If I weren't, this whole place would be a disaster zone by now."

Before Azelon could respond, they both froze at the sound of someone crashing through undergrowth outside the store.

Corin rose from the chair and eyed the door warily.

Azelon closed his book and moved to position himself between the entrance and Corin—always the protector.

The front door burst open and a dark-haired human male stumbled inside, disheveled and wide-eyed. Leaves and twigs clung to his dark hair, and a thin scratch marked one cheek.

"Finally!" Relief washed over the human's face as he took in his surroundings. "My store!" He smiled. It was a nice smile too—until his gaze settled on Corin and Azelon.

The human straightened. "Who are you and what are you doing in my bookstore?"

The lights throughout the store flashed. Something they had never done during the week Corin had been stuck there.

How peculiar.

Who was this man?

The way he surveyed his domain, taking inventory with sharp eyes, suggested someone used to being in charge.

Interesting.

Corin approached the newcomer with his most charming smile. "Well, hello there. I'm Corin, and the walking glacier over there is Azelon." He gestured toward the Tideborn. "And you must be the owner of this delightful establishment."

The human's gaze hardened. "How did my store get here? And where are my brother and his friends?"

Corin and Azelon exchanged confused glances.

"Your store appeared about a week ago," Azelon said, his deep voice resonating in the quiet space. "There was no one inside when we arrived."

The human ran a hand through his hair, displacing more leaves. "I'm Jamie. This is—was—my bookstore on Earth."

"On Earth?" Corin echoed.

Azelon answered. "The place described in the books."

"Oh?" Corin looked at his blue-skinned companion. "So it's not a real place?"

"It's very much a real place," Jamie asserted. "And I'd like to go back there. With my store."

"Can't help you there." Corin shrugged. "Why don't you stay a little while?

Your store seems very happy to see you, at least. Since you walked in, this place has been practically purring.

" It was true too. The lights had brightened and the air in the room had warmed to a more comfortable temperature.

Was Jamie the cause of this?

The human stared at Corin for a long moment with those sharp, pretty eyes of his, then looked around more carefully. His expression shifted from skepticism to dawning wonder.

"The coffee machine," he muttered, catching sight of a gadget behind the counter which had begun working despite no one touching it.

"I sensed no magic here before you arrived," Azelon said. "You woke it up."

Jamie shook his head. "This store was never magical."

"Well, it is now." Corin watched the machine pour coffee into a cup. "It's welcoming you."

The building gave a subtle creak of agreement.

Jamie blinked, then he seemed to get a grip on himself. "Magical or not, this is my property."

"We're not disputing that," Corin assured him. "We were just seeking shelter, honest. The wilderness around here is no joke."

Jamie studied them both, gaze lingering on Azelon's blue skin, his long tail and glowing markings, then he met Corin's amber eyes, fair skin and pointy ears.

"I assume you two are not human?"

"Azelon there is specifically Tideborn," Corin supplied. "That's why he's all..." He wiggled his fingers to indicate Azelon's bioluminescence. "Glowy."

"And you?" Jamie asked, turning to Corin.

Corin grinned. "Just your garden-variety chaos fae with an inconvenient talent for projecting emotions."

"Projecting...?"

"He means his emotions affect his surroundings," Azelon explained. "And potentially yours, if you're not careful."

Jamie processed this information with remarkable composure. Then, to Corin's surprise, he walked past both of them and headed toward the counter.

"I need coffee for this conversation," Jamie announced.

Despite everything, he moved with the confidence of someone in their own domain.

Corin followed, intrigued by this human who commanded both his bookstore and the situation with such quiet authority. He glanced back at Azelon, who remained watchful, his expression guarded but eyes tracking Jamie's every move.

"So," Jamie said, picking up the mug the store had prepared for him. "You two were just squatting in my shop."

"We've been quite respectful guests," Corin insisted.

Jamie raised an eyebrow, looking pointedly at the disarrayed reading nook where Corin had been dramatically lounging.

"Right," Jamie said. "And you don't know anything about Barrier Keepers or where my friends might be?"

Azelon spoke up. "You met a Barrier Keeper?"

"One brought me here," Jamie explained.

It seemed Azelon wasn't sure how to take that. "The Barrier Keepers are ancient and powerful. They maintain the boundaries between realms. If one brought you here, it was for a purpose."

"Not a purpose he bothered to explain." Jamie sipped his coffee with a thoughtful expression.

The lights throughout the store dimmed and brightened in sequence, as if the building itself was trying to communicate.

Corin watched Jamie's expression shift as he processed the store's reaction. There was something deeper happening here, something beyond a simple building relocated to a new realm.

"I think your store might have some opinions on the matter," Corin offered.

Jamie ran his hand along the countertop. "Then it better start explaining itself," he said to the room at large. "Because I need to find my brother, and I'm not accepting 'you're stuck in another world' without a fight."

The shop creaked again, a sound almost like laughter.

Corin grinned. "Oh, I like your spirit."

He caught Azelon's expression darkening from across the room, and his grin widened further. This was about to get very interesting indeed.