Chapter 16
Sixteen
Zamir
"You know, guys don't like when girls wear that much makeup. Natural is so much better," a guy who needed some manners said as he eyed Sofia, and I narrowed my eyes. Nolan grabbed my hand before I could give the guy a good talking-to, and shook his head.
Sofia, on the other hand, smirked as she leaned over the counter, her smoky eyeshadow making her eyes pop. "Well, I wear makeup for myself and women, and if it keeps pests like you away, then that's a bonus, isn't it?"
The man watched her with a stupefied look, then turned red, mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like, "Fuck you, bitch," and stalked away.
Sofia grinned at Nolan, who shook his head. I, on the other hand, was thoroughly impressed.
Closing the distance between us, I grabbed her hands and squeezed lightly, careful of her fragile human bones. "You're awesome. Can we be friends?"
A delighted laugh spilled from her lips, and she nodded, her eyes flicking from me to Nolan. "I can see now how you managed to get him to take multiple days off in a week," she joked, and Nolan rolled his eyes, then turned away, as if he wanted no part of this conversation.
"I have my ways," I said with a chuckle, and she shot me a knowing look.
"I'd love to be friends, Zamir. This one always rejects my invites, but maybe you can change his mind. A few friends and I are going camping this weekend. We do stuff like that often. Would you like to come?"
I blinked, surprised by the invite. And why did Nolan say no?
I glanced back at him, brow raised, and he shrugged. "Whatever you want."
"Damn, I gotta get myself a mate," Sofia mumbled, and my gaze snapped back to hers.
"You know about mates?"
She smiled. "My stepdad's a shifter. Anyway, what do you think? Camping?"
"It sounds like fun." It did sound like fun. From my childhood, the thing I'd missed the most—other than my father when he wasn't trying to feed me—was living out in nature. While the Forest was similar, we still had houses and all the necessities, so it wasn't the same.
"Awesome! Give me your number, and I'll text you the details."
We swapped numbers, and then Sofia went back to work as I stood leaning against the counter, and watched the crowd bustle around. The view from back here was much different, and I wondered if I'd be able to convince Nolan to dance with me at some point.
He checked in with me between taking orders and serving drinks, and I liked watching him work.
When we first got together, Nolan had told me he'd cut himself off from people because he couldn't handle losing another person he cared about, and yet I didn't think he had. Not truly.
He shared a closeness with Sofia that went further than a simple boss/employee relationship, and he'd spent a few minutes chatting with the bouncer—a shifter dude I now suspected was Sofia's stepdad—when we first got here.
He'd chosen a profession that involved meeting and chatting with new people every day.
Nolan was as far from being cut off, and he simply didn't see it. It was sweet, in a way. His heart was too big for him to keep it closed, and while I didn't doubt his many losses hadn't hurt, I also knew he was stronger than he believed himself to be.
"Can I buy you a drink?"
I blinked, then realized the man seated on the stool across the counter had said that to me. He smiled at me, all charming and bright, and I raised a brow at him. "You're asking me?"
"You are the hottest man around, so yeah," he said, and I opened my mouth, then snapped it shut, unsure how to respond.
It turned out I didn't need to answer him at all because Nolan swooped in—wasn't he at the other end of the counter when I last looked up?
—and slid his arm around my waist, turning me so my back was to the flirty human.
With his other hand, he tilted my chin up, then placed a long, claiming kiss on my lips.
My legs went shaky as I clung to him and kissed back, as the loud music, the people's voices, the scent of sweat and peanuts and the sharp tang of alcohol disappeared into nothingness until all I could feel, hear, smell, and touch was Nolan.
When we separated, it took me a moment to remember where we were.
I slid my fingers through my hair as Nolan stepped back, winked at me, and went over to serve a different customer.
I glanced over at Sofia. Her face was red, her lips pressed together in a thin line, and for a moment I wondered if she was flustered by our display, but then she cracked up, and I realized she'd been trying to hold back her laughter.
"Oh my God," she gasped out as she bent over, clutching the counter with one hand, her belly with the other as she tried to catch her breath. "I've never ever seen Nolan act like that."
I smiled, sheepish, and discovered the man who'd been flirting with me had quietly slid away at some point. "Uh..."
Sofia shook her head, then stood up straight, her smile softening. "I'm glad. Nolan's been alone for way too long. You're good for him."
The words warmed my chest, and I nodded, grateful.
Sofia went back to work, and I sidled up to Nolan, waiting until he'd finished serving the customer to say, "So..."
Nolan turned to face me, his cheeks pink. Taking my hand, he led me away from the counter and back toward the shelves stacked with various bottles of alcohol.
"I'm sorry about the way I behaved," he murmured, his cheeks still flushed.
"I'm not," I said with a shrug, earning a surprised look from him.
"I like it when you get all dragony. It makes me feel.
.. adored," I settled on, not wanting to use the L-word when he hadn't done it himself yet.
I could see the way he felt about me, but that didn't mean I didn't want to hear it when he was ready.
Nolan
I leaned down and kissed Zamir again, unable to resist the urge. Hearing him say he liked the possessive shit I'd pulled... it made my dragon happy. Really, really happy.
Zamir's hand rested on my chest, right over my heart, as if he knew it belonged to him.
Before now, I'd always given pieces of my heart to the people I loved, but Zamir?
Zamir got my whole heart, and I wasn't the least bit terrified of losing it, of losing him.
I would destroy the world before I let that happen.
Zamir pulled back with a chuckle, and patted my chest. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea, me coming here. I keep distracting you."
"I like having you here," I said, and his dark eyes twinkled as he shook his head.
Around two in the morning, I walked Zamir back to the Sanctuary, and he kissed me at the door before disappearing inside after I promised to be at the door at ten tomorrow.
His excitement was infectious, and as I walked back to my place, I wondered about his friends. I'd met Haruto and Liam, but the others I was curious about. Especially the centaur, since I'd never met one of his kind before. They stuck together in herds, and lived deep in the woods.
I'd started living among humans a long time ago, and even when I ventured into the woods, I'd never gone as far as I would've had to.
I also wanted to meet the sorcerer, if only so I could help him. Zamir clearly cared about the man, and if I could do anything to make his—and Zamir's—life easier, I'd like to try.
Thinking about the sorcerer made me think of another I'd known a few centuries ago. I wondered what'd happened to him. Had he ever escaped? Was he still alive, or long dead?
He was one of the few regrets in my life, someone I'd failed to help, and I hoped that he was okay, wherever he was.
At home, I fed everyone, took the dogs to the backyard, and then finally sank into my mattress.
My sheets still smelled like Zamir, and I dragged in deep lungfuls.
His scent calmed me, made me feel drowsy and content, and soon enough, I was asleep, though my swirling thoughts followed me into my sleep, and I dreamed of the sorcerer I'd failed so very badly.
*****
"You look strong."
I jumped, then turned to look at the person who'd managed to sneak up on me. A kid, I realized. Fifteen at the most.
"So do you," I said, and he raised a brow at me. Of course, anyone who looked at him would see a gangly teen who was all skin and bones. No one would look at him and think 'strong.' But they wouldn't see him the way I could.
While his physical body was just shy of malnourished, his magic was robust. A sorcerer who would do big things some day, I was sure.
He sized me up for a long moment, his brows twitching. He wanted to say something, I could tell, but he was indecisive.
Pulling out an apple from the bag of groceries I'd purchased, I offered it to him. He stared at the fruit as if I'd offered him jewels from my hoard—not that I had jewels in my hoard—then took it with trembling fingers.
His teeth sank into the apple, his eyes fluttered shut, and I felt the unbearable need to pull him into a hug and shield him from whatever circumstances kept him from having a good life.
A few bites and the apple was gone. I reached for another one, but he shook his head.
"I need help."
"What do you need?" I asked, and he blinked, as if he hadn't expected that.
"I can—I can pay you back," he said, his voice catching. "I know spells. I can work for you. Or do something else. Anything."
His sharp blue eyes gave me a quick onceover, and I swallowed. What trouble was this child in, that he was willing to do anything to get out?
I eyed him for a moment, and concluded that refusing would be the wrong choice. He needed to feel like it was a debt he could pay back, needed to know I wouldn't hold this over him.
"I run shelters for people in need. Here, and in a few other towns. You can help me with them." He nodded quickly, and I smiled. "Now, what do you need help with?"
"My... my guardian," he said in a voice that implied this person was anything but. "I need to get away from him. He can find me no matter how far I run. Can you—can you keep him from finding me?"
"Is he a sorcerer too?"
The kid nodded, his eyes falling to his worn shoes. The sorcerer must've used some tracking spell, but it wouldn't be hard for me to take this kid off his radar.
"I can do that. Would you like to come with me?"
His eyes widened, the earlier sharpness replaced with a soft vulnerability that for once made him look his age. "I can't right now. I have... I have someone I have to go back for. I can't leave her."
A sister? A girlfriend?
"Okay. How about we meet right here after sunset?" I suggested, and he swallowed hard, then nodded.
Carefully, I clasped his left forearm, and squeezed. "It'll be okay. Everything will be okay."
He nodded, then glanced around. "I need to go. I can't stay out too long, or he'll know."
I dropped my hold, and he turned around, ready to bolt.
"What's your name?" I asked before he could disappear, and he turned back, his brows furrowed. I knew before he spoke that it wasn't real, but I let him get away with it. Maybe over time, he'd trust me enough to give me his real name.
Unfortunately, that was the last time I ever saw the kid.