Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
ODESSA
Odessa was no expert in dragons, but she was fairly certain they weren’t meant to float.
“Bean! I’ve already told you three times: stay here.” She spread her wings wide and steered her reckless charge away from the water’s edge.
Bean tilted his head, his iridescent black scales catching the sunlight and reflecting tiny rainbows as he moved. He seemed to have nearly doubled in size while she slept, now closer in height to a rabbit than a kitten, and his attitude and vocabulary seemed to have followed suit. “Why?”
“Because I need to check on the other swans, and I don’t think you’re built for swimming. I won’t be long.”
“I want to go with you.”
She let out a slow breath, reminding herself that despite his rapid progress in communication skills, he was still just a baby. “I’m sorry, Bean. You can’t.”
His eyes drifted past her to the swans floating on the far side of the lake, and his bottom lip curled down in the equivalent of a dragon pout. “Why do they get to go?”
“Because they’re swans.”
“I’m a swan.”
Odessa nearly choked on her own honking laughter. “You’re a dragon, Bean. You have scales and sneeze fire.”
“I’m a swan.” His voice in her mind was grumpy and stubborn, and if he were a child, she could imagine him crossing his arms with his brows drawn into a deep V. “Just like Mother.”
Her heart melted at the words, and she felt her resolve wavering. “I’m not your mother,” she argued weakly. “And you need to stay here. I promise I’ll be quick, and then we can go hunting in the woods for a snack.”
Bean’s eyes brightened at the prospect of food, reminding her of Dmitri during his teenage years. “I like snacks.”
Odessa breathed a sigh of relief. “I know you do. We’ll go as soon as I get back. Be good.”
She gave him an affectionate peck on the top of his head, then watched as he settled into the loose sand, tucking his legs underneath him and folding his wings back.
Satisfied that he was going to do as he was told, she waddled to the edge of the lake and pushed off into the water.
She had gone no more than a few yards when she heard a large splash behind her.
“Bean!”
She turned just in time to see the dragon’s head slip under the water.
Her feet paddled quickly, sending her zipping back to shore.
Her heart hammered in her throat, and she was thankful in that moment to be a swan, if only because she didn’t have to worry about trying to see through her tears.
The thankfulness didn’t last longer than a moment, however, as a dark thought struck her.
If he sinks to the bottom, I don’t know how I’ll bring him back without hands or arms.
Just as she reached the place where she had seen him go under, Bean’s wings broke the surface of the lake, followed by his head and neck.
He struggled for a few seconds, then, to her utter astonishment, settled.
She could just barely see his legs and tail treading the murky water, and he pulled his neck back, arching it like a swan as his wings folded behind him.
“I told you to stay!” she scolded, fighting to breathe past the rush of adrenaline that coursed through her veins. “Why didn’t you listen?”
“I want to go with you.” Bean looked up at her with a sad, puppy-eyed expression.
“You…”
“I’m a swan, see? I can swim.”
Odessa let out a long exhale and closed her eyes. She had thought dealing with Sonya’s temperamental nature was exhausting, but the boar was turning out to be a walk in the Menagerie compared to the hatchling.
I hope, as a Dragon Charmer, Jax has a handbook on dealing with baby dragons. At this rate, I’m either going to end up pulling out every last one of my feathers or else dying of heart failure.
She opened her eyes to look up at the sky. Boris was due to check in with her soon, and though Bean was still small enough to avoid casual notice if someone were to glance at the lake from a distance, she knew nothing would get past the Menagerie Keeper’s critical eye.
And it’s only going to get harder the bigger he gets.
She tried to push away the thought, to avoid the reality that, eventually, Bean would have to return with Jax to whatever realm or world they came from. She looked over her shoulder, watching Bean paddle contentedly as his head swung from side to side, taking in the view of the whole lake.
But what kind of mother would I be if I put him in danger because of my own selfishness? It’s as Boris says—sometimes sacrifices have to be made.
I just wish it didn’t always end with me being alone.
Boris arrived right on schedule, and Odessa was relieved that Bean had worn himself out with swimming and chasing after dragonflies—an irony that amused her greatly—that he was currently curled in a patch of sunlight in the bed of wild strawberries behind her cottage.
She nested lazily in a clump of tall grass beside the lake, doing her best to appear unbothered.
“Odessa.” Boris’s voice was sharper than usual. “You’ve been keeping secrets.”
He knows.
Her heart plummeted to her feet, and she was thankful her swan face was limited in its expressions. Rather than allowing her mental state to give her away, she simply remained silent.
“I’ve learned from a reputable source that the prince has taken it upon himself to invite guests that he thinks might make suitable matches.”
She relaxed, letting out a pent up breath. “Hasn’t that always been his agenda?”
“Suitable matches for you.” His eyes narrowed in a glare.
Odessa lifted her chin and shook out her feathers, as if somehow doing so would also shake out the rest of her nerves. “It wasn’t my idea. If you have a problem with it, take it up with him.”
Boris’s voice dropped to something low and ominous. “You’re treading dangerous waters, my dear. I don’t have to remind you that I have keys to every cage on the premises, and one insignificant swan is hardly going to be missed.”
“But your assistant would be.” She wasn’t sure where the boldness had come from—perhaps her patience was already spent after dealing with Bean all afternoon, or maybe it was the hope that if Jax were able to figure out her curse so quickly, perhaps someone else might as well—but once the words were out of her mouth, it was as if a dam had broken.
“And Dmitri would notice. Have you considered the fact that you’re the one treading dangerous waters?
Or are you just afraid that justice will be served, after all, and what you’ve done is going to finally catch up with you? ”
Boris’s face was turning an alarming shade of red. Fear flashed behind his eyes for the space of a heartbeat, and Odessa knew that she had hit her mark. His fear quickly turned to anger, though, and despite her former bravado, she shied away from him as he leaned over her.
“You work with lions, Odessa. How tragic it would be if—”
The sound of a jaunty whistle approaching cut his words short, and Jax appeared, strolling down the path with one hand resting casually on his satchel and the other tossing a smooth rock in the air and catching it again.
His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, as if he were already prepared to get his hands dirty.
“Hello!” He gave Boris a wide, charming smile.
“I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Jax. ”
Boris’s jaw worked angrily back and forth for a moment before he straightened and turned around, answering with feigned politeness. “I don’t think we have.”
Jax stopped an arm’s length away. He tossed the rock again. “I think this would be the part where you introduce yourself, then.”
Boris crossed his arms. “Boris Rothchild, Keeper of the Menagerie. What are you doing at my lake?”
“Ah, so you’re Boris! I was hoping we’d meet.
” Something bright and dangerous flashed in his eyes so fast that Odessa was almost convinced she had imagined it before they were once again wide and guileless.
“Though I think you might have this lake confused with another one—I’m fairly certain it belongs to Prince Dmitri. ”
Boris laughed humorlessly. “Ah, yes. I’m simply referring to the fact that it—and all the creatures that inhabit it—” His eyes darted to Odessa, as if ensuring she heard the unspoken threat. “Are under my jurisdiction.”
“Oh, of course.” Jax tossed his rock. “I suppose that makes sense. Say, I don’t suppose you’ve seen Odessa around here anywhere? Prince Dmitri has a list of questions he wants me to ask her so that we can get things squared away with the kitchen and serving staff.”
Boris’s spine stiffened at the mention of her name. “How exactly do you know my daughter?” He played the overprotective father role so well that it nearly made her chest ache with grief at the thought of what should have been.
“The prince introduced us yesterday. I’m helping him with some of the party details, since I’m between jobs at the moment and find myself with an abundance of free time.”
“I see. And what is it you do, exactly?”
Jax straightened, his whole manner perking up at the question like an eager puppy. “Did I really forget to mention? I’m a Bird Catcher and a Dragon Charmer. In fact, if you ever need help with any of your feathered residents…” He let the end of his sentence trail off hopefully.
Boris’s upper lip curled in a sneer of distaste. “I believe I’m more than capable of handling my creatures without the help of a…bird catcher.”
“I figured that was the case, but it never hurts to put oneself out there,” Jax responded cheerfully. “Well, I’ll just be on my way then and see if she’s home. It was nice to meet you, Bart.”
Odessa’s snort of laughter came out as a honk, and her father glared at her. “Boris,” he corrected Jax, forcing the words through clenched teeth.
“My mistake. Apologies, Boris.” Jax saluted him with two fingers and continued up the path to Odessa’s cottage.
He made a show of knocking on the door and waiting before turning around and strolling back.
“I guess she’s not home right now. Would you mind letting her know that I stopped by, and that Prince Dmitri would like to talk to her at her earliest convenience? ”
“I’ll pass the message along.” Boris watched him with narrowed eyes as his tall, lithe figure retreated down the path, then turned back to Odessa. “It seems the prince has decided to surround himself with fools.”
She pretended nonchalance, though every instinct in her demanded that she defend Jax.
He could play the fool, certainly, but he was far more intelligent and wily than she had first suspected, and more than that, he was kind.
He scattered smiles and friendship like birdseed, leaving sunshine in his wake.
“He’s not so bad. Harmless, at the very least.”
“Harmless indeed.” Boris laughed derisively. “A grown man who claims to be a bird catcher doesn’t have the mental capacity to do anything nefarious. All the same, stay away from him.”
“That’s going to be rather difficult if Dmitri is specifically sending him to find me.”
“You’re a smart girl; I trust you’ll find a way.” He leaned in. “Don’t forget about the lions, dear.”
She fought against the sensation of tears gathering in a painful lump in her throat. “You would really murder your own daughter?”
“I think you already know. I will see that justice is carried out, no matter the sacrifices required.” He turned on his heel, leaving her with a final word of warning, “The lions aren’t picky. They would hardly complain if they were served a dinner of swan…or wild boar.”