Chapter 5
Elana
I sat poolside at the rooftop patio of the Redrock penthouse, the afternoon sun beating down on the oversized umbrellas overhead.
The warm breeze carried the faint scent of gardenias from the other side of the infinity pool, and the music playing from the speaker by the tiki hut drowned out the hum of the city below.
The penthouse belonged to the gargoyle Redrock brothers and Eamon, the demon, whom they considered an honorary gargoyle.
Eamon was Tansy’s mate and husband, and he was the best son-in-law a woman could ask for.
The way he treated Tansy made my heart swell with happiness.
He was currently playing pool boy/bartender, making sure all our drinks were topped up.
He also had Eadie, my granddaughter, strapped to his front. Eadie had tired herself out for once, a rare occurrence, and was zonked out cold.
Around me, my friends relaxed around the tiki bar, drinks in hand, their laughter and chatter filling the air.
I sat on one side of the counter with Carly, Meera, and Shelby, who was Grayson the gargoyle’s mate.
Tansy was helping each of us navigate the unique complexities of our magical abilities.
Hence the drinks. Spell casting while tipsy often helped by relaxing the caster and letting the magic flow unhindered.
Too bad my problem wasn’t magic flow at all—I had that in spades—but control.
Tansy, with her usual enthusiasm, was attempting to teach us how to change the color of a blue crayon to red. It seemed like a simple enough task, but magic was never as straightforward as it appeared.
Shelby, who had taken magic lessons with Tansy when she herself was learning as an adult, did it on her second try.
Meera, who had a mystery magical talent she had yet to discover, but still had some control of her magic, turned the crayon purple.
Carly, who had the unique ability to get visions and sounds from magical inanimate objects, had a brief but amusing moment when the crayon told her it was very confused about its identity. We all laughed, the tension easing.
But me? The one who was supposed to have the most magic of them all? I did diddly squat.
I schooled my features, trying not to let the disappointment show on my face.
I wasn’t a quitter. I decided to give it one more try.
Because here was the thing: if I couldn’t control and use my magic, I’d need to be protected for the rest of my life.
And I’d already lived so much of my life cowering or hiding in fear. I refused to let that be my future too.
I eyed the words in the children’s spellcasting book, then repeated them, focusing on the crayon sitting innocently but rather confused on the counter of the tiki bar.
I thought red, red, red, willing the color to change with every fiber of my being.
Suddenly, the crayon glowed red hot, the heat radiating off it in waves.
But before I could celebrate, it combusted, bursting into hungry flames that also ate up the napkins next to it. The fire was bright and fierce, the crayon’s wax melting onto the counter, feeding the flames.
Chicken Nugget, Tansy’s sun conure, flitted away from the flames, landing on the safety of Eamon’s shoulder.
Luckily, while the magic had set the crayon on fire, the fire itself wasn’t magical.
Tansy, having set numerous objects on fire while she learned to control her own magic, was prepared.
She grabbed a jug of water kept nearby for just such emergencies and poured it over the flames.
The water hit the fire with a loud sizzle and a pop, steam rising in thick clouds.
We all leaned back from the counter as smoke billowed into the air, burning my eyes, but the fire was out.
I waved my hand in front of me, trying to clear the smoke, and coughed.
“It’s definitely red now,” Carly said, her eyes on the charred red wax on the counter. “I’ll call that a success.”
I managed a weak smile, but inside, frustration bubbled. This spell was from a children’s book, and here I was messing it up. It was a stark reminder of how far I had to go.
“Carly’s right. It’s red, so you did it,” Tansy said. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.” She put up a hand before I could speak. “And don’t deny it. I’ve been through this before, and I was sooo hard on myself. We are related, you know.” It was her soft smile that made everything all right.
The fact that my daughter was alive, and grown, and sitting in front of me was already a miracle.
I had to count myself as one of the luckiest women in the world.
For two decades, I’d wondered if giving my baby girl away to a witch in a desperate attempt to save her from a life of being nothing more than chattel had been the wrong move. I wondered if I’d ever see her again.
And now here she was, happy and well, and a part of my life.
It was more than I could’ve hoped for, especially since the witch who had taken her off my hands, promising her a bright future, had been unbeknownst to me an evil spirit looking for another ripe, young body to take over.
The spirit was now locked up tight; she wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone anymore.
Chicken Nugget flew back over to perch on Tansy’s head, all while making a loud hissing sound that was eerily similar to the sound of the fire going out.
The wind kicked up out of nowhere, whipping across the rooftop patio. Despite the clear sky, we found ourselves wrangling umbrellas and covering our finger foods lest they get blown away.
We beat a hasty retreat inside the penthouse, the double doors sealing shut behind us. The moment we stepped over the threshold, Chicken Nugget, who’d been clinging to Tansy for dear life, abandoned ship. She landed on one of the two giant birds-of-paradise plants flanking the entrance.
The rest of us stepped into the penthouse, which was a prime example of elegant masculinity: dark woods, metal, granite, and leather.
Carly stretched, her colorful bracelets jingling. “We should probably head back. Q-Tip’s gonna start plotting my demise if I don’t feed him soon.” Her Holland Lop bunny was usually a chill little guy, but today he’d been in a mood, so we’d left him to toss his hay around.
I had my own plans for the evening. While I wasn’t necessarily expected to cook for Desmon and his household, and he had a private chef who made most of the meals, I found I enjoyed challenging myself in the kitchen.
Desmon had already requested a seafood pasta with scallops and prawns for tomorrow night from his chef, so I thought I’d try my hand at a Basque cheesecake for after.
If I got started today, it would be perfectly chilled by tomorrow.
Hugs were exchanged, goodbyes murmured, and then Tansy was opening a portal in the middle of her living room.
Unlike most portals, which showed a glimpse of the other side, this one was a swirling black vortex with no hints of what lay beyond.
Just darkness. Which was fine by me, since that usually meant it led straight to Desmon’s library.
When we stepped out the other side of Tansy’s portal, it wasn’t Desmon’s library like we’d expected.
Instead, we landed in the hallway just outside it, a dead giveaway that our resident dragon was currently holed up inside with company.
Desmon only used it for private meetings.
Emmett’s smooth honeyed voice came from behind the door.
Carly shot me a look that said Oh, this is interesting and leaned against the library door, listening intently.
We’d talked about Emmett after the gala, and I’d told her and her alone about our dancing on the balcony.
Unlike me, she didn’t think he’d danced with me just to entice me to work for him.
And I’d had to remind her that he’d already offered Meera a luxurious life by his side if she’d raise his kid.
Ugh! The guy probably thought he was God’s gift to women. I didn’t need that energy in my life, no matter how much I wanted to see the baby myself.
His voice rumbled through the portal, and my mind flashed to the way his hands had felt on my waist, and the easy way we moved in each other’s arms. I’d hidden the scale away at the back of my bottom drawer so I wouldn’t be tempted to rub it.
I shouldn’t eavesdrop. But Carly’s eyes gleamed with mischief as she pressed her ear against the door.
Technically, as Desmon’s mate, Carly would find out what they spoke of anyway.
They held no secrets from each other. And I was supposed to be more mature and “know better,” but spending time with Carly and all the other women had brought out my daring and fun side, a side I never knew I had.
I stayed frozen in place, my curiosity getting the best of me.
Emmett’s words were muffled, but the desperation in his tone was unmistakable.
“…need to shift soon… stuck as a dragon.”
Desmon rumbled something I couldn’t catch, but I stayed, listening, piecing together a few words here and there.
“… no human side… time running out.”
Stuck? As a dragon? That didn’t make any sense unless he wasn’t talking about himself.
Carly and I exchanged a look.
“The egg?” she mouthed.
I nodded. He could very well be talking about his daughter. What did he say her name was? I didn’t remember.
What I did remember was the egg and how warm it had been in my arms. It had felt alive, something waiting to know the world. I’d known, deep down inside, that whatever, whoever, was inside was special.
What if she never shifted? What if she never knew her human side? Weren’t dragons who didn’t have a human side unable to reason like a human? I was pretty sure that was the case. The idea that she might never get to experience this wonderful world as a human felt like a tragedy in the making.
And if Emmett had come here, then the situation must be dire indeed because dragons did not usually help each other. Was Emmett banking on the fact that Carly would insist Desmon help him? Was there even anything for him to do?
But the conversation shifted, and I frowned as I heard Emmett request that Desmon send me over to care for Melantha.
“I will compensate you for the use of your housekeeper.” Said like he wanted to borrow Desmon’s lawnmower.
I wrinkled my nose even as Carly met my gaze. Compensate him for the use of his housekeeper? That sounded no better than a haughty wizard renting out a trapped demon or soul to another for a price. I didn’t belong to Desmon, and Emmett had no right to ask.
I waited for Desmon’s response, but none came. Instead, the sound of a chair scraping against the floor made us both jump. Carly’s eyes widened, and before either of us could react, the door swung open. Since I was leaning against the door, I swung in with it, right into a wide, silk-covered chest.
Emmett’s strong arms wrapped around me, firm and unyielding.
My hand landed against his chest, and my fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt.
For a moment neither of us moved. His masculine scent, like spices smoldering over a campfire, wrapped around me, and it was impossible to breathe without taking him in.
His jaw stayed clenched as he set me back on my feet, his hands too hot on my skin. I wore only my one-piece swimsuit and a lacy cover-up; the garment hid nothing. His eyes caught mine and sparked with unmistakable interest.
Desmon stood there, arms crossed, his golden eyes flicking between us with amusement.