56
Dragonscale
Melody
I find Blair on the other side of the bar, leaning against the wall, looking furious—or at least her aura does. The bond wouldn’t have alerted me to go looking for her if she were fine.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, why?” she snaps, sniffing at the elegant tumbler in her hand.
I frown. “What is that?” I ask, eyeing the amber liquid suspiciously.
She sighs, staring up at the ceiling. “Funny. I haven’t touched a sip of alcohol since I came back to campus. And now I thought I’d get wasted—because fuck it. So take it before I change my mind.” She shoves it into my hand.
“Wanna tell me what happened?” I ask carefully.
“I fucked up, that’s what happened.”
“Why?”
She says nothing, just grinds her teeth so hard I swear I can hear it. I walk over to the bar, casting one last glance at Ronin, Kyrith, and Riven, set the glass down, and then walk back to her, threading my fingers through her claws.
“What do you say? Let’s get out of here?”
Meanara returns to the stage and another song starts—lyrical, slow—and I glance at Faye and Ryder, still dancing close. To their right, Shay and Cassius are also dancing, but way more…dirty.
Blair nods.
“Good. I’m back in a second. Meet you outside.” I slink past her and to Faye.
“Hey, Blair and I are heading home. Want to come too?” I whisper in her ear.
Her teal eyes find mine, and she shakes her head, glancing back at Ryder. “I think I’ll stay a little while longer. I’m actually having fun.” Her aura glows, and damn if that doesn’t make my heart warm.
I look at Ryder. “You watch her, wolf. And bring her back safely! If anything happens to her—”
“Got it!” He lets go of Faye’s hands quickly to salute me, a grin spreading over his beautiful face. His aura tells me he’s dead serious though. Wow. What happened to the womanizing alpha? Guess he’s really into her.
I hug him quickly from the side, using the moment to whisper, “If you want to ask her to the ball, do it tonight.” Then I pull back and leave them.
I wave to Shay and Cassius, then go to meet Blair outside the club.
Riven is gone by the time I pass the bar.
He’s standing outside, a little off from Blair, hands in his pockets, a deep-blue shirt vying with his eyes. His short hair is slicked back, making him look more regal than boyish. Blair glowers at him, but they don’t seem to have exchanged more than a few loaded glances while I was gone.
“You want to go for a stroll?” Riven asks when I step up beside Blair.
“Sure. Go! Don’t worry about me,” she says quickly, meaning it—but hells, I won’t leave her alone now. She hasn’t been drinking, and she’s been doing so much better lately that I won’t risk anything to change that. No matter how much I wished to be alone with Riven.
“Sorry, Blair and I have something to talk about,” I say gently.
Riven’s jaw ticks. He still thinks she’s not worth it, but he only nods before summoning his great demonic wings. With one last, long glance at me, he vanishes into the night.
“What did you do? You just screwed your chance of having a lovely evening,” Blair snaps, clearly back to her charming self. “Or, well. Getting laid.”
I just hug her, burying my nose in her hair to breathe in the cinnamon-and-lemongrass scent. Abyss, maybe I am a little dog after all—but Blair just smells heavenly.
“I love you, Blair,” I mumble into her ear, only hugging her tighter when she tries to pull back. “And now tell me what happened.”
I finally release her with a laugh when she starts protesting that I’m choking her with my elbow. We start walking, arms linked.
“Me and Meanara once had a fight,” she begins, chewing on her lower lip.
Wow, since when is Blair nervous?
“I mean, we generally fight a lot. Hells, that woman has a talent for making me furious, and I honestly don’t know why.”
“And?” I press, trying to make sense of what she’s saying—and not saying.
“And…” She sighs again. “Listen, I have to do something. Now. Go back to campus. Find that oversized bat. Have a lovely night.”
She tries to walk away, but I dig my ridiculous heels into the ground—hells, why am I still wearing these? It’s only a matter of time before I break my ankle—and grab the seam of her glittery dress. “Uh-uh! Wherever you’re going, I’m coming with you.”
“I’m gonna buy back a stolen necklace.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Okay…”
“It’s shady shit.”
“I love shady shit,” I say.
Finally she relents. “Fine. Then come along—but don’t judge me for it. For anything you’re about to hear.”
“Uh, sounds evil, Blair. Have you been a bad girl?” I tease, kicking off my high heels and padding after her.
Blair walks easily in hers, as if she were wearing darn sneakers. Of course she does.
But I stop teasing when we enter through an inconspicuous door and end up in a small, smoke-filled room. The haze comes from a pipe clenched between the teeth of a dwarf behind a worn desk.
He’s tiny but built like a weapon, unmistakably a dwarf—wild as the hells—with an axe across his back and a ferocious red beard, mirrored in the few braided strands woven through his hair.
Tattoos crawl over his hands and fingers, glinting between golden rings, trinkets, bracelets, and necklaces.
Heavy hoops dangle from his ears, and more are woven into his beard braids.
He grins, looking Blair up and down. “Well, well. I’d bet me tattooed arse I’d never say this tae a witch, but ye look lovely, lass. And is that a half-blood behind ye?”
Blair rolls her eyes and moves in front of me, protective and sure, a clawed hand slicing through the smoke to send it curling away.
“Cut it. I’m not here for chit-chat—and she’s not part of whatever deal you might be scheming.
So shove that up your tattooed, hairy ass, because it’s never going to happen. ”
My eyes widen, but the dwarf just laughs heartily.
“What is it then, witch?”
“I want that necklace back.”
“Oh, aye. The nice golden one wi’ the ruby the size o’ my sister’s tits.”
Blair scrunches her nose. “Ewww, dude. Your sister must have really small tits.”
The dwarf looks genuinely mournful. “Aye, poor Pollmary. But she found herself a fine lad anyway—must’ve liked her beard. She’s got more hair than I’ve on me back, I swear. Fine, curly, and soft as lamb’s wool.”
My eyes widen—but he’s serious.
“Double ewww!” Blair groans. “Now give me back the necklace.”
“Oh, what if I don’t have it anymore?”
“Give it back, you hairy leech, or tell me who you sold it to,” Blair snarls, bracing her arms on both sides of his desk and leaning forward.
The dwarf doesn’t flinch. He takes out his pipe and begins refilling it with fresh tobacco, acting as though he doesn’t have a care in the world.
“Fine,” Blair grinds out. “Tell me what you want to earn it back.”
“An apology for callin’ me a leech would be a fine start.”
“I don’t do apologies. I cut throats. Tell me how much more I need to hunt down for you, and I’ll do it.”
Wait. What? My heart starts hammering. Blair hears it and cuts me a look that says, not now, remember—shady shit.
The dwarf chuckles. “Do ye even ken how much that trinket’s worth?”
“It’s worth a lot to someone dear to me.”
“Not dear enough. Ye sold it off to me for three glamours.”
Blair’s hand shoots out, twining in the dwarf’s beard and yanking him close. “Streets are dark at night, dwarfling,” Blair seethes.
The dwarf only scowls. “If ye pluck one single hair o’ my beautiful beard, ye gormless witch, I’ll bear ye a grudge ye won’t forget. Now let go, wench.”
She does, and the dwarf lets out a dramatic cry when he spots one curly red hair on his desk.
“You ruined my beard, ye unholy creature!”
Blair rolls her eyes. “Chill. I’ll ask your sister for some spare hair and have you made a fucking toupee,” she grinds out.
“It’s nae the same! Do ye have any idea how much work it takes tae groom this?”
“Yeah, well—”
“It takes years!” he interrupts.
Blair throws up both hands. “Sorry, I guess.”
The two stare each other down for a long moment.
“Now,” Blair says, tapping her claws on the desk, “will you give me the necklace back? Pleasseee?”
The dwarf just crosses his arms. “No.”
“I said please.”
“Here’s a riddle for ye: Bring me a dragon scale, and I’ll think about changin’ me mind.”
Blair and I frown at the same time.
“What? That’s not a riddle—it’s just fucking impossible,” she snaps. “For your information, there are no dragons left.”
“You rode one, witch.”
“I rode a phantom wyvern, you dolt. It’s half translucent and made of magic. They don’t have scales you can pluck!”
“Hmmm.” His eyes glint with something I can’t read. His aura gives me nothing. Is this a joke—or does he truly believe there are dragons left?
“Don’t fucking fuck with me, dwarf!”
“You should really cut back on the word fucking in your vocabulary, witch.”
Blair bares her teeth but reins herself in. “That’s impossible. Give me another task. Anyone you want dead? I’ll do it. Just—no women and children.”
My blood freezes as I stare at her. What the actual hells?
“No,” the dwarf says. “A dragon scale. And now, excuse me. I’ve business tae conduct.”
“Like what? Stuffing your pipe and scratching your itchy balls?” Blair snarls.
I elbow her in the side. Abyss, has anyone ever shown less diplomacy?
He grins. “Like oilin’ me ball-hair, lass.” Ewww. Fae can’t lie and now I’ll never get that picture out of my head. Thanks, Blair. “Now leave—unless ye plan tae pluck those beautiful ones too.”
“Yikes, man!” Blair drawls, snarling at him as he laughs.
We leave, and Blair storms off—way too fast. So fast I have to run to keep up with her brutal pace.