Chapter 2
Gabriel cursed, whirled around, and tugged on the door handle. “It won’t open,” he said, his tone flavored with annoyance and a drop of accusation.
Raven waved a dismissive hand in the air.
“I’ve got it.” Drawing on her magic, she cast an unlocking spell on the door, but when she turned the knob, it wouldn’t budge.
Worse, now that she was touching the cabin with her bare skin, she was getting a clear taste of its magic.
She glanced back at the dark storm cloud that was her husband and tittered. “Oops.”
Gabriel’s hands landed on his hips, and a vein in his forehead pulsed like he might blow a gasket. “Explain.”
“This cabin’s magic isn’t exactly what Penelope described. It’s, um, not wayward so much as prescriptive.”
“What?”
A shimmer from atop the table saved her from having to say more because a red envelope popped into existence next to the flowers.
Gabriel marched over to it and broke the seal.
“Merry Christmas from all of us. Enjoy the accommodations. We are all in agreement that you need them,” he read aloud.
He held the card out to her between two rigid fingers.
“It’s signed from Penelope and everyone else who loves you. What is the meaning of this?”
Raven turned slowly, taking in the overflowing bowl of fruit, the pristine cabin, the fresh flowers on the table, the roaring fire, and started to laugh. “I think our friends have given us a romantic night alone in this cabin for Christmas.”
Gabriel sneered. “Thoughtful, but incredibly untimely. I’m supposed to be meeting with Nathaniel about an issue he has with one of our interplanetary trade routes.
” He tossed the card onto the table, his hand forming a fist. “Plus, I must address the Nochtbend lunar festival overlapping with Everfield’s celestial alignment celebration.
If nothing is done, we’re going to have a bunch of drunk vampires chasing fairies.
Pure havoc. Not to mention a thousand other things. I don’t have time for this, Raven.”
“Out of curiosity, how far down your to-do list is our relationship?” Raven removed and hung her coat on the hook on the wall before returning to the fire.
His brow furrowed. “You know it’s not about that. We have a duty to the kingdom. This—” He gestured madly around the room. “Whatever this is, it can wait.”
Gabriel crossed the room to try the door handle again, even resorting to bracing his foot against the wall.
Raven broke into raucous laughter. “My God, I know the honeymoon is over, Gabriel, but I never thought you’d resort to a dragon-shaped hole in the wall to avoid a night alone with me.”
He abandoned the door and came to stand before her, eyes sparking. “This isn’t about avoiding you. There’s nothing funny about this situation. We are prisoners here. What if someone is using this opportunity to attack the kingdom?”
She scoffed. “We’re not under attack. Our friends locked us in to give us time alone together. They must have noticed that we need it. That door will not open until we accept the gift and spend the night here. Is that so bad? A night alone with your wife?”
“Of course not,” he barked, but his gaze moved to the window. It had started to snow, and white puffs circled beyond the glass in what was fast becoming a blizzard. They weren’t going anywhere tonight.
Raven frowned at the tension she saw in his shoulders. Her husband had always been the growly sort, but never outwardly hostile. Something deeper was plaguing him tonight, and she needed to find out what. “Gabriel…”
She was interrupted by a resounding pfsssst, corresponding to the light in the room dimming considerably.
Raven turned toward the sound to find that the fire had extinguished itself, although smoke still curled off the logs and a few embers glowed red from the grate.
“Weird,” she said. “Plenty of wood left to burn.”
“I’ve got it.” Gabriel stomped to the hearth, drew a deep breath, and blew dragon fire.