Page 19

I smirked as I shook my head. “I don’t want to live forever or hang my hopes on who I’ll be next time. I just want to live my current life with no regrets and as much peace as possible.”

“Ya’re a warrior and a witch, Aran. Are ya sure peace is what ya want?” Zenos asked.

“Yes,” I answered with a smile. “It’s what I truly want.”

Zenos wagged a finger at me. “I find that middle-aged women don’t always know their own minds. Age makes them fascinating yet unpredictable creatures. We’ll discuss that more when we start our training.”

Before I could challenge his misogynistic statements, Henry interrupted.

“Let me show you to your room,” Henry said, tugging on Zenos to move him away from me.

I grinned at the dragon mage. “Henry rules all our schedules. Ya should do what he says. Things will go much easier for ya if ya don’t rebel.”

I snorted when my alleged teacher walked away laughing. I also wondered what in Danu’s name I’d gotten myself into.

Rasmus glaredat Zenos over his couscous salad while I worried if the food was substantial enough to satisfy the dragon mage. Would I have to buy whole cows to feed him? I made a mental note to check with Henry. He probably knew anyway. That demon knew everything.

I’d explained to everyone that Zenos was a dragon mage here to help me. Still feeling protective of myself, I did not go into the details of what I intended to learn. Or “unlearn” as Zenos had put it.

I fished a set of car keys from my pocket and pushed them across the table to Dylan. The far darrig stared at them until I waved my hand at him and them. One blond perfectly groomed eyebrow arched in question. I smiled and wondered what Fiona would think of his appearance. He and I had discussed him remaining in his human form while Mulan’s family was visiting. He had done that while working with his family so he claimed it wasn’t a hardship to hold it that long.

Of course, I hadn’t known about Zenos coming at the time we’d talked. I didn’t want Dylan to feel overwhelmed by all the strangers milling about so I gave him the only freedom from it I could.

“Ya’ve seen my car so ya know it’s not much to look at, Dylan, but ya’re welcome to use it. If I need to get somewhere, I’ll get Henry to drive me. Mostly I plan to stay put while Mulan’s parents are here.”

“Thank you, Aran. That’s very generous of you and I appreciate it,” Dylan said.

I waved away his thanks. “It’s only fair that ya can escape for a few minutes when the need hits.”

Dylan smiled as he pocketed the keys. My good deed done, I turned to Rasmus. “The same goes for the two of ya. Henry can help if Zara or ya need a lift somewhere.”

“We won’t be going anywhere. Who would help you with the fairy if everyone was gone?” Rasmus asked.

I supposed that was his way of letting me know he wouldn’t be making the mistake of leaving me again. Men would do a lot for sex, but it surprised me that the guardian would stoop to making promises.

“I believe Conn and I have him covered. If I get concerned, I can put out a call for help. Ben’s offered a guard but I’m not keen on having some agent with a weapon camping out in thefoyer while Mulan’s family are staying here. My insurance doesn’t cover sniper fire.”

Conn looked grim as he agreed. “I imagine I’ll be running a constant intervention between Mulan and her family for the next few weeks.”

Sighing, I nodded at Conn’s summary. “I know this is a lot happening at once when we rarely have anything going on. Please, just do the best ya can to tolerate things. We’ll all get back to work when Mulan’s family is gone.”

I looked at Zara. We hadn’t spoken about the demon wolves since our initial talk. “I noticed Rasmus and ya visiting the wolves yesterday. Are you deep in thought about their situation?

Zara looked upset that I’d put her on the spot but she answered me anyway. “Yes, I thought we agreed that was my task.”

I glanced around the table before looking back at her and shrugging. Except for Zenos, everyone here knew about everyone else. There were nearly no secrets left to hide. “I’d rather ya not help them if ya’re not compelled to resolve their problem. No one’s tampering with yer free will or twisting yer arm to make ya lend yer aid to them.”

Zara looked at her arm. “I understand the reference but must you speak in metaphors all the time? I prefer you to be more to the point.”

I wanted to answer her snark with some next-level smack of my own but Zenos beat me to it. The dragon mage smiled at Zara. She was a beautiful woman who only smiled in rare moments. The female guardian had great physical appeal if the widower was hunting for a female to bed.

“Aran and I hail from the same motherland,” Zenos explained. “We’re taught from the womb to tell a good story and not just recite the boring details. Perhaps our manner of speech seems frivolous to ya guardians but remember that ya are onvacationhere. To get the full human experience, ya might want to focus on the intentions of Aran’s words rather than yer expectations that she will learn to communicate like she’s one of ya.”

Zara looked up from eating to glare at him with all the disdain her expression could show, which was a lot.

“I know what you are, dragon. I know your kind,” she said.

“And I know what ya are as well,watcher. I also know the sins of yer kind as well as I know my own. For Aran’s sake, I hadn’t planned on reciting the list of them to her. We both know it would be a very long list if I did.”