Page 26

“Your home, eh, castle, is stunning.” Robby had his neck craned as the hallway opened up into the central gathering room, where the domed ceiling had been painted to reflect a scene with a rainbow flight of dragons flying around a blue sun and a red moon. It had become the beating heart of the castle and one of my favorite areas. A wide set of stairs led up toward the bedrooms.

“Is that your family?” Robby asked, head tilted back as he took in the scene.

“It isn’t. That had been painted up there for centuries, long before my brothers and sister existed. Just so happens that our mom had a rainbow flight of her own.”

We climbed the stairs, Robby’s hand curving with the smooth golden railing. His nails were bitten and chewed on, but his hands looked to be so soft. Delicate. I could probably fit both of them in one of my palms.

“A rainbow flight?”

I nod before explaining. “Yes, it means she had a dragon with each of the subtypes. Usually, dragons are the same subtypes as one of their parents. We should have all either been time manipulating gold like our mother or shadow manipulating onyx like our father.”

“Ah, gotcha,” Robby said. “And your parents? Are they home?”

I paused briefly, but enough for Robby to keep walking a few steps before stopping. His eyes opened wide, and his face bleached of any color.

“Fuck. I’m so stupid, and I’m so sorry. The curse… it’s so new. I should have thought about my question before I asked it.” The color started rushing back to his face, turning him a bright strawberry pink.

“It’s okay,” I reassured him. “It was an honest mistake. I just have a hard time with reminders. That’s all.”

He put a hand over his face. When it dropped, I could see that there was a shimmer to his eyes that wasn’t there before.

“Seriously, it’s okay,” I said. “She would have enjoyed meeting you. She always had a really big soft spot for humans. Especially the good ones. The ones with the kind hearts.”

Robby glowed like a diamond sunset at that, a dimple on his left cheek making an appearance.

There we go. I need to see that more often.

“How do you know I have a kind heart?” he asked.

“Because I’m a good judge of character. But if you need solid evidence, I think someone with a rotten soul would have left that teenage shifter to fend for himself in the snake-way. You made sure you protected him, even when you were scared shitless.”

“Okay, I wasn’t that scared.”

I arched a brow. He laughed.

“Fine, fine.” His golden eyes still shimmered, but no tears spilled over. He locked them with mine for a moment, one that seemed to last an eternity. I suddenly became aware of the barely inches of space that stood between us. Robby cleared his throat and looked away, breaking the spell. “Alright, let’s get on with this tour, then.”

I tried not to wonder about what was happening between us as I continued up the stairs. Robby was here for a reason that was much larger than the soft tug that pulled at my core every time he blinked those long lashes at me. We had to protect him, we had to figure out why the vampires wanted him, we needed to figure out a way to break the curse.

What we didn’t have to do was picture Robby naked, ass bouncing as I chased him up the stairs, both of us tumbling into my room, where I would devour every inch of him.

Maybe it was because I hadn’t been with anyone in… damn, pretty much a year now. I wasn’t the kind to sleep around, nor was I a prude either. I’d had my fun with a good handful (or two…or three) of men, but life had started to shift, and priorities changed. Especially once the curse fell. All thoughts of chasing down horny guys on apps or at bars were gone. Not that I still didn’t have my moments driven by lust and tequila, but they were few and far between.

“This way,” I said to Robby, guiding him to the large doors that sealed my bedroom shut. The freshly polished wooden floors gleamed under the soft white light. There was a sound from down the hall, a cough. It was Warrick. I had to check up on him before I called it a night.

“The guest room is that one.” I pointed at a smaller set of doors directly across from mine, open and revealing a comfortable bed covered in clean white pillows. “This is my room. So if you need something, just knock.” I opened the doors and let Robby step in first.

My bedroom reflected me pretty well. Clean and sharp, the walls painted a slick white with the arching wall behind my bed painted a navy blue, raised squares adding depth. There was a bookshelf and a desk where my new computer sat untouched. Just next to it was a pair of windows that looked out to the water. It sparkled like spilled ink.