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“Dragons don’t hunt every day. They feast, and then it’ll be a handful of days before they hunt again. Feryn may part with some gold for the dragon’s upkeep.”

“I think he’s glad that he doesn’t have to dispose of tons of rotten meat. The dragon’s doing him a favor.” Nan closed the bag. “I hope you find the missing dragon, but if you don’t, what will you tell him?”

Pan frowned, staring at the table as if studying the human map. “I have not allowed myself to consider that possibility. I am concerned that she is injured and unable to fly.”

Linda patted Pan’s hand. “I hope that is the reason she is missing. Either way, though, I hope you find her so that he can have closure.”

Pan nodded, but his expression was grim. A grim god was not a good thing.

“What are you going to do, Nan? Are you going to be okay here?”

“I’m going to finish up, drop some things off to Maeve, and then walk home.”

“It’s a pity you can’t send Maeve to the emergency shelter for mythologicals.” Noah glanced at Pan. “She loves to talk and thrives on gossip.”

Nan laughed. “She has a good heart and has never said no to anyone who needs help. She’s been messaging me for updates every other minute because she feels like she’s missing out. Like you.” Nan nodded at Noah. “She needs to be doing something.”

“She cannot walk into town?” Pan asked.

“She’s got a dickie leg and heart and can’t walk far,” Nan said, avoiding telling Pan that Maeve had a dickie leg because she learned how to ride a motorbike for her sixtieth birthday and had been involved in an accident a few years later. Maeve had stories about her life that made his hookup experiences seem tame. “And her street is a mess.”

“But she wants to be here, where the gossip is?” Pan asked.

“Of course she does. She’d be in there helping them clean up and getting the children settled in their new world. She was a teacher. Now she said she lives vicariously through others.”

Noah snorted. “Which is why she’s at the pub two nights a week.”

“She likes the company, and she’s not the only one. With the pub closed, there’ll be a lot of people who are missing not only the social interaction but a meal. Some of the old guys without wives come in for dinner.” Nan spoke as though she wasn’t the same age as them. But then she liked to claim that working in the pub kept her young.

“Taverns are always important parts of the community.” Pan’s finger traced the curve of his horn. “Perhaps there is a way this place can reopen if you do not mind serving vampires.”

Nan sighed. “I doubt it. It’s not an essential service.”

“True…unless it became one. Itispart of the palace now,” Noah said, not sure where his idea was going, but there needed to be a place where humans in need of food and social interaction could meet mythologicals who needed to learn English and more about the human world.

Nan pushed the backpack towards him. “Take the map and find your dragon. I can guarantee this mess will be here when you get back.”

Noah gave her a hug. “That’s because we won’t be gone long. We’ll find her, and there’ll be a dragon party in the car park before you can miss me.”

“The last time I saw a couple of dragons break into some wine barrels, it was very messy. You don’t want a dragon party in town. You’re also going to want the dragon to do his business somewhere else. Preferably downwind.”

Nan passed Pan three bottles of water. “You can pass that message on when you leave.”

Pan’s eyes widened, and for a moment, Noah thought he was going to argue.

Noah grabbed Pan’s arm. “Come on. You have to tell him we’re going looking and that he needs to sit tight, anyway.” He glanced over his shoulder at his grandmother and couldn’t help but feel he was abandoning her to go on a wild dragon chase. “I’ll text you.”

CHAPTER17

They were halfway to the checkpoint before Pan spoke. “Why did you lie for me?”

Noah had been enjoying the silence, mostly as he attempted to sort out his own thoughts. Yesterday, he’d been scared of all the changes. He was still scared about what shape the future might take. It was certainly nothing that his education or his parents had prepared him for. But he couldn’t deny the thrill of being told he actually had fucking magic.

Or the rush that urged him to do something other than sit at home and wait to be told it was safe to go out. And Meredith was right—he could easily help David with the emergency accommodation at the school, but that was boring. It didn’t involve dragons and vampires and gods and other things that were both terrifying and exhilarating.

Yesterday, he would’ve never considered rushing off with a virtual stranger to search for a dragon.

Yesterday, he claimed to believe in the old gods because that’s what one did when learning how to be a witch.