Page 6

Mia sealed her newest letter, then snuck a peek out the upstairs window from her bedroom.

The sun had been up for an hour or so and Tiber was gone, of course.

Even though she was warm inside, the sky was overcast and from her window she could see a snowcapped mountain in the distance and wondered if they’d get snow this week.

He’d stayed the night, she was sure of it. She’d seen him curled up outside right before sunrise. Neptune had stayed by the window all night watching him too. Seriously, her cat was being ridiculous.

Though she couldn’t blame him. Seeing the gold-amber dragon still snoozing outside her home had made taking a shower and getting ready so much more peaceful.

He’d been a soothing presence when her mind was full of chaos.

Part of her had wanted to sketch the beast and save it for inspiration later, but had felt weird about doing so.

Once he’d woken, she’d planned to offer him tea and breakfast, but he was gone.

Just as well.

Last night was a fluke and they were not going to be friends.

Besides, she had things to do today, including figuring out (subtly) why her ex was in the Nova realm.

Or more specifically, how long he was here for.

She needed a game plan to avoid him if possible.

He’d never physically hurt her, but he was manipulative and there was a darkness in him he’d shown to her after the breakup.

He wanted to hurt her and those close to her—and he’d made sure she knew that he could.

If necessary, maybe she’d take Tiber up on that whole “whittle his femur bones down to chopsticks.” Despite the heaviness on her chest, she snickered as she replayed his words, really hoping he’d been joking.

Once she’d fed Neptune and had gotten dressed, she grabbed her second favorite coat and stepped outside.

A large male wearing clothes similar to Tiber’s—an open tunic secured with a large sash and loose pants and shoes made with leather and some kind of animal fur—stood up from one of the stone benches.

“Mia.” He nodded politely at her.

“Ah, yes?”

“My name is Cyprus. Tiber asked me to escort you wherever you wanted to go today.”

She blinked as she digested his words. “I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary.”

He shrugged. “Maybe not, but he requested it.”

“Requested or ordered?” She slid her bag a little higher on her shoulder as she approached him.

“Either way, I value my life, so I will be your shadow. I’m good company, I promise.”

This was beyond strange, but she could see the firm set of his jaw. This wasn’t an argument she’d win. “I have a lot of errands to run.”

“I can help you carry your stuff. I’m a wonderful assistant.” He grinned at her, turning his hard, weathered face into something softer and mischievous.

Okay, well, at least he seemed nice. She found herself smiling back at him. “I’m sorry your day will be spent with me, but thank you.”

“So why am I escorting you around, anyway?”

“Tiber didn’t tell you?” she asked as they headed down the walkway that would lead to the main road. She waved at a few of her friends who were already out and starting their day.

“He simply said that if I wanted to retain my head, I would follow you around.”

“Oh my god.”

Cyprus laughed. “I’m jesting. And no, he didn’t tell me, just asked me to keep you safe.” The big male paused, glanced around the busy street. “Is someone threatening you?”

“No, of course not.” But she couldn’t stop the tightness in her chest at the knowledge that Charles was in the territory. It bothered her on a visceral level. He hadn’t taken her breakup with him well.

At first, she’d thought he’d been fine, but then strange things had started happening.

People she loved had started getting hurt—and he’d hinted that he’d been behind everything without actually admitting it.

He’d been so careful but hadn’t been able to hide himself from her.

She’d seen the malice in his eyes. So she’d left, thinking it would eliminate the problem.

She’d been in the Nova realm for months, had found a home and according to her friends back in New Orleans, everyone was fine. Unharmed. She’d assumed that leaving had worked—out of sight, out of mind. He’d forgotten her.

“I can’t imagine why Tiber wants you to shadow me,” she added, not even believing the words herself. Her scent of fear must have been bad enough for the human-hating dragon to call in someone to watch her.

Cyprus didn’t respond, but true to his word, he was more or less her shadow as they headed down the cobblestone street.

In this realm, there weren’t any motorized vehicles.

What was the point when everyone here could fly?

Instead, they relied on shifting and other magical means of travel.

For the day-to-day stuff, people walked, rode bikes, or rode animals that looked similar to horses.

The same animals also pulled carriages for larger traveling parties who weren’t flying for whatever reason.

The weirdest thing for her to adjust to was seeing the carriages that moved by magic alone.

“I heard the auction was busy last night,” Cyprus said politely as they approached the now quiet gallery building.

She still needed to pick up her coat and shoes from last night. “It was. Did you attend?” Ooh, maybe he would be a good source of information for anything she’d missed after she’d run out of there.

“No, not my scene. But I heard Tiber purchased a couple pieces. Everyone is talking about it,” he whispered almost conspiratorially.

She had a feeling this Cyprus liked to make mischief. She was also pretty sure she was going to like him. “Why are people talking about him buying art?”

He grinned down at her as they stepped into the gallery. “Because he paid an obscene amount—”

“Mia! My sweet girl!” Xenia ran the gallery and was tall even by dragon standards.

She was a couple inches taller than Cyprus even, so she had to bend down to air kiss Mia.

Her long white hair was in a braid woven through with little sprigs of a local fuchsia-colored flower that somehow bloomed even in winter.

She was what Mia imagined a real goddess looked like—stunning and larger than life in every way.

“I missed seeing you last night,” Mia said, lightly embracing the woman she’d come to adore.

“I know, I was late and missed most of the auction, but Valentina is my hero.” She nodded politely at Cyprus. “You’re with Mia?”

“Yes,” Mia said before he could tell her the real reason he was with her. She didn’t want anyone to suspect that something was going on. No way did she want to be seen as a troublemaker. “He’s running errands with me today.”

“Ah, good man.” She patted Cyprus’s arm once then turned all her focus on Mia. “I’m guessing you’re here to talk about your sales.”

“Oh, actually I left my coat and shoes here last night,” she said on a laugh, hoping it didn’t sound forced. “I was so distracted. I can’t believe I left my things.”

“Ah, I knew those must have been yours, the coat thing is so small. Plus, it smells like you. Come, come.” She motioned them back through the gallery where two people were currently wrapping up different sculptures and paintings.

“It looks like last night was successful,” Mia said as they stepped into her office.

“Beyond so. And you and Jonothon were my biggest stars. You both sold out and now you both have requests to do commission work.” She plucked up Mia’s coat and Cyprus took it when she went to give it to Mia.

“Sold out?” She tried to stay cool, but who was she kidding? This was amazing.

“Oh yes, with demands for more, more, more. You are in high demand, my dear.”

It seemed too good to be true, too surreal. She knew that was the anxiety talking, that voice in her head that loved to tear her down.

She glanced over at Cyprus who was gently folding up her long wool, eggplant-colored coat she’d brought from the human realm.

She’d had it since before The Fall and it was her absolute favorite since she’d bought it after her first real sale. It had been a splurge and one she’d never regretted.

Maybe Cyprus saw something on her face because he said, “I’ll take care of it for you, unless you want to wear it?”

“I’m okay. And thank you.” She was still reeling from the news of selling out.

Xenia cleared her throat. “Like I was saying, the McIlroy clan wishes to offer you a commission. They mentioned a year, but I already told them that would likely be too long for you. Yes?”

Mia nodded. It was definitely too long to commit to something like that. Too many unknowns. “I don’t know how I feel about doing commission work when I haven’t even been here that long.”

“I can’t tell if you’re serious or trying to get a higher commission but either way, you’re smart to say no to them the first time. They’re going to go crazy if they can’t have you.” Xenia grinned at the prospect. “You need to make them work for your talent.”

“If I did say yes—and it’s a big if—I would need more details about my living situation, other expectations, payments, everything.”

“Of course. I’m already creating something for you to look over. I take care of my people and no matter what, you’ll have an out in the contract. You would be a contract employee and if you end up being unhappy, you get to walk away and they get to deal with it.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad then.” She was still leaning toward no, but she would look at the proposed details anyway. Clearing her throat, she tried to sound casual. “So, there were some people from my realm here last night. Ah, a vampire coven I think?”

Xenia smiled and nodded. “Oh yes. They were mostly interested in sculptures and other mixed media, but one of them loved your work. He tried to buy a couple of your paintings but was outbid on all of them.” She looked a little smug.

“I was right to hold back some of your stuff because now you’ll have more to show at the next auction. ”

Oh right, they were supposed to do one more showing at the end of the week. Mia’s abdomen clenched at the thought. “Of course. I… wanted to ask if it was strictly necessary if I attend the other auction?”

“Ah… no. Buyers love to meet the creators, the ‘genius’ behind the work, but if you have something else to do then it’s not necessary at all. If anything, your absence will probably drive up the prices even more.” She waggled her finger at Mia. “You really do think like a dragon, and I love it.”

Mia laughed lightly. She’d come to learn that dragons were obsessed with getting the best deal and absolutely loved to hoard treasure. That little nugget wasn’t just myth; dragons loved shiny things, sometimes to a ridiculous level.

“How long do you think the vampires will be in the realm?” She aimed for casual again, but could feel Cyprus watching her.

Damn it, she didn’t need him running back to Tiber.

“They’ve been allowed to remain for the next fortnight, so they’ll be here this week and the next.

If the queen allows, they might stay longer, but she’s being cautious with how long she allows outsiders to stay.

” Then Xenia placed a gentle hand on her arm.

“You are excluded from that. In fact, I’m certain she wants you to stay permanently. ”

“Oh. Well, I love it here.” Mia was too afraid to get her hopes up that she could call this place home. Permanently.

“Oh, good,” Xenia breathed out in relief. “I’ll courier you information about your sales and the details of the proposed contract by the end of the day or tomorrow at the latest. I hope you’re taking the day to enjoy yourself. You’ve earned it.”

“I am, thank you.” Today was more about errands, but Xenia was right, she should relax.

After more air kisses, she found herself outside with Cyprus once again, breathing in the crisp air.

“Seems as if you might find a permanent home here, human.”

She glanced up at him in surprise. “I just might, dragon.”

He let out a startled laugh, drawing some looks from those on the street. “Apologies.”

“No need.”

“You’re the first human I’ve ever met,” he added. “It just slipped out.”

“Am I really the first human you’ve met?” She motioned which direction she wanted to go and he fell in step with her.

She noticed that people seemed to automatically move out of his way. Something she found interesting. Even among dragons, people gave this guy a wide berth. It was the same with Tiber.

Stop thinking about him , she ordered herself.

“Indeed. And I’ve seen your work—Tiber spoke of your talent but I wasn’t sure I believed him until I saw two of your paintings back there.”

“Tiber talked about my work?” She couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice.

“Oh yes. When he threatened to remove my head from my body this morning, he mentioned that if the realm lost such a talent under my watch, the queen would likely slice off my head if he didn’t do it first.”

She snorted. “Now I know you’re exaggerating.”

He snickered slightly and she saw that hint of mischief again. Oh, he was definitely a troublemaker. “Ah, the market,” he said as she stopped at the next alleyway. “One of my favorite places.”

“I wasn’t kidding about running errands. Are you sure you’re up to carrying all my things?” Normally she had her packages delivered but she figured he was big enough to haul everything and she was going to take advantage.

He flexed his arms once for her, grinned.

And she found herself laughing again.