Page 170 of Balance

Was I in trouble? Why couldn’t a dragon be my hero? What was wrong with that? I never believed the stories of human boys beating them in a fight. Dragons were the strongest, and I wanted one more than anything else in the world.

My teacher’s scary face softened, and she touched the edge of my desk. “What bad guys, Bianca?” she asked, not looking at me.

I felt sick, although I didn’t know why, and I didn’t answer—I couldn’t. After a second, she sighed. I held my breath, not wanting her to yell at me. The crayon in my hand broke in two.

“Why does your dragon also look like a duck?” she asked instead.

That was easy. “Because when it bites it’ll hurt more and take longer for them to die.”

Ducks were scary. I found a nest at our lake once, and Kieran stopped the mommy and daddy duck from coming after me just in time. He told me that some people use swans—which was the same as a duck—instead of guard dogs.

That night, Mr. Richards got very mad at me. I don’t know what happened, but I never went back to that school again.

When my eyes blinked open next, it was to a new scene: a dimly lit hallway with peeling wallpaper closed in on me on two sides. A tall, dark-haired, broad-shouldered man in a suit and fedora led the way, and—even though he was entirely intimidating—he wasn’t the reason for the nervous tension radiating through me.

I’d been unnoticed for so long—despite my father’s inability to lay low—but Michael’s prediction didn’t bode well for my family’s future.

My gaze traveled up the imposing fae’s form as he stopped in front of the ordinary office door and straightened his suit. I’d been here before, when they needed my consultation on a case, but never had the courage to ask why he, Joe, Michael, and Gloria accepted such accommodations. The four of them were a brilliant team. Surely anyone at the department could see that by now.

So why were they still working from the basement?

Well, no matter. If the police didn’t believe in him, it was their loss. No matter what, I could count on Gregory.

Still, it was good to have a witness for these sorts of dealings, and you had to phrase things just right. I’d lost $10, a stone, and a pound of flour in our last agreement, and I’d still been conned into becoming Er Bashou.

Damned fae; I still didn’t understand what happened.

Gregory glanced at me, serious faced but unable to hide the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. “Wait here a moment,” he demanded. “I’ll announce you.”

My brows furrowed and I pursed my lips, but didn’t respond before he swiftly entered the door, closing it to only a crack.

Even though he’d been working with the humans, his interpersonal skills certainly hadn’t improved much. After all, why was there a need to announce me to our own necromancer?

Still though, I moved to the door, peeking in as Gregory’s shadow moved across the space. He was removing his jacket as he engaged in dialog with the other inhabitant of the room.

“Gregory,” Joe was saying, “I thought you were taking Gloria to the shore?”

“Later,” Gregory replied. “Michael kidnapped her for a bit. I’ll catch up to them later.”

This piqued my interest, and I pressed my face closer to the door. Gregory had mentioned that Gloria was his fiancé, and he wasverytraditional. He didn’t mind her being alone with the onmyoji? Michael had been openly flirting with her on my last visit too.

“And you’re okay with that?” Joe asked, repeating my thoughts. “I’ve been meaning to ask you—doesn’t it bother you that she seems enamored with your best friend?”

“Whatever they do is their business,” Gregory replied. “I’m going to be the one she marries.”

Joe scoffed, and I could imagine him rolling his eyes. “Not with that attitude, and especially not once she finds out that the two of you have been lying to her.”

“Michael is never wrong,” Gregory grunted, laying his hat on his neatly organized desk. Out of the three in the room, his was the most meticulous. “It might take fifty years, but we’re fated.”

“She’s stubborn,” Joe replied. “She might not ever stop hating you. Besides, Blake is her mate. She might just go back to the pack.”

“Fuck Blake,” Gregory snapped back, and for the first time in all the years I’d known him, the hint of passion leaked into his voice. Dealing with a calm Gregory was one thing, but I imagined he would be quite terrifying if roused. “I’ll kill him first.”

“You can’t kill our wolf,” Joe replied, keeping his calm in the presence of an impassioned fae.

“I didn’t come here to talk about Blake.” Gregory moved toward the door, and I inched back. Clearly the topic of our shifter was a sensitive one—though I couldn’t imagine why. Blake was actually quite charming; I’d just gotten back from visiting him on Sunday, and he’d been speaking quite fondly of our fae.

I had no idea Gregory didn’t get on with him.