Page 1 of Devoted in the Midlife

1

HAILEY

"Okay,so there we were, knee-deep in chocolate, when—" The tale of our misadventures was cut short by an insistent knock at the front door.

"Seriously?" Kendra threw her hands up. "If that's Luci coming to gloat, I swear I'll blast him into another reality—like the sticky one we just left."

Adalinda, who'd been watching us with regal amusement, suddenly stilled. Her sharp gaze fixed on me, and she cocked her head as if listening to something beyond human hearing. "I don't know who is on the other side of that door," she said, "but it's a dragon."

All at once the group scattered around my living room mirrored the tension. Luke stopped mid-ramble about his latest charm mishap, hands still raised in animated illustration. Goldie, who was curled up in her cat form beside Luke on the couch, lifted her head and peered suspiciously at the door. Izora, cradling Courage the chihuahua we found on a bounty hunt, exchanged a long look with Ransom.

"What is it?" Kendra finally asked, her hand drifting toward the hidden blade I knew she kept strapped to her thigh like a paranoid Mary Poppins.

"A dragon," Adalinda answered. "Male. But that's...it should be impossible."

Zara bounced excitedly next to Nash and Grim. "Another dragon? Like a shifter?"

"There are no others," Adalinda snapped, but confusion laced the certainty.

Adalinda had woken up from her hibernation to find all her dragons dead. She had told me that she couldn’t sense any more on earth. It was one of the reasons she turned Jax and me. Flint was the last dragon hatchling and there wouldn’t be any more unless Adalinda started having dragon babies. Or she could just create more dragons since she was the dragon queen with the ability to do so. I’m not sure why she hadn’t.

The knock sounded again, an oddly polite rhythm for a supposedly extinct creature. I pushed to my feet with an eye roll. "Well, let's not keep impossible waiting."

Jax gripped my elbow, his touch light but meaningful. We locked gazes and through our bond, his protectiveness flowed over me. "Careful."

I rose to my toes and kissed him softly on the lips. “Always.”

"Oh please," Izora drawled. "Between the magical firepower and pointy objects in this room, I almost pity anything that tries to start something." Her tiny dog yipped as if in agreement.

I threw open the door with my best customer service smile that usually made skips nervous. It slipped right off my face as I took in our visitor.

His skin held the deep burnished tone of polished copper, seeming to hold its own inner light even in the grey afternoon. His angular features belonged on an ancient coin or a modern runway. He wore a simple gray knit sweater and slacks that were a shade darker. But his eyes were obsidian dark and glinting. He held my gaze with a weight that pressed the air from my lungs. Dragon. Something deep in my soul seemed to whisper the word.

"You gonna let him in, or just start a staring contest?" Ransom called dryly.

Color rushed up my neck, but I stepped aside. Otherworldly or not, no need to leave him on the doorstep like a misdelivered package. "Please, come in."

He inclined his head, movements liquid grace as he crossed the threshold. The room fell silent as everyone took their own assessing look. Goldie sneezed, whiskers twitching.

When the man spoke, his voice was rich and faintly accented with something I couldn't place. "I am Ketsul, though most simply call me Kit these days."

Adalinda stepped forward, wariness and wonder warring across her face. "How are you here? What are you?"

A smile tugged his mouth, kind and just a touch sad. "Always so direct, my old friend. It's been a long time." He swept the room with an appraising gaze, settling back on her. "Perhaps we could sit? I'm afraid there is much to discuss."

We settled awkwardly around him in the living room. Claudia perched on the couch arm next to Paige. Howard was cross-legged on the floor, in front of Kendra who sat in one of the armchairs. Even Janice left off her glaring to lean in, sensing something momentous. Kit stood in the center, utterly still yet somehow thrumming with leashed energy.

"I am Quetzalcoatl," he began without preamble. "An old god of a land far south of here. Adalinda," he turned to her, "long ago, I granted you power, intending to make you my chosen witch. But something in you, some indomitable will, took that magic and made it your own."

She stared, lips parted in a soft 'oh'. Jax reached over to grip her hand and she squeezed back reflexively.

"Huh," I blurted, "so that's two major species created by accident then?" I winced as Jax shot me a look. Apparently, I'd never quite mastered that brain-to-mouth filter.

But Kit chuckled, unoffended. "Indeed. Though I would say my 'accident' turned out a bit better than some others." He slid a sly glance at Izora.

However, Izora was “accidentally” turned over ten thousand years ago. She’d been a Scandinavian Princess when a goddess named Rhiannon cursed Izora when attempting to give her powers in hopes of creating her own magical race. The spell went wrong and turned Izora into the first vampire. Rhiannon tried to correct her mistake and tried to kill Izora, but Rhiannon couldn’t because Izora was immortal.

So, Rhiannon perfected her spell and created a new race of witches. Every few generations or so a witch was born that hadthe power to desiccate the Initial or any vampire. Rhiannon was the same goddess Kendra got her powers from.