Page 20 of Lahaina Noon (Modern Legends of Dragons & Shadows #1)

Chapter 20

D inner was a noisy, boisterous affair, as expected. She was glad she’d made as much as she had. She thought she’d made too much, but after seeing how all the ‘kids’ ate, she understood how a frat house mom must feel. She smiled at them, so easy with each other, including Gabe in conversations like he was part of the team. She could tell they’d had large group dinners here before as they all settled in like they were home. It made her unexplainably happy to realize she was now part of it and they’d accepted her easily.

Of course, Gabe managed to seat himself next to Siobhan and was recounting his epic tournament prowess to her.

“Gabe,” she called to him, “Eat your dinner and quit pestering Siobhan.”

“Bruh!” he turned to her. His eyes widened at the calm expression on her face, “I mean, um, yes, Mom. Ma’am.”

She winked at him, and the rest of the table erupted in laughter.

One of the guys, Marco was his name, slapped Gabe on the back and told him, “Rookie mistake, man. ”

Jorrie, eyeing Siobhan, leaned over and whispered, “If that girl hurts my little Rutabaga.”

Bridget whispered back, “You hold her down. I’ll rip her heart out.” Vaughn choked on the bite he’d just taken, and Bridget realized he must have heard them. She winked, and he smiled.

He leaned over to them, “You two she-lions better not pounce too quickly. Siobhan’s a good girl. She won’t hurt him.”

Jorrie looked Vaughn in the eye. “Hey, I watch a lot of DateLine. She’ll never see it coming.” She sat back in her chair.

Bridget blinked prettily at Vaughn as he shook his head. “Speaking of things we don’t want others to hear, we need to sit down with Jack and Jorrie. I haven’t told them much, and they really need to know. Not my secrets to tell, though, so I asked them to wait for you.”

He nodded and kissed her cheek, “Thank you,” he breathed in her ear. Vaughn stood, “Alright, you hooligans.” He was met with jeers. “The grownups are going to have adult conversations; you guys clean up. I mean all of it!” He looked around the table. There was some grumbling, but it was good-natured. “Those who cooked don’t have to clean.”

He took Bridget’s hand and pulled her from the chair, nodding at Jorrie and Jack. “Liam, Killian,” he called, “With me.”

“Hey, Liam didn’t cook!” called out Marco.

“I bought the groceries!” Liam shot back.

The others laughed and began to stack dishes. Bridget, Jack, and Jorrie grabbed their wine glasses and followed Vaughn down the hallway to a large library, Liam and Killian trailing behind. Once they were all settled down, they began .

Well, Vaughn started off by staring at the ceiling and humming.

Bridget elbowed him in the ribs and motioned with her head that everyone was waiting for him to open the discussion.

“Sorry,” he said, “Was trying to decide how much to tell.”

Jorrie leaned forward, “All of it, Mr. Sex God.”

Jack choked on his wine, and Jorrie had to slap him on the back.

Vaughn stared at Jorrie and then at Liam, who was seemingly fixated on the table near him, obviously trying not to laugh. “Mouth. Shut,” he growled to Liam, who nodded quickly. Vaughn looked at Bridget; she was biting her lip. “How much do you trust them?” he asked.

“With my life,” she replied without hesitation.

Vaughn sighed and settled back into the cushions, pulling Bridget closer and kissing the top of her head. “Okay, all of it then,” Vaughn told them about the Shadow Claw, their leader, the great battle for domination and subsequent removal of powers. He shared how they were making a resurgence and about the prophecy that had endangered Bridget’s life.

Bridget could see they were growing more and more skeptical, so she added in her part. About the shadows coming for her, about them trying to grab her in the parking garage, at the restaurant, in the park, and how they’d made a play for Gabe today at the school.

At that part, Jorrie jumped up and threw her arms around Liam’s neck. “Thank you so much, thank you for taking care of my Rutabaga.”

Liam glanced at Bridget as he hugged her back and mouthed, Rutabaga ?

She shook her head in a don’t ask motion and looked at Jack. He was quiet and thoughtful.

“Bridge,” he began slowly. “This explains so much.” He looked up at her, tears in his eyes. “I’ve seen the shadows too.”

Bridget ran over to Jack and dropped to her knees in front of him. “Tell me,” she commanded.

“I first saw them the day Brian died,” he began. “You remember I came to tell you; I didn’t want it to be the police.”

She nodded, remembering how awful Jack looked, forlorn and drenched, standing on her doorstep in the pouring rain, not caring he was soaked to the bone.

“I was standing there, and I thought I saw a shadow moving across the wall behind you. It didn’t make sense to me then. The world didn’t make sense. You dragged me inside and sat me down. Gave me a towel and a cup of hot tea. You were so worried about me, but then I had to tell you. You broke down and were crying in my arms. I didn’t tell you, but I saw the shadows again. They were hovering in the hallway like they were just watching you. They slowly drifted away. I’ve seen them several more times since then, hovering, watching.” He hugged Bridget. “I’m so sorry I never told you, I thought I was crazy, like I was imagining things. I should have spoken up sooner.”

Jorrie came over, refilled Jack’s wine glass and wrapped her arms around them both. The three friends sat there, silent, sharing their love for each other.

Vaughn watched them and debated how he would share the rest. He remembered how Bridget had reacted when he’d proven the existence of dragons. He didn’t know if he could handle two more hysterical people tonight.

Killian, hovering behind him, chimed in. “If they have been aware of her all along, why wait so long to make a move? Why now?” he asked.

“They weren’t sure?” Vaughn replied, not convinced of that answer. “Like the rest of us, they had multiple people they suspected, but they had to be certain. Moving too soon could alert the dra…, umm, others, what they were planning. Or they were waiting for her to manifest. Show off her Wielding.”

“Wielding?” asked Jack.

Killian stepped forward and shot silver flames across the room that looped back around into sparkles and flitted about like fireworks. The others stared at him in awe. “Wielding magic,” he murmured.

Liam grinned and rumbled, drawing a glance from Jorrie, who took her seat and gazed at them shrewdly. “There’s something else you aren’t telling us. Something even bigger you are keeping back.”

Bridget nodded, “Jorr, Jack, you know I love you both, so please believe me. This next part? It’s going to blow your minds, but you have to believe it’s real and stay calm, okay.” She turned back to Vaughn, “If you’re ready.”

Vaughn sat forward and dropped his head, then looked up with flames in his eyes. Jack flinched, and Jorrie sat frozen. He tilted his head back and blew three perfect smoke rings towards the ceiling. The others watched them rise in fascination and looked back to Vaughn. He smiled to reassure them, then stood. “My kind have been around for as long as the Shadow Claw,” he intoned, “Even longer. We are the guardians of the old magics and the protectors of the Wielders. We are…”

“Oh, jeez, Vaughn,” interrupted Liam. “Quit being so dramatic about it, you’ll scare them!” He whipped off his shirt and rolled his shoulders. He gave a little shimmer and green wings unfurled behind him. He flapped them lightly and looked around.

“We’re dragons, okay? Just dragons. Nothing woowoo scary, we don’t eat virgins, we don’t ask for sacrifices, we rarely plunder and pillage kingdoms anymore. And no, there is no secret weakness in our scales when we are fully changed. Killian’s a Wielder, I’m a dragon, Vaughn’s a dragon. Simple.”

Jack raised his hand, “Okay, um, thanks, but sorry, scales? Dragons? Yeah, that’s just a teensy bit scary.” He pinched his fingers together to emphasize how teensy. He glanced at Liam, then widened his fingers.

Jorrie stared at Liam, speechless. She looked back at Vaughn, who seeming to understand, also took off his shirt and spread his wings. His wings were much larger than Liam’s, and the gold flickered in the light of the library. Jorrie, who had jumped to her feet when Liam spread his wings, abruptly sat back down.

Jack squeaked a little, “See? Scary!” staring at Vaughn’s deadly looking talons.

Jorrie slowly stood again and started towards Vaughn, but halfway, she changed course and walked to Liam instead. She tentatively reached up towards one of his wings but pulled her hand back.

Liam gently took her hand and smiled. She took this as a sign of encouragement and slowly stroked her hand across the arch of his wing, where it came over the top of his bare shoulder. He made a low, rumbly sound, like a purr in his chest.

Jorrie’s face broke into a giant smile. “Holy shit,” she whispered and stroked the other one.

Liam’s rumble grew louder, and his eyes closed, a smile etched onto his face. She stopped, “I’m sorry, does that hurt?” she snatched her hands away.

Liam grinned at her, “On the contrary, it feels amazing. In this form, our wings are quite sensitive, and a woman’s touch is very… sensual.” He adjusted his stance and cleared his throat.

Jorrie’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh my god, I didn’t know. I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to,” she stammered as her face grew hot, flushing as red as a tomato.

“I’m not sorry, you have very soft hands.” Liam grinned, his bright green eyes twinkling with impish glee.

“Okay, lover boy,” Vaughn laughed, “Knock it off. Quit mesmerizing the fair maiden, and let’s get back to the business at hand.” He turned to Jack. “Jack, I love you, man, but you aren’t stroking my wings.” He winked.

Jack blinked for a second, then laughed. It was just what he needed to bring him out of his scared stupor. He stood, wiping his hands on his slacks. “Okay, well I think I need something a little stronger than wine after that demonstration.” He looked between Vaughn and Liam, both standing there shirtless, wings spread, handsome as sin. “Got any whisky?”

Vaughn nodded, tucked his wings in and headed off to grab the liquor .

Bridget wandered over to a still shirtless and winged Liam, who was watching Jorrie as she prowled the room, looking at the books and artifacts.

She glanced at Liam’s wings and said, “You know, I guess I didn’t realize you were different colors. Makes sense, though, just like humans have different hair and skin colors, you would have different scales.”

Liam nodded, stretching his wings a bit before pulling them back in. He pulled his shirt over his head and cleared his throat. “Yeah, I guess there is a lot you haven’t had a chance to ask Vaughn yet. What with you guys being so, busy.” He grinned at her.

She blushed, thinking about how vocal they had been last night. “Do you live here, Liam?”

“Not technically. I have a house not far from here but I’m here most of the time, so I do have my own room. Although I’m going to be bunking with Gabe for a while until we figure this out.”

She hugged him in thanks, smiling at him.

He smiled back before his eyes wandered back to Jorrie, who had joined Jack in speaking to Killian.

Bridget smirked; he was playing with fire if he was looking in that direction. Then again, he was a dragon— who knew better how to handle flames. Speaking of, “Can you breathe fire?”

Liam looked back at her, “Well, I can only do it in full form. Vaughn can do it fully human which is really rare, and only the strongest of us can do it.”

“Full form?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “It’s when we drop the human shape altogether and go full dragon. It’s wicked cool and really fun. We don’t normally show humans that form, though. Usually, only for mates, wielders we work with, and family. Like, I’d show my sister but not many others.” His eyes tracked to Jorrie again.

Bridget cleared her throat.

He looked back at her, grinning. “You should ask Vaughn.”

“Ask me what?” Vaughn inquired, walking into the room, whisky decanter in one hand, glasses in the other.

Bridget looked at Liam and he nodded in encouragement. “I was wondering if you would show me your full form,” she said tentatively.

Vaughn’s hands tremored and he tightened his grip on the glasses to keep from dropping them. He could just replace them if they broke, but he didn’t want anyone to see how much her asking affected him.

He glared at Liam, who was trying to look innocent. “Oh, well, there’s not enough space in here,” he replied and set down the liquor. He opened the decanter and sniffed the heady aroma. “Yes, this will do nicely.”

She walked over and put a hand on his arm, saying nothing.

He stared at the glasses for a second, then met her gaze. She was so beautiful it was painful. He knew why Liam had pushed her to ask. Liam thought Bridget was his true mate. But it was much too soon for that discussion. He’d have to caution Liam, the little meddler, about spreading that around. If the Council got hold of that snippet of information... He shuddered.

“That wasn’t a real answer,” Bridget whispered. “But I’ll let it go for now. ”

He nodded and poured. He passed drinks around, glaring at Liam when he handed him a glass. Liam only smirked in response. Vaughn shook his head. Kids .

Jorrie, watching the interchange, spoke up. “Hey, is he old enough to be drinking that?” nodding at Liam.

Vaughn and Liam both burst into laughter.

Jorrie looked back and forth at them, “What’s the joke?” she said.

Bridget smiled, “I know Liam looks like a college kid, but he’s probably older than you. Am I right, Liam?”

He nodded at Jorrie. “Yeah, I’m young for a dragon, but I was born in 1969. Moon year, baby.” He saluted her with the glass.

Jorrie stared for a second, threw back her entire glass and held it out for a refill. Liam obliged by sauntering over and pouring, giving her a sultry smile.

“If you’re done?” Vaughn rolled his eyes.

Jack snickered, and Jorrie blushed.

Liam went back to leaning on his bookcase, but not before he winked at Jorrie.

Killian snorted, startling Bridget, who had almost forgotten he was there.

Vaughn rolled his eyes again and put his hands over his face. “Back to the Shadow Claw,” he muttered.