Page 21 of Magic Claimed

SIX

By this time, my “break”was very much over, so I turned away from the prying gazes of the two dragons and jogged up the stairs after Faris, following him into the club and wincing hard as I took in the scope of the damage.

How many times now had I been at least partially responsible for destroying his property?

I knew I needed to offer to pay for it, but also that it would take literal years based on my current salary.

“Faris, I…”

“Still haven’t had your break,” he said coolly. “And don’t argue with me. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy facing those two.”

In some ways, Faris was as steady and predictable as the sunrise, but sometimes he still managed to surprise me.

“Then why did you send me in there? You could have just told them I was busy.”

He glanced over at me. “You would have worried about it allnight. Tripped all over yourself wondering what to say to them. This way, you didn’t have time to plan. And you were still angry, so you didn’t let them bully you.” He huffed. “The only way to live with dragons is to prove that they can’t steamroll you whenever they feel like it.”

I groaned. “So you werehopingI would insult them to their faces?”

“More or less.” He shrugged. “If it helps, I think you did well. There was no yelling, nothing is on fire, and no one tried to eat you for your presumption.”

I stared at him, certain that I was going insane. How was this my life?

“I’m going to go clean up,” I muttered. “And”—I waved a hand at what was left of the club’s furniture—“I’m really sorry about this.”

“You didn’t do it.”

“No, but…”

“Raine.”

His tone turned me to face him, ready to be chastised.

“Don’t make the mistake of treating anyone here like humans,” he warned me. “Sure, they ran from the fight, because they’re not stupid. Naga can be mean and dangerous, and this one was clearly fighting for keeps. Otherwise, they’d probably have just joined right in.” I heard him sigh, like a tired parent of toddlers. “But they’ll be back, because they love the drama, and they’ll be gossiping about tonight for weeks. So no, you didn’t ruin my business or cost me anything I can’t afford. This isn’t uncommon. At least a dozen times a year, I have to ban someone or other for starting a fight. Just partof the job.”

Okay then.

“Go take your break,” my boss said, a little more gently. “And call Callum. He needs to know.”

I pulled out my phone and glanced at the time. A little after nine. He might still be in meetings at this point. I really didn’t want to disturb him…

Or maybe I was being a complete and utter coward. If I could face Tairen-li-Corva, I could call Callum after telling him I loved him.

Faris disappeared into the kitchen—probably to give me some space—so, feeling cranky and a little vengeful, I stabbed at Callum’s name and waited for the call to go through.

It went to voicemail.

So, of course, instead of feeling relieved like a rational person, I was completely disappointed. I might not want to be a burden, but Ididwant to hear his voice.

“He must be busy,” I mumbled to myself, just as Tairen and Skye finally made their way back up from the basement. “I’ll call him later.”

“He isnottoo busy,” his mother declared firmly, flipping her silver-blonde braid over her shoulder and reaching for her own phone. “Not for this.”

A moment later, she lowered her phone from her ear, face frozen in a thunderous expression. Which was, of course, when Kira walked in through the front door, her mouth dropping open a little as she surveyed the destruction.

It closed again the moment she spotted her mother.

“Uh, hi Mom.”