Page 27 of Magic Claimed

She let out a very dragonish-sounding growl. “Okay,maybe a little. I’m worried, and I don’t like being worried, so I wouldn’t mind letting off a little steam. A nice fae ambush would really hit the spot right about now.”

Yep, that was dragons for you.

“How about we do this all calm and peaceful-like, and then we’ll take the next flight out to Colorado? I’ll tell Callum his court is being mean to me, and you can beat up as many fae as you want.”

“Deal,” she said, holding up a fist for me to bump.

I obliged, then turned to open my door, and let out a deeply embarrassing shriek.

Right outside my window was a pair of glowing golden eyes.

Well,at least that solved the mystery of who’d given my name to Monique.

I opened my door a little more forcefully than necessary and grumbled to myself when Shane Isaacson somehow managed to dodge without looking remotely awkward or put out.

“So, I haveyouto thank for this?”

“You’re welcome.” Shane’s voice was deep and velvety smooth, even with his goblin fangs in evidence, and he sounded not even slightly penitent.

On the other side of the car, Kira stepped out and shut her door, but hovered in the street without saying anything. If I’d known Shane was involved, I probably wouldn’t have asked her along. This thing between them was far too painful to deliberately subject her to his icy behavior.

“How did you get mixed up in this?”

“Monique was friends with… my mother.” Shane’s gaze very noticeably did not stray to Kira. “They both enjoyed gardening, and I believe they bonded over the hazards of raising teenage boys.”

“Did you know Jeremiah?”

Shane shook his head. “I’ve been away for too many years. He was just a baby when I was…”

Taken by the fae.

But still, I guessed that some part of him saw his mother in Monique and couldn’t suppress the desire to ensure that their story was not the same as his.

I was relieved, at least, to know that it was Shane who’d sent Monique to find me. It meant that I could officially stop worrying about this being a trap.

So I took one step closer and lowered my voice. “Do you believe her?”

The golden glow in Shane’s eyes intensified, and I saw the tips of his fangs as he let out a tiny huff of frustration.

“She’s a good mom, and she’s telling the truth as she knows it. Other than that, it’s up to you to find out.”

Monique’s mom instincts insisted someone had taken her son, and I knew better than to discount those. Which meant that Jeremiah was probablyactuallymissing, and if magic had been used in his kidnapping…

I didn’t like the implications of thatat all.

So, my first concern had to be figuring out whether magic was indeed involved. Andif it was?

A cold, greasy feeling of dread spread from my chest towards my limbs as I fought to stay free of my own memories.

Idrians kidnapping humans.

I would not allow it to happen again. And not only because of my own ugly past.

If history was repeating itself—and if it became widely known—this incident could all too easily fan the flames of unrest between Idrians and humans in this city. People would be hurt. People I cared about. And I would do everything in my power to prevent that—even investigate a potential crime that made me feel like throwing up.

I turned towards the porch before looking back over my shoulder at Shane. “Are you here for the introduction or here to help?”

He took a long, uncomfortable pause—as if he didn’t want to answer—and my hunch magic supplied the rest.