Page 189 of The Night Firm

When I finish, I'm nearly out of breath. My cheeks are flushed and I'm riled up.

I wait expectantly for him to say something.

But instead, he leans over and kisses me.

What the hell?

His lips are hot, searing, and burn straight through me, and I respond to him for a moment, drawn into his fire and power, but then I regain my senses, pull back and slap him across the face.

I think it hurts my hand more than his face. And he doesn't look at all phased or apologetic.

"What the hell was that!"

My body is tingling, and I don't even know what to do with all the emotions roiling through me like lava.

"It has been a long time since a woman spoke to me like that," he says, glancing at the statue again.

"That doesn't entitle you to my lips," I say, softening slightly but still low key pissed.

"Forgive me. I am too accustomed to getting what I want." He doesn't look sorry, though. Just arrogant.

"No shit. That's abundantly clear, and part of the problem. You created this world, but you don't own the people in it," I say. "You have to change with the times. Learn and grow. I'm always so stunned at how little self-development you long-lived beings accomplish. Humans have got you beat in that, for your information. For all that you criticize our puny mortal life spans, most of us bust our asses to grow and learn and accomplish as much as we can in that time. You, for all your lofty greatness, have done what in the last thousand years? How have you changed? Grown? What have you learned?"

He looks lost in thought, and then his lips twitch into a smile. "I was about to say that Landal would have liked you, and then I realized you two were close once. She shared your zeal for the downtrodden and abused. This world was actually her idea. She was tired of seeing so many of the magical community hunted and killed just for being different. She had a vision of a world where all could live in safety."

His words give me pause. "Did…did you knowme…the me back then?"

"Only casually. I never saw your face, as I said. Or the Crone Fate. She spoke about the two of you from time to time, but Fate business and Dragon business were things we didn't share with each other freely. When we were together, we tried to let go of that and just be us."

"How did she die?" I ask, recalling what Ifi said before I came here.

Racul looks at Landal's statue, his expression almost heartbreaking. It is the look of a man trying hard to control emotions that he's suppressed for too many years. Emotions of love, pain, loss, betrayal, anger.

On impulse, I take his hand. It burns hot in my own but doesn't hurt me. He looks down at our hands, and I think he's about to pull away, but instead he squeezes mine and turns his gaze back to me.

"The truth of her death has never been uncovered," he says. "But I know what happened."

I bite my tongue to keep from asking more questions. I have a feeling if I wait, he'll speak more freely than if I interrogate him. He looks as if he's standing on the edge of his past, waiting to fall into it.

The silence lingers between us. Something scurries in the shadows across the room, disturbing the cobwebs. Dust mites dance in the fractals of light cast by the candles. The stagnant air settles around us. Still I wait.

When he finally speaks, his words are hushed, his deep voice laden with pain.

"My mother is a formidable being, as you have seen."

I can't help but snort at that. Understatement of the year.

"She did not support the formation of this world. She feels that dragons are the only pure bloods, and any other beings of magic are bastards, weakened by lesser blood. Not worth our time or energy. Certainly not worth creating an entire world for, abandoning our own in the process."

He pauses, swallowing, lost in thought. "She did not know about my relationship with Landal. Just that we had worked together to convince the others to join our quest. She was livid, but what could she do? We outnumbered her, and she knew if she pushed too hard, she would lose us entirely. So she relented."

He shifts in his seat, pulling my hand closer to him, still holding it tightly as if it's a lifeline for him. On instinct, I send a thread of my magic, the blend of all the elements, to him and I see his skin glow at the contact for just a moment before it fades.

He gapes at me, astonished. "Thank you."

I nod.

He clears his throat. "We celebrated when the world formed. We rejoiced when beings entered here, forming towns, homes, lives. We did our best to set up a fair and just system to manage the growing population. The Fates did not take an active role here, as they still had commitments on your world, but Landal came as frequently as she could to be with me."