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Cherry’s nose flared, “I’m thinking that maybe you could be of help to the Coven at this moment.”

Rowan let out a sharp laugh. “Say what?”

“You’ve debuted this week in the Mystic’s Top 100.

” Cherry said, “You stopping the wolves in Greece was unexpected. You showing up to stop Black Cove’s attack on Draconis amplified your power and position.

You’re currently good PR fodder, and like the dragons will surely use this to soften their relationship with the public, I’d like to propose a similar relationship with the Coven. ”

“You know that my relationship with the dragons is because their king is my mate, right? Exactly how could you offer something similar?” Rowan crossed her arms.

“Well…” It didn’t seem that Cherry had quite had a proposal all planned out. “We could give you a leadership role.”

Rowan sighed, “Cherry, I have not changed my stance. I want nothing to do with the Coven. There’s too much history between us, especially if you take on the role of the Elder.”

“I could leave it to someone else!“ Cherry hissed.

“Ms. Dahl. Judgement has been called for Antoni Barros. His testimony will tear our credibility to shreds. The accusations the shifters will throw at us will be detrimental to our operations. The Coven may have seemed like a source of misery for you, but we have helped more than harmed over the years.”

“Yes, you have. But the moment you tried to infringe on my will is the moment you lost your chance of ever receiving my help. There’s only one thing the Coven and you can do to survive the public outlash.

Confess. Give your side of the story. Help the shifters point the finger in the right direction.

Antoni Barros acted alone, and though he will apparently use rage lust as his excuse for his actions, he’ll throw both the shifters and the Coven under the bus when he tells his side.

Only your testimony will save the Coven Cherry, especially if you’re the one in charge.

How could anyone think that this was a Coven backed initiative if its current leader was a person he hurt? ”

Cherry’s eyes glistened as she shook her head. “That’s just it, Ms. Dahl. He made me a victim. How can I take command of a force like the Coven when he exposed me as someone weak enough to become a victim? ”

The image of her bloody body gave Rowan pause. She couldn’t do this. Trick the woman who was still so obviously affected by the man into testifying, even if it would be better for the Thunder, for the people she’d agreed to lead.

Still, she had little mercy for the woman who’d been at the center of making her life hell for so long to offer words of comfort.

“It’s your story, Cherry. You decide if you were truly a victim or a survivor.” Rowan stood. “I’ll see you around.”

Chapter 36

“An amusement park?”

Alessandro grinned down at the flabbergasted face of Rowan as she looked around the sidewalk surrounded by rollercoasters and carnival games. The sounds of screaming riders and laughter screeched out as he produced two hats with “Jacques’ Famous FunGround” stitched in bright yellow letters.

“Only one rule, no magic.” He said, holding one out to her while he placed the other over his head.

She narrowed her eyes. “Who blabbed?”

He lifted the bill of the hat to show off his mating mark as an answer.

Though much slower than his memories had come to her, since their talk over his godhood, she’d let up on her blockage of the bond.

He had seen a few recollections of what had been Rowan’s core.

Most notably of the bunch, a memory of a day in an amusement park where a costumed rabbit had scared her out of her mind.

Since that day, she hadn’t been able to face returning to a supposed place of joy that she could only associate with terror.

“Today, we are conquering fear together.” He placed the cap on her head, tilting it back so he could place a brief kiss on her forehead. “Even if that damned rabbit shows back up.”

She wrapped her hand tightly around his and stuck to his side. “If that damned rabbit shows back up, I’m going to set it on fire.”

Alessandro tutted. “No magic.”

She bristled. “If you hated me, you should’ve just told me. I can take it. I’m a big girl.”

“If I told you I hated you, you’d probably drown in tears,” he teased, leading the way to a stand equipped with water guns and galloping horses.

Rowan sighed. “I knew taking you out of that cave was going to bite me in the ass one day.”

He laughed and pulled a stool out for her to occupy while he took the one next to hers. “Would you like to wager?”

Her shoulders straightened, and she placed her hands on both sides of her gun. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

He knew it was a lot to ask for, but his dragon needed it above everything else. “If I win, we disappear for a month to allow the mark a chance to really settle.”

She tried to read him, but her brush of magic was too familiar to go unnoticed by him. He tutted, “No magic, Rowan.”

She frowned, but moved on. “And if I win?”

“What do you want?”

“We live in my cabin.”

He found it entertaining that either way this went, he’d benefit.

He hadn’t really been too sure on how to broach the residence situation.

Of course he’d expected they would live together, but as accomplished spellcasters they could both phase anywhere they needed to go in case the Traveling Cabin decided it wanted to keep bouncing from place to place.

“Agreed.” He turned to the operator of the stand, a slack jawed centaur. He apparently recognized them both and with the media coverage over the attack, it didn’t surprise Alessandro.

A quick scan around showed that the operator hadn’t been the only one to make the connection. Even after he’d gone through the trouble of casting a stealth spell to mute their magic, he hadn’t thought to change their appearance.

“Come on, sir, I need this to go my way, so sabotage him if you can.” Rowan broke the tension.

The centaur shook out of his shock, then held up a filthy handkerchief to set them up. “On your marks…” He began, “Get set…” Rowan was all attention on the target.

“GO!”

The bells and lights exploded to life as Rowan’s horse reached the finish line first.

She hooted with celebration, pumping her fists in the air.

He grinned as the spectacle that was his mate made the crowd second guess their assumption that the two were the esteemed king and queen of the dragons.

It was with fewer eyes overlooking that they worked their way down the carnival stands with new wagers at every stop.

A basketball throwing contest won her a shiny knife she’d noticed in his bedroom in Dragon City. He secured a breakfast in bed through a high striker round handicapped by limited use of his thumb and forefinger only. A ring toss won her a quickie in a secluded alleyway.

By the time they made it to their first roller coaster, Alessandro’s arms were full of the oversized stuffed animals they’d also collected. Before strapping himself in, he turned to the ride operator, a teenage gorgon who was staring with open desire at the Dragon King.

“Protect those with your life.”

The teenager’s eyes widened, but she gave a firm nod.

Rowan grinned at him as the ride started pulling them along. It always stunned him, the joy he could make her feel by the simplest things.

Tilting her chin up, he sealed her lips with his just as they began their first descent. Butterflies flared to life in his stomach as he realized he was falling without control on his part. And wasn’t that just how this journey with her had begun?

Chapter 37

The press coverage was more appropriate for well-known award shows rather than the trial of a man whose actions had cost the lives of so many.

It was how life worked when so many mystics came together as they had to for Judgement. It was an open secret that the goal was to show everyone else up.

Rowan, as the unfamiliar face for the Draconian Thunder, wore silken traditional dragon garbs, drapes of blue and silver fabrics pinned around her body with tungsten jewelry on her throat, ears and wrists.

Her hair was pin straight, sweeping just past her shoulders, tinsel shining when light hit it at just the right angle.

Her mating mark was out on full display, matching Alessandro’s as they led the collection of all the shifters who Barros’ action had affected.

Her wings, tail and horns set her apart from the crowd of humanoid mystics. Years of living without the appendages hadn’t prepared her to stand out so starkly.

Rowan was just grateful Alessandro commanded a lot of attention, regardless of his lack of extra limbs.

He was a sexy man. Dressed in a doublet-inspired piece that showcased the strength of his wide chest, his every move made him seem indecent. When Rowan first caught sight of him working on the thick braid, now contained in tungsten cuffs at every 3 inches, she’d dropped her purse.

Underneath the tight top made from the same fabric as her piece, his muscles had bunched and stretched. She demanded he take responsibility for getting her wet just by existing in that moment.

It cost them an extra thirty minutes, which they’d had to answer for when Terra cut them an exasperated look and nearly lectured them for what had felt like the hundredth time just that day until she realized all the other alphas had their eyes on them.

His magic was a second layer of protection to her quickly diminishing anonymity.

Though it was not as overwhelming as when they were in Black Cove or Dragon City, magic shrouded him so thickly even those races who were notorious for having little to no access to magic felt it as he passed by the docks that allowed them access to the front steps of Judgement Hall.

Judgement Hall was the only building on a giant jutting black slab that had been stuck in the middle of international waters for centuries.