Page 38 of When the Witch Met the Minotaur

“You do.”

“You’ll find a way. I believe in you.”

I laugh. “Shut up, Minotaur.”

Chapter 19

Tully

After fiddling with his distillation machine a little more, we don our cloaks and decide to test the thundersnow.

Cyrus grimaces at the view of the snow out the window. “You’re sure about this?”

“It’s started melting,” I say. “It might not be as bad now.” I hope my guess is right or this is going to hurt.

Argos pushes the door open and a gust of cold air blows in. “Let’s give it a go.”

We step delicately into the snow at the same time. The ground trembles and we freeze.

“Are we about to perish in this nice fluffy snow?” Argos eyes me, his brows lifted.

The sun breaks through the gray clouds and illuminates one of his dark eyes and the cut of a cheekbone. Intelligence puts a spark in his eye and his ridiculous confidence gives his presence a weight I can’t help but be drawn to. He is far more interesting than any other male I’ve known.

I smooth my skirts and glare at the piles of slush and ice. “Nothing about this snow is nice.”

The ground shakes again, and then the whole of it rolls under our feet like a sea wave crashing onto the shoreline. We fall back through the pub’s double doors and onto our arses.

“Great work, you two,” Cyrus says, chuckling from where he’s serving up some roast and potatoes to one of the couples stuck here like us.

Argos stands and holds out a hand. I take it and haul myself to my feet.

“Now what?” the dragon shifter asks.

“You shift into dragon form and fly us to Rustion’s.”

“I would have suggested that ages ago if it weren’t for the fact that I can’t shift when thundersnow is surrounding me. I have tried. Believe me.”

He shudders and starts back toward the kitchen. Cyrus had brought Delixian over, but from what I’d heard around the pub, it had nearly been a terrible idea. Unshifted, Cyrus can’t carry much weight. They both almost ended up in the thundersnow, trapped. They could have been roughed up really badly.

“I’m out of ideas,” I say, straightening my witch’s hat.

“Let’s eat, drink a bit, and wait for a day,” Argos says. “The snow might melt completely if the temperature rises a little more tomorrow.”

I shrug and head for a table by the crackling fire. “I guess we have to.”

“Can we send word to Rustion about the thieves?”

I shake my head and remove my hat to shake a few errant ice flakes from the edge. “No. My magic won’t work correctly with this stuff around and neither will notewater.”

“All right then.” Argos drags two wicker chairs from a table and positions them in front of the hearth. “We just relax as best we can with someone out there who may or may not blow up the mayor’s estate.”

Snorting a wry laugh, I sit beside him and stare into the flames, trying to figure this whole thing out. “So no leads at all after questioning the staff? Are you truly certain nothing they mentioned was helpful. I wish I had been there.”

“Yeah, no, we didn’t get anything really actionable. Cyrus did mention that there were a few extra helpers around right before the storm. He thought they were with one of the supply companies like the brewer or the greenhouse company, but it’s very possible a couple of them were just here and saw an opportunity.”

“They likely just want to sell the artifacts,” I say. “I didn’t see any magical creatures.”

“Right. They probably don’t even know what they stole, only that the stones and mirror looked expensive.”