Page 71 of Catastrophe

“I don’t think I will. Did you hug out all your angst and fear? Did you comb out his hair and tell him he’s beautiful? He always does that for Clawdia, so I think he’d probably like it himself. He’s a soppy one.”

Am I telling my one boyfriend-in-law how to seduce my other boyfriend-in-law? Yes.

Life is weird. One day, you’re checking your emails with your neighbor’s cat, and the next, she’s your familiar and the love of your life and comes with a pair of supernatural built-in bodyguard boyfriends.

His expression was blank as he said, “No. I took him to see the butchered bodies of the akari males who tortured him in the fighter cells and promised him the same retribution to those who do the same to him now.”

I was honestly speechless. “You didn’t actually do that, did you?”

“I did.”

I shook my head and closed my mouth. “Wow, you are something else.”

“Zaide appreciated it,” Baelen snapped, defending himself.

I raised my hands. “Your idea of foreplay is warped, but who am I to judge? If Zaide likes the bodies of his enemies …”

“He does.” Baelen nodded decisively, and the happy glow seemed to return to him. His red eyes warmed, and the corners of his lips tilted upward. It was cute.

I held back a laugh as I returned to my coffee, and only minutes later, the cafe door chimed as it opened and a purple-haired witch and our rescued daemon friend approached the table.

“Friend!” Savida cheered, pushing his chair over as he jumped up to embrace his fellow daemon. Alcor didn’t immediately hug him back, which suggested he still didn’t have his memory back.

“Arabella, thanks for meeting us.” I said as Alcor held her chair out for her to sit down before he sat beside her at the table.

She eyed Baelen suspiciously. “You brought the possessed vampire with you?”

I replied before Baelen could. “Not possessed anymore, and he’s also part of Clawdia’s little harem, so he stays with us.”

She pursed her lips and nodded before helping herself to a mug and pouring a cup of coffee. “You said you have a plan to retrieve the council.”

I didn’t say I had a plan, but I inclined my head and said, “Tell us what you last heard first.”

She took a sip before replying, “The council said the island was under attack by the hunters, and when we couldn’t get back in contact with them again, we assumed them dead. We were planning to look for survivors, but there was a sighting of Fafnir, and so we followed that lead.”

“Human or dragon?” Because the dragon could have been me.

“Human.”

“And did you follow him?”

“We lost him.”

“If he’s walking around human, then he’s with the hunters,” I said.

And if it were me tracking them all, I’d have found them all already because I’d have a portfolio on every person he interacted with even briefly. But not everyone had the superpowers I did. I was just born better.

“Why do you think he’s working with them? We’ve found nothing to suggest that.”

“No offense, because I’m sure you’re doing your best, but you haven’t found shit, so why would you know?” Is what I wanted to say. Instead, I did the diplomatic thing and said, “My family are working with the hunters. We found evidence of it in their temporary accommodation. They are also working with Fafnir. Clawdia and Zaide are in the hunter compound. Zaide has heard Fafnir there. Clawdia had a vision of the past, which showed Fafnir has been planning this and working with the hunters for a long time.”

Arabella’s eyes grew larger with each sentence. “Planning what?”

“We are still uncertain.”

“The hunters know they are working with a dragon?” Alcor asked.

“No. They know about the witches, but the dragon is being revealed soon. He’s going to use the captured witches and the council for the demonstration.”

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