Page 4 of A Dagger of Twisted Starlight

“What should I know about you? Considering we’ll be spending a lot of time together and I didn’t get any kind of briefing. I was just told I’d be assigned an expert bodyguard. No one ever told me it’d be a han—” I winced and quickly corrected myself. ”—a dragon.”

“You were about to call me handsome, weren’t you?”

“No I wasn’t.” There was still a little vodka left. I finished it off and crossed my arms. “Anyways, what should I know?”

“Well, you already know I’m verse, so we can start somewhere else.”

Again, I nearly launched myself across the cabin. He might as well have pressed an Eject button on my seat. I cleared my throat. Looked for more vodka and found only a few drops.

“I’ve been a bodyguard for five years now. I’m twenty-eight, which is pretty young for us dragons. I’m an expert at tennis,and I don’t mind getting a little sweaty. I’m also a sap for rom-coms.”

“Which one’s your favorite?” I asked, finding a common interest.

“I think I’m going withThe Wedding Invite.”

“Classic choice, classic. That one’s up there for me, but the one I can constantly rewatch isLook Who Caught the Bouquet.”

Xavier nodded, appearing impressed. “That one’s not talked about enough.”

“I agree,” I said, his contagious smile making me match him. Maybe it wasn’t only his laugh I found calming. I settled back into my chair. We were the only two passengers on the plane besides the crew, which gave this an odd form of intimacy I wasn’t expecting. Xavier was hired to be my bodyguard—I had to remember that.

“I thought you were going to say you loved action movies.”

Xavier huffed. “Why, because I’m handsome and muscular?” He gave me a wink.

I rolled my eyes and started to blush again.

“I do also love them,” he said. He swirled his glass, leaned across the wide aisle. “Music?”

“Huh?” Why was he so close to me? He had a beauty mark above his left eyebrow and another one near his chin.

“What kind of music do you listen to? That wasn’t in the briefing.”

“Mostly pop, some country here and there. You?”

“Rock. I loved it growing up. I love jazz too. It sounds like magic to my ears.”

“You’re such a contradiction. A bodyguard dragon who likes rom-coms, rock ’n’ roll, and jazz.”

He shrugged, head cocked. The plane shook as we pushed through turbulence. “The rom-coms came from my mom, actually. We’d watch them every week together. And her favorite bands were all rock bands. My father took her to a concert on their first date, and she was hooked. She loved the energy from going to the shows.”

“You and your mom sound really close.”

“We were. She passed in the Dragonfall.”

My chest tightened with sympathy. The Dragonfall had been a curse that nearly changed the entire world as we knew it. A hostile takeover attempt by a rogue queen of vampires. It was the very family Xavier was a part of who were responsible for stopping it and effectively saving the world.

I hadn’t known he lost his mom in the process. “I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, I am too.” A slash of grief crossed his expression. He sat back in his seat. The flight attendant came by to take our meal orders, interrupting the flow of conversation. Once he finished, it took a while for me to speak up again.

“So you live in a castle in Malibu, right?” I asked. “I guess I’m staying with you. My father didn’t want me renting somewhere. I tried.”

“You will be staying with us,” he said. “I don’t think you’ll mind. We have great views. And a lot of space.”

“Does anyone else stay there?”

“All my siblings do, along with their partners. Dinner times can get a bit hectic, but I love it. Makes things fun. The vice president said he’d prefer you stay with us for an extra layer of protection.”

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