Page 41 of Silent Jay

Wrinkling my nose, I broke our staring contest first. I had to stop comparing the two shifters.

Jay:You’ve both mate-marked me. How’s that possible? Male dragons don’t share?

I flicked my gaze up. Dark blue scales crawled up Rehan’s face, and wisps of cool, hazy air curled out of his nose.

Jay:That should only be possible in pack shifters, like wolves.

He cocked his head to the side and looked me over a second time.

Jay:If you fucking ask who the fuck am I, I will chuck this lovely gift in the fire.

Rehan snorted.

Rehan:Then I’m going to assume you’re planning on filling me in. And no, in our history, a female has never been marked by two males, human or shifter.

I swallowed.

Peachy.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

REHAN

It had grown late. The fire in my conversation pit was down to coals, pumping little waves of unnecessary heat into the air. Only a few lights remained on, and the glow reflected off my mate’s skin as she responded to my most recent message.

Jay:Yeah, I bet you made a good musician. You know all your scales.

Jay looked up from her computer and winked at me.

I groaned.

Rehan:I’m not laughing at that.

With a grin, I opened the folder with my recordings and clicked on the first one. Soft Spanish guitar floated out of my speakers. I’d rather be playing it for her live, but I wasn’t willing to break the physical or emotional bubble we’d grown over the last few hours.

Rehan:I thought it would make me cool as a teen, but it stuck. I recorded these on my phone. Living on a quiet island gives you lots of downtime.

Jay:To do human things?

Rehan:What else would I do?

Jay narrowed her eyes but shrugged. She leaned back and swayed to my music. I loved it. A stupid grin filled her face, and she mouthed the word ‘scales’ a second time, before giggling at her own pun.

My heart wanted to burst in my chest. Every message we sent got better and better. She was as sharp as a sea urchin, vicious as a shark, and radiant. If sea sirens were real, her song would put all of them to shame.

I undid and redid my ponytail, scanning the messages leading up to her terrible pun. She was good with words, too, dropping enough information. I knew she at least had experience with the supernatural, but not enough to let me know if she was part of the community. I wasn’t ready to ask.

Rehan:So, you play music too?

Jay:I dabble.

She frowned and bit her lower lip.

I leaned forward, urging her to open up to me. Once again, instead of telling me anything about herself, she asked another question.

Jay:I just saw you heat your hot cocoa with a spell. Are you a warlock?

I picked up my drink, and she picked up hers. We hadn’t opened the bubbly; warm comfort was what she needed, and I had been happy to oblige. We both sipped our drinks while I pondered my answer.

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