Page 22 of Here Be Dragons

I narrowed my eyes at the three of them. They’d made all the decisions for me without even once asking for my opinion? I knew it was to keep me safe, but it still pissed me off. Just one, “Hey, it might get dangerous at your place, why don’t you stay here instead?” would’ve been nice. Suddenly, the whole go with the flow thing wasn’t working for me anymore. I put my hands on my hips.

“Did it occur to any of you to run this by me first?”

“That apartment is not acceptable. I will not permit you to live in such squalor.” It was impossible to miss the look of disgust on Desmon’s face.

Hey now! Did Mister High and Mighty just insult my apartment? I mean…yeah, it was in a shitty neighborhood…and it was a mess when he saw it…but Iworked really freaking hardto afford that place.

“Well, in that case, Your Highness,” I said in my most saccharine voice, mock curtseying to Desmon, “I guess I’ll just go to theapartment mall and select a nicer apartment that better meets your expectations.”

To Mateo’s credit, he kept a neutral face…barely. Seth, however, cracked up.

“I like her!” he exclaimed with a sputter. “About time someone else besides me had the guts to sass you, Your Highness.” He slapped Desmon on the back.

Desmon did not look amused.

The door to the library opened and in walked an older woman with blonde hair scattered with white streaks and twisted up into a loose bun. She held Q-Tip in her arms.

“Q-Tip!” I skipped over to the woman, glad to have a distraction from being reminded that I was basically dirt poor. As long as I had my favorite bun, I was rich.

I held out my arms, but Q-Tip did not automatically leap into them. That was odd. He was usually horrible with strangers and was only a total momma’s boy with me. But he seemed perfectly happy to relax in this woman’s arms.

“Hello, my dear. You must be Carly. I’m Elana. And what did you just call your delightful rabbit?”

This must be Seth’s mother, the one who’d wanted to name my bunny Rabbit DeNiro.

“Q-Tip. It’s because his tail isn’t fluffy like a cotton ball. It’s more shaped like a cotton bud. So yeah…Q-Tip”

“Well, little Q-Tip is settling in very nicely. I have him set up in one of the rooms with some of your things. I called the ranch and had the stableman send over some of the gourmet blend hay he feeds Desmon’s stallions. Q-Tip loves it.”

No wonder Q-Tip wasn’t eager to jump back into my arms: he was getting pampered within an inch of his life and being treated like bunny royalty here.

“Come, I’ll show you your room.”

Well, if it wasn’t safe for me out there, and they were treating Q-Tip well, then I guess I was staying. I was still pissed off that Desmon had insulted my apartment, though.

I followed the woman to the second floor, where she opened the third door on the left. The room was elegantly furnished with a queen-sized bed, a sitting area with two chairs, and, most importantly, plenty of space for Q-Tip to roam. My cheap particle board dresser was sitting next to an ornate walnut armoire. Elana had set Q-Tip’s area up in one corner, and his favorite mushroom home was there along with his food bowl, water fountain, and litter box.

I grimaced at the hay and “raisins,” aka bunny poop, already on the nice rug she’d put down under Q-Tip’s enclosure to protect the floor. I guess they didn’t bring the sheets of linoleum over from the apartment. “That carpet’s going to get ruined.”

“That’s all right. It’s not one of the good rugs. I’ll let you get settled in.” She set Q-Tip down in his playpen, then gestured to a basket on the table. “Here are some personal care products Ithought you might want while you’re here. The bathroom is just two doors down on your right.”

The basket held an assortment of items, including shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, a face cloth, feminine hygiene products, and a brush. There were also foil packets of what I recognized as beauty enchantment spells, basically instant makeup. I’d worn one for graduation. I’d looked spectacular but hated the way it felt.

“Thank you.”

“I’m so glad Desmon finally brought home a nice girl! He’s a good man and deserves someone special.”

She gave me a hug and swept out the door before I could correct her.

Chapter 12

Desmon

Mateo and Seth wereboth still peeved that I hadn’t left anything for either of them to interrogate or scry with. I didn’t blame them. If it had been up to my slightly more rational human side, and not that of my pyromaniac dragon, we’d still have two suspects from whom we could gather information. But the moment my dragon took over, any chance of that had gone up in smoke, especially when Carly had started running in fear.

“At least we know for sure that a certain she-dragon is involved,” Seth said. “I’m not at all surprised.”

Me either.

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