Page 26 of Magic Forsaken

Morghaine spoke up, and when I looked over, I could see compassion written clearly across her face. Even without seeing my expression, she knew I was hesitating, and she even seemed to know why.

“I know you and my nephew didn’t get off to a great start.”

Understatement of the week.

“Callum can come across as cold and hard-hearted. Inflexible and suspicious of the world.”

“What she means,” Faris interpreted, “is that he’s rigid, impossible, bull-headed, and occasionally a pain-in-the-ass.”

That almost surprised a laugh out of me.

“Hush, you.” Morghaine shot her mate a look of fond exasperation. “My point is, that isn’t the whole truth of who Callum is. If you choose to give him a chance, I believe he might surprise you.”

If I chose…

The choice was mine. And either choice was a risk. If I said no, I risked being unable to even provide food for the people who mattered most. Risked making myself a target for anyone who decided I might be a threat.

But if I said yes? I would have to work with Callum-ro-Deverin. The greatest danger to my continued survival, and possibly the most suspicious man I’d ever met. I would have to deal with his glowering and paranoia on a daily basis, while somehow continuing to hide the rest of my secrets.

I was pretty sure the rule about keeping friends close and enemies closer was never meant to apply to dragons.

But in this case?

“Fine. I’ll talk to him.”

I would find out whether he was planning to blackmail me, and then make a decision. And while I was at it?

Maybe I could also find out what had happened to that kitten.

The answer just might make all the difference in the world.

SEVEN

I steppedout onto the sidewalk in front of The Portal and stood there for a moment, watching the flow of pedestrians and immersing myself in the busyness of what was probably a typical Saturday night.

For a few brief seconds, I was tempted to simply blend in with the crowd and walk away. If I’d had no one but myself to care about, I might have done it.

But Kes and Logan and Ari were counting on me, and food and shelter had to come first. Which meant I had to go looking for the king of the shifters. On purpose.

Still didn’t quite make sense as an act of self-preservation.

Faris claimed I could find him across the street in the building where the Symposium was to take place—now rechristened The Assemblage. Or, as I chose to call it in the privacy of my own head, The Lair. Apparently, the dragon had taken up residence there so he could keep an eye on the construction crews and generally make a nuisance of himself.

That last part was my own editorial, but I suspected Faris might not entirely disagree.

As I crossed Oklahoma Avenue—already bustling with traffic now that the sun had set—I couldn’t help feeling just a bitannoyed that the dragon had gone andboughta building to hold this event in. Like it was nothing. And judging from the number of different service vehicles parked around the block, there were extensive renovations going on.

Maybe there was something to the legends about dragon hoards, because I couldn’t imagine pulling this off without a literal pile of gold to finance it.

The small foyer was empty, and the open stairwell seemed to lead upward into darkness. But when I peeked my head in through the only other doorway, I immediately started to cough from the intense smell of paint and who knew what else.

It looked as if the entire ground floor of the building was being fashioned into a single, elegant space. One that could be made to flex for a conference or a ballroom, decorated in dark wood, steel gray and pale gold. Elaborate modern light fixtures with hundreds of glass panels were suspended overhead, making me shudder as I contemplated the possibility of an earthquake. Or even just an annoyed air elemental. Last night had featured enough broken glass to last me for a while.

One of the workers spotted me and headed my way, with the relieved look of a man who’d been hoping desperately for a distraction.

“Who are you with? Lighting? Flooring? Design team?”

“Ah, no. I’m looking for Callum-ro-Deverin?”

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