Page 88 of Blood on the Ice

“Don’t,” the mage says as he shifts slightly to block the siren. “Slade’s family treats him like crap, so yeah, we need to see if the old man is in one of his bouts of fury about his eldest son refusing to be a mobster. Also, yes, we should worryabout magical and physical responses to our arrival. Bringing unknowns to their territory without calling first will piss the giant fucking tuna off.”

Morgana frowns, biting her lower lip for a moment before she speaks. “What is your father, Slade? Not a siren, right? Males are extremely rare. They come from recessive genes passed on the mother’s side.”

Look who’s a goddamn geneticist now.

As if she can hear me, the gargoyle whips her head around to give me a withering look. “I’m a unique hybrid, and that’s hard when you’re young, especially if you’re adopted. I did a lot of research, so stuff it, briquette breath.”

The siren chuckles and nods at her. “You’re correct, Morgana. We are rare and that is how the trait passes. My mother is half kraken, half unknown magic user—and yes, we’ve tried to identify it, but there’s some weird spell blocking her past. We assume the siren is from her, but no one can prove it.”

The Prince squints at him curiously. “Not to be rude, but is it possible your dad…?”

“Oh, very much so, but my next oldest brother, Tracer, is full kraken. Beck and Duke are hammerhead shifters like Axel, I’m a siren, and my triplet sisters are all the most likely to be extramarital indiscretions because they’re all hybrids.” He pauses for a moment, as if thinking about it hurts him and I file his support for his mother away for later. “Coral is part siren, part mermaid; Isla is part kraken and part shark; and Roxy is part mermaid, part selkie. That shit puzzles everyone, but it’s what it is.”

That’s a fucking nightmare of possibilities, especially if he’s not mentioning whether they have magic.

“Great,” Morgana says with a grumble. “I’ve always been awesome with aquatic folks—not.”

Slade’s eyes widen and I almost laugh. “Well, I mean… I’m not like… I know gorgons don’t…”

“Fuck, kid, calm down,” I grunt. “She knows you’re okay.”

That’s my good deed for the week, for goddamned sure.

“You know, I’m pretty certain he’s going to come around, peaches,” Jackson says to the lounging gargoyle. “Just give him time. Dragons are the most stubborn supes I’ve ever met. They’re worse than demi-gods or demons, for sure.”

Blowing a soft breath of steam in his direction, I bare my teeth. “We also have no problem fricasseeing nosy kitty cats who annoy us.”

“You’d have a hard time flying everyone to California on your back,” Eli says with a small grin. “Not impossible for a storm dragon of the size I calculated, but not very fun.”

“Guys.” The small woman Morgana is fond of leans forward to address everyone. “As fun as this thrust and parry is, don’t you think we should all get to work? It’s getting late and if Morgana and the guys are going to the West Coast in a few days, there’s a mountain of work to be done. She’s missed so much with Lucas’s trouble and now the dragon, and if she doesn’t put face time in at the office, I’ll have trouble keeping them in line while you’re gone.”

“She’s right. I need to get my shit together, go into the office and kick some ass before we leave.” Morgana looks at each of us, hereyes dark. “Kaspar, work on security and stay out of my face. Jax and Eli will get our transportation. Iggy and Slade will deal with the welcoming party, and Lucas will get me a reprieve.”

“What about me,Saaladir?” Liam asks quietly. “What can I do to help?”

I’d prefer he simply go to his classes andnotdraw extra attention to himself, but he won’t listen to me. “Li…”

Morgana smiles, her expression grateful as she interrupts me. “Just do your classes and then come stay with Lucas and me. Being close will be enough.”

Gag.

“That I can do, as well as order some things for our trip.” She protests and my Prince shakes his head. “Nope. No one gets to complain. If my connections aren’t of help for this mission, then I’ll make use of one of my other redeeming qualities—filthy rich git.”

“You’re not Tony Stark,” I grumble as I roll my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, Liam.”

“Hush, Grumpy Dragon,” he replies. “I’m going to enjoy spoiling people; no one ever lets me. It’s exciting.”

I watch as he lets out a zing of magic; the sparkles traveling out to each of our new circle and spiraling around them for a few seconds before coming back to the Fae. It’s a parlor trick, but it makes everyone ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ as he beams. They don’t realize he just used magic to take all of their measurements for whatever insane spending spree he’s going to go on.

“There we go. Now everyone can focus on our roles and jobs without worrying about packing anything except personal andmagical items.” Liam looks proud of himself, and Morgana rises to her feet, crossing to the Prince quickly.

Her hand comes out to cup his face, and she smiles softly. “Thank you, mate. I appreciate you taking care of everyone, even if we didn’t admit we needed it.”

“Okay, that’s our cue, sweet cheeks.” Eli stands at Jackson’s urging and Channing joins them. “We’re heading out, and we’ll drop Miss Channing off on our way to meet the others. They should have met with the Guardians who cleaned up your enemies—something that will help us trace their friends down—and we’ve got a long night of hacking to do.”

The look on his face says that’s not all he’s planning, but I have zero intention of pointing out Morgana’s friend being that close to her counsel.

The gargoyle stands, walking to the door with her friends, and I look at my Prince.

---