Page 13 of Zachary

It’s laterthan I planned when I set out to collect Chloe and Isaac from their respective homes. My aunts and uncles were thrilled by my offer to take the little ones skating and for lunch. I’m looking forward to it—I love being outdoors, and the kids are always fun. Mostly.

I could have teleported to my uncle’s house, but the day is nice, Zoe and the snowplow crew have already been through the streets, and why teleport when I can walk? It’s not far.

My steps slow as I approach the house Ronan’s staying in, guilt weighing on me again. I was going to wait until tomorrow morning to apologize to him, but maybe it’s best to do it now? Get it off my chest, clear the air, and we can begin the new week with a fresh start.

Resolved, I turn up the pathway to the front door. Not all of them are cleared of snow, but the houses with non-demons living in them are on the crew’s list, since they don’t have a way to leave their homes otherwise.

I knock on Ronan’s front door and wait. From my limited understanding of dragons, they have similar sensory abilities to other shifters, so he probably knows it’s me. Maybe he’ll decide not to open the door.

That would be bad. It would mean I have alotof groveling to do.

To my relief, I hear quiet footsteps approach the door, and then it opens. Ronan gazes at me steadily. He’s wearing the same thing he does most days—jeans and a sweater—but there’s a streak of white across his brow. Is that flour?

Come to think, I can smell something baking. Barely, though, like it’s just gone into the oven. Is he a baker? I didn’t know that about him. If I could be sure he wouldn’t sock me for it, I’d wipe away that flour and tease him about it. It’s endearing.

“Can I help you?” he asks politely. His face is blank. Okay, so it doesn’t seem likely he’s going to invite me in. Flour wiping is definitely out. That’s fine—I get it.

“I came to apologize,” I say bluntly. “What I said to you yesterday, in the cave—it was uncalled for and completely unacceptable. You didn’t deserve that, and I’m sorry.”

For a second, his pretty mouth trembles. Panic strikes—is he going to cry? I’m not equipped to deal with that!

But in the next moment, he regains control. His expression even relaxes a little as he nods. “Thank you, Zac. I appreciate the apology—and accept it. I—” His gaze darts down to his feet and then back up to meet mine, and for some reason, I find myself noticing how very deep a shade of brown they are. “I know I didn’t make the best start here in Hortplatz. There are… I have… That is—”

I hold up a hand. “You don’t need to explain to me. I haven’t been my best self lately either, and unfortunately, you’ve been getting the worst of that. I promise I’ll do better going forward.” I extend my gloved hand. It’s harder to do than I thought it would be; even though I know Ronan’s not to blame for the frustrations in my life right now, part of me really doesn’t want to let go of such a handy scapegoat.

He looks at my hand, then shakes it firmly. His ungloved hand is as big as mine, though he’s not quite as tall or built as me. But then, he’s a dragon, not a demon.

“I’ll do better too.” It has a ring of determination to it that reminds me he really has been trying to make things up to the people he offended.

I muster a smile. “Okay. Well, I have babysitting duty for my cousins. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He nods, smiling back. It only looks a little forced, and still makes his face so much more attractive. “Tomorrow.”

I step back and turn away as he closes the door. That wasn’t so bad. At least he wasn’t a dick about it—he could have refused my apology and told me where to get off.

Or worse, made a complaint about my behavior. This is an inter-government project that’s going to benefit Hortplatz in a huge way. If something I did or said caused trouble… well, it’s safe to say Grandmother’s rampage would be terrifying. I wouldn’t have to worry about her matchmaking me so much as murdering me.

Whistling in an attempt to dispel the nasty thought—it’s all good, Ronan accepted my apology—I continue down the street and then cross to my uncle’s house. Isaac’s little face is plastered to one of the front windows, and he waves excitedly at me, then disappears. I guess he’s eager to be going.

The front door is thrown open just as I reach the path. This one hasn’t been shoveled today, but Uncle Hal must have done it in the past few days, because the snow’s only about a foot deep. I stomp and shuffle my way through it to get to where Isaac is bouncing in the doorway.

“Zac!Finally,” he shouts, and I grin. “You took forever. Why did you stop at Ronan’s house? Is he coming with us?” His eyes widen. “Do dragons like ice-skating?”

Fighting the urge to laugh, I say, “I’m sure some dragons do, and some don’t, just the same as demons. He’s not coming with us, though. I just needed to talk to him about something for a minute. Were you spying from the window?”

He huffs at me. “It’s not spying. I was watching for you. It’s only spying if you try not to let anyone see you.” The earnest tone of his lecture warns me to be careful of watching eyes in future—it seems Isaac’s been caught spying before and has learned how to talk himself out of trouble.

“Uh-huh. Come on, let me in so we can grab your stuff and go get Chloe.”

He races down the hall, shouting for his mom, and I step inside and close the door behind me. This is going to be a good day.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ronan

Ten minutesafter Zac’s gone, I’m still thinking about his apology. It was… nice of him. Yes, what he said to me yesterday was out of line, but not everybody would not only admit that, but show genuine repentance. And he could have waited until tomorrow—instead, he went out of his way to visit. Maybe I should add him to the list Fabian told me to write. We don’t have to be friends, but we can probably do better than spending all day, every day alone together in a cave and not speaking.

I really want to be his friend, though. And have him smile at me all the time.

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