Page 27 of Zachary

I. Am. Such. A. Jackass.

If I had gone out of my way to be nice to Ronan—or at least not actively been a prick to him—would he have found it easier to settle in here? Would this side of him, this part that clearly gives a shit about people and wants todo nice things for them, have shown itself sooner?

“I don’t know enough about what conditions you can fly in,” I manage. “Uh… the plateau is at a slightly lower elevation than this cave, though when you hike up, it doesn’t feel like it because you have to get over this ridge first.” I gesture to the ridge in question. “So it should be a lot calmer—less blowing snow and ice. There, uh…” I try to remember what all the rescue chopper pilots have told me. “There’s usually a pretty strong eddy around here, though. I’m not sure how bad it gets in the winter.” What else will he need to know? “Uh—it’ll be cold up there. Really cold. I know that’s not a problem for you, but Zoe would be exposed to—”

“I can keep her warm,” he interrupts. “There’s a spell for that. And I’ll go up for a flight on my own first to make sure I can handle the conditions before I try to take her.”

I chew my lip and try not to be envious. That view is one of my favorites, ever, of everything I’ve seen in the world—and I’ve traveled a lot. I can’t teleport up to the plateau in winter to see it because there’s no way to know what the snowdrifts look like—no definite landmark to go to. For that alone, I’d be envious. But to be able to see it from the back of a dragon?

“And… you can make sure she wouldn’t fall? The conditions might be okay for you to fly in, but would she be able to stay on your back?”

He nods, studying the map again. “Yes, I have a harness that will hold her in place. But I would never let her fall, no matter what.” He frowns. “I might need help with the harness. We didn’t think of that.”

Before I can ask who “we” is, he pulls out his phone and begins typing. I go back to studying the map. As a demon with teleportation ability, there aren’t many places in these mountains I haven’t been to. All I need is a visual identifier, and I can go there. Aerial surveillance photos, especially from satellites, can work just fine… as long as there’s somewhere for me tostandin those images. There’s no point teleporting to a stunning half-mile-high waterfall when the foliage around the bottom is so thick, I can’t see where to go. Crashing thirty feet through a canopy of trees is a good way to get injured. Let’s not even talk about the dangers of landing in the water itself.

I’m licensed to fly a helicopter, but it’s hard to feel part of the natural beauty around you with the roar of the rotors and the artificial wind they cause disrupting the air. Not to mention, during the winter, flying a helicopter can be tricky in these mountains. Even if the wind conditions are good for flying, being in the wrong place at the wrong time can set off some pretty frightening avalanches.

A dragon, though… a dragon would be part of it all.

Ronan’s phone dings. “Okay, my friends are going to put together detailed instructions and a diagram of how to put the harness on. Then Zoe can do it—I’m sure she can convince someone to help her.” He smiles at me. “Thank you. I’ve been trying to think of a way to show her how much I appreciate her friendship.”

“You’re welcome. I can help—with the harness,” I find myself offering. “When the time comes. Just let me know.” I grope for something else to say, a distraction from the pleasure that lights his face. “Uh, I’d want to be sure Zoe’s properly kittedout anyway. You know, with a satellite phone… and water. Just in case something happens to you. Which I’m sure it won’t,” I rush to add. “But it’s my job. To make sure everyone is safe out there.” I wave my hand vaguely around, encompassing the cave, the alps, and the whole damn world. Who knows? I sure as fuck don’t.

Ronan’s nodding solemnly, though. “Of course. I would hate for Zoe to be stranded and unprepared if something did go wrong. Do satellite phones have cameras? In case she needs to send you a location photo. I can buy her a camera.” He frowns. “But the photo would need to get from the camera to the phone… I wonder if I can get one with Bluetooth.”

I need to change the subject before I start hating myself even more. “I’ve got everything she might need and can lend it to you. So what’s this I hear about movie night tonight?”

His smile returns. I rarely ever saw it before this week—not this genuine version—and now it seems to be popping out every time I turn around. It’s a great smile, too—warm and with something around the edges that makes me think that if he let his walls all the way down, he might be just a bit mischievous.

I’d like to meetthatRonan.

“Zoe planned it. She says it’s a good excuse to stuff ourselves with junk food—and then she conned me into making pastries.” He rolls his eyes, but his pleased expression tells me he doesn’t really mind.

“You bake?” Belatedly, I remember the streak of flour he was wearing last weekend, and I backpedal fast, not wanting to kill his happy vibes. “That’s great. Zoe loves good food, so if she’s conning you into baking, she must think you’re a master baker.” I hide my wince at the accidental dirty pun, but he doesn’t seem to get it.

Instead he laughs. “I’m not even close. I’m not even a baker, really. Kethe let me help her a few times when—uh, when I wasstaying at Here Be Dragons.” There’s a sudden tension in his voice, and I don’t know what put it there. “And then last week I needed to fill some time, so I watched some YouTube videos and made croissants. Zoe decided that qualifies me to make treats for tonight.”

He watched some YouTube videos and made croissants that Zoe thought were good enough that she needed him to bake something else? Either Zoe feelsreallysorry for him and wants to boost his confidence, or he’s a hell of an intuitive baker.

“Sounds qualified enough for me,” I say. “I’m a terrible baker. I make a mean soup, though.” That’s not bragging. Anytime I get the urge to drag out the big soup pot, my cousins cancel their plans.

“Soup’s good,” Ronan says. “It warms you from the inside.” He flushes. “That sounds stupid. All hot food does that. I just mean, there’s something about soup…” He trails off, looking embarrassed.

“No, I get it. Soup is one of those foods that feeds your body and your soul.” It’s my turn to feel embarrassed. I’ve never said that out loud before—my cousins, even though they love my soups, would laugh themselves into comas.

But Ronan sighs in relief. “Yes. That’s it exactly. It makes everything feel okay.” He shrugs. “Maybe that’s because it’s not that quick to make. I can grill a steak and vegetables in less than half an hour from the decision to sitting down to eat. But with soup… it takes time. Someone has to take the time.”

Unspoken is the implication that someone has to care enough to take the time, and I wonder what happened to make that so important to him. The way he is, sometimes, it’s like he doesn’t know how to be comfortable around people. But everything I’ve heard about dragons has pointed to them being very close-knit and protective of each other.

Maybe it’s something he and his brother went through? Fuck knows, Steffen Draco is weird. He scares the crap out of me, and I don’t scare easy. Plus, Gideon made sure to tell us allnotto piss him off or do anything that might be perceived as threatening. When Asher asked why, he just shook his head and said, “I’d rather not have to start an interspecies war on your behalf.”

So maybe it was just growing up with Steffen for a twin that’s made Ronan unsure of how to deal with people. Or it could be the fact that, I don’t know, he lost his homeland and whole world and now has to get used to a new one? It hasn’t beenthatmany years, especially when you consider how long-lived dragons are. At least when I miss my old home, I can go back and visit.

The dragons can never go home.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ronan

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