Page 17 of Destiny of the Dragons

The mini griffin gobbled up the food.

“What’s her name?” Jace sat back down, looking at her familiar. “She’s beautiful, just like her witch.”

“I don’t know.” Mia watched the mini griffin almost inhale the chicken, before adding more to the plate. “No, wait. Tikka.”

“Tikka. That’s pretty.” Jace put some of his kabobs on the plate with the chicken. “Poor thing looks half starved.”

“I guess he wasn’t worried about feeding her.” Mia grit her teeth. She wanted Cross to pay for being so cruel.

Instead, she had to help him get revenge on a lover.

Mia sighed. It was going to be a long day tomorrow. Most of those spell ingredients were nasty things, like a dead man’s hand, and if she wanted the spell to work, she would be making those things herself.

Great. Jace made small talk about some recent jobs he had done with Smoke, mostly funny anecdotes about stealing things and almost getting caught.

It lifted her mood. Mia didn’t want to like them so much, but she did. She couldn’t see how this would end well for her, but maybe she was overthinking. It didn’t have to be serious.

The waiter came, and Smoke handed him his card. Mia stood up, carrying Tikka in her arms. Tikka was blinking, sending little waves of exhaustion out.

Besides, Mother would want an update.

Jace and Smoke fell into step on either side of her, and they walked out of the Troll Market together, back into the alleyway behind the Bellagio. The humidity always took her breath away.

They reached a side street, and Mia stopped.

“Need a cab?” Jace smiled. “A ride?”

Mia considered calling a cab, but decided against it. Tikka wouldn’t draw attention around the mundane humans. Griffins had natural glamor, so people would see either a black cat with green eyes, or a raven in her arms, depending on what Tikka wanted to look like at the time.

“You can drop me off,” she said.

Smoke drove. Mia sat in the backseat, and Jace in the front seat. Jace asked her about magic and other harmless subjects. When they arrived at her apartment complex, Smoke pulled over.

Jace grinned. “If you enjoyed this afternoon, then maybe we could do this again tomorrow? Have a proper date?”

Mia never wanted something more in her life.

She didn’t trust that feeling.

“I don’t see how dating two guys at the same time is going to work.”

“However you want,” Jace replied, giving her a smoldering look. “The lady can set the pace.”

Mia huffed. “That’s not what I mean, and both of you know it. But fine. Pick me up tomorrow at five.”

Jace looked surprised, but recovered quickly. “As you like.”

Mia got out of the car before she could agree to anything else foolhardy, and brought Tikka up to her apartment.

Nerves and warmth warred inside her at the thought of her date.

“This isn’t going to work.” Smoke stared at the cars in front of them like he could will them out of existence.

“She just said yes.” Jace relaxed against the seat. Mia said yes. She was still nervous, but that was to be expected.

“She asked me the same thing.” Smoke shot him a glare, like he’d done something wrong. “I told her it was however she wanted. She got the same annoyed look on her face.”

“Hmmm.” Maybe she wasn’t just nervous. Maybe something else kept her from embracing what her magic already knew: the three of them belonged together.

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