Page 15 of The Dragon's Mate

“How else is she going to get clean?”Elora said. “She doesn’t like to be dirty.”

“Yeah, but she’s a human trapped in a crow’sbody.”

“So?” Elora said.

“So, you don’t feel weird showering withher?”

“No.” Elora reached out and strokedLilianna’s head. “I thought I found the spell to break Lilianna’s curse.”

“Really?” He leaned forward and stared atthe crow. “What went wrong?”

“I don’t know. It just… didn’t work. Itshouldhave worked. I don’t know if it failed because I’m not a powerful enough witchor if I was wrong about the spell,” Elora said.

“Did you show the spell to Helen?”

Elora sighed. “You know how she is aboutLilianna. She refused to even look at the spell. She keeps saying that theremust have been a reason that Lilianna was trapped in the crow’s body and releasingher could be a terrible mistake.”

“To be fair, she could be right,” Brensaid.

“Maybe,” Elora replied. “But if she isn’tand Lilianna is an innocent witch trapped… I can’t live with myself if I don’ttry to help.”

“Elora, are you even sure that -”

“Don’t, Bren,” Elora said. “Lilianna is awitch, okay? She’s not an ordinary crow. I know you think it’s stupid of meto believe the word of a stranger, but it isn’t just that. Lilianna is special.I knew it from the moment I saw her.”

“All right,” Bren said. “But I think it’sa bit suspicious that you stumble onto a witch trapped as a crow in a cage in apotions store of all places. I mean, why did the store owner even have her?”

“I don’t know, but I couldn’t leave herlocked in the cage once the store owner told me what she really was,” Elora said.“Even if, and this is a big if, you’re right and she’s only a crow, Liliannawas dying in that cage. I couldn’t walk away from her.”

The crow cawed softly before flying back toElora’s shoulder. She stroked Elora’s cheek with her beak before running herbeak over a lock of Elora’s wet hair.

They drank in silence for a few moments,the only sound in the room the light rasp of Lilianna’s beak as she groomedElora’s hair repeatedly.

“I thought Tyler was spending the weekendwith you,” Elora said. “He texted me on Wednesday to see if I was gonna join youguys for yourAlienmovie marathon.”

“He’s coming by tomorrow. He had planswith Corey tonight.”

“Had?” Elora said.

“He and Corey ran into some trouble with someshitheads from school this afternoon.”

“What happened?” she said in alarm.

“How much time do you have?” he asked.

She stood and grabbed a second beer fromthe fridge. “Plenty. Tell me what’s going on.”

* * *

“I could do a protection spell for Ty andfor Corey.” Elora picked at the label on her beer bottle.

Bren shook his head. “The use of magic at Ty’sschool is strictly forbidden. If they find out he has a protection spell caston him, they’ll expel him, and Dad will lose his shit. But thank you foroffering.”

Elora pulled thoughtfully at a few strandsof her hair and Lilianna immediately set to smoothing them down again. “You saidthe female bear shifter – Karen -”

“Kaida,” Bren said. “Her name is Kaida.”

“Right, Kaida. You said she offered toteach them how to fight. That seems weird.”

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