Page 17 of Elora and the Crow

“Let me guess… Kaida?”

“Yes,” she said. “Sorry, but Cece called Bren, and Bren is kind of protective, and he’s thrown off by you being, well… you. He’s stuck at work, so he’s sending Kaida over until he can get here.”

“Where he will then escort me out of your apartment?” Jonah said.

“No,” Elora said quickly. “This is my home. I decide who leaves and who stays.”

“I appreciate that.” Jonah’s gaze dropped to her mouth, and God, why did that make her entire lower body tingle?

He studied his body clad in those ridiculous pajamas. “If you can get me some clothes that won’t get me arrested for public indecency, I can get out of your hair.”

She frowned. “Where will you go?”

“My house,” he said.

She blinked. “You have a house?”

He grinned. “Did you think I was homeless before being stuck as a crow?”

“No, I … where do you live?”

“Not far from here, actually,” he said.

“Won’t your house be… I mean, you haven’t paid your mortgage or taxes for a few years,” Elora said.

“My younger brother lives there as well, and the house is fully paid for, and taxes come out automatically,” Jonah said.

“You have a brother?”

“Half-brother,” Jonah said. “He’s human.”

“Oh.” Elora cleared her throat. “Did you want to use my phone to call him?”

“Can’t remember the number,” Jonah said with a shrug.

“Jesus, he must think you’re dead,” Elora said before wincing. “Sorry, that was rude.”

“He won’t,” Jonah said confidently. “I’ve disappeared before.”

“Sure, so has Sarina. It comes with the job,” Elora said. “But never for more than a few months. You’ve been gone a few years with zero contact.”

“I know, but my brother has a very,” Jonah paused, “positive outlook on life. He won’t believe I’m dead without actual proof.”

“Are you close to him?” Elora asked.

Jonah nodded. “When our father died, Caleb moved in with me. I’d broken free of the Academy a few years before that and had a place here in the city. We’ve lived together ever since.”

“He knows what you, um, do for a living?” Elora asked.

“He does,” Jonah said. “He also knew what my mother did.”

“So, your mom was a shapeshifter?”

“Yes, and a mercenary,” he said before she could ask. “She gave me to the Academy when I was four. When I got out at twenty-two, she helped me get jobs and establish myself.”

Elora stared at him, her stomach churning. “Your mothergaveyou to the Academy? What the fuck kind of mother was she?”

Jonah’s cheerful look vanished. “She figured it was better to hand me over than try to hide me. The Academy keeps close tabs on shapeshifters who leave. They knew she’d had a baby, and it’s not like she could pretend I wasn’t a shapeshifter.”

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