Page 57 of Home to the Hollow

“Well, you apologized for leaving me alone to wonder if I was going to end up getting roasted on social media. And you intimated that your bullying had to do with your parents, and you regretted it. But you didn’t say what you felt.” Her chin lifts and I can feel the air in the room change as she steels herself for disappointment.

If only she knew.

“Tilly, I’ve always liked you. I wanted to be a part of your life from the minute I first saw you—there were extenuating circumstances. Both of our parents were less than thrilled at our connection. You probably can’t remember…” he trails off and I know he’s getting close to lines he can’t cross yet.

I save him by cutting in. “I played around a lot after college, too. I traveled to Asia extensively for work before I settled here. I understand the appeal of having no ties, no one to hurt you, and nothing to hold you back. However, I knew when I saw you telling a story to a harpy eagle you were terrified of moments before that I couldn’t let you get away. I don’t know where we’re all going, but I’m on board, even if the crew gets bigger.”

Lucy and Edgar give me questioning looks, but I ignore them. Something about our magpie tells me she’s not finished gathering yet, and I want her to know I won’t stand in her way if another potential steps up to the plate. Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean against the wall, waiting for the other two to chime in. If they don’t, we’re going to have issues later.

“I’m happy to share,” Lucy whispers, giving her a shy smile. “I want you to be happy, sugarplum.”

“For fuck’s sake…” Edgar sighs and rolls his eyes. His hand reaches up, and he runs his fingers over a mark on her neck I didn’t see until now. “I’m not threatened by these idiots or anyone else you decide to take a shine to. I know what I want.”

I squint at the mark, walking closer with an air of nonchalance that I don’t believe. When I see the shape, I glare at the back of the judge’s head. Lucy tilts his head, and I shake mine in response.

That son of a bitch.

Edgar Olivier Boone III has been hiding a third, and that’s so exceedingly rare that they don’t eventeachagents or Guardians about triplásia. I only recognize it because I’ve seen him lose control of the other two sides.

This bite mark is something different, and I’m going to call my mentor, Yoshiro, about it. He’s retired a hundred years ago, but that’s a speck of time for a dragon. He served the Society for five hundred years before he retired, and he trained me when I got assigned to my concierge position.

I’ve only heard of atriplásia?1a few times. Yoshi said they suspected they had one about twenty years ago, but that can’t be Jolene or Edgar. They’re too young. Before Project Chimera, it was impossible to know how many and what supes were intermingling because it was beneath us.

It still is, and that’s why the Society keeps our enclaves so well disguised.

As odd as it sounds, I wonder if Boone even knows. It would mean he had to be a lost one, not a true Boone heir, and that secret might be one worth killing over. Senator Boone wouldn’t want the humans knowing about his son, and he wouldn’t want the town knowing Edgar wasn’t genetically a Boone. This could get interesting if it leaks.

Best to keep it away from that sneaky bastard Haggerty, then. He and the judge are like oil and water as it is. He’d relish humiliating his self-identified nemesis.

“Magpie, I believe you said you’d donesomeof this before. I’m inclined to believe it’s not asking three idiots to be your boyfriends. What did you mean?”

Her cheeks flush, and it’s absolutely delightful. Jolene doesn’t show her soft side often and today is a smorgasbord of adorable tics. “I said that. But I feel like we have to address the leather elephant in the room or I’d hate myself.”

“Leather… elephant?” Edgar chokes.

Huffing, she glares down at him. “Yes. It may not be the greatest metaphor, but you, Teddy, have a domination fetish. Little Wolfie over there likes to be topped, and the good doctor is a switch. I’m not stupid or naïve. If that’s going to be part of our lives, then you all need to understand ME, and we will come to an agreement.”

My mouth drops open. I sure as fuck didn’t expect her to saythat. “Magpie…”

“Prez, she’s right. We have to say the words and you know it.”

Jolene nods, smiling at him softly. “I know you said them to me, but are you comfortable with everyone else, or do you have a line?”

Edgar arches a brow, and I shrug. “I’m game, regardless. But I’d need express consent for anything more than typical club play—on either side of the fence.”

“Prez, y’all won’t be able to handle me.” My magpie titters and I grin back at her.

“Why is that, Tilly?”

Huh. Boone added nothing, not even sarcasm. Isn’t that interesting?

“I’m a switch as well, but I’m a bit… chaotic. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. I consciously decide when to submit and when to control, and it’s pretty unpredictable,” she admits, her cheeks getting pinker.

“Sound like a brat to me,” Boone grumbles.

He’s not wrong.

“Well, it’s more like a Power Bottom and a Brat had a baby with a god of mischief,” Jolene says, giving me a grin. “We’re more trouble than brats and less annoying than powers. But it’s easy to figure out where I’m falling, from what I understand.”

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