Page 68 of All's Fair in Love and Magic

“Did you pass out last time?”

“It was close, in the restaurant. But no.”

He let out a rough breath. “I think you’re determined to drive me insane, Clove.”

“Probably. Just drink your chocolatey lust.”

“Yourchocolatey lust.”

“If we’re mates, what’s mine is yours.” I finished with the plants and set them down, picking up the dog tag and eyeing the rune I was trying first.

I traced the tag and set to work sketching it out in the size I’d need it, so I had a reference. It was quick, mindless work.

“Are you sure you want me to tell you about hybrids?” I asked.

“Yeah. About me specifically, if you can.”

“It would only be an educated guess.”

“That’s a hell of a lot more than I have to go off of.”

I nodded. It was a fair point. “The easiest explanation would be that your mother was in love with a dragon and wanted her son to be a combination of both of them. But, considering what you know about dragons ending up mated to anyone they touch or sleep with, that seems extremely unlikely.”

“It’s not a possibility. My mom was complicated, but she wouldn’t have left someone she loved. The dragon would’ve definitely been mated to her in that situation, too.”

“Right. So outside that, the only real conclusion is that she paid or traded a dragon for his semen.”

Liam took a long sip of our drink. “I’m going to need to buy you another one of these.”

“I can stop talking about it if you’re not comfortable.” I finished the sketch and looked at him.

He shook his head. “I’d like to know.”

“Witches get lonely. We live apart from other supernaturals, but we’re still people. Some of us want kids, even if we don’twant mates. And even when we have mate bonds, we’re not very fertile, so most of us who want children go through fertility treatments. We usually use human sperm, for a bunch of reasons. But the main reason is that when a witch gets pregnant with a male embryo, she almost always miscarries. Only two male witches have ever existed, and they were really weak.”

Liam’s eyebrows shot upward. “Why?”

“We’re not sure. It seems like they’re not compatible with our magic. It’s heartbreaking, so we usually use IVF to avoid the possibility. We have plenty of magic to trade with the human doctors who do the procedures, so the treatments aren’t a huge deal despite the long, arduous process.”

“Then how do I exist at all?” Liam asked.

“If I had to guess, I would imagine that your mom either didn’t test the embryos for gender—which seems unlikely for a spell witch, considering they are extremely detailed planners—or you were her only viable embryo, and she wanted you desperately. Desperately enough to do whatever it took to make sure you made it. Including creating a new species of hybrids, knowing she would expose herself as a blood witch and put a price on her head.”

Liam let out a slow breath. “Are you sure?”

“No. Maybe she had an affair with a mated dragon and wanted to keep it a secret.”

“Not a possibility.”

“I’m as sure as anyone can be without having a conversation with her. It isn’t anywhere near 100%, but it’s a lot higher than zero.”

Liam gave me the cup for a moment. After he took it back, he stayed quiet while I slowly engraved my first attempt with the runes. They were detailed, so the drain on my energy wasn’t slight, but I didn’t let Liam see how they affected me.

If he did, he’d make me stop.

When I finished, I set my tool down and studied it closely, turning it to check every angle.

“I hope you’re right,” Liam said, when I finally looked up from the rune.

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