Page 69 of Ash

Daniblushed. Which only embarrassed her further. When she took a deep, steadying breath, her heart accelerated, and her knees were strangely weak. His scent was odd, as was her physical response to him. Perhaps most distressingly, she ached to touch him...

The Dragon stepped forward, partly blocking Dani’s view. “Stop it, Jacques.”

The smaller man stiffened. “I cannot turn it on and off like a tap,” he protested. “I am what I am.”

“You are lying.” Tyrez growled, a low, rumbling sound. “There is you, and then there is you with intent. Stop intending.”

Jacques pouted, his lower lip jutting out as he reached to stroke Sparkle. “You, my big friend, are absolutely no fun at all.”

“Not everyone likes your idea of fun.”

“But most do.” The man waggled his brows at Dani. She shocked herself by smiling at him.

The Dragon glowered. “Jacques!”

“Yeah, yeah,mon amie. I promise to be boring.”

“I don’t understand,” Dani said. “What are you?”

Jacques bowed again as they headed up the garden path. “I am a Satyr,” he answered.

A Satyr? Dani dug through her memories. She’d once read a fantasy book that had a Satyr. She glanced down at his feet. “Don’t Satyrs have hooves?”

“He’s naturally glamored with a confusion spell,” Tyrez grumbled. “Otherwise you’d see he’s a hairy bastard with horns sticking out the top of his head and hooves.”

The Satyr grinned. “And a damned big—”

“Jacques!” It was almost a roar, and the leaves they passed trembled with it.

Dani’s eyes widened as she remembered other details about the fantastical creature that was obviously not so fantastical.

“Well, it is,” the Satyr grumbled as they emerged into a small clearing. To one side was a bench beneath an arbor. Lush plant life draped over and around it. Night was descending, and she spotted the glimmer of fireflies in the shadows.

“Where are we?” Dani asked, peering at something that looked like a rosebush, only with flowers bigger than her hand.

“Human realm,” Tyrez stated, “Not far from downtown Winnipeg.”

Dani glanced at him in surprise, just as a diminutive figure stepped toward them along the path. Not tall—she barely topped five feet, Dani estimated—the woman had braided white hair that hung to her waist, and her eyes sparkled blue in the last rays of the dying sun.

“Hello Dani,” she said with a smile. “I am Cara. Welcome to my garden.”

Her garden? This must be the Watcher, then. Dani scanned her with interest. She looked—normal. A bit hippy-ish with crystal beads woven through her braids, but human.

Which, if what she’d heard was true, she most certainly was not.

“Everyone else is here,” Cara said. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

Everyone else? Just how many people were at this meeting? Dani wished she’d asked for more details before agreeing to this.

“My apologies,” Tyrez said. “We were a bit delayed.”

Delayed by her need to eat, Dani realized. Yet Tyrez hadn’t hustled her through her meal. In fact, he’d cooked for her.

Brownie points to the Dragon.

Cara turned and led them along a stone path toward an older, but very well-kept, two-story house.

The back entrance opened to a small mudroom. The bright room beyond revealed a kitchen bustling with people.

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