Page 30 of Dragon Fires Everywhere
A crow caws from its perch on one of the stores, and it jerks me away from that sound.
“What are you looking at?”
I drag my gaze from the water to Azrael. “Just communing with the river.”
He frowns at me, and I get the strangest feeling there’sconcernin the way his eyebrows draw together. But I keep marching forward. I don’t have time forriver riddlestoday.
My dragon is riddle enough as it is.
St. Cyprian is out in force this cold, bright morning, streaming in and out of shops decked out for the holiday season. Onceagain, I get the kind of attention I never did before this year. Everyone makes sure to smile and say hello, like they’retrying to curry favor. This must be what it’s been like to be Emerson all these years.
And I keep waiting for someone to point at Azrael and reveal him. I don’t know how anyone could look at Azrael and think he’sanything other than pure magic. A big, powerful dragon wrapped in a ridiculously hot male human form that I can’t believepeople don’t see straight through.
But I can tell as we pass people on the street—witches and humans alike—that no one looks at him and thinksdragon. They do thinkhot.I stop counting the second glances and flirtatious smiles when I pass fifty.
And no, I don’t like that at all.
“You’ll need a human name,” I say to him, maybe a little more forcefully than necessary, when a pack of women literally blocksthe bricks to gape at him. “I’m sure the Joywood know your real name, and we don’t want them to make that connection. We don’twant them to think much of you at all. So it needs to be something boring.”
He is smiling at three octogenarian witches who cast little sparkler spells at him, all googly-eyed, then turns that smileon me. “I am never boring, Georgina.”
I ignore the smile. “Nigelis kind of a British name.”
He makes a scoffing noise.
“Edmund?”
“That sounds like someone I would eat.”
We go back and forth, not coming to any agreement as we reach Tea & No Sympathy. The shop is packed, which is a good sign, but after I weave through the crowd with Azrael prowling along behind me, I get to Ellowyn at the cash register, and shelooks likeshemight start breathing fire on every single customer in her shop.
She sees me, and her eyes narrow. “I want to commit multiple murders,” she announces, loud enough that quite a few customershear.
The regulars laugh, because Ellowyn’s grumpiness is part of the charm.
Some of the humans who’ve never been in here before, clearly, look concerned.
I skirt the counter and nudge Ellowyn out of the way. “I’ll take over the register. Maybe you can find some way to putPeteto work,” I say, jutting my chin meaningfully toward Azrael, who is surveying the crowd with a certain kind of hunger inhis gaze that can’t be good.
At the sound of the name, he shifts that gaze to me.
He has no boundaries, so why shouldn’tIchoose a name without his approval?
“Pete?” Ellowyn asks.
It’s my human name for him. Cute, right?
Ellowyn snorts.He doesn’t look like aPete, Georgie.Or a human. Nor is hecute.
She leaves the register and makes her way to Azrael. I decide if anyone can handle a dragon, it’s Ellowyn. Even pregnant.Maybeespeciallypregnant. So I focus on the job I can actually do here.
I check people out, listen to complaints about the price and the crowd. I deal with people trying to haggle or return unreturnablethings. I don’tlovecustomer service, but with the right ditzy,I’m sure I didn’t hear you correctlysmile, I find it endurable.
Or at least, I don’t feel the need to murder anyone. There’s a kind of satisfaction in never letting anyone ruffle my exteriorfeathers, no matter how some try.
As noon approaches, the crowd begins to dwindle a bit.People are no doubt flooding into all the restaurants and snack shops. I’m able to step away from the register for a few minutes, so I take the opportunity. I glance over to find Azrael with his head bowed toward a customer so he can actually speak at her level. He’s telling her all sorts of things about the tea, with grand gestures and much enthusiasm.
Ellowyn’s sitting in a chair by the window, her feet elevated. “He’s got a talent for this,” she tells me when I come over,sounding almost proud. “I’ve watched him talk at least ten women into twice the purchase they came in here to make.”
