Page 13 of Magic Claimed
Tairen-li-Corva. Former queen of the dragons. Possibly the scariest dragon alive, considering she was the only one I knew of who had actually eaten someone.
And also, Callum’s mother.
Looked like I wasn’t going to be getting that nap anytime soon.
FOUR
“Consider it a courtesy,”Faris said dryly. “Yes, you are of course free to visit your daughterwith her permission, but last I checked, Kira doesn’t live at The Portal.”
No one missed his emphasis on “permission.”
Tairen snorted. “She might as well. But yes,courtesyis why I’m here. Before I showed up at her door, I thought it would be wise to inform you of my intention to remain in the city for a time.”
Faris remained impassive. “You had an open invitation to remain in the city indefinitely after your abdication. I have no plans to rescind that, so long as you don’t make any messes you can’t clean up. And”—his voice hardened a little—“provided you inform your family in advance the next time you decide to disappear.”
Huh. There was definitely some animosity here, and I suspected it was mostly about Kira.
Kira was Tairen’s only daughter, and dragons had alwaysbeen matriarchal. Which meant that even with three older brothers, it was Kira who’d been intended to take the throne after her mother—to rule both the dragons and the shapeshifters. But Kira had been raised as a human, and her perspective on life had clashed with her mother’s from the moment they met.
Tairen’s entire purpose was to protect dragons first and shapeshifters second, using the superior strength and iron will that had enabled her to rebuild a life in this unfamiliar world after Idria’s collapse.
Kira valued the human parts of her upbringing and believed in protecting peace and equality between all Idrians. She hadn’t taken kindly to her mother’s attempts to strong-arm her, and the resulting conflict had nearly severed their relationship forever.
They’d reconciled, but not until after Kira had essentially chosen Faris and the Shadow Court over her mother and the dragons, and it appeared Tairen might still be feeling salty about it.
“I’m three hundred and fifty-six years old,” Tairen retorted, leaving me more than a little startled. How had I not known dragons could live that long? “I believe I’m past the age where I must inform anyone of my intentions or my whereabouts.”
The younger blonde woman at her shoulder was looking wryly amused. “Auntie, I think he’s trying to tell you that you scared the children, not that you require a babysitter.”
Tairen shot her a dirty look that had absolutely zero effect, which convinced me this must be Skye—Kira and Callum’s cousin, and the current queen of the dragons.
When Tairen stepped down, she’d handed her position toher niece as the closest female relative. But then Tairen had gone and eaten the fae queen, and the Shapeshifter Court had decided it was time for a change in the way they allocated leadership.
Instead of allowing the dragon queen to automatically rule the shapeshifters—which concentrated far too much power in one person—they separated the positions and offered the shapeshifter kingship to Callum.
Which was how he’d ended up in New Mexico, trying to wrangle the Shapeshifter Court, while his mother was here. In Oklahoma City. Looking around her as if everything was slightly below standard and she was hoping for someone to take to task for it.
“Scared the children.” Tairen huffed. “If only they worried more about whether they were scaringme.”
Without any conscious request on my part, my siren magic flared to life. Sometimes it offered suggestions to help smooth the way—hunches that always paid off if I was willing to pay attention. And this time, it was telling me that Tairen was a much different person than the last Idrian queen who’d stormed in here and nearly started a fight because she was worried about her daughter.
If I had a nickel for every time…
Still just two nickels, but that was two nickels more than any sane person would want to have.
But unlike the elemental queen, the former ruler of the dragons was a woman adrift—cut loose from the purpose that had driven her for so many years. Tairen was still a strong and capable leader with no one to lead. She’d tried normal life, and itwasn’t enough, so now she was hunting for a new purpose. And if I didn’t stay out of her way…
“Miss Kendrick.”
Nope. IknowI did not just hear my name in Tairen-li-Corva’s voice.
“Might I have a moment of your time?”
I reluctantly lifted my gaze from contemplating the disaster I’d made of The Portal’s floor.
Tairen’s amber eyes seemed to be staring straight through me, so of course, that’s when my mouth decided to get involved.
“I’m sorry, but I’m working tonight, and it looks like I’m going to be very busy”—I looked back down at the man now inching his way across the floor, still oozing blood from his rapidly swelling face—“taking out the trash.”
