Page 24 of Toadstools and Vampire Kisses

Ulrek grunts. “Not necessary. I can scout the grounds in avian form on my own until they awaken.”

I murmur my thanks, but he waves it aside, his eyes narrowing as they follow Connor in the direction that the human departed. He mutters a curse under his breath. “In the old days, we would have torn him apart and displayed his remains as a warning to his masters,” he growls. “These coven politics and relations weaken us.”

“True, but things change, and that is even more painfully evident to me considering how much I have missed. However, we not only let him live due to our laws and courtesy toward each other, it is also the human laws we must consider,” I remind him.

His lip curls in disgust. “Is it not enough that we take mates from the human ranks? Must we also uphold their laws? At least the discovery about the witches benefits us as well.” He stalks past me but pauses just beyond my shoulder, turning his head to peer back at me. “If you have found your mate among this coven, you should take her and be done with this. Do not offer your protection so those who are undeserving.”

“They are her kin.”

Ulrek gives a dismissive snort. “They are nothing to you. You are a vampire—a dragori. You require nothing from them.” He takes another step but pauses again, but this time just for a moment. “Make no mistake, when I find my mate, I will take her far from here, into the wild reaches where our kind, the dragori and the gavorethi, belong and be done with this world.”

That surprises me; I did not think he was even of the mind to search for a mate and had not appeared to interact with any of the witches at the ball. Not that I noticed, anyway.

I turn and face him, my eyes narrowing. “Do as you must, but I pity you.”

He resumes striding away. “You will pity me? For what reason?”

“Because the gods will be sure to give you a mate who will fight you every step of the way and curse the ground beneath your feet should you show such disregard,” I call after him. “For that I will pity you.”

His huff of laughter is his only response as he departs the gazebo, leaving me alone with nothing but my need for Fran. I could seek out Jack, but I do not see what help he can possibly be. In this I am completely alone, without even my mate for comfort until I can win my way back into her good graces. I know that she is not immune to me, nor does she hold any true hostility toward me. The way she reacted to my dance spoke the truth on the matter, but I know that my actions have caused a fissure that I need to fix. Until then, I will have to suffer separation. Clinging to Jack would likely prove more irritating than not.

I stalk out of the gazebo, my skin under the magic itching demonically. Another side effect? Gods, it’s deplorable. Unable to shift my wings while glamoured to get at the terrible itch beneath one, I scratch ineffectually at my back, I am half-tempted to resume my normal appearance when I hear the wind rustle before a dragon descends, landing on the ground in front of me. His red body shimmers in the moonlight as his spade-tipped tail coils around him. More humanoid in form than I would have suspected, he gives me a haughty glare as he gently sets the woman tucked protectively against his breast on the ground.

I stare at Katherine Durmont in surprise as she straightens her dress with an exasperated huff. When she looks up, however, she wears a pleased smile.

“Ah, Reynard, perfect! Adeon said he could find you without a problem, but I wasn’t so sure since this tends to be the time of day that favors your species.”

The dragon in question reclines in a very humanoid posture, his scaly brows rising. “I am wounded that you have so little faith in me.”

Her eyes roll upward as if to beseech the night sky. “Don’t start. I never said that you couldn’t. I just wasn’t certain if it was possible or not. You are not a god.”

“I am in some cultures,” he retorts, earning an annoyed look from the witch around whom his tail is beginning to entwine.

She slaps it away before turning back to me with a brilliant smile that gives me a pause.A smile like that desires something.

I give her a small bow. “You have caught me as I was leaving to patrol your property. I had an unpleasant matter I had to deal with first.”

“Ah, yes, I wished to ask you something. Adeon had mentioned that you are accomplished with weather magic.”

“He has?” I interrupt, my eyes narrowing at the dragon. “And how, I wonder, would he have that information?”

The dragon snorts, expelling a small burst of flame. “Because,dragor, I know exactly what you are. You are what humans would call a ‘designer model.’ A species bred by ancient mages from a dying breed of water dragons crossed with a now extinct sub-line of gavorethi.” He snarls angrily. “And for what—to have you forget and dismiss your heritage except by your name? All to embrace vampire vanity.”

I stare at him in shock. Surely that could not be true.

“Impossible,” I snap, the itch under my wing growing more wretched by the minute as my gut twists with nesting hunger.

Adeon’s wings stretch in a display that is all too familiar as his lips twist into a smug smile. I cannot look away from them. Though succuri have wings, they are soft and feathered though possessing wicked talons. Not even their wings have this look that so closely resembles the wings of a dragon.

Closing my eyes, I turn away from him. I do not open them again until I am certain I am facing the witch, her sweet perfume of roses and wisteria drifting into my nose. My eyes snap open, and I peer down at her. I am almost completely disarmed by the way she sweetly smiles up at me, unintimidated.

“As I was saying, I want some powerful weather play that can summon in a mist for my Haunted Garden tomorrow. Can you do it?” She arches a manicured eyebrow at me in challenge.

“Of course, but why wait?” I reply coolly.

Drawing on my power at the very point where it connects with the moisture, I adjust the currents of air and pull the mist forward, drawing it down the hills and from out of the forest. It rolls in with long, creeping fingers, and Katherine claps her hands with a laugh that draws a surprising smile from her dragon companion.

“Excellent! I can’t wait to see Fran’s reaction to this! It will offset her magic beautifully. I assume you can sustain it until after tomorrow night?”

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