Page 105 of Cherish

“No need,” Hudson tells her, giving a little nod toward a booth filled with merch in every color imaginable. Bright lanterns in reds and greens and purples hang from strings that crisscross the top of the booth. One table is filled with colored stone jewelry, and another is filled with blue jeans and T-shirts in every shade of the rainbow. The center of the booth has multicolor blankets folded into piles that stand six or seven feet tall, plus furniture and paintings and colored glass that reminds me of the collection my mother used to have in her office.

She filled hers with herbs and flowers that she used for her teas, and as we approach the booth, I can’t look away from the pretty amber apothecary bottles, crimson atomizers, and jade pitchers. I swear I can almost smell the sweet-and-spicy scent that used to wash over me every time she was blending.

It’s an odd feeling—one that makes me sad even as it brings me an amazing amount of comfort. It’s strange how just a glimpse of these containers can bring me back to all those hours after school when, under her supervision, I stuffed her bottles with the roots and flowers and berries that she had grown and harvested and dried on our dining room table.

“So what’s the plan?” Flint asks as we approach. “Do I need to be the muscle?”

Hudson laughs. “The day I need a dragon to be the muscle for me is the day I walk into the sun without my ring and let myself burn.”

“The fact that the sun can do you in should be proof enough that dragons are stronger,” Flint answers.

Hudson just rolls his eyes. “The fact that dragons are mortal should prove just the opposite.”

“What is it about vampires, man? Always throwing the immortal card in our face like it’s such a flex.” Flint sounds completely disgruntled, which only seems to amuse Hudson more.

Especially when Jaxon chimes in: “We don’t need to flex. We’reimmortal.”

“So, what he’s saying is we don’t have a plan,” Heather says to all of us, and there’s general chuckling.

“What I’m saying is that the plan is simple,” Hudson tells everyone with a sigh. Then he turns and strides into the booth like he owns the place.

Polo is helping a customer who seems very interested in a pair of jeans, but he breaks off mid-negotiation when he catches sight of my mate. He’s wiry and not especially tall, but I know from our fight against the pack of wolves that he’s hiding a lot of strength beneath his plain white T-shirt. His black hair curls around his ears now, and he’s got a new tattoo on his arm of an eagle with its wings spread, but otherwise he looks exactly as I remember him—right down to the wolfish grin he shoots Hudson’s way.

“Hudson Vega!” he all but yells as he crosses the booth to shake Hudson’s hand. “I heard you were back in town. I didn’t believe it after everything that happened, but here you are.”

“Here I am,” Hudson agrees with a grin.

Polo smacks him on the back in a friendly fashion. “How the hell are you?”

“I’m good. Really good. How are you?”

“Can’t complain,” he answers with a laugh that sounds a lot like a howl. “Business is booming, my mate and I just had a baby, and that Shadow Bitch hasn’t shown her face around here since you tossed her out like the trash she is. Life is good.”

“That’s fantastic news, man.” It’s Hudson’s turn to clap him on the back. “A new little chupacabra running around! Boy or girl?”

“Girl. She looks just like her mama, gracias a Dios. She’s gorgeous.”

“I bet she is.”

“What’s her name?” I ask, because I feel awkward just standing here. And also because I don’t want Hudson to have to carry the conversation all by himself. Especially considering the direction he needs to move it in.

“Her name is Aurora,” he answers. “Because she’s our light.”

“That’s beautiful. I’m so happy for you and your mate.” After everything he went through in that last battle, Polo deserves all the happiness he can find.

“This is my mate, by the way.” Hudson wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close. “Grace.”

“What? The great Hudson Vega found his mate?” Now he does let out a loud howl—one that sounds celebratory in nature. “Congratulations, dude. That is stellar.” Then he jolts like he just remembered I’m standing here as well. “Congratulations to you, too,” he tells me. “You’ve got a good one here.”

“I absolutely do,” I agree.

“So what brings you two to Vegaville?” Polo asks after a few seconds. “And please tell me you didn’t bring any of those fucking time dragons with you.”

“We didn’t,” Hudson assures him. “But that’s actually what we want to talk to you about.”

“Time dragons?” Polo looks wary.

“No, definitely not time dragons,” I say. “We were actually hoping you could point us in the right direction. We’re looking for someone who knows how to cross the barrier between the Shadow Realm and our world.”

---