Page 4 of Witch's Bells and Mistletoe

Oh. Oh, no.

“Elis, there you are, cousin!” he booms out, and the male in front of me shifts and turns to him—and bursts out laughing.

“Adeon, what’s all this? Who are you trying to fool looking like that? That must be taking a considerably amount of energy to upkeep,” Elis observes with another bark of laughter.

The male in question casts a nervous glance in my direction and suddenly the lout, Elis, turns around and takes a good look at me. His upper lip curls with a distinct distaste as he regards me, and I can’t help but to return the feeling as I match his glower with one of my own. I’m the head of the Durmont coven. I will not be looked down upon as if I’m something foul that this dragon has stepped in.

Dragon—oh!

I cut my eyes to Adeon immediately. Is that what he’s supposed to look like in humanoid form?

Elis laughs again, but this time there is a sharp, bitter sound to it.

“So that’s it, is it? You are leashing your nature and burying it beneath all of this for your witch.”

The way he says “witch” has so much contempt laced within it that it finds its mark and pricks. While I know that legend has a strained relationship at best—and downright brutal at most times—between dragons and humans, Adeon has hinted at some uneasy history between dragons and witches that makes me wonder if it is the source of Elis’s anger.

“I think that this is a discussion best had in private,” Adeon replies woodenly and I glance around and discover that not only the receptionist watching with wide-eyed interest but several guests carting skis have slowed to a crawl to eavesdrop. “I was going to make reservations, but I think it would be better to have room service brought up.” His pale gold eyes meet mine earnestly. “I will explain everything.”

“Very well. Let’s get it over with,” I sigh, noting that Elis’s eyes narrow on me with obvious suspicion. “I’m curious about all this secrecy, but the sooner we can put this conversation behind us, the quicker we can move on to more pleasant things. I am on vacation, after all.”

I’m certainly not indulging in all of this for my health. This is supposed to be my time, after all, and there is no harm in reminding Adeon of that fact or making the point to Elis that I don’t have to be doing this at all right now and am choosing to. I certainly have no interest in spending any longer than necessary around the other dragon, who gives a sharp nod in agreement.

“Excellent,” Adeon sighs, sounding no more enthusiastic than I’m feeling at the moment.

I have a feeling that I’m not the only one who saw this evening shaping up differently.

Chapter 4

ADEON

My cousin is a damn nuisance. Worse, I never realized just how much he disliked witches. It wasn’t a subject that ever came up, and he seemed to enjoy his conquests among humans a little too much to make me think it was her humanity that he disliked until he spat out “witch” like it was a curse. To his credit, he makes no more effort to snipe at Katherine as they take a seat at the table in the corner of my spacious room, and we enjoy a relative peace between us while we eat the tenderest steak I’ve ever tasted, savory roasted potatoes, and some unmentionable green vegetables that my cousin and I both ignore while Katherine nibbles on them with obvious pleasure.

I find root vegetables and gourds pleasant enough to enjoy, but I never did develop a taste for vegetables that the human palate favors. That doesn’t mean that I don’t find absolute fascination in watching her enjoy them. I never thought that watching another eat would make both pricks harden in my pants. Dragons tend to be pragmatic, and while we enjoy our food, we are usually too accustomed to tearing and bolting it in our early, formative years to give much thought to flavor and the sensuality inherent within food. The latter had never occurred to me at all before Katherine.

Noticing the direction of my attention, Elis makes a disgusted sound in the back of his throat, earning him a sharp look in turn. The male is well over two centuries younger than I am, and we never got on well despite being kin. His broody arrogance has often been more than I can take—and I’m hardly alone in that sentiment within our family.

Thank the gods that dragons are not so sentimental that we gather often—if at all. Having such long lives also means that a number of years can slip by unnoticed before anyone bothers to check on kin that they haven’t heard from. Only siblings and parents tend to remain close enough to keep in touch. Because of that, I typically don’t have to endure his company. That our current situation has demanded that we work together on this matter has just forced me to tolerate his company more than I otherwise would consider. This has been the first time within a decade that we’ve bothered to meet to share news on our progress.

Gods forbid that the male learn how to send an email. It would save us all a lot of trouble, but my cousin insists on these archaic meetings as if we have to worry about dragon hunters spying on us and intercepting communications. This whole meeting is taxing my patience, and I’m about to burn my cousin to a crisp if he doesn’t quit glowering at my Katherine.

I bite back a spark of dragon fire, but it’s just enough to catch his attention and his eyebrows raise in response as he finally gives me his full attention.

“Was there something you wished to say, cousin?” he rumbles coolly.

“Why not just give me the information you said you have so that we can be on our way? You already know that I haven’t had any luck.” I don’t even bother to hide the bite in my voice and Elis grimaces.

“Do you think it is wise in front of—” He tips his head toward Katherine without an iota of subtlety. “We are in mixed company.”

A tired sigh escapes me, and I shake my head at him. “She already knows what I’m hunting for, Elis. You know that. There is no cause for subterfuge. Just say it already.”

He purses his lips, and I swallow a groan. The last time I saw that look on his face I was forced to listen to an hours-long lecture on the nuances of the mating jewel and clan dynamics and politics. I really don’t care about any of that, and he knows it. Just as I don’t care about whatever garbage he thinks to educate me on this time. Unless it’s relevant to helping me locate the jewel, I don’t need to hear about it. But somehow I think that this time it is more than that.

“First, I would like to ask when you are like… that.” He wiggles his claws in the air, gesturing vaguely to my body. “Has being around witches too long neutered you by restraining your magic to keep you in that weak form?”

I grow deep in my chest just loud enough for my cousin’s sensitive ears to pick up on it without worrying Katherine. “No, cousin.”

“Then why? You can’t possibly enjoy being like that without scales or claws or defensive horns and plating. You are smooth as a hatchling.”

---