Page 41 of The Heart of the Dragon

My heart skipped a beat, and I nearly fell to my knees.

Fuck. We were so screwed.

Chapter

Sixteen

Rose

By the timeMagnus found me, I'd managed to get the tears under control. Until he looked at me with regret, and I lost control all over again.

"I'm sorry, Rose. I—" He dropped down to his haunches in front of me so that we were eye level. "I could say I'm sorry, but I know it wouldn't be enough. That was your grandfather's couch, right? The one you told me about."

"The only thing of his I had left." He winced at my words, and I let the shame of that satisfaction wash over me. I could have told him it was okay, and that I had my memories and how those were more important, but a dark little piece of me didn't want to absolve or forgive Magnus for this.

"Maybe we can fix it." I looked at him and then at the pile of wood and scoffed. There was little hope for a piece of furniture he'd rendered to literal sticks.

"No." I said, standing and straightening the old t-shirt I still wore. He'd found some clothes from somewhere and while they didn't fit him perfectly, he looked a mile better than I did right now. I was overdue for a shower and didn't even want to think about the state of my hair. "If getting what you need gets all of you out of my house sooner, then I'd rather finish getting what you need. Unfortunately, there are two things on Kitra's list that I don't have. But I know someone who might be able to help us."

"Wait—" He grasped my arm and tried to pull me closer to him, but I wasn't going to allow it.

"Don't," I said through clenched teeth as I jerked away from him. "Last night was a mistake and I should have known better. I saw the darkness inside of you from the beginning. That dragon, his aura…" She shook her head. "I chose to interpret it in a way I shouldn't have, and that's on me. Now I know better. The best thing for me now, is all of you out of my life as soon as possible."

He released his grip and for that I was grateful. Even if the sudden loss of his touch felt like he'd just taken something important away from me. Like a limb. As that weird thought settled in my mind, I stared agape at him for one minute too long.

"Last night was a lot of things," he started.

"Don't. It's not necessary." But he wasn't listening.

"Look, I'm not saying it was a mistake. Only complicated. We should talk about it, clear the air. But now is not the time, nor is it a conversation I'd like to have with an audience."

I knew his brother and the woman were still here, but they were hardly hovering, let alone listening in.

As if reading my mind, he tapped his ear. "Dragons have exceptional hearing, and even garden-variety fae like Kitra have stronger senses than a human."

"I amnotgarden variety anything," Kitra grumbled from the other room.

"See?" he said smiling, as if everything he said made perfect sense..

“What next? Vampires?"

He shrugged, and my mouth dropped open. He couldn't be serious.

"It's an interesting misconception shared by every human that other beings don't exist. I find it both fascinating and more than a little egotistical."

"Not all humans. I can name several who wholeheartedly believe in the existence ofothers. Although I can't guarantee they thought of them as corporeal beings who looked exactly like everyone else."

"We don't." Kitra entered the room. "Well, some of us do. But others rely on glamour to hide things like ears, wings, face markings, and don't get me started on other creatures, like sprites. They often take on the appearance of a woodland child, to not only hide what they are, but their true age as well."

"Oh no." Isaac held up his hands in a stop motion. "Really do NOT let her go down the road of those creatures. They're little demons, who like to cause all kinds of trouble. And not the fun kind."

"Those little demons have helped you more than once. Maybe you should be more grateful." Kitra glared at Isaac.

"Aye, helpful. I remember exactly how helpful they were when their little poisonous arrows penetrated my dragon scales every time I tried to fly in the fae realm. Little bastards."

"Ignore him. He's still a little bitter from his experience in our realm."

"That littleexperiencecost me nearly one hundred years. Of course I'm going to be bitter."

---