Page 44 of The Heart of the Dragon

"You are lucky then. Not everyone can be so." The sadness in Kitra's voice led me to believe that there was a story behind her words. But I didn't know her well enough to ask and sheprobably didn't want me to. I had enough people who came to me for a potion to help them forget to know. Those requests always hurt, but I could hardly fault someone for wanting to escape whatever bad had happened in their lives that they couldn't move forward from.

"I am lucky," I said as I finished the last of the water. Between the cool drink and the fresh air, I could already feel some of the tension inside me easing. Coming home always felt like this. No matter what worries or stresses I carried with me, the minute I got close to Thurso, a sense of peace and calm would settle over me.

I blamed my parents. I often thought they had the entire village bespelled. It was the only thing that made sense. People were genuinely happy here and there was almost no conflict. And when it did arise, it was quickly settled. Also by my parents’ hand. They definitely had a way with the people here. I was proud of all that they'd accomplished.

As a human.

Both Kitra and I stared down at the village while Magnus and Isaac were across the street in what looked like a heated argument. "Do they always fight like that?" I asked.

"Yep. Since the day they met, they've clashed."

I pulled my brows together. "I thought they were brothers."

"They are. Only they didn't know the other existed until recently." That, too, sounded like a complex story. "They are actually two of three. But Magnus was separated at birth from his two brothers. They were raised here while he remained with his uncle in the fae realm."

"I've already figured out the uncle thing didn't work out well. Actually, he sounds like a piece of work."

She snorted. "Pure evil, that one. We barely got away from him. Magnus, for all his faults, had it the worst, and I keep telling Isaac he needs to cut him some slack. We don't even know how long he was bespelled by the king, or what long term repercussions that might have. But I do know he can't continue like he has been. It's just too dangerous. For everyone."

That sounded ominous. I stared at the two brothers, this time really paying attention. I hadn't thought there was anything identical about them and would have never guessed they were triplets, but now that Kitra had pointed it out I couldn't unsee it. The same dark hair, hooded eyes, even the cut jawline and the cheekbones were uncanny in their closeness. But the similarities seemed to end there. They didn't carry themselves the same way. They were both tall men, but Magnus was a couple of inches taller. I'd guess somewhere around six foot six.

Their personalities were different, too. Isaac appeared straightforward and all business, while Magnus had a broodiness about him that I imagined came from whatever he went through with his uncle. I probably didn’t want to know about the kind of secrets he kept. But both men were stubborn. Anyone could see that. No wonder they clashed so much.

"Do they ever get along?" I asked.

Kitra followed my gaze to the two men whose conversation was getting hotter instead of cooling down. "Not really. But maybe with time. Sometimes I see them give each other begrudging respect, but for the most part it’s not a great combo to mix two alpha dragons in the same space. They are never going to agree on anything.”

“Makes sense, I guess, but it also sounds exhausting. How do you deal with it?”

Kitra laughed. “One blessed day at a time. Although maybe once we get Magnus’s dragon under control it won’t be so all consuming.”

“What exactly do you mean by under control?”

She looked at me quizzically. “I’m surprised you have to ask. I haven’t seen Magnus be civil for more than a short period of time in months. And before the spell broke, he was a dick twenty-four seven.”

Whoa. “Uhm. Excuse me?” What in the actual?—

“Sorry. I’ve probably said too much. You should let him tell you the rest. Since I don’t know exactly what is going on in that male’s head, my version might be a little too colorful.”

I scrunched my face as more frustration poured through. I thought it was high time these people came clean with a lot more details. If I was going to keep helping them, I needed to trust them.

But on the other hand, did I want to get any deeper involved? So far, I’d probably lost one of my dearest friendships because of him, and now my home was destroyed.

What the hell were they going to do next?

The moment those words filtered through my mind, I wished they hadn’t. Because my gut told me I would soon regret them.

Kitra and I headed back to the SUV as the pit in my stomach grew. “Let’s go meet the parents, shall we?”

This definitely wasn’t going to go well.

Chapter

Eighteen

Magnus

The house Roseled us to wasn't a house at all. It was bigger, like a castle, without all the pretentiousness. The main home, and all the surrounding buildings, were painted a rich black. The trees surrounding the property were thick and wove all over the grounds.

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