Page 35 of Magic Betrayed

As the two unearthly beings confronted one another, an unnatural wind stirred the air, whipping dead leaves into a maelstrom and flattening the weeds that choked the cracked concrete. Power flared, and I caught a glimpse of our enemy’s face—dark skin marked by parallel scars running from his hairline to his chin…

Vinrath Elduvar, Crown Prince of the Fae.

All the tension drained from my body, and I almost laughed as I sagged against the concrete wall that protected the stairwell. I’d been so on edge, I’d taken Grandma Pearl’s words as sarcasm, but she hadn’t been lying when she said it was a friend.

The fae and the dragon eyed each other for a moment before Callum shook his head like a wet dog, folded his wings, and sat back, looking highly disgruntled.

How I could tell he was annoyed I had no idea.

“Prince Rath.” I jogged towards them, relieved beyond words that there would be no need for a fight. “Did someone send you to find us?”

Callum snorted and offered me a dragonish side-eye. He was pretty sure Draven must have told Rath where we were. The assassin was the only other person who might know Grandma Pearl’s location.

“But he didn’t even tellyou,” I pointed out. “If he knew, why would he make you pay extra for the information?”

Both Callum and Rath turned to look at me oddly.

“What?”

“Were you speaking to the dragon?” Rath’s expression was decidedly odd—somewhere between startled and amused.

“Obviously,” I retorted. “Callum just said…”

Actually, no. Callum hadn’t said anything. Becausedragonscouldn’t talk. Except for Kira, apparently, but her circumstances were unique even among dragons. Was this my hunch magic choosing to kick in at a strange place and time? It had never worked this way before, but that didn’t mean much.

“Ryker tracked Callum’s phone and informed me of your location,” the fae prince admitted, before tilting his chin up to regard Callum with a curious tilt to his eyebrows. “Have you told anyone else about this interesting development?”

The dragon glared, and a tiny waft of smoke escaped his nostrils.

“He wants you to shut up,” I translated helpfully, and then caught myself for a second time. Why on earth was my brain insisting it could tell what Callum wanted to say?

“Dragons usually do,” Rath said, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Particularly this dragon. But this time, I’m afraid you aren’t getting rid of me so easily.” The smirk vanished, taking his usual sardonic edge with it. “I want to help.”

Well, crap. Someone must have informed him that Kes and the kids were missing.

“We don’t even know exactly what we’re looking for,” I told him, a little untruthfully. “Or if anyone is actually in trouble. We’re just following all the leads we have.”

Rath’s posture shifted to confront me, and his suddenly piercing gaze sliced through my masks like a scalpel. “Do you genuinely expect me to believe that?” he said softly. “You’re going to have to practice your lies, little human, if you want to hide how terrified you are of losing them.”

A shiver shot down my spine, but I couldn’t let the fae prince see how worried I truly was. I wasn’t sure how far Kes trusted him, so how could I confide the reasons for my urgency?

“Your fear is as evident as your wounds,” he continued. “I know how deeply you care for Kestryl and the human children, so why would you reject my help when the situation calls for haste?”

Above our heads, the dragon let out a growl, and his wings flared again. His massive head lowered, bringing him nose-to-terrifying-nose with the fae prince, while his armored bulk shifted towards me. It was a clearly protective move—a threat, and a promise of retribution if Rath didn’t back off.

But I didn’t need a dragon to fight my battles. At least, not this time.

“He doesn’t scare me,” I chided, bumping the side of the dragon’s head with my shoulder. And oddly enough, it was true. Despite his occasionally menacing aura, I felt no fear of the fae prince. Was it my hunch magic trying to tell me to trust him?

Callum didn’t make any further threatening moves, but his lips peeled back in a ghastly snarl to let me know what he thought of my lack of caution. So in a moment of urgency, annoyance, and sublime idiocy, I reached out and smacked the dragon—yep, slapped a literal dragon—on the nose with my palm.

I immediately realized what I’d done, possibly because slapping a dragon hurts. And also because the dragon reared back to look at me with a comically startled expression.

Rath abruptly dropped his transparent attempt to intimidate me and let out a huff of laughter. “I can genuinely say that I’ve never seen anyone bold enough to slap a dragon before. Which is a pity. I find it wildly entertaining. Any chance of you doing it again?”

“I can slap fae princes too,” I muttered under my breath.

I was far too embarrassed to look at Callum, but suddenly I felt the warm rush of his amusement fill my mind, along with reassurance. He wasn’t mad, just startled.

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