Page 50 of Magic Betrayed

Kes had seen it coming. My own heart had tried to tell me, but I’d silenced it to protect myself.

Only now—when I was too tired for denial—was I willing to admit that I was completely, stupidly in love with a stubborn, responsible, rule-following, pain-in-the-ass dragon.

I wanted Callum-ro-Deverin, and I could never, ever have him. Thanks to Leith, King of the Wildkin Court, I knew all of the reasons why I would never be acceptable as Callum’s… anything.

He had the reputation of the dragon royal family to think about. His position as shapeshifter king. True, shapeshifters didn’t always mate with their own kind, but with Kira marrying a half-fae, there was more political pressure on Callum to choose a proper dragon as his partner.

Also, there was my criminal history to consider. A human walking around with four different kinds of stolen magic had no business considering herself a potential partner for one of the most prominent Idrians in the country.

So. It wasn’t like anything could ever come of this. But I was exhausted, and my boundaries were weak, so for once, I didn’t try to stop myself from embracing the moment.

We were together. And despite the mud and the cold, the disappointment, and the waning adrenaline, for the moment, all was well. Being this close to him—having him rest beside me in perfect contentment—was at once exhilarating and comforting. Completely safe. Safe enough to finally let go and let my exhaustion carry me off to sleep.

* * *

I awakenedto the sound of beeping. A warm, heavy weight rested on my lap, and my fingers were tangled in something soft.

When my eyes cracked open, I saw lights flashing and heard voices approaching the SUV.

Right. We’d found the van. Fought mercenaries. Callum had shifted, the van exploded, then we’d crawled back into the SUV and passed out, despite my best intentions.

I looked down, and my heart almost stopped.

Somehow, in his sleep, Callum’s head had ended up in my lap. My fingers were resting on his beautiful auburn hair, and his arm stretched across my legs, almost hugging them.

My heart pounded as I stared at him—his face relaxed in sleep, dark eyelashes stark against his skin, stubble grown out to shadow his jaw. Utterly vulnerable, trusting me to keep him safe.

I should wake him up. Should disentangle us before whoever was out there found us in a decidedly compromising position. But I couldn’t bring myself to move. Didn’t want this unforeseen and impossible moment to end.

But end it did, and I heard the locks click just before the door was yanked open with enough force to strain the hinges. A bright, focused light flashed into my eyes, and as I shielded my face with my hand, I could make out a bearlike form looming in the open door.

Still not Sasquatch, sadly.

“They’re here!” Faris’s voice was a deep, angry rumble and I smiled in spite of myself. Where I had once been terrified of that sound, somehow, the cranky elemental now just sounded like home, family, and safety.

He lowered the flashlight and looked me up and down, taking in the mud and Callum’s limp form.

“Are the two of you utterly incapable of being left alone without creating some kind of disaster?” he grumbled. “How is he?”

“He shifted twice in a day,” I explained, and saw Faris’s gaze sharpen. “But I don’t think he’s hurt.”

The only answer forthcoming was a grunt. Then, “What happened out here?”

“Mercenaries.”

Faris’s eyes glowed green in response.

“There were five of them. They were after the van, just like we were. Linked it to Kes. Blew it up just so we couldn’t use it to find her first.”

He didn’t seem surprised by this information, so I suspected Kira must have filled him in on my revelations about Kes.

“And the sinkhole?”

“That was, uh…” I swallowed. “That was me. A drus ambushed Callum, and I had to find a way to hold them off.”

One of his eyebrows rose. “Pretty damned smart. Except for the part where it came just a little too close to destabilizing a critical piece of the city’s water supply.”

Well, crap. “How do I fix it?”

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