Page 36 of New Nebraska Home

I knew she needed to be protected, and that was exactly what I was going to do. Since moving here, I had gotten stronger, my magic more potent, and I had a gut feeling that Liz, knowingly or not, had something to do with that.

“Brock?” Cal put his hand on my shoulder, shaking me. His magic flowed over me like oil coating boiling water. His magic differed from what it had been a month ago. I didn’t know how I had missed that. He was stronger, a lot stronger. He not only had more magic, but it was potent. It was still his… it carried his signature, but it was… somehow… more.

“Yeah?” I opened my eyes. Everyone was staring at me, even Liz turned in my lap.

“What do you think? Should Liz take Leif and hide, or stay here like a sitting duck?”

“Neither. I think if we don’t teach the kid how to defend himself, the Temple will always be after him, and if he starts running now, he’ll never stop. They’ll never let up.”

“He is seven, so how can he fight?” Liz asked, panic coating her words and magic.

“I can teach him how to throw a punch, block, and dodge,” Malik said, crossing his arms. “I’ve had to defend myself since I was much smaller than him.”

“We need to do more than that. I can sense his magic, and with the help of a Fae I know, we teach him the basics,” I said.

“He’s too small to—”

“No one is going to teach him how to start or end a fight,” I said. “We’ll show him how to defend himself and maybe just enough offense to let him get away. And how to protect himself with his own magic.”

“I don’t know.” She chewed her lip, her magic swelling with worry. Her worry grated against my skin, and I hated it.

“I wanna learn,” a small voice said from the doorway, and there stood Leif in his footie pajamas holding a stuffed rabbit by the foot.

“Well, then that’s settled, right?” I smiled at Liz who finally gave a nod. “The kid wants to learn.”

While Malik taught him the basics of throwing a punch, I was going to make a call to my favorite Fae prince and see if he was willing to fly in from London. I was going to have him bring every book he could find on Fae halflings and the magic they might possess, and humans with magic.

I was pretty sure our lovely landlord was a witch. It was amazing. I thought all the witch covens died a century or so ago.

Most people thought they were never real in the first place. But here she was, a human with magic. The question was, what kind, and did she know?

Malik

JUST A TASTE

The first fist flew towards my face, which I saw and blocked easily. The second one caught me by surprise. Leif had scored a lucky shot by nailing me under the chin hard enough to send me sprawling on my ass. Okay, I was already squatting to be in reach of him, and I had been in that position long enough I wasn’t stable, and my thighs were burning, so knocking me over wouldn’t have been hard without the element of surprise, but still, it was a solid hit.

“Did I hurt you?” Leif said, concern coloring his eyes.

“Nah, kid, I’m good, but I think you earned a break.” I stood up and brushed the dirt off my pants, ruffled his hair, and then walked inside. I knew Brock was around here somewhere, and Leif had been dying to get into the pool and cool off. If I was being honest, I also wanted to check on his sister a bit more.

When I walked into the kitchen, the cool air coming from the vents was an instant relief. Being a dragon meant I didn’t really mind heat, but I did mind humidity. I grabbed a soda to help cool me down. I was not seeing Liz down here anywhere. If I was going to go looking for her upstairs, I would need to come up with some sort of excuse.

A loud crash sounded from upstairs, followed by her high-pitched scream. That was a good enough excuse for me. Leaving my soda on the table, I ran upstairs, looking for her.

Upstairs was a long hallway with only a few doors. I checked them each as I looked for her.

The first one I opened was Leif’s room. The hardwood floor was covered with a rug that had a little town map with streets that he could run his toy cars. There were several shelves covered with action figures and model airplanes. This was definitely the room of a child that was well loved.

The second door I opened had to be her room. The large antique four-poster bed with the lace trim was somehow classy and romantic, without looking too girly or old-fashioned. It was exactly the type of room I could picture Liz in. It smelled like her, like sunshine and citrus, and the curtains diffused the light to give it an almost soft glow.

This was the bed I was going to be picturing next time I closed my eyes and thought about how much I wanted her. There was another door on the other side of the room, that no doubt led to a bathroom, and I was tempted to go snooping, but another crash sounded above me and I knew I needed to find her.

Further down the hall there was another door that hid a staircase heading up to the attic. I followed the stairs and the sound of her swearing to a surprisingly spacious attic space that was filled with generations of clutter.

“Are you okay?” I asked as my eyes landed on Liz in her unbelievably tight short denim shorts that hugged her perfect ass and showed off her toned legs.

She turned to look at me, sweat beading on her brow and a look of exasperation painted across her lips.

---