Page 27 of Blood Brother Cursed

“I was told when my mother died that it was my fault. My father never bothered to bond with me, ensuring that I would never feel close to him. Naturally, he had a built-in way of turning me against him.”

“How?”

“I was five when he told me he was the reason I was cursed and that no one wanted to get close. He made sure to marry a really horrible woman years later and had my brothers. I don’t think they know that we are only half-siblings. And they think I’m younger than I am.”

“Because you couldn’t get close to them.”

He nodded.

“Do they know about the curse?”

He shook his head. “There was no point in telling them. I was always the aloof older brother who was too busy working to spend time with them.”

For the first time in a long time, Astrid felt that someone actually had it worse than she did. She plated the food, then brought it over to the table.

“Oh, shoot! I forgot about drinks. What would you like? Juice? Coffee? Tea?”

“Tap water’s fine.”

“That doesn’t seem right.”

“I can taste the food better if I’m not mixing it was flavors from the drink.”

“I guess that’s one way to look at it. Are you sure, though?”

“Yes, you said they have improved the bacon, so I want to see if that’s true.”

Astrid got him his water, then poured herself some juice. They sat and ate in silence, except for the sounds of their utensils pinging and scraping against their plates. When Phoenix finished, he gave his critique of the meal.

“It was good. The way you make eggs is very different from anything I’ve had before.”

“How so?”

“My dad taught me, and he’s from Louisiana, so I’m guessing that his way was inspired by the region.”

“It’s possible. I’ve never actually been there.”

“You’ve never been to Louisiana?”

He shook his head. “No, dragons don’t tend to do well in those climates.”

“What? Really? I mean, because I thought lizards would do much better in warmer places.”

“Lizards, yes. But,” he said, smiling at her, “dragons are able to breathe fire, so getting cold really isn’t an issue. Staying cool can be.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think of that.”

“Did you even know that dragons were real before you saw me shift?”

“Um, no,” she said and smiled. “I thought they were fake.”

“You’ve done a great job learning how to manage your powers, but you clearly need to learn a lot about the shifter world.”

“As funny as it sounds, I think you’re right.”

“How is that funny?”

“Between my dad, Evan, and me, we have three different types of shifter blood, but we really didn’t know that much about it. Most of what my dad knew was from his first wife, Evan’s mom. But I don’t think they were together for more than a few years, and I don’t know when they found out about each other’s abilities. And my mom wasn’t any help since he didn’t know she was a shifter until she had me. I’m not sure why it finally came out then.”

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