Page 54 of To Spark a Dragon's Love
“Are we really so old that a new mattress is more interesting than wine?” Ember asked, not moving from her spot.
“Yep,” Riley and I said at the same time.
“That’s it. I’m getting the wine.” Ember forced herself up and then laid back down. “In just a second.”
It took longer than a second for her to get up and was much later than that when I finished my first glass of wine. I was ready for bed.
I eyed the mattress wistfully, praying Malachy had gotten a deal on them and had one placed in every room. Otherwise, I was bribing Harper to move in the morning.
“When do you think they’ll be back?” Riley asked. She was still starfished on the bed.
“Soon.” Ember sat by the window, refusing to get sucked back into the magic of the mattress. “Kieran says it doesn’t take that long and Malachy has some sort of access to a geyser or something nearby that’s convenient. They decided to follow him last minute to make sure he was okay.”
“They left?” I asked.
The look Ember and Riley gave me was so embarrassing. The same pitiful stare people gave when they asked why I left Sam’s urn on the mantel so he could see his daughter grow up.
Though I did stick it in the closet this time.
We still hadn’t unpacked and I wasn’t ready to have that discussion with Malachy if he did see it. Not that I’d be inviting him to my room any time soon. But, just in case.
“You didn’t feel it?” Ember touched her chest.
“Oh, that.” I touched my chest too, suddenly realizing why I had the hollow ache.
“I’m sure he wanted to tell you,” Ember hurried to say.
“Or he might not have been able to,” Riley said. “It’s got to be hard having to jump like that every time Earth calls. He could’ve been in a rush.”
“I’m sure that’s it.” I forced a smile. Malachy left somewhere and was presumably off doing… guardian stuff.
“Can you imagine being the only one who handles Earth?” Ember shivered.
Riley nodded. “It’s messing him up.”
I tried really hard not to feel bitter that they seemed to know so much more about my mate than I did. “You guys really like him.”
“Well, duh, he is the guardian.” Ember chuckled.
“Lucan thinks he hung the moon and stars.” Riley smiled. “Don’t tell him I told you that, though.”
I mimed zipping my lips as I poured another little bit of wine, feeling that sinking twist come back to my gut.
This was fine. So what if he’d moved us to a secluded location in the mountains and then taken off without saying goodbye? It was no big deal. He was the guardian after all.
Then why does it feel like history is repeating itself?
Morgana’s cryptic message from the witches’ circle the other night came to me again I looked to the window as the wind pushed a branch against it, lost for a moment at what felt like a warning.
“Do you want some more wine?” Ember held out the bottle.
Slowly, I pulled myself back and shook my head. “No thanks. I’m going to go take a shower before bed.”
∞
It was around two in the morning and I was still tossing and turning when I heard the crash. I sat up slowly, blocking Harper’s sleeping form from the view of the door. Nothing—and I mean nothing—would hurt my kid again.
A door slammed closed from somewhere.
