Page 49 of Under the Dragon's Spell
"Sure," I said, but it would have to wait a little bit longer because I wasn't going back to Tyrel yet. He wasn't going to come pick me up for another hour. I wanted to go see Luca first. I'd phoned her after I found out I was pregnant, but I still had to see her before I left here.
So I picked up my suitcase and walked down the road, since she didn't live far from here.
I only managed to walk about a block before a familiar voice stopped me.
"Adrian! How lovely to see you here."
I swallowed and turned around to face Tyrel's mother. What was she doing in this neighborhood? Had she followed us earlier? I hadn't really been alone with her since we'd found out about the pregnancy since Tyrel kept hovering around me. Now I found myself wishing I hadn't sent him away.
"Nice to see you, too, Mrs. Dragonfang," I made myself say.
"I don't believe I've had the chance to properly congratulate you on your pregnancy yet." She took a few steps toward me. Instinctively, I rested a hand on my belly as if to shield my child from her.
"That's alright," I said. "Things have been busy."
She glanced down the street. "Don't be ridiculous. We'll have a cup of tea together and chat. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Of course, but I'm afraid I really do have other plans." Luca would kill me if I didn't show up at her place soon.
"Oh, it'll only take but a minute."
I opened my mouth to make more excuses, but then I heard her voice in my head.
Be a good boy and agree.
I shut my mouth again. If I refused now, she'd know that I'd her suggestion and that I could resist it. For now, I had no choice but to play along, as much as I hated it.
"Having a cup of tea sounds lovely," I made myself say.
She smiled, and then she led me to a small coffee shop.
Inside, she picked the table farthest away from the door, as if to make it harder for me to run.
You're being ridiculous. This is the grandmother of your child, not some cartoon villain.
But still, Tyrel was wary of her, so I was too.
"What brings you to this neighborhood?" I asked again, hoping she had a good reason that would dispel my doubts. I had no such luck, of course.
"Oh, only familiarizing myself with the town," she said. "It's such a lovely city, don't you agree?"
Riiight. She'd totally followed us. "I'm sure your island is much nicer."
"Well, it is nice, but it does get tiring seeing the same trees day in day out."
"I suppose that's true."
What were we doing here? So far, she was being nice enough. But she must have had some reason to drag me into this coffee shop, going as far as to use her magic to do it. It was a nice coffee shop, small, quiet, pastel color furniture… but I didn't want to be here.
A waitress came around to ask if she could bring us anything. Tyrel's mother ordered some fancy herbal tea for both of us. "Better than coffee when you're pregnant," she informed me.
I merely nodded.
She leaned in a little. I felt myself lean back before I could stop myself. "You know, when I looked at the applicants for this job, I didn't think my son would pick you." She held a hand in front of her mouth and laughed, but it sounded fake. "Excuse me, I'm saying too much. You'll find your mouth gets a little loose with age."
"Is that so?" I tried to keep a blank face.
"Quite." She smiled at me. "Now that I've said it, I might as well continue. You don't mind, do you, dear? I thought he would pick Michael or maybe Zane."
