Page 77 of Saving the Last Heir
“What choice do I have?” I whispered to myself.
After a few minutes of hesitation, I stalked outside and slammed the door behind me. I shifted, wings appearing, scooping air as I rose. Flying as high as I could to rise above the clouds, I urged my body forward, pushing myself to my limits, using all the speed I could muster. I needed to get to her before I could talk myself out of it.
Landing on the roof of an abandoned building a few blocks from her house, I descended the rickety and rusted fire escapeon the side. The residence loomed large as I walked toward it. My heart thundered, and sour, nervous sweat sheened my palms and lower back. A moment before I put my foot on the first step of the porch, I hesitated, sure that this was the wrong choice, but then I pushed on. I knocked on the door before I could stop myself.
Breath coming in quick bursts, I listened as footsteps approached and the deadbolt was thrown back. When the door finally swung inward, I nearly sobbed in relief at the sight of Shyanne. A pleased smile flashed over her lips, but she must have seen the distress on my face, because a worried frown took its place.
“Jackson?” She stepped out onto the porch and put a hand on my arm. “What’s the matter? What’s wrong?”
“I need you,” I said, my voice tight and strained with emotion. “I need help.”
17
SHYANNE
Ichecked my phone again, even though I knew there wouldn’t be a message, and shifted on the seat. It was a nervous habit, glancing at the damned device every minute or so, worried and anxious about what I was doing here.
With no message to read or missed calls to see, I tucked the phone back into my small clutch and glanced around the restaurant. It was a bistro-style steakhouse called Andrew’s on Main, and it was really fancy. I’d already perused the menu while waiting, and nearly choked on my water when I saw the prices. The place had a tomahawk ribeye that was two hundred freaking dollars! And that wasjustthe steak, everything else was à la carte at equally exorbitant amounts.
“Can I get you a glass of wine, ma’am?” my server said, swooping to my table once again.
“Uh, sure, yeah,” I said, glancing at the front door. “Whatever you suggest. I like white wine mostly.”
“Understood,” he said with a grin. “A glass of our house white?”
“Sounds great,” I muttered.
He vanished to get my drink, leaving me alone once again. Several men around the restaurant had already shot covetous looks in my direction since I’d arrived. I couldn’t blame them, honestly—I’d gone all out with my clothing. The slinky black dress hugged my hips and was cutverylow, showing off what little cleavage I had. It was short enough that I worried I’d give the whole restaurant a glimpse of my nether regions if I bent over. Paired with the stiletto heels and my freshly done hair and makeup, I really stood out. I was also tall and muscled, so I caught the attention of about every guy—and quite a few ladies too. I had to go out and buy the dress for the occasion, and I felt quite out of place, but I needed to make a good impression on this date.
To try and get my nerves under control, I went back to scrolling on my phone, deciding to read through a website about magic, cryptids, and myths. The site was basic and looked like it had been made thirty years ago, but it had tons of information. Though, how much was true and how much was simply internet and historic speculation, I had no idea, but it was better than nothing.
Ever since meeting Jackson, I’d had an almost insatiable desire to learn more about his world and all the things surrounding me that I’d never known about. It was also a good way to keep my mind off the stress of everything. The current subchapter I scanned dealt with magical stones. I skimmed the article to get the basic gist.
Similar to the positive and negative poles of a magnet, magic can have negating, or opposing, effects when certain stones are brought together. One such effect is that of moonstone and obsidian—moonstone being one of the most powerful mysticalminerals known on Earth due to its almost infinite ability to store and hold magic… When brought together, obsidian and moonstone counteract one another, and in most cases one item or the other will be destroyed in a rather breathtaking fashion. One might even… takes a very skilled magician to get the most out of moonstone, and use it as an almost magical battery or storage system… Other stones of similar type are bloodstone, opal, and citrine, that can be used for?—
“Here you are, ma’am.”
I blinked, tearing my eyes from my phone to find the server had returned with my wine. Nodding my thanks, I went back to my phone, checking if he’d perhaps sent me a message through the dating app instead of directly to my cell. Nothing.
My nerves had begun to ratchet up to the level of panic when the door to the restaurant opened, and he finally walked in. I smiled with satisfaction and relief, waving to him to catch his attention. Christian spotted me and smiled wide, hurrying across the room to join me at my table.
Standing, I gave him a hug, and he pecked me on the cheek.
“Glad you could make it,” I said as we sat down.
He gave me a sheepish smile, then tucked his napkin onto his lap. “Sorry I’m late. Parking was horrendous. I had to go to a garage four blocks over before I found a place.”
“Greetings, sir,” the server said, having returned once more. “And what can I get you to drink?” he asked as he filled Christian’s glass with water.
“Uh,” Christian glanced at the beverage menu on the table, but chose to ignore it. “An old-fashioned?”
“Bourbon, or rye?” the server asked.
“Bourbon. Buffalo Trace?”
“Very good. I’ll be right back with that. Any starters for the couple?”
My cheeks heated, but Christian took a quick look at the menu and said, “The tuna tataki looks really good. Let’s get an order of that.”
