Page 14 of Magic Claimed
I heard a snort of nervous laughter from somewhere.
And then Faris chimed in, with the very last response I would have expected.
“I’ve got the cleanup,” he said briefly, emerald gaze holding mine with an expression I couldn’t quite read. “Card room is free, and you’re due for your break.”
Feeling decidedly betrayed, I tried pleading with my eyes, but he didn’t seem to be getting the message. Was he really going to throw me to the wolves with no warning and no support?
Apparently the answer was yes, so I turned back to Tairen and unclenched my teeth.
“In that case, I’d be happy to speak with you for a moment.”
Lies. All lies. I wasn’t happy. And I definitely didn’t want to speak with her.Now or ever.
Maybe this was Faris’s punishment for trashing his bar… again.
But there was no getting out of it now. In front of the goggle-eyed curiosity of the entire crowd, I stepped over the groaning man at my feet, carefully avoided the broken glass, and made my way towards the card room at the left end of the bar.
As I passed, I saw Seamus watching me with a worried expression, but I knew he wouldn’t interfere. Not when Faris had already given his permission.
I opened the door, held it for Tairen and her niece, and then closed it behind them. The thud echoed in my ears, sounding more like a cell door than anything else. Would I make it out of this room alive? Probably depended strongly on my ability to either keep my mouth shut or lie through my teeth.
Neither of which I was very good at.
In the center of the room was a round card table with a handful of chairs, but the two dragons did not sit. Instead, they turned to look at me, amber eyes slightly aglow, wearing matching expressions of cool assessment.
You’re not locked in here with them, they’re locked in here with you.
Yeah, that definitely wasn’t going to work. Positive self-talk had never really done much for me.
I had no idea what they were waiting for, but when they just kept staring, I finally gave up. And because I’d had no sleep and I run my mouth when I’m scared, the result was not exactly how I’d envisioned my first meeting with Callum’s mother.
“Okay, so what’s it going to be?” I demanded, looking fromone to the other. “Is this good cop, bad cop? And am I supposed to guess which is which?”
They exchanged glances.
“Look, I doubt either of you have ever had the pleasure of waiting tables, but this is my one break for the night. I’m running on two hours’ sleep since my houseguest nearly set my apartment on fire last night, and I was really hoping for a nap. So if you have something to say, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t waste my time.”
They were silent for another handful of seconds, and then Skye broke. Literally broke down into a fit of laughter—including a snort or two—that ended with her wiping tears from her eyes.
“I told you it wasn’t going to work,” she said, shaking her head at her aunt. “Anyone who can stick around long enough to see past Callum’s uptight, prickly, bossy-pants act isn’t going to crack that easily.”
Yep, they were here because they’d heard about me and Callum.
Tairen rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. “Fine. You told me. Ryker told me. Are you happy now?”
“Very.” Skye’s lips were still twitching. “That was deeply satisfying.”
This family was going to be the death of me. But my knees were still shaking, so of course I didn’t shut up.
“Did you actually want to talk to me? Or were you just hoping I’d cower under the table so you could claim I’m not good enough for your family?”
“I’m sorry,” Skye said, still looking more amused thanapologetic. “We actually did want to meet you. Callum has never eventalkedabout liking a woman before, so we were curious. And we were already coming to support Kira, so it seemed like an excellent opportunity to take your measure.”
Take my measure…
They were here to test. To evaluate. To decide whether they approved.
As much as that rankled, I couldn’t afford to be on their bad side. This was Callum’s family, and if we were able to resolve things with the Shapeshifter Court and complete our mate bond, I would be seeing a lot more of these people. Also, both of them could probably eat me if they felt like it.
