Page 13 of Mistletoe and Mayhem
“Were you always so combative with your cousin? Or have I brought that dynamic out between the two of you?”
He made a face, spinning around to wrap his arms around Maverick’s neck instead. “I mean, we’ve never been close. He’s a diva and wants all the attention on him. And he hates that my magic is more powerful than his. He’s a jealous little shit, especially now that I have the most gorgeous mate in the family.”
Maverick’s mouth quirked up at the sides, and he leaned down to press a chaste kiss to Isaac’s lips. “I believe it's the other way around, my heart.”
He opened his mouth to argue, because arguments like these always somehow ended up with them naked, but a scuffling sound near the front door drew his attention, followed by a series of gasps as Ferina loudly announced, “I brought a friend this year. Everyone, say hello to Agatha Silverbreeze.”
Isaac’s jaw dropped. “Grandmother?!”
He’d known she was upset when he told her he wasn’t coming home this year for the holidays, but she said she understood when he told her their plan to do every other year so they both could see their families. She couldn’t begrudge him for giving Maverick the time to visit with his parents. He’d promised to show up for the end of the year ritual and thought he wouldn’t be seeing her or anyone else in his family until then.
His grandmother turned at his incredulous shout, giving him that serene smile that said she was up to no good, but too important for anyone to call her out on it. Anyone but Isaac, that is, because he never had a problem calling her out. He leftthe circle of Maverick’s arms, stomping over to where she was handing her coat to Ferina.
“What are you doing here?” he hissed. “You didn’t seriously come all the way here to guilt me into coming home, did you? Unless–” He cut himself off, frowning. “Wait. This place is for dragons and their mates only. How did you–” His eyes widened as he looked between her and Ferina. “Are you two–”
His grandmother waved that away before he could finish the sentence. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m too old for a mate. No, Ferina invited me as a friend.”
“And how, exactly, did she do that?” Maverick asked as he came to join them, putting an arm around Isaac’s waist to settle him a little.
“I smuggled her in,” Ferina smirked. She and his grandmother shared a high five and grinned like they were school girls, not thousands of years old, one of which being the head of an entire mage clan.
Isaac didn’t realize until she raised an eyebrow at him that he was making a choking sound. This had to be illegal. There were spells that only allowed dragons and their mates into the mountains. Bypassing them might have severe consequences that the dynamic duo probably didn’t even think about when coming up with this stunt.
“Excuse us,” Maverick said gruffly, leading him away and down the hall to Maverick’s father’s office. He knocked once, entering when summoned, and asked, “Can we use your conservatory for a moment? Isaac could use some air.”
“Of course,” the familiar older male voice replied. “Is everything alright?”
“He’s fine,” was the grunted reply and Maverick didn’t stick around to explain himself further. He guided Isaac down another hallway and through a dark passage to a conservatory with an amazing view of the side of the mountain.
Isaac sucked in a breath, momentarily distracted as he gaped at the view.“How come I’ve never seen this before?”
“It’s my father’s private space,” Maverick answered, leading him closer to the windows so he could see the miles of clouds and mountains stretched out in front of them. “He didn’t invite me in here until I was a teenager and could be trusted not to enter without his permission. The only person with free access to his room is his mate. The rest of us need to request permission.”
It was a gorgeous room, with enough plants to make Isaac’s magic happy without blocking any of the view. A big, cushy armchair sat near the corner with a nightstand piled with books. There was a couch near the opposite wall with a knitting basket nearby, which made Isaac curious. Was it Maverick’s mother’s basket, or was his father a secret knitter? The man was about as expressive as Maverick had been when they first met, so it was hard to get a read on him. He was polite, but not overly chatty, just like his son.
“My heart.” Maverick’s tone was concerned when he urged Isaac to look at him. “You seem upset about your grandmother’s presence. What’s wrong?”
Remembering what had driven him out of the main room, he growled. “Your sister said she smuggled her here. I’m guessing that means it’s illegal for her to be here. I cannot stand by while my grandmother gets arrested, Maverick. And I’m not going to be able to relax if I’m worried about her the whole time.”
Maverick shook his head, pulling him into his arms. “Relax, my heart. It wouldn’t be your grandmother who got in trouble. My sister would take the blame for that, and it wouldn’t be the first time she ended up butting heads with law enforcement.” He tipped his head to look at Isaac, eyebrows raised. “Who do you think gave me the idea of putting my card out for the holidays? She was the first one to call me for help.”
That made him laugh, and he soaked in Maverick’s comfort for a long moment, his voice muffled with his face against Maverick’s chest as he asked, “You’re sure some squad of enforcers won’t be showing up here and dragging my grandmother out? She made a bad call, but I can’t guarantee I’d be able to keep my magic to myself if they threatened her.”
“I promise, no harm will come to her,” Maverick reassured him. “I’ll speak to my sister about what spell she used to get past the portal wards, and I’ll be ready if anyone shows up to confront her.”
Well, that was about as much as Isaac could ask for. The only other option would be asking his grandmother to leave, and he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
With a heavy sigh, he nodded and stepped back. “Alright. Let’s go, then. I don’t want to hide back here when there’s the potential for trouble. Remind me to ask your dad how he pulled this place off. I might want to make something similar for you and me. Something secret that not even our friends could stumble on. Maybe near the lake? As long as we can make a tunnel or something so I don’t have to go out in the cold.”
“Whatever you want, my heart.”
After Isaac was settled enoughto return to the party, Maverick left his side long enough to seek out his sister. She saw him coming and crossed her arms, ready for a fight like always.
“What? If you’re going to demand I take her home, don’t waste your breath. It’s not going to happen, and I’m tired of not having anyone to hang out with at these things.”
His brow furrowed, but he chose to skip past that comment for now, instead asking, “What spell did you use? If I’m going toprotect your ass from jail, I need to know what the workaround was.”
Her smile came back, just as mischievous as always, and she sidled up to him, hugging his arm tightly. “Aw. My big brother loves me.” When he growled, she rolled her eyes. “Don’t be an ass. As for the spell, I’m not sure. You’ll have to ask Agatha. She’s the one who came up with it. I think it was a play on a glamor. The spell made it look to the portal magic like she was my mate long enough to get past the wards. Once she was past them, there wasn’t anything in place to kick her out once the spell wore off. She’ll cast it again once we leave just in case. No harm done.”
