Page 21 of Bound By Fire and Magic
Goron lifted his chin. “Self-important beasts, always going on about how societies have feared or worshipped them from the beginning of time, forgetting that we are the source of all magick.”
“And yet you covet their essence. How interesting.”
“It is not interesting at all. Don’t we all want what we cannot have? That is how we came to be in this situation. Wanting physicality and all that came with it.”
“Yes, and look how that ended.”
Goron snorted. “It is a diversion, nothing more. I found more delight in tearing his essence from him.”
“You made it painful, I’m sure?”
“Of course. Now I’m glad I did.” Goron fisted his hands. “How did they escape, especially with the Crescent having no Dragon?”
Sedash said, “Could you not feel his love for the woman? It was that emotion that drove him beyond his human abilities. And weakened the tulpa.”
“Silly emotions.” He glanced through the veil where they could watch the lower plane of existence. “You wish to wager again as to who wins when they return?”
“It’s hardly fair, old man. They succeeded in escaping without his Dragon. Tomorrow he will have it back.”
“Call me a fool.”
The god laughed, a deep, booming sound that probably sounded like thunder over Miami. “All right, fool, I will take your wager. If you lose, you spend one day at a Mundane childcare center.” Their presence always made the babies act up.
Goron cringed. The last time he’d lost such a wager, the crying children had given him a headache for a month. “I hate children.”
Sedash grinned. “I know.”
“And if you lose, you will spend the evening at a Mundane nightclub, until closing.”
Sedash grimaced. “Even after the lights come on?”
“Especially then.”
Goron hid his smile. The moment the two Crescents had escaped, he’d felt cheated. He had an idea how to up the odds in his favor. “We have a wager.”
7
Elle and Kirin trudged up the stairs to the second floor and their bedrooms. She could see that he was trying to hide how painful each step was. “I could ask Nana to heal us, but then I’d have to admit we went to the factory.”
“Nothing a hot shower and a few hours of sleep can’t fix.”
She remembered hot showers with Kirin. She didn’t want to, but she did.
He checked her over. “Unless there’s something you’re not telling me.”
“No, I’m just sore. Bruised.” Aching inside.
She paused at her bedroom door. “Esmerelda will be here in the morning to fix breakfast and clean. If you’re awake, come down and eat.”
They’d grabbed dinner at a Pollo Tropical, eating Cuban chicken, black beans, and rice in the car rather than subjecting others to their scraped-up, dirty selves. Neither of them was hungry, but Kirin insisted they eat anyway. Now she was glad they had.
Except she felt hungry for something else. For Kirin’s arms around her as she floated into sleep, making her feel safe and loved and a few other things that had nothing to do with sleep.
“Good night,” she said, forcing herself to go into her room and close the door.
The space she’d lived in as a teenager still bore her painted daisies on its maroon walls. Like mother, like daughter with her teenaged flower obsession. Elle wished she was that girl again, her biggest problem falling for the forbidden boy who worked at the factory.
She stripped out of her clothes, catching her reflection in the bathroom mirror. No, being a grownup was good. Even with her bruises, both inside and out. She flicked on the shower and didn’t even wait until it was hot to step beneath the water.
