“Really? It seems pretty identical to me.” He continues typing. “Okay. First, we need to set up a foundation. Unless you’d be okay with it coming from my company? We give a reasonable amount of money every year in need-based scholarships.”
I’m about to argue when he helpfully adds, “It’ll also make it harder for Bea to trace it back to you.”
That’s true. “So I transfer money to your foundation, and then you’ll handle getting it to Bea?” I’m not exactly saying I don’t trust Casius to make sure the money comes from me… Actually, who am I kidding? That’s exactly what I’m saying. The black AMEX card in my wallet is a reminder that the dragons and I think very differently about wealth.
“Sure,” he says. “Bastian opened a bank account in your name and deposited a million dollars in it. He thought currency would be more useful than gold bars. If you’d like, I can pull the cash from there.”
I have a bank account with a million dollars. Surreal.
“Yes, please.”
In ten minutes, Casius transfers forty-thousand dollars from my account into his foundation’s and sends an email to the director of his company’s corporate citizenship arm. “I’m sending Alex Bea’s information,” he explains as he types. “He’ll handle the details this week. Okay?”
I don’t think I’ve ever spent forty thousand dollars as quickly as I just did. But Bea is family, and she totally deserves a break.
Of course, if she ever finds out that it was me, I’m in deep, deep shit. But I’m good at keeping secrets. She still doesn’t know I’m a thief.
I’m about to thank Casius when the door to the library is flung open, and Bastian strides in. “Have you seen Mateo?” he asks, his voice tense. “He’s not picking up his phone.”
“Is that unusual?”
Bastian nods. “Very. We were supposed to look at a potential investment opportunity this morning. It’s not like him to blow off meetings. Wasn’t he supposed to be giving you a magic lesson this afternoon?”
“Yes, but it is at three. There’s still time.”
“Not that much time.” Casius looks worried too. “And Mateo is usually here early.”
Before their worry can overtake my good judgment, I reach out with my senses and search out Mateo’s golden light. At first, I can’t sense him at all. He’s always been the easiest for me to find, his magic calling to me like a beacon, but when I scan for him, I sense nothing.
I push down the building panic and try again.
There. The golden threads that weave themselves around him are noticeably, frighteningly dimmer. What the hell happened to him, and where is he?
“Is he alive?” Bastian asks, his voice coated with anxiety.
I nod. “He’s close...” Without a word I run out of the room, following the invisible connection that I know will lead me to my dragon. I burst through the front door, the other two at my heels, and gasp when I see a bloodied Mateo staggering up the drive, clutching his blood-crusted side.
“Call a healer,” Bastian shouts out to a nearby Wilhelm, his face white. “Now.”
An hour later, the healer finally judges Mateo well enough for visitors. We all file into his bedroom. “What happened?” Bastian asks as soon as he walks in.
Mateo looks sheepish. “I’m not really sure,” he confesses. “I was out drinking. I was walking back home when three guys tried to mug me.”
Erik frowns. “You couldn’t fight off three men? Were they shifters?”
Mateo shakes his head. “As far as I could tell, they were Norm. They just got the jump on me.”
“That’s impossible,” Bastian says flatly. “You should have been able to fight off three Norms with a blindfold and a hand tied behind your back.” He gives me a chagrined look. “No offense, mausez?hnchen.”
I’m too concerned about Mateo to be offended. “None taken.” I perch on the edge of the bed and lace my fingers in Mateo’s. “What about your magic?”
“I couldn’t heal myself,” he replies quietly. “I tried to shift, but my dragon wouldn’t come.”
There’s a sharp inhale of shock from around the room. “Has that ever happened before?” I ask.
Mateo shakes his head. He pulls a ring from his pocket—Maija’s ring—and holds it out to Bastian. “I found this ring in the Silver Mage’s underground chamber,” he says. “Maybe I’m crazy, but I think it prevented me from reaching my magic.”
“Why would my mother want to harm you?” Bastian asks skeptically. “Are you sure it wasn’t the booze? Or something else?”
“Maija’s wards have always fought against me,” Mateo replies. “You know that.” He sighs heavily. “I don’t know for sure,” he admits. “It could have been anything. And the ring did help in the end. I tugged magic from it to cast a slowing spell. Without it…” He grimaces. “Anyway. All’s well that ends well. Aria, give me about ten minutes, and we’ll have our lesson.”
A white-haired wolf with no-nonsense eyes enters the room and overhears that last comment. She’s Pack Helferich’s healer, Felisberta Haas. “Nonsense,” she scolds Mateo. “I’ve never heard a stupider idea in my life, young man.”
I snicker at that because Mateo is at least two hundred and fifty years older than her.
“You’ve lost a lot of blood,” she continues. “Yes, I know your magic is back, but there still might be repercussions. You need to take it easy. Bed rest for the next three days at least. Understood?”
Bastian bites back his grin. “I’ll make sure of it, Frau Haas,” he assures her. “Do you have the blade? I want it tested for poison.”
My blood runs cold. Rhys sees my expression. “It’s just a precaution,” he reassures me. “We all know that Valentini can’t hold his liquor.”
“Fuck off, Griffith,” Mateo retorts.
The healer frowns at their banter. The door has barely closed behind her when Mateo tries to push himself from the bed. I jump forward and push him back down. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Oh come on. The wolf worries for no reason. There’s too much to do for me to lay in bed all day.”
I look at Bastian, and he just shrugs in a what-are-you-going-to-do kind of way. Men.
“You will do as the healer said,” I growl. “You’re going to rest for the next three days, even if I’m going to have to sit on you to keep you in bed. Got it?”
He winks at me. “If you sit on me, I’ll gladly stay in bed, tesoro.”
I have to laugh. The stubborn dragon was half-dead an hour ago, and already he’s flirting. “No extracurricular activities.”
Ever want to see a dragon pout? Tell him he’s stuck in bed for three days and there will be no naked time.
10
Aria
“How are you, mausez?hnchen?”
It’s Friday. Almost one full week since I got to Germany, and things have finally settled down.
Mateo’s made a speedy recovery. Despite what Frau Haas said, he was up and about yesterday. “The more I think about it,” he said sheepishly during our magic lesson in the library, “The more I’m inclined to blame the beer. I’m never going to live this down.”
For the last couple of days, I’ve only really seen Bastian at meals. He’s been busy with both his company and with all the bullshit that comes with being Head Honcho Dragon.
But tonight’s our date night, and it’s also the night I get to give him my present.
“Really good,” I answer. I can’t hold back the smile that spreads across my face as I look at Bastian. It feels like so much has happened so quickly, and I haven’t had nearly enough time to appreciate the fact that I have five amazing mates. It all still feels surreal.
I close the distance between us and push my hands to Bastian’s strong chest. “Better with you here now.”
He gently tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. “I’m sorry I’ve been so busy,” he says. “I wish I could spend more time with you…”
“But you have responsibilities. That’s okay. You’re here now.”