Pia Does Hollywood (Elder Races, #8.6)

Of course, he said, giving her a quick glance over one broad shoulder. I am nothing like my mate. Well, at least about discretion.

She laughed. That was true enough. She had known Quentin for several years. He was one of the most secretive people she knew, and he had been long before he had become a sentinel and Pia had worked for him at his bar, Elfie’s.

With that, she stepped down the stairs, toward the tall blond woman, who held out a hand. “Good morning, Lady Cuelebre,” the woman said with a smile. “We haven’t met yet, but my name is Bailey—I’m Tatiana’s youngest daughter. Welcome to the Light Fae demesne.”

“Thank you,” Pia said, taking her hand.

While Bailey’s smile had vanished quickly, she looked friendly enough. Like her older twin, the Light Fae heir and actress Melisande Aindris, Baily had thick, tawny curling hair, but unlike her famous sister, she wore hers short and tousled. Her eyes were more hazel than green, but her gaze was clear and direct, and she had a strong, firm handshake.

Then Pia almost stumbled with a lie, but she managed to catch herself before she said, It’s nice to be here. Instead, she said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“And you as well.” Bailey nodded a greeting to Pia’s guards, tucked her hands behind her back and inclined her head toward the waiting motorcade. “If you’d like to come this way, please.”

“Certainly.” Pia accompanied her to the appropriate Porsche, climbed inside with Eva, and with that, her week’s visit officially began.





Chapter Four





Once the jet had taken off safely, Dragos had turned his attention to making his own journey.

As fast as he might be able to fly, he couldn’t beat the jet to California. If he chose to stay in dragon form for the trip, he wouldn’t arrive until the evening of the next day.

There wasn’t a thing wrong with that decision, and he almost chose to do it. The long, solitary flight did sound appealing. Having to relate to so many different creatures on a daily basis was wearing, and if he didn’t get regular time to fly alone, he grew short-tempered and snappish. Well, more snappish than usual.

On a whim, more than anything else, he decided on a different mode of travel and called the Djinn Soren to give him a quick trip. Traveling Djinn style meant that he could get to California hours before Pia. He could still enjoy a long flight and plenty of solitude, and also be ready and waiting when her plane landed.

Sometimes it was very handy to have a Djinn owe you a favor. A few weeks previously, Soren had asked Dragos if he had any information about an upcoming commercial venture between the Nightkind and the witches’ demesne. It just so happened that Dragos had developed an extensive file on the subject, and he had given a copy of the file to Soren in return for a favor. All he had to do was request the trip.

Dragos’s face and form were too distinctive, so instead of booking a stay at a luxury hotel in the city, he chose a modest, remote motel bordering the nearby Angeles National Forest. After Soren had dropped Dragos and his luggage off, he checked in quickly, threw his travel bag on the bed and left again to shapeshift and take to the night sky.

Dragos didn’t care for L.A.—although he had laid claim to New York long ago for tactical, political and business reasons, he wasn’t fond of any city and only tolerated them at best—but he did appreciate southern California’s balmy climate. The salty breeze off the ocean was the perfect combination of warm and refreshing.

By the light of a half moon, the dragon stretched out his wings and coasted on the thermals. He wore his cloaking spell to prevent detection, and after a few hours, he felt relaxed and tension free. He flew offshore some distance and dove into the water, fishing until he had eaten his fill. Then he gained altitude again and winged north to watch the ocean waves break against the cliffs of Big Sur, relishing the solitude and the clear, brilliant starlit night.

He had circled back around in a leisurely fashion, arriving at the airstrip in plenty of time to watch the arrival of the Light Fae motorcade.

Tatiana had a few formidable magic users in her court. One of them was the captain of her guard, Shane Mac Cartheigh, so Dragos made sure to be circling very high in the air over the site and cloaking his presence tightly, as the troops poured out of the vehicles.

The dragon’s sharp gaze could pick up small prey from two miles away. He had no trouble picking out the individual soldiers. He saw Tatiana’s daughter Bailey direct the troops with a wide sweep of her arm. They jogged to every end of the airstrip and studied the surrounding countryside, weapons ready.