Cade.
I landed next to him, my cheeks chilled from the wind. He looked tired, his eyes heavy and his hands tucked in his pockets.
“Hey,” I said.
“You looked good up there.”
“Thanks. Trying to get a handle on these things.” I pointed back to the wings.
“Succeed?”
“Maybe. I’m getting more control, but I don’t know how I’m going to prove that I’m worthy of these wings.” I sighed. “I’m just worried.”
“Don’t be.” He smiled. “You’re special, Bree. Not just because you’re a DragonGod. You’re brave, strong, smart.”
I nodded, grateful. Slightly perplexed, too. “I can’t be that special, though. You’re a god. Not to say you’re not special, too, but…”
His gaze softened. “I am one god. You have the powers of many gods. You are something rare and more powerful, with the potential to become one of the strongest supernaturals on Earth. Capable of almost any magic.”
I swallowed hard, the enormity of that sinking in. “I just have to succeed at the stronghold. Find a way to be worthy and keep my wings.”
“You will. You’re capable of anything, Bree.”
I smiled, warmed by his words.
“Tomorrow, you’ll have us by your side. The Protectorate. Me. Your friends from Magic’s Bend.”
“I like the sound of that.” I could do this. No matter what new magic was thrown at me, what challenges—I would succeed. Because I had to.
I’d find a way to be worthy. I wouldn’t settle for less.
I couldn’t.
I leaned slightly toward him, drawn by his strength and beauty and just because I liked him. A lot.
“Do you want to sleep at my place?” I held out my hands. “Just sleep, I mean. Sorry. Not propositioning you.”
He grinned, sending heat racing through me. “I wouldn’t mind if you did. But no. I have to go back to my place. Get some clean clothes and pick up some supplies from The Vaults.”
“Of course.” It was better that way. I really needed to get some solid sleep. “What supplies, though?”
“Comms charms. We’ll need them to keep in touch during our operations, and this is a bigger team than normal.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“No need. We’ll all play our role, and we’re happy to do it. We’re a team.”
I smiled, then leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Heat sizzled through me, but I ignored it. Or at least, I tried. Reluctantly, I broke contact and pulled back.
“I’ll see you later.” I skirted around him and headed toward the castle.
I only looked back once, just in time to see him disappear into the forest, headed toward the portal to Edinburgh. My heart seemed to sigh, just a little, at the sight of him.
My footsteps were heavy as I trudged through the main entry door to the castle.
When I reached my hallway, I saw Caro knocking on the door to my tower.
“Caro, hey.”
She turned, her face brightening. “Just the person I was looking for.”
“Really?”
“Yep.” She thrust out her hand. A thin leather cord dangled from it. “For you.”
I approached, taking the cord from her. A shiny black rock hung from the cord. “Thanks. What is it?”
“Good luck charm. I know it’s important that you succeed tomorrow. I think this might help.”
I smiled, my chest warming. “Thanks, Caro.”
“Anytime.” She grinned, her platinum hair gleaming in the light.
I hugged her, grateful to have made real friends here. They proved it every day—I belonged.
I’d finally found a place worth fighting for. Ana and I could be happy here. Safe. Now I just needed to make sure we held on to it.
Caro pulled back. “Okay, see ya tomorrow. Get your beauty sleep, because I think this one is going to be a doozy.”
I grinned and saluted, then headed up the stairs to my apartment. As soon as I entered, I caught sight of Mayhem flying by, an old piece of pizza in her mouth.
I squinted at it. “Where’d you get that?”
She yipped, a noise of definite denial, even though it didn’t answer my question. She spun around in the living room to look at me, stopping in front of the curtains.
“That slice has jalapenos on it. Only I order that kind.” I looked at the kitchen. “You flew through the fridge door, didn’t you?”
She yipped again—another denial—and shook her head.
I sighed. Her ability to fly through doors and bring corporeal objects had saved my butt in Svartálfar, so I wasn’t going to complain.
“Well, enjoy.” I headed toward the bedroom, but turned before entering. “Just don’t go after my PB&J.”
She yipped again, then farted, a little blast of fire emitting from her butt. The curtains lit on fire.
Ah, crap. The perils of owning a PugDragon.
I hurried to the kitchen sink and turned on the tap, then used my magic to direct the water at the small flame. It doused it.
“Just be careful, okay?” I said.
She yipped, a clear promise.
I nodded and turned off the water. Frankly, we both needed to practice our self-control.
That evening, after a long rest, Ana and I met up with Cade, Jude, Caro, Ali, and Haris in the main entry.
“Right, let’s go,” Cade said. “We’ll head directly to Edinburgh, where we’ll meet Bree’s allies. There, we’ll have a brief meeting to discuss roles, then it’s off to Kart-hadasht.”
Jude met everyone’s gazes. “Do you all understand that this is one of the most dangerous missions we’ve yet to undertake? You don’t have to participate.”
That didn’t mean me, obviously, since I’d be totally screwed if I didn’t prove myself and earn my wings. But everyone else…
Caro nodded enthusiastically. “I’m in. Bree needs us. And besides, it’ll be fun.”
Jude arched a brow. “Fun?”
“Dangerous,” Caro said. “But fun.”
“And what’s life without a little pain?” Ali said. “Getting blasted by a fire demon just reminds you that you’re alive!”
“I prefer acid myself.” Haris grinned.
Jude scowled. “I know you take this seriously, but Bree and Ana are new here. They don’t know how strange you are.”
Caro, Ali, and Haris sobered, then turned to me.
“We really do take this seriously,” Caro said.
I grinned. “I know. And I kind of prefer the levity. Makes things feel less terrifying”
“Right. Let’s go,” Cade said.
I started toward the main doors.
We walked quickly though the enchanted forest toward the portal to Edinburgh, Mayhem following alongside. Maybe I was being overly optimistic, but the damage from the dark curse seemed to be even more improved since this morning.
One by one, we crossed through the portal into the bustling evening street in Edinburgh. As usual, no one noticed us, since there was a concealment spell on the portal exit. I’d had to ask Caro the other day why we seemed to be able to appear in front of people and they didn’t blink.