Getting Ready

getting ready

W hile Lucas showered, I cleaned up the rest of the mess in the living room and on the patio. Once that was disposed of, I was able to sit down and eat without feeling like something was crawling all over my skin. Despite my mother’s magical leanings, I’ve never had skill with that end of the supernatural things, and watching the guys weave his cure was amazing to me. I owe Liam, Slade, and Iggy a great deal, though Kaspar can stick his snarky bullshit where the sun doesn’t shine.

I dislike people who act as if no one matters unless they’re from a certain tier of supes.

Of course, he’s a dragon, which explains why he behaves like an utter tool. Outside of Magnus, I’ve had the displeasure of meeting a few dragons in my centuries, and every single one has been a consummate snob. Wyverns aren’t as bad, but the four-legged lizards, no matter what subspecies they are, are simply douche canoes.

Raising a bite of eggs to my mouth, I grin a little. I suppose people say the same about gargoyles and gorgons. There’s always been a caste system in supe society and it has multiple layers depending on power, money, pure lines, hybrids, mythicals… an entire treasure trove of variables that make navigating it impossible if you find out who you are late in life. As long as you grow up in an enclave for hybrids or true supe run locales, you’re fine, especially if you attend one of the schools.

Iggy, Slade, Lucas and I have the benefit of that. I’m sure Kaspar and the Prince have lived in Faerie within the Daybreak Court until now; the Fae rarely allow their royalty to travel outside of the Veil before they’re past the age of supe emergence on this side. Honestly, that’s pretty much all I know about Liam’s people. The Fae are secretive, tricky, and fiercely protective of the gates that separate their world from ours. They operate parallel to supe society and have a slew of complex treaties with the Society in order to stay independent. They even have reps who travel for Society meetings or large events, which is why I assume the one who was at my trial was an emissary from one of the four Courts.

“None of this helps you now , Morgana,” I mutter to myself. “The Prince is pretty fucking important and for some reason, he’s chosen to ally with you. That has to mean something.”

“It definitely does,” Lucas says as he walks in, drying his hair with a small towel.

I blink, my face reddening as he catches me talking to myself. “I didn’t know you were so… new age. Since we mated, it feels like you’re all in on the mythos stuff.”

Stalking towards me with the grace of an athlete, Lucas smiles wickedly. “I’m not, usually. But it’s like I’ve got… feelings about things. Not a voice, per se, but shit sort of comes to me and my gut says it’s right.”

My mother’s sixth sense is uncanny.

“It doesn’t worry me.” I rise from my seat, taking the dishes to the dishwasher before walking over to him. “I’m used to having a person in my life who’s sensitive to ‘the force’, so to speak. My mom is a witch, and she doesn’t have the sight, but she’s always been wired in.”

Lucas arches his brow. “You haven’t spoken of your family much. I know they supported you during the trial, but I take it you’re trying to give them space? From what I know of you so far, keeping them out of the spotlight feels like your M.O.”

Leaning against him, I nod. “They had good careers, with excellent reputations, and they’re retired now. I don’t want the press hounding them in their little slice of paradise more than they already have. So I don’t stay in as close contact as I did before the mess. They don’t deserve to be punished for my actions.”

“Hey.” The bear puts his hand under my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. “I don’t know everything about what happened—other than the news shit and what I’ve seen here—but you need to stop protecting everyone but yourself. You took responsibility for your actions and you were adjudicated. I don’t believe you were some vengeful nut job like they’ve painted you to be in the media, Morgana. So give yourself a break, okay?”

I sigh, my mouth curving into a soft smile. “You’re pretty good at this emotional shit, despite telling me it wasn’t your thing a couple of days ago.”

He shrugs, his eyes dancing merrily. “I’m a fast learner.”

“Obviously.”

I drag my eyes away from my new mate to see the sarcastic bodyguard smirking at us with his Prince in tow. “Hello, Your Highness. Despite your asshat friend, I’m glad to see you look a little stronger than earlier.”

Liam chuckles. “My kind draws strength from various things in this world and my temporary abode is filled with things to assist me in recharging, so I don’t have to slip across the Veil too often. I’m never eager to visit certain things more frequently than necessary.”

“Prince,” Kaspar growls, his voice holding a warning.

“Kas, don’t be ridiculous. Morgana will not gossip about me when you’re not watching.” Liam shrugs and walks over to the cabinets, pulling out a mug to pour himself a coffee. “I think her experience with an active rumor mill and the press stalking her would prevent that.”

I groan, stepping back from Lucas and nodding. “That’s beyond true. I want nothing to do with any kind of attention from those vultures. But honestly? I wouldn’t discuss your private shit, anyway. People who sit around and trash others for their amusement are vile and tedious.”

“See? I’m safe to bitch about Father. No worries.” Liam beams and takes a sip of his caffeine with a happy sigh.

Kaspar practically glowers at him, but he mimics the Prince’s actions by rummaging for a mug. “I don’t trust her and telling me to do it won’t change that. You can’t order me to, Liam.”

Lucas’s brows go up as the dragon shows more familiarity with the Prince than we’ve seen before. “Uh, are you guys, like, friends, too?”

“Of course, young shifter!” Liam replies with a wink. “Kaspar has been my guard since we were both children. He’s just part of the very formal, very tight-assed royal family guards. They’ve been trained to act like they have a stick up their ass by my father’s commander. On this side of Faerie, he can easily slip into our old ways. At least, when we’re not in public.”

“Is him calling you Liam in front of us a good thing?” I ask.

Kaspar frowns and stalks out of the kitchen, heading for the living room with his brew. The Prince chuckles and nods. “Indeed. He does not trust easily; it is his job to keep me unharmed and out of trouble. I don’t make it easy on him, I fear. But if he lets his guard down, I think, perhaps, you won’t dislike him so much.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck if she?—”

“ Kaspar! ”

I snort at the Prince’s stern admonishment. It’s much more obvious how close they are now. “It’s okay, Liam. Let’s gather in the living room and wait for everyone else. I’m very curious what information Jackson has about Lucas’s case and even more curious about this whole ‘team’ he’s bringing.”

“I wonder about that, too. I have met many lawyers, but few who travel with a group. It intrigues me.”

Lucas takes my cup and his, refilling them before he returns. “Agreed. There were no shortage of lawyers around our family, but usually some lower minion came to deliver shit or the big gun visited. I don’t recall a whole gaggle of folks descending on my parents or Nana.”

Great. Is this more serious than we thought?

Slade and Iggy return within the half hour, looking tired but clean. I notice they’re dressed more casually than last time, and it makes me smile to myself. For some reason, I’m pleased that everyone but dickhead Kaspar is comfortable in my house. It makes the creatures inside me hum a bit, even the gorgon. Des isn’t poking her head out—I call that a win. They join Lucas, Liam, and me on the couches, waiting to hear what the plan is.

“Okay, now that we’re all here… Have you heard from Channing yet?” Iggy asks as he settles in.

“No. She promised she’d text when she arrived at the airport,” I reply as I check my phone. “The planes are due any minute, so I’m sure we’ll hear soon.”

“That gives us an hour of mid-day airport traffic for them to fight once they’re deplaned. I think we should go upstairs and start boxing shit in that bedroom. I want to get the fuckwit’s crap out of this house as soon as possible.”

I blink at Lucas, my face turning red. “You guys don’t have to?—”

“Nonsense, Morgana. What the university board did to punish you by leaving all this shit here is disgraceful,” Iggy cuts in. “Magnus’ hidden secrets in this unfamiliar place make it dangerous. He was not a good man, and I wouldn’t put it past him to store magical items that shouldn’t be accessible to most users here in a hoard. Dragons love that shit.”

“True.” Slade slaps his thighs and nods as he stands. “We have at least three magic users here to help identify things that need special handling. We’ll work our way through this museum to his ego room by room until you have a suitable place to live.”

Everyone gets up, and I follow them to the stairs. Kaspar hangs back, coming in last with a dark expression on his face. When I know no one else can see, I lift my hand and flip him off over my shoulder as we climb up to the second floor. The only response I get sounds like a cross between a huff and a chuckle, so I’ll consider that a win. I don’t know what I did to piss this asshole off, but I wish he’d get the hell over it.

Lucas opens the door to my spacious bedroom and every single guy flinches. I frown, looking at them curiously. “What?”

“You don’t smell that?” Slade groans.

I shake my head. “Gargoyles have better hearing and vision. The snake smells exceptionally well, but only when I’m… you know. Because they do it with their tongues.”

They’re all silent for a moment and I think I lost them at ‘tongues,’ but finally Iggy sighs. “For me, I smell the magic Magnus and many, many others used in this room for fuck knows what. It’s… smoky, with hints of various flowers or spice scents. I could work out what kinds of… well, I could figure out his roster if I focused.”

My eyes widen in horror, and I look at the others. “And you guys can, too?”

Liam grimaces. “I can, yes.”

Slade and Lucas both dip their heads, but finally, Lucas grumbles, “I can smell sex, magic, shifters, animals, and various other shit. Probably more than those two. I assume Slade and the cockwaffle can, too.”

“Oh my fucking Goddess, this is humiliating.” I put my face in my hands, knowing I’m scarlet with both embarrassment and fury. The telltale hiss of Des breaking free to make her anger known distracts me for a moment and I close my eyes inside the protective cover of my palms. “I’m not stupid; I know you’re all being kind by not identifying all of it clearly. He had droves of people in here while I was waiting like a damn fool in Europe.”

“Yes.” Kaspar replies simply. “Despite having the keenest senses, I won’t divulge what I know. You’re trouble, but I do not need to be cruel.”

Not exactly kind, either, buddy.

“That’s enough making her feel like shit,” Lucas growls. “Slade, go open all the windows. Iggy, go help pick up the boxes I had sent with Liam and Kaspar. Let’s air out this disgusting funk and swap everything before one of us catches something.”

“Lucas!” I groan, rubbing my face again. “Don’t even joke about that. Dragon Scabies is awful; my friend Luella got it once, and I told Magnus that—oh, fuck.”

“Today is the gift that keeps on giving,” Kaspar mutters as he swoops down to pick up a large stack of boxes like it’s nothing. “I have a feeling this won’t be the last batch of unpleasant realizations. Did you buy tissues, bear?”

“I. Do. Not. Cry,” I snarl through gritted teeth. Des weaves a path by my ear, hissing as the dragon passes me. She wants to sink her fangs into him, even just fractionally, to teach him a ‘hard’ lesson. I won’t let her, although turning one of his hands or arms to stone for a couple hours would be amusing as hell.

Biting off my nose to spite my face isn’t one of my signature moves.

“All females leak when they’re emotional,” he retorts as he drops the boxes at the end of the bed. “It’s the way of nature.”

“Gorgons don’t,” Slade offers. “I don’t know about gargoyles. Iggy?”

The professor looks up, smirking a little. “Their tears are quite sought after for spell work. I wouldn’t want to see you hurt, Morgana, but I would collect some for later.”

“Gee, thanks. Glad my pain might help you hex some chick who pissed you off.”

Iggy strides over, putting his hands on my shoulders as he looks into my eyes. “Don’t take me wrong. I’d be furious about it, but I am very practical. I would gather any tool I thought would help me keep those I care about safe. Gargoyle tears are known for vast healing properties since they are so uncommon.”

“Oh.”

I fight the urge to duck my head; instead, I give him a knowing expression. “Let’s get this shit done, boys. I find myself eager to have a sleeping space that isn’t a fucking couch all the sudden.”

“You and me both, cupcake,” Iggy says with a wink, heading to help Lucas with the curtains.

Damn. Down, girl.