Chapter 16

Chapter

Sixteen

Rose

By the time Magnus found me, I'd managed to get the tears under control. Until he looked at me with regret, and I lost control all over again.

"I'm sorry, Rose. I—" He dropped down to his haunches in front of me so that we were eye level. "I could say I'm sorry, but I know it wouldn't be enough. That was your grandfather's couch, right? The one you told me about."

"The only thing of his I had left." He winced at my words, and I let the shame of that satisfaction wash over me. I could have told him it was okay, and that I had my memories and how those were more important, but a dark little piece of me didn't want to absolve or forgive Magnus for this.

"Maybe we can fix it." I looked at him and then at the pile of wood and scoffed. There was little hope for a piece of furniture he'd rendered to literal sticks.

"No." I said, standing and straightening the old t-shirt I still wore. He'd found some clothes from somewhere and while they didn't fit him perfectly, he looked a mile better than I did right now. I was overdue for a shower and didn't even want to think about the state of my hair. "If getting what you need gets all of you out of my house sooner, then I'd rather finish getting what you need. Unfortunately, there are two things on Kitra's list that I don't have. But I know someone who might be able to help us."

"Wait—" He grasped my arm and tried to pull me closer to him, but I wasn't going to allow it.

"Don't," I said through clenched teeth as I jerked away from him. "Last night was a mistake and I should have known better. I saw the darkness inside of you from the beginning. That dragon, his aura…" She shook her head. "I chose to interpret it in a way I shouldn't have, and that's on me. Now I know better. The best thing for me now, is all of you out of my life as soon as possible."

He released his grip and for that I was grateful. Even if the sudden loss of his touch felt like he'd just taken something important away from me. Like a limb. As that weird thought settled in my mind, I stared agape at him for one minute too long.

"Last night was a lot of things," he started.

"Don't. It's not necessary." But he wasn't listening.

"Look, I'm not saying it was a mistake. Only complicated. We should talk about it, clear the air. But now is not the time, nor is it a conversation I'd like to have with an audience."

I knew his brother and the woman were still here, but they were hardly hovering, let alone listening in.

As if reading my mind, he tapped his ear. "Dragons have exceptional hearing, and even garden-variety fae like Kitra have stronger senses than a human."

"I am not garden variety anything," Kitra grumbled from the other room.

"See?" he said smiling, as if everything he said made perfect sense..

“What next? Vampires?"

He shrugged, and my mouth dropped open. He couldn't be serious.

"It's an interesting misconception shared by every human that other beings don't exist. I find it both fascinating and more than a little egotistical."

"Not all humans. I can name several who wholeheartedly believe in the existence of others . Although I can't guarantee they thought of them as corporeal beings who looked exactly like everyone else."

"We don't." Kitra entered the room. "Well, some of us do. But others rely on glamour to hide things like ears, wings, face markings, and don't get me started on other creatures, like sprites. They often take on the appearance of a woodland child, to not only hide what they are, but their true age as well."

"Oh no." Isaac held up his hands in a stop motion. "Really do NOT let her go down the road of those creatures. They're little demons, who like to cause all kinds of trouble. And not the fun kind."

"Those little demons have helped you more than once. Maybe you should be more grateful." Kitra glared at Isaac.

"Aye, helpful. I remember exactly how helpful they were when their little poisonous arrows penetrated my dragon scales every time I tried to fly in the fae realm. Little bastards."

"Ignore him. He's still a little bitter from his experience in our realm."

"That little experience cost me nearly one hundred years. Of course I'm going to be bitter."

I felt like my head was going to explode as they talked. Different kinds of fae, a different realm, wait— "Did you say you lost one hundred years? I don't understand."

"Should probably tell her before she gets too wrapped up in this arsehole.” Isaac motioned to Magnus, who growled in response. "It's true, though. If you leave to kill our uncle, and somehow make it back, it certainly won't be in her timeline. You'll never see her again."

"You're going back to kill your uncle?" The more bits and pieces of information they gave me, especially without some much needed context, the more confused I got. "Why?"

"Well, I am going to torture him first, if that makes you feel any better."

I took a step backwards. "Why on earth would that make me feel better? You're talking about murder and torture. Are all dragons so violent?"

"Yes," all three of them said in unison.

Great. The fairy tale I'd managed to walk myself into was turning into little more than a nightmare. Not to mention the sex part. Goddess, why couldn't I stop thinking about that part? Because it was damned difficult when my muscles were sore and I could still practically feel him inside me.

"This is crazy. If I hadn't seen half of this with my own eyes, I'm not sure I would believe any of you. The fae, in theory, is one thing, but having them in your living room is an entirely different story."

"Don't worry, I've seen much worse," Kitra offered. "All things considered, you seem to be handling this quite well and that puts you in better shape than about 85% of every other human who has learned the truth.

"Really? 85%?" The more facts and figures they threw at me the more fascinated I became. My scientific brain soaked it up like a sponge and begged for more. But first... "I'm going to take a shower. That is, if my bathroom is still intact after all of this. Then we'll see about getting the rest of that list."

Magnus stepped forward. "You said you knew someone who could help you with the missing items. Is it someone we can trust?"

They all looked at me with a mixture of expectancy and doubt. It was clear they didn't trust humans any more than I trusted strangers. Lucky for them that would not be the case with the witch we had to visit. She was a hardcore, one-hundred-percent believer.

"I certainly hope so. She's my mother."