by J. D. Monroe
Raising one thin eyebrow, she scoffed. “Serani, I wouldn’t lead with that if you get a chance to talk to her,” she said. “I get what you’re saying, but she’s not used to her business being our business. Hell, you could go through my bank statements right now, and I wouldn’t bat an eye. But she’s not like us. Not yet.”
He sighed. “I know, but I was trying to help. I found out things about her mother. I thought she would want to know.”
“Maybe that’s why she was so sensitive,” Tellana said. “You know something about her that even she doesn’t know. What if I found something about your dad and didn’t tell you?”
He winced. Ten years and it was still a punch to the gut. “It’s not the same.”
“Isn’t it?” she asked.
He sighed. “Either way, she won’t let me tell her.”
“Yeah,” Tellana said. “Well, one of us has to get her to talk, so we can answer to Skyward Rest. I may see her tonight, actually.”
“Wait, what?”
She chewed a huge bite of her taco, dabbing daintily at her mouth. “They’re having a Christmas program at Chloe’s school. Alyssa Kouris is in it, so we’re going to be her fan club since her father can’t be there. You can come if you want.”
He shook his head. “It’ll probably upset Chloe. She already thinks I’m stalking her or something. If I show up at her job uninvited, that’s not going to help.”
Tellana sighed. “You’re probably right. I’ll let you know how it goes. If it’s in person, she can’t really ignore me.”
“Please don’t make a scene,” he said. “Not over me, I mean.”
“I won’t. I mean, I’d like to tell her she’s an idiot.”
He laughed. “She’s not an idiot.”
“I know, but it would still make me feel better,” she said. “I won’t say anything bad. But I’m not avoiding her, either. Alyssa is our family, too, and Chloe can get the hell over it.” She squeezed his knee lightly. “I’m sorry. I know this sucks. I hope she’ll come around.”
Taegan was backing up his final files for the evening when his phone rang. An irrational part of him hoped it was Chloe, as if talking about her that afternoon had broken through their impasse. “Hello?”
“Mr. Asharin, this is Elfeli from the Skywatch,” she said. His heart sank again. “Is this is a good time?”
“Sure,” he said. Because he needed another reminder of what had just slipped out of his grasp.
“First, I wanted to find out if you’d had a chance to get some more info on Chloe Madsen for my records.”
“Uh, not yet,” he said. “It’s kind of complicated, but I’m working on it.”
“Oh,” she said. “Well, soon would be good. Loose ends, you know. On that note, I spoke with Livia, the registrar at the Academy in Vegas. She found Sofia Drake’s records and confirmed she had attended English classes there. She also taught music lessons for several years, but she was never on the payroll, so that was a dead end. The professor who taught English there at the time is no longer in Vegas, but she started her own program in New York. Livia said she left on good terms and gave me her contact information.”
His heart thumped. “That would be great.”
“I’ll send it to your email,” Elfeli said. “And please do let me know soon about Chloe.”
“I will,” he said.
He waited for the email, then stared at the screen for a while, debating how much further to take this. As far as Izarin was concerned, Chloe’s file was complete. They had enough to prove that her claims were true; she didn’t know she was a dragon and probably had no affiliations with anyone who intended harm to their community. But now he was curious. And even if she didn’t want anything to do with him, he still wanted Chloe to have answers about her mother. His father’s death had left a void in his life. It would never truly heal, but at least the sharp edges were softened by memories of him, of knowing him, of sharing him with a huge family that had loved him, too. Chloe had none of that. She didn’t even know Sofia’s real name or who she was.
Well, she was already angry with him, so what was the harm? Was she going to refuse to speak to him even more intently than before?
He dialed the number Elfeli had sent. It rang four times then went to voicemail. “You’ve reached Professor Shezara al-Dunin. Please leave a message, and I’ll return your call.” He smiled as she repeated the message in Kadirai, her diction melodic and flowing.
“Hi, Professor al-Dunin. My name is Taegan Asharin, and I have a strange request for you.”
Chloe had been elbows deep in glitter and elf hats for more than a week. When one of the Christmas play sponsors backed out at the last minute, Chloe picked up her duties. She’d been at school until dark every night, but it gave her something to do in the evenings besides mope about the dragon that got away. She didn’t know whether to be angry, disappointed, or just plain sad. Even worse, she didn’t know where to direct any of her feelings. Was Taegan in the wrong? Or was she overreacting? She’d stood at her window, whispering her frustrations to the moon like Helen had taught her, but the moon didn’t have a clue, either.
And even as a thousand confusing emotions fought for dominion over her mind, the fiery part of her wanted Taegan back. Now that she’d experienced him and was woefully without him, she wanted to forgive and believe there was a perfectly good reason he had a creepy dossier for her sitting on his desk. When she lay in bed at night, fire burning in her chest, he ran through her mind nonstop. It wasn’t making love to him that stuck with her, though that was certainly a pleasant memory. But what kept her awake at night was the memory of flying with him, when everything was simple and beautiful.
And all of it was gone.
Maura had wanted all the juicy details on Monday morning, but had quickly realized something was off. After Chloe’s glum declaration that it wasn’t going to work out, Maura had backed off and simply said, “I’m sorry, sweetie. If you want to talk about it, just tell me. Also, I’ll fight him if you want. Give me an address and Team Townsend will cut a bitch.”
At least there was one positive from the whole mess. Alyssa Kouris had done a complete one-eighty since their strange meeting at Thanksgiving. Though she was still withdrawn from her friends, Alyssa had been civil to Chloe, even offering to help her pass out papers each day. She was singing with the fourth and fifth grade chorus tonight, so she’d stayed after school to help Chloe until concert time. They sat together at one of the lunch tables, folding programs for the concert.
“Miss Madsen, I didn’t know you were a dragon,” Alyssa said quietly. It was the first time she’d breached the topic—maybe since they had relative privacy. Other teachers bustled around the room, hanging streamers from the stage.
“Neither did I,” she admitted. Alyssa’s eyes went wide. “My mom passed away when I was young, and the person who raised me didn’t know. So I just found out a couple weeks ago.”
“Did your boyfriend tell you?”
“Who?”
“Mr. Taegan,” she said.
Hearing his name was like a punch to the gut. “Yes, he told me,” she said. “But he’s not my boyfriend. Do you know him?”
She nodded. “Him and Mr. Malek and Mr. Kefir are all friends with my dad. He’s really nice. He taught me and my brother how to dive in the deep end of Miss Izarin’s pool this summer.” She sighed. “I wish I was a big dragon like them. But I’m part human. I can only do this.” She glanced over her shoulder then held up one small hand. Lightning crackled between her fingers.
Chloe’s jaw dropped. “That’s still really cool.”
“Yeah,” she said. She closed her fist to hide it. “Don’t tell Mom I showed you. She said if I ever did it at school, I would be grounded until I’m in high school. But I don’t think it counts if it’s someone like us.”
Chloe chuckled. “I won’t tell.” After finishing her stack of programs, she grabbed another sheaf of paper from the box and handed Alyssa a few more. “Are you doing okay? With
your dad gone?”
“I guess so,” Alyssa said. Her narrow shoulders slumped. “He calls almost every night, but it’s not the same.”
“I bet that’s really hard,” Chloe said. “Is your mom coming tonight? Maybe she can record the concert and send it to him. I’m sure he’ll be proud of you.”
Alyssa nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” They chatted quietly until a trickle of kids barreled down the fifth grade hall, headed for the music room. “Oh, I think I have to go now.”
“Thanks,” Chloe said. “Sing pretty tonight.”
To her surprise, Alyssa hurried around the table and hugged her. Then she scrambled to run after the other kids. Chloe smiled as she watched her go. If nothing else good came of her brief interlude with Taegan, she was glad for this.
Over the next hour, parents and families filtered into the lunchroom, which had been converted into a glowing concert hall. Chloe and Maura had strung Christmas lights around the room and put out electric candles amidst paper snowflakes cut by the art class, creating a winter wonderland. After delegating program duty to two fifth graders, Chloe hurried to the teacher’s lounge to start setting up the concession stand.
She emerged from the lounge with a folding table in hand and halted dead in her tracks. A contingent of well-dressed, gorgeous Kadirai walked down the center aisle of lunchroom tables. They looked out of place in the cinderblock expanse of an elementary school lunchroom. Her heart thumped.
Was he here?
Tellana and her brother walked at the head of the group, with several other familiar faces in the crowd. She recognized Kefir and his girlfriend, Molly, who carried a bouquet of flowers. As if they sensed her staring, Tellana and Malek looked her way. They bent their heads together, speaking quickly.
“Shit,” she muttered.
Chloe didn’t know whether to be afraid, angry, or excited, but she was about to have to decide. While the rest of the scaled group claimed a table close to the stage, Malek headed toward her. Even in jeans and a light jacket, he was striking. Several of the teachers gaped at him, but he paid them no attention. He gestured to her. “Need some help?”
“I’ve got it,” she said, sharper than she’d intended. “You can go sit down.”
“Sassy,” he said, his lips in a faint smile. “Is this standard-issue, Chloe attitude, or are you taking out your frustrations on me because Taegan’s not here? Forgive me for not knowing you well enough yet to know the difference.”
“Does everyone in Portland know our business?” she asked.
Ignoring her refusal, Malek took the other end of the table and pulled the legs up.
“No,” he said. He flipped the table over and set it parallel to the wall, right where she’d been planning to put it. God, these people drove her nuts. “I don’t know what happened between you guys, but considering you haven’t been around, I figured something was up. He’s not here, if you’re wondering.” Her shoulders slumped as she walked back into the lounge for the drinks. Malek brushed past her. His warm, smoky scent reminded her of Taegan, almost overwhelming her for a moment. Malek lifted four palettes of canned drinks and carried them out to the table. She picked up another two and followed him. “Do you have ice?”
“You don’t have to help me,” she said.
“I know I don’t have to,” he said. “But unless you tell me to go away, I’m going to.”
“I guess I can use the extra hands,” Chloe said, leading him to the kitchen for the coolers. “Why are you here?”
“We’re here for Alyssa Kouris,” he said. She was taken aback. “She’s one of ours. That’s what we do.” He elbowed her lightly. “Did you think we all came to stage a big romantic intervention?”
She glared at him. “No, of course not.”
Together, they scooped ice from the ice machine into coolers, then hauled them out to her makeshift concession stand to pack drinks inside. Malek flashed her a cocky grin. “Want me to help you sell? Soccer moms love me. I’ll bet I can turn five hundred bucks in sales for you, easy.”
She raised an eyebrow and gave him an appreciative look. “All right,” she said. “You’re on.”
“One condition,” he said. “If I win, you have to call Taegan.”
“I thought you didn’t come to stage a big romantic intervention,” she said.
“We didn’t,” Malek said. “But I’m an opportunist.”
Chloe laughed, despite herself. “No deal. But I’ll still take the help.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What if we make seven fifty? Will you call him?”
“A thousand and you have a deal,” she said.
“There’s no way.”
“I thought soccer moms loved you. Are you backing down?”
Flame ignited behind his amber eyes. “All right. If you make a thousand bucks here tonight, you have to call Taegan. Tonight.” Malek extended his hand. A warm shock of energy ran up her arm when she shook it, reminding her of Taegan’s touch.
“You’re on.”
Malek wasn’t lying about his appeal to the soccer mom demographic. From the minute they opened the stand, they had a line to the back of the cafeteria. They probably sold half their concessions because parents were trying to get a good look at him. She overhead two of the PTA volunteers debating if he played for the Timbers, the local soccer team.
He was charming and gracious, as he sold them their overpriced sodas and baked goods on the breaks between performances. And damn, could he upsell. Maybe he was using his mind control to convince them to buy extra cookies and candy.
Not that she was complaining.
While she was frantically trying to count change, he leaned over and said, “You should have charged double for everything.”
“Don’t get too cocky. You don’t get to change the rules halfway through,” she said. Eyeballing the money box, she tried to estimate what they’d made. There was easily five hundred bucks in twenties alone. The metal box was so packed with bills she couldn’t even close the lid. The cocky bastard might have done it.
“Oh, she’s up. I gotta go,” he said, giving her shoulder a light pat. “I’ll be back to confirm my victory.” He hurried across the lunchroom, sinking into an empty seat next to Tellana. As soon as the kids began singing, his face lit up with a smile. By his expression, one would have thought Alyssa was his child. Tanya sat next to Tellana, recording the concert on her phone.
Chloe’s throat clenched with emotion as she watched them, a strange, convoluted family that had claimed the little girl as their own. No matter what happened, Alyssa wouldn’t grow up lonely. She wouldn’t spend holidays alone.
While the kids led an interminable and increasingly chaotic singalong of the Twelve Days of Christmas, Chloe counted the money. Eight hundred and thirty-two dollars, which was insane. Frowning, she counted the money again. Eight hundred and thirty-three. Malek had lost the bet.
She supposed she should have been relieved, but she was oddly disappointed.
As the concert ended and families spread out to take pictures, she heard a chorus of shouts and cheers from the stage. Molly and Kefir both presented Alyssa with huge bouquets of roses. Her face lit up as she accepted them. Her joy was palpable, a living thing in itself. She hadn’t seen Alyssa smile like that since the beginning of school.
Chloe began packing up, trying not to mourn something she didn’t have. After hauling the leftover concessions back into the teacher’s lounge, she emerged from the door and ran right into Tellana. She yelped in surprise.
“Sorry to scare you,” Tellana said. The woman was dressed in snug jeans and a sharp black blazer, her hair in a perfect messy bun on top of her head. Her casual chic made Chloe feel self-conscious about her Beaverton Elementary hoodie flecked with tempera paint. “You didn’t want to say hello, huh?”
Chloe sighed. “Things are weird. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah,” Tellana said. She winced. “Can I talk to you for a second? I can help you pack up if that makes it less awkward.”
Following Chloe’s lead, Tellana began coiling Christmas lights from the tables, neatly tying off each string. “I’m not going to get in the middle of what happened with you and Taegan. Not much, at least,” she said. “But I am going to speak up for him, only because he didn’t do anything wrong.”
Anger dug its claws into her belly. “He—”
“Just listen to me for a second,” Tellana said sharply. “He probably didn’t explain himself very well. He’s smarter than most, but he’s still a man, which means he’s an idiot about certain things. I told him to bring you in to Izarin. And it was Izarin who told him to find out about your history. I don’t know how much he’s told you about our world so far but it’s in turmoil. Trouble’s coming, and we want it to keep it far from our doorstep. That’s why we needed to know who you were and make sure you weren’t connected to someone dangerous.”
“You could have asked me.”
“But you didn’t know, and that didn’t make sense to us. It was a lot more logical that you were lying about who you were than that you somehow made it to thirty without figuring out you were a dragon,” Tellana said, voice flat. “Besides, you don’t have the resources to find out who you are. We do.”
“Then he should have told me,” Chloe said. “He was prying into my life.”
“Maybe so,” Tellana said. She shrugged. “I’m not saying we’re perfect, but he did it because Izarin told him to. He really didn’t want to snoop on you, and we told him to get over it. The good of our people comes before his individual preferences. And we would have shared everything we found, but you went through his shit before he got a chance.”
“Oh, this is my fault?”
Tellana sighed and stepped into her path. Her amber eyes were solemn. “All I’m saying is not to blame him. If you want to be mad, be mad at me for making him do it. But if you actually like Taegan, then please give him a second chance. Even if things don’t work out, just talk to him so both of you have some closure. However it works out, I really want you to have this.” She finished winding the last strand of lights and handed them over.