“Something like that. Dragons can change their appearance at will. We can age ourselves when we need to, alter certain features. It’s not as difficult as you might imagine.”
“Sounds lonely.”
He cast her a small smile. “Not anymore.”
She pecked him on the cheek.
“Here it is.” Gabriel turned between two snowdrifts and proceeded down a narrow drive that bisected the row houses. At the back of the residence, he parked next to Tobias’s SUV in a small parking lot. But, although his hand rested on the keys in the ignition, he did not turn the engine off.
“What’s wrong?” Raven asked. “Why aren’t we getting out?”
“There’s something I need to talk to you about before we go inside. I didn’t tell you everything about my conversation with Tobias.”
Raven leaned back in her seat. “You hardly told me anything. We talked more about the deep-dish pizza than your brother. What’s going on?”
Gabriel’s eyes met hers. “He doesn’t approve of your being a witch.”
Tracing the cupholder with her finger, she thought back to her short interaction with Tobias in New Orleans. “Oh, he has no problem with my being a witch. He’s known witches before, remember? He told us so… the friend he knew in college. He has nothing against witches per se. What he has a problem with is his brother being mated to a witch. That’s the forbidden part, isn’t it? Which means he still puts faith in your mother and Brynhoff.”
Gabriel glanced toward the door to the house. “He wasn’t with us when we saw them together in the Obsidian Palace. He doesn’t believe us.”
Raven groaned. She should have expected this. Tobias’s reaction when Gabriel told him she was a witch wasn’t positive, and although he’d always treated her kindly and had been charming in his own way, he had left abruptly after they’d returned from Paragon. Her heart sank. She’d wanted this to be a friendly family reunion, a celebration of their engagement. Now she felt like she was coming between Gabriel and his brother.
“Maybe he believes you,” she said as the thought occurred to her, “but he doesn’t believe you saw what you think you saw.”
“He mentioned something about that. It is possible he assumes there is another explanation for Eleanor’s behavior.”
“There’s only one thing we can do.” Raven turned toward him in her seat. “We have to win him over. If we can gain his trust, we can convince him that what happened in Paragon is real.”
Gabriel nodded. “I agree, little witch. That’s why it might be better for you to not mention witchcraft while we’re here. We don’t want to scare him away. If you don’t use your power in his presence, he might come around faster. And…”
“What?” Raven placed a hand on his arm, imploring him with her eyes to explain this turn of events.
“He said we couldn’t stay here unless you promised you wouldn’t use witchcraft.”
“Right.” She inhaled deeply. A wave of disappointment crashed into her. As a new witch, practicing her craft was both fulfilling and necessary. Raven absorbed magic. What she practiced stayed with her. What she didn’t was lost. But the fear of losing her power wasn’t nearly as disturbing as the nagging feeling that Tobias disapproved of her, not only what she was but who she was. She placed a hand on Gabriel’s. This was hard for him too. There wasn’t room for her to wallow in her own emotions. “I was your everyday powerless human for twenty-three years. I’m sure I can pretend to be one for the length of our visit. How long are we staying?”
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “I persuaded him to let us stay the night.”
“Oh. Not a long time to pretend then.” Raven froze. Over Gabriel’s right shoulder, she saw something move in the arborvitae behind the small parking area. “Gabriel, I think someone is watching us. Not Tobias.”
Gabriel glanced over his shoulder, a low growl percolating deep inside his chest. “I see him too.”
“Who do you think it could be?”
“I’m not sure, but I don’t like it. Let’s get inside where it’s safe. Stay close to me.” He turned off the engine and opened his door.
A surge of icy wind stung Raven’s cheeks, and she pulled her new heavy wool coat closer around her neck. She climbed from her side of the car and walked around the hood to Gabriel. From where they parked, they’d have to pass the shadowy figure to get to Tobias’s back door. She pressed close to Gabriel’s side.
“Stop,” a man’s voice said as he sprang from the evergreens. A dark hood concealed his face, and there was something in his gloved hand, partially hidden by the sleeve of his puffy blue-and-orange coat. A gun?
“Pagoma!” Raven’s hand arced through the air, her emerald ring glowing like a star—she’d recently enchanted it to magnify her magic—and the man froze. His body tilted forward precariously. She’d stopped him midstride.
“I thought we agreed no magic,” Tobias stage-whispered from his door. He jogged down the steps toward them.
“He had a gun,” Raven said, although, now that the man wasn’t moving, the thing in his hand didn’t look as threatening as it had before.
Tobias groaned and closed his eyes for a beat. “It’s his phone, Raven. This is Mr. Gilbert from next door. He monitors the parking lot. I forgot to tell you they require parking decals here.” He held up a rectangular card with a number on it and pointed toward the dashboard.
“Oh. Oh no.” Raven’s chest felt heavy. Right after promising Gabriel she wouldn’t, she’d used magic right in front of his brother. She eyed Mr. Gilbert contritely, chewing her lip. There was only one way to fix this. In for a penny, in for a pound. A memory wipe should do the trick. She strode to the man and took his frozen hand in hers.
“Wait. Don—”
“Freskaro,” she said.
Mr. Gilbert blinked his eyes and shook his head before looking down at their coupled hands.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Raven said. “I really appreciate your taking the time to introduce yourself.”
The man cleared his throat, looking utterly confused. “Dis is private parkin’.”
“We have the placard now, see?” She pointed to the parking pass on their dashboard. “Tobias brought it out for us.”
Mr. Gilbert showed a few yellow teeth. “Right. I says to Tobias, you can’t have your people comin’ in here without a pass. Glad ta see he did da right thing. You guys enjoy your stay now.”
Raven tried not to laugh at the man’s thick accent. He made “here” sound like two syllables and made “without” sound like “wit out.” It was charming. She released the man’s hand and gave him a warm smile.
“Thank you, Mr. Gilbert,” Tobias called, ushering Gabriel and Raven inside. As soon as the door was closed behind them, Gabriel started to apologize. “It was a simple misunderstanding—”
“Save it, Gabriel.” Tobias’s hand waved dismissively between them. His face had gone red and his lips were a thin, tight line. “You promised she wouldn’t use magic in my house. You broke that promise. I think you should stay in a hotel tonight.”
“Please, Tobias, I never used magic in your house.” Raven met his eyes and placed a hand gently on his forearm. “I wouldn’t have used it at all if I hadn’t felt we were threatened. Please don’t blame Gabriel. It was my slip and it won’t happen again. You have my word.”
When Tobias’s gaze dropped to the place she touched him, she sensed a warm tingle of power that moved through her skin at the point of contact. She was absorbing his energy without even trying. Raven needed to get that under control; it was a dead giveaway that she was a witch. She removed her hand, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
If he had noticed, he didn’t mention it. Instead, he swallowed and said, “Okay. As long as we have an understanding.”
Gabriel smiled. “I’ll get the bags out of the car.” He pulled his coat tighter around him and slipped out the door again.
“You have a beautiful home,” Raven said. They were in a mudroom with pale gray
walls and white cabinetry. There was a washer and dryer against one wall and a large folding table. It looked like something out of a magazine, tidy and clean, not a stray detergent cup or speck of dryer lint anywhere.
“You’ve only seen my mudroom, but thank you.” The corner of Tobias’s mouth twitched.
His build and coloring was so different from Gabriel’s; it was hard to believe they were brothers. Although both males were exceptionally tall, where Gabriel was dark and stocky, Tobias was long and lean. Pale and blond, he reminded Raven of a 1950s poster child—straight white teeth, not a hair out of place.
Raven gave him her warmest smile. “If I’ve learned anything about you in the short time I’ve known you, it is that you are meticulous. You want things done right. I respect that about you. I know, without seeing it, that your home reflects your perfectionism.” She shrugged out of her coat, and he hung it up on one of the hooks near the door.
“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you? Gabriel must have told you I’m not comfortable with your mating.” Tobias scoffed, his smile fading.
“Yes. But every word I said is true. I do respect you and I want a chance to earn your trust.”
Tobias’s shoulders sagged as if her admission was a weight on his back. Was it that difficult to hear that your future sister-in-law desperately wanted your approval? Raven was rehearsing things to say to him in her mind when a blur of orange flew at her face. She raised her hands and caught the thing before it collided with her nose.
“Sorry. Let me—” Tobias reached for the wriggling ball of fur in her hands.
“Oh, what a sweet kitten!”
Tobias growled. “No. That is the spawn of the devil. I’ve been trying to catch her to take her into the humane society for days.”
“Humane society? Why?”
“That cat is evil. Frankly, I’m surprised she’s not scratching your eyes out. The thing doesn’t like anyone, especially not me.”
Raven tucked the cat against her chest and scratched it behind the ears. It wasn’t orange at all but calico with a black spot over one eye that looked like an eye patch. The other eye was surrounded by bright orange fur that set off a white chin and belly. Raven buried her face in the cat’s soft coat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is a sweet cat.”
Tobias reached out to stroke the cat’s head and the feline hissed. It swiped at him with outstretched claws. “Yeah, right.”
Raven laughed. “I’ve always had a way with animals.”
“That explains your relationship with my brother.” Tobias’s face was impassive, but the longer he stared at her, the harder she laughed. She was rewarded with a small smile.
The door opened and Gabriel ducked inside with their bags. “I think it’s starting to snow again.”
“It’s the end of February. I hope you guys brought warm clothes because Chicago is brutal this time of year.”
“You have a new friend,” Gabriel said, looking at the cat as they followed Tobias into the main part of the house. He reached out to stroke the cat’s head and was met with a growl, hiss, and a swipe.
“Maybe she hates men. Or dragons.”
Raven scratched the cat’s neck. “Tobias, what did you say her name was?”
“Devil’s Spawn. I sometimes call her DS for short. I found her in my dryer vent around Christmas and took her in. Clearly I’m not a cat person, but I couldn’t let her freeze to death.”
“Devil’s Spawn can’t be her name,” Raven protested. “She needs a real name.”
“What do you suggest?”
Raven looked at the patchwork kitten. “She’s not a devil. She’s a survivor… a warrior… like a goddess. Can I call her Artemis?”
“You can call her anything you want if you can keep her from pissing on my kitchen mats.”
Raven rubbed her nose against the cat’s. “Artemis. Do you like that?” The cat purred in her arms.
Gabriel looked at the animal sternly with what Raven swore was jealousy. She rolled her eyes. She’d make him purr soon enough.
“Come on in. I’ll show you to your room.” Tobias led them into the main part of the house, through the kitchen, dining room, and what he called the living room.
The house was narrow but deep and as meticulously kept as she had expected it to be. It was hardwood and steel with clean, modern lines and the occasional perfectly framed work of art. Tobias turned under a modern crystal chandelier and started up an ebony staircase. This was the main foyer of the home, she realized. They’d come in the back entrance. She appreciated the vintage white molding that framed blue-gray walls.
Gabriel’s expression soured as he took in the place. He eyed the minimalist decor as if it were repulsive to him.
Raven elbowed him in the side. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Where is your treasure room?” Gabriel asked. Raven didn’t miss the note of disapproval in his voice.
Tobias stopped short and turned around slowly, casting a heated expression toward his brother. “You will find no treasure room in this house. No treasure at all, actually, aside from the art on the walls. I don’t need it.”
Raven watched Gabriel’s face crumple. “Where do you shift? Spread your wings?”
Tobias snorted. “I don’t. I haven’t shifted, even partially, in almost a century.”
Gabriel cursed, and Raven brought her fingers to her lips. That couldn’t be right, could it?
“I told you, I live as a human.” Tobias opened the door to a room halfway down the hall and gestured for them to enter. “Here you are.”
Raven followed him into a posh space with a fluffy white bed and dark wood furniture.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me. It’s late and I have surgery tomorrow. Good night.”
Raven was still gaping at the beautiful room when the door closed and she realized Tobias was gone. With the cat still in her arms, she turned toward Gabriel, who set the bags down on the floor and started peeling off his parka. He looked concerned.
Cheerfully, she offered, “I don’t know about you, but I think that went well.”
The look he gave her told her he did not agree.
Chapter Four
Although Tobias’s surgery wasn’t until late morning, he hastened to leave the house the moment his eyes popped open. His work served as an effective escape from all the awkward and uncomfortable goings-on at home. If he played his cards right, Gabriel and Raven would be gone by the time he returned home. It was for the best. If Raven had proven one thing last night with the spell she’d cast on poor Mr. Gilbert, it was that she couldn’t fully control her magic. Tobias wanted no part of it or their ridiculous story about Paragon. It had been three hundred years. It was ludicrous to believe Brynhoff or his mother, if she was truly still alive, would come after them now.
If he were being honest, there was another reason his steps hastened toward the hospital. Sabrina. He hadn’t seen her since their encounter in the stairwell, but oh, had he thought about her. Her honey-and-moonlight scent, the taste of her like fresh cherries on his tongue, the firm and close feel of her against his body. And the best part, she wasn’t human after all. The mystery of what Sabrina was teased him like the ribbon of a glittering bow on an unexpected gift. He’d enjoy a chance at peeling back her outer wrappings.
But as was always the case with Tobias, his work came first. He swept his thoughts of Gabriel and Sabrina into a compartment at the back of his mind. With total focus, he performed his scheduled surgery, blocking out everything but the open chest in front of him, the tiny heart he was patching, and the steady thrum of the bypass machine. With utmost care, he corrected the ventricular septal defect that had plagued the five-week-old baby boy, his fingers working with precision far greater than any human’s. Once the last stitch was in place, the boy was wheeled back to recovery. Tobias stripped off his rubber gloves and deposited them in the red receptacle near the doors before exiting the operating suite. Everything had gone textbook. The operation was
a success. Why then was he not elated?
As he pulled off his mask and cap, all the thoughts he’d put on hold while he operated came back with a vengeance. He washed his hands, scrubbing under the sapphire ring he kept invisible while he worked. The ring made him think about his brother and the crazy story he insisted was true. Normally he wouldn’t call his brother a liar, but there was no way his mother had been part of the coup that banished them from Paragon. She was their savior. She’d kept them safe.
Tobias had been elated to hear Eleanor was still alive. That part he wished were true. All these years, he’d assumed she’d been murdered. It was too much to accept that she was both alive and an active and consenting participant in Marius’s death. He would never believe such a thing. Not unless he had incontrovertible proof.
He closed the locker he was using and made his way to the floor’s break room. A cup of coffee and a moment alone would clear his head. He fed the machine a dollar and hit the latte button.
“Are you waiting for the machine to hand it to you?” Sabrina stood beside him. When had she come in?
Oh! His coffee was done, steaming at the base of the machine. He grabbed it too quickly and it splashed over the back of his hand. Fuck. If he’d been human, that heat would have blistered him. Instead, he set his cup down on the counter and dabbed at his wet hand with a paper towel.
“Sabrina,” he said. “I was looking for you last night after we… talked. You disappeared.”
“Busy with patients.” Her tone was nonchalant, but her eyes shifted as if the topic made her nervous. “Dr. Allen asked me to find you though. There’s been a major development in one of your patients.”
Dr. Allen was Tobias’s partner and shared a medical office across the street with him where they provided consultations and ongoing care for their patients. There was only one major development she could be referring to. Katelyn. Dr. Allen must have examined her that morning.
“Thank you, Sabrina.”
“No problem.” She turned to leave.
“Can we talk sometime? Maybe grab a better cup of coffee than this?” He held up his cup. Tobias surprised himself with the brusque solicitation. Smooth, he thought. Play it cool, dragon. She intrigued him. He had to know who she was and, more importantly, what she was.
Windy City Dragon Page 3