“What am I being buttered up for?” I whispered to Warner. I didn’t want to disturb Bryn, who was lightly dozing beside me.
He chuckled quietly as he continued to work on my foot. “Kett wishes to continue with his elaborate plans for my bachelor party.”
“Okay …”
Warner leaned forward. “And if I’m about to leave the country, I’d like a moment alone with you. Upstairs, perhaps?”
Placing a hand on his chest, I pushed him slightly away. He accepted it with a grin that told me he was content to be compliant. For the moment, at least. “You’re leaving the country? With Kett?”
He shrugged. “We’re bringing Drake. And your father and Qiuniu are joining us at some point. So what could possibly happen?”
I said nothing, just letting my mind momentarily boggle at all the craziness that might occur under those exact circumstances.
Warner removed my other sneaker, digging into the tender muscles of my left arch. “Don’t fret. We’ll be back in time.”
“I should hope so. The wedding isn’t for five days.”
He chuckled, then sobered thoughtfully. “But you’ll text Kett if the elf surfaces again. I’m not a fan of games. I’m only a portal away if you need me. And your father would be happy for an excuse to visit Vancouver.”
I glanced toward the windows, eyeing the snowfall. “We need to take off soon if we’re going to make it back to Vancouver ourselves.”
A sly grin slipped across Warner’s face. “I’ll help you pack.”
I laughed quietly, downed the final sip of my hot chocolate, then nudged Bryn awake. “Hey, babe. Good opening.”
She laughed, blinking her dark-brown eyes sleepily. “Yeah, I think the bakery is going to do okay.”
“We’re going to have to abandon you, though,” I said. “I’m concerned about the roads.”
She nodded, stretching. “I’ll tally the sales in the morning and send you an email.”
“Boo-yah!” Drake crowed, slamming down a chess piece on Kett’s side of the board. Possibly his queen? I wasn’t exactly an aficionado of the game, so a lot of the pieces looked the same to me.
Peggy and Maia both flinched.
Drake pumped his fists in the air, holding them aloft as he looked at all of us, silently declaring his victory.
Kett eyed the fledgling guardian. Then he slowly and deliberately lifted his hand and slid his castle across the board with a single finger. Or maybe that was a queen as well? “Checkmate.”
“What?” Drake cried. “No …”
Kandy started guffawing. She sprang out of her seat, catching Drake in a headlock. Warner threw his head back and laughed. Then Kett joined in with a warm chuckle — a thing I wasn’t sure I’d ever heard from him before.
Jasmine looked up from her computer, shocked. Then, smiling softly, she closed her laptop to watch Drake and Kandy playfully tussle.
And for just that moment, I felt completely, utterly blissful. I breathed the feeling in. Soon, we’d be splitting up and racing the snow back to Vancouver. Then all the annoying bits of the final wedding prep would intrude on my life, including my grandmother’s disappointment over every choice I made — from the tiny guest list, to the color of the flowers, to the fold of the napkins.
But for right now, Bryn and I had just opened a second bakery that appeared to have been well received, and the evening was filled with friends and laughter, chocolate and cupcakes. I was surrounded by the family I’d chosen, for love and friendship. Not the one that had been foisted upon me by the circumstances of my birth. Though obviously, I loved Gran, Scarlett, and Yazi as well. But this was a gathering of people I would die for. People I would never, ever willingly hurt.
And it was perfect.
Then someone rapped their knuckles on the glass front door.
Every predator in the room fell into silent alert mode. So, like, all of us, excepting Bryn and Peggy.
A group of people stood huddled in the snow outside the bakery. Surrounded by so much potent magic within the storefront, I hadn’t tasted the separate tenor of the newcomers’ magic as they’d approached. But I could taste it now. Sorcerers. And —
“Who’s that?” Bryn asked.
“Oh,” Peggy cried, flinging herself off the couch. “I was supposed to text when I was done work. We’re staying the weekend. Skiing!”
Yep. Another Talbot — most likely Angelica — had just knocked imperiously on my bakery window. What other Adept would have had the courage to startle the amount of power lounging around the fireplace?
I sighed, regretfully tugging my foot from Warner’s grasp and pushing myself up off the couch. I was going to have to be pleasant to sorcerers. Especially these ones, who were not only under my protection but partly in my employ. And although he wasn’t currently with the rest of the family members gathered on the other side of the glass door, Liam Talbot had proven to be a more-than-useful associate over the past three months, using his connections with the city police and the RCMP to try to track the elves by nonmagical means in and around Vancouver.
Liam was currently investigating an odd series of break-ins around the city, during which nothing appeared to have been taken and the property damage was so minimal that it would normally barely rank as a police matter. It seemed likely that the events were nothing more than teens goofing around, but we were all wary enough that we would grasp at any straw.
All the magical means we’d used to try to find the elves — including the witches’ grid — had come up with zilch. This was especially and utterly annoying to my grandmother, since identifying and tracking magic was the primary reason the grid had been created. I had overheard Gran and Scarlett frostily trading words on more than one occasion about my mother’s insistence that Burgundy take my place at the Kits Beach anchor point three months before. Gran insisted that tying in my dowsing abilities would have increased the sensitivity of the grid. The argument never went anywhere, mostly because my mother refused to engage. But also because no one else agreed with Gran, including me.
I didn’t bother with my sneakers as I followed Peggy through the seating area to greet the rest of her family. Her twin sister, Gabby, was among them, so I assumed they’d left Vancouver as soon as the amplifier’s shift had ended at Cake in a Cup.
Peggy unlocked the door, letting in a frigid gust of air. “I’m so sorry. I forgot to text!”
“It’s all right, Peggy.” Stephan Talbot pushed back the hood of his ski jacket. “We knew where to find you.” The telepath’s adoptive father was dark-haired with medium-brown skin, but he spoke with a brash French Canadian accent. It was an interesting combination.
I hadn’t spent much time with the patriarch of the Talbot family, though he’d come to the bakery to introduce himself when he’d arrived in Vancouver about a week after I met the rest of his clan. He ran a business that had something to do with technology, but what exactly he did had immediately gone over my head. Whatever it was meant he needed to travel a fair bit. He was also a former member of an American chapter of the sorcerers’ League, which he had declared emphatically alongside introducing himself. And he’d worked with Henry Calhoun multiple times in that capacity.
Why he’d quit the League likely had everything to do with why he’d moved his entire family to a different country. But I didn’t pry for details that weren’t any of my business.
Vancouver had always traditionally been witch territory, which should have made it an odd place for sorcerers to settle. But it was apparent that the Talbots put their family above all the dreary, obsolete politics of the Adept. Another reason to like them.
Except for Tony, that was. I saw the dark-haired junior sorcerer trying to get a look at everyone hanging out in the bakery — but without actually stepping out from behind his parents. He met my gaze and hitched his backpack up on his shoulder, no doubt unconsciously concerned that my magic would trash the tech within it. Then he looked away, which was fine by me.
“Jade.
” Stephan cleared his throat, smiling hesitantly. “We are well met … yes?”
Right. I was pretty much blocking the door … and eyeing their son like I was thinking of leaving him outside in the cold and denying him cupcakes.
I smiled, stepping back. “Of course. Peggy mentioned you were planning a ski trip. I forgot in the … bustle of the day.”
As they tamped off their boots and brushed off their coats before entering the bakery, I was reminded that the Talbots originated from somewhere where snow was more common than it was in the Pacific Northwest. Then the entire family minus one invaded the storefront.
I smiled and started making introductions, rather than sighing heavily and being pissy about the delay.
See? I could be a grown-up. Well, on occasion.
“Would you like to take a look at the kitchen?” I asked Angelica, with a pointed look Stephan’s way. The Talbots had started putting their jackets back on as part of making a move toward the door and an early dinner out.
Angelica nodded, though she didn’t look particularly pleased to follow me through the swing doors into the kitchen. Bryn’s kitchen, really. My business partner had chosen white granite with thin veins of gray over stainless steel for her workstation. To our immediate right, the industrial dishwasher was piled high with muffin tins and mixing bowls.
“Very nice,” Angelica said, quickly scanning and dismissing the entire kitchen — her tone polite, but still frosty around the edges.
I swallowed a nasty retort. The kitchen was freaking gorgeous, and it didn’t make anyone the lesser to admit that.
“The double ovens especially,” Stephan said, much more earnest in his praise.
Tony slipped through the double doors, settling his back against them so they wouldn’t continue to swing. He cleared his throat, darting a look toward his parents, then addressing me. “This is about the elves?”
I eyed him before I nodded. “Yep.” I wasn’t the youngest Talbot’s biggest fan, even though Tony was helping with Liam’s investigation into the elves. I had actually carried a slash of red across my chest for a couple of days after he’d hit me with some sort of electricity-based sorcerer spell in the Talbots’ basement. And sure, his magic had been seriously amplified at the time. But still.
“What?” Angelica’s tone suggested that she clearly thought I’d actually asked if she wanted to admire my kitchen, rather than having some other reason for pulling her and Stephan away from the group.
I leaned back against the main counter, talking to Tony since he was apparently more in tune with the situation. “An elf skilled in illusion made an appearance this morning. Then disappeared.”
Tony grunted, pulling out his phone and applying his thumbs to it. Presumably taking notes.
“Disappeared?” Stephan asked. “Or left town?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“We obviously don’t have the same information you have.” Though her outward demeanor remained dismissively judgemental, Angelica’s brown-sugared shortbread magic churned around her, as if agitated. Perhaps being offish was a coping mechanism for the sorcerer.
“The elf appeared to be trying to make contact, rather than setting up an attack. As best as I can tell, anyway. Peggy can fill you in with the details when you’re away from Bryn.”
“Peggy?” Angelica gave me a look suggesting she was considering strangling me.
I knew that feeling. But I simply waited, giving her the time to articulate her displeasure. She chose to keep her complaints to herself instead.
“We were planning to stay through Sunday, returning in the evening,” Stephan said.
“The bakery will be closed, and I seriously doubt the elf will return. She seemed focused on me. But I wanted to give you a heads-up.”
“Thank you.”
“I’d appreciate it if you kept in contact with Kandy through the weekend and let her know of any unusual activity.”
Stephan gave Tony a look. The younger sorcerer nodded, acknowledging his father’s silent directive without even looking up from his phone.
“I’ve been doing some research for Liam,” Tony said. “Compiling and comparing elf myths. Searching for fact within the fiction.”
That was news to me. “And?”
“Nothing really lines up with what you’ve told him. There’s a lot of elf lore, but nothing that feels legit. I’d guess that no firsthand accountings have made it online yet.”
I glanced Stephan’s way. “And the talk among sorcerers? Within the League?”
“Nonexistent. As far as I’ve heard.” He glanced at Angelica for confirmation.
She nodded. “Mythical creatures. Just like the guardians themselves.”
Tony snorted as if Angelica had made a joke. If she had, she had a wickedly dry sense of humor. To me, she sounded more chastising than jovial.
“I know you came to Vancouver for protection,” I said. “And the elves weren’t part of the deal.”
“No.” Stephan waved his hand. “You cannot control who threatens your territory. And we’re glad to help if we can. It is a … blessing to live somewhere where we are … valued. And the girls …” He looked over at Angelica.
His wife nodded, her expression softening slightly.
“The girls have never been happier.”
A sweet warmth bloomed in my chest in response to that. “I’m not the best role model. But I … like having them around. Gabby and Peggy fit in well at the bakery.”
Stephan laughed, as if I was now the joker in the group. “They have never been so focused, so eager to be social, to be among other Adepts. They feel safe in Vancouver. With you.” He reached over, offering me his hand. “You and Kandy.”
I was surprised at his offer to touch me. Adepts often didn’t like to make contact with other Adepts. But I wrapped my hand around his in response. His buttery, nutty magic — a smoother, creamier version of Liam’s peanut butter punch — tickled my senses, making me crave honeyed peanut butter cookies that I hadn’t baked in years.
He smiled, patting the back of my hand. “Thank you.”
I cleared my throat, suddenly and oddly emotional. “Please be careful this weekend.”
“We always are.” Angelica was back to being a little stiff around the edges, but she slipped her arm through Stephan’s and gazed up at him sweetly. The Talbots had sacrificed a lot for their adoptive children, though I knew they might have disagreed with that observation.
“Enjoy your dinner,” I said.
“Enjoy your wedding festivities.” Then Stephan turned with his wife, wandering back through the swing doors to the storefront.
Tony turned to follow his parents, but I called him back quietly. “Tony.”
His shoulders stiffened, but he paused, looking back at me.
“You might want to discuss your findings and how you’re gathering information with Jasmine.”
“The vampire?”
“Yeah,” I said, heavy on the sarcasm. “The vampire is a tech wiz.”
“Okay … cool then.”
“Right. Cool then.”
He offered me a crooked smile, then stepped through the doors.
Leaning back against the counter, I listened to the excited murmur of voices beyond the swing doors, thinking once more back through the encounter with the illusionist elf. If she’d been laying out clues or taunting me somehow, it had pretty much gone over my head.
The door swung open and Maia poked her head inside the kitchen. “Hey, Jade.”
“Maia.”
“I’m going for dinner with the Talbots.”
“Great.”
“And, um, thanks for today.”
“Thank you for today. I think it was a great success. I’m glad Bryn has you to help her out.”
Maia frowned. “Not that. I mean, yeah, selling cupcakes is cool and all. I meant, thanks for not, you know, being pissy about the elf thing today. Thanks for including me.”
“Right … about that …�
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“Don’t mention it to my grandmother?”
I laughed. “Actually, please do mention it. Then maybe pick her brain about elves? Or any creatures from First Nations history that might have actually been elves?”
“Cool, yeah. There’s none I can think of, but Grandmama might have ideas.”
“Thank you.”
She nodded, retreating back through the doors.
“Oh, Maia?”
She poked her head back in.
“But maybe don’t mention it to anyone else.”
She snorted, as if I were an idiot to even think she’d gossip about facing off with an elf. Apparently, I was the only one with the big mouth in this group.
Warner, true to his word, helped me pack. Problem was, he apparently thought the clothing I was currently wearing belonged in my overnight bag. And no matter how quickly I might move on even my best days, he always moved quicker.
I didn’t manage to find my voice … or my breath … until we’d made it into the shower and my dragon proceeded to soap up every inch of me. Then he brought me through and over the peak of pleasure a second time while I was pressed against the tile wall.
“What did I do to deserve such tender treatment?” I murmured, relaxing into the aftershocks of my orgasm.
Warner didn’t answer. Instead, he angled the showerhead perfectly so that the hot water cascaded over my shoulder and across my chest, streaming over my belly and between my legs.
I laughed shakily, opening my eyes to find my fiance gazing at me intently. He traced the path the water formed over my collarbone, around my left breast, between my lower ribs … then dipped lower through the slick curls at the apex of my thighs.
“I might need a minute.”
A smile teased his lips, but the shimmer of golden dragon magic across his eyes let me know he was feeling serious. Running my fingers through his hair, I gently massaged his temples, then down the back of his neck.
Misfits, Gemstones, and Other Shattered Magic Page 4