“Look, I’m sorry for snapping at you. Very sorry, Astrid.”
“It’s okay,” Astrid replied in a gentle voice. She glanced toward the sidewalk, hoping to appear contrite.
Nate took her left hand without prompting and stroked the back of it. “Are you all right? I should have asked straight off, but I was so mad about what that asshole did.”
“Yeah, a little shaken is all. We should go before someone comes to see what the light show was about.”
“Good idea. You live around here, right?”
He hadn’t released her hand, and she found his casual, soothing touch eased the tight feeling in her chest. “Take me to my shop instead. I’m not ready to go home for the night.” And not ready to take him to her home either.
Their walk back was somber, without the lighthearted chatter they’d shared on the way to the movies. She led the way into the shop but didn’t turn on the front lights. Instead, she locked the door behind them and led him to the back. She drew the curtains shut and flipped on the lights.
“Just grab a stool from the easel if you want. Is Coke okay? I think I still have some rum back here too unless Toni finished it off the last time we hung out.”
“Whatever you have is fine.”
She took a few minutes to make their drinks then carried them over.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay? You want to call your mom or dad or someone to talk?”
Nate had begun to fret, and it was surprisingly cute. She raised her chin to look up at him and smiled.
“No. I’m good,” she assured him with a hand on his shoulder. “Just needed a moment. I’ve never had anything like that happen to me before. I mean, my dad always warned me it could happen in the city, so did Mom. I’m just glad you were there with me. I think the blinding was scarier than the gun in my face.”
“Brave girl,” he murmured.
He hung around in the shop with her for a while longer, and she showed him some of her current projects, including the charm bracelet for Charlie and plans she’d sketched out for the clients who visited that day. They wanted a bridal tiara for their only daughter’s upcoming wedding, and she’d begun designing the headdress while waiting for him to arrive for their date.
When midnight arrived, she had just coaxed him into sharing a few Navy stories. She’d never been on a ship out at sea, and his tales of sailing to Australia and Dubai excited her.
“I better save Dubai for next time,” Nate remarked as he looked at his watch. “It’s after midnight.”
“And we have another date tomorrow,” Astrid said. “We still have that date, right?”
“Hell yeah. As long as you aren’t backing out on me.”
After she collected their glasses and tossed them in the dishwasher, he walked her back to her building a few streets over.
They parted ways on the sidewalk outside, and as the elevator took her to the upper level, Astrid mourned that she didn’t have the courage to bring him inside.
***
It didn’t take Nate long to find him since the gunman looped around the block and circled back after Astrid was safely inside. They met on a quieter side street a few blocks over from her building.
Nate shoved Lancelot against the wall. “What the hell was that stunt tonight?”
“Kay told me to test the girl for magical power or strength, okay? I didn’t expect her to have mad wrestling skills instead. She almost broke my nose.”
Startled by the knight’s admission, Nate released him and stepped back. “Kay sent you?”
Lancelot nodded and rubbed his shoulder. “Shit, it still hurts from when she wrenched it. Didn’t feel like anything supernatural, though. I’d probably have lost the arm altogether or, at the very least, I’d be at the hospital if she were a dragon. She wouldn’t need to power up and transform to do that.”
“True. True.”
“Since I’m still alive, I’m inclined to agree with you about her being a human trapped in a shitty situation. She’s hot, though.”
“You were really going to toss away your life to prove me wrong?”
Lancelot shrugged. “Not without a fight. I’m too attached to this life to let it go yet, and unlike you, I remember the ones I’ve already had. I know I have it good now. Figured if she did dragon out on me, you’d have my back and we’d take her down together.”
Among the mortals, Lancelot was known by the name Jared Bennett. He was a personal fitness trainer to the stars and made thousands guiding aging actresses and flabby actors through intense workouts to fulfill the physical requirements of their action roles. He had a wife and two girls, neither of which had the soul of a knight. Their order had been all male since its inception, and that wouldn’t change, much to their relief.
“Did you seriously expect her to go into dragon mode in the middle of downtown?”
“Anansi did.”
“Anansi was an asshole,” Nate muttered. “But that’s a completely different situation. That was a small African village. This is San Diego. It would be all over the news in seconds.”
“Right. Meaning the public would go into an uproar about getting rid of the dragons once and for all. Even the president couldn’t smooth that fiasco over the way he did when old Fafnir resurfaced.”
“You’re an asshole, man. You know you caught me in that radiance spell, too.”
Lancelot shrugged, but he had the good sense to appear chastened before muttering, “Sorry. You could have told her to let me go.”
“How would that have looked after you just had a gun in her face?”
“Chill, man, it was Kylie’s. I just sawed off the little tip and painted it black. The most it would have done was shoot bubbles in your girlfriend’s face.”
“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s a target.”
“Yeah? What took so long for you to ditch her?” Lancelot tilted his head and eyed him with skepticism. His blond brows raised. “You get laid in there?”
“No! Christ, no. No,” he repeated softer. “But I could hardly hope to secure more time with her if I ran off like a douche after she was mugged.”
“True.”
“Next time you two geniuses have a brilliant idea while I’m on a mission, you let me know first.”
“Sure, whatever you want, man. I’m sorry about taking you by surprise.”
Lancelot agreed easily with genuine remorse, but that came as no surprise to Nate. The guy was his original birth father, the man who conceived him centuries ago. Lying to him felt wrong.
“I wasn’t entirely honest with you about why I’m upset,” he confessed.
Lancelot raised a brow. “Tell me something I don’t know. I was giving you the chance to decide you were ready to talk.”
No surprise. No one knew Nate better. He sighed and leaned against the wall. “I don’t feel like we’re doing the right thing anymore.”
“What do you suggest we should do? Stop hunting them altogether?”
“What harm are they causing?” Nate countered.
“There’s that black dragon in Ghana with the harem of underage girls. I’d call that plenty of harm.”
“I’m not saying we should ignore the ones like him. What I’m saying is that those dragons are the only ones deserving our attention.”
“How can we determine who deserves it until we investigate, son?” The modern slang fell away and the old Lancelot emerged. He studied Nate with the caring eyes of a father. “I understand why you feel this way, because you aren’t alone.”
“I’m not?”
Lancelot shook his head. “When Kay created his harebrained scheme to assassinate Belenos of Gaul, Percivale and I disagreed fervently with him. Unfortunately, we were alone.”
“I would have stood by you both.”
“You were deployed at sea, Galahad. The three of us alone wouldn’t have swayed his judgment.”
Nate sighed and looked at the time. If he was going to meet with her and some of his Navy pals at the beach, he needed
to get to bed. “Yeah. I know.”
“What are your next plans with the girl?”
“Beach and the carnival tomorrow. I’ll report in afterward, okay?”
“Come on, I’ll give you a lift to your car. But a word of advice to you, if you’re willing to take it.”
Nate raised his brows. “What?”
“Speak to some of the other knights about your concerns, in private. I’d start with Degore, Bors, and Dagonet. Maybe even Gawain.”
“Gawain is still a teen.”
“It makes no difference. Chat with him before he’s poisoned by Kay’s influence and hatred.”
A grin spread over Nate’s face as he considered the possible repercussions of going behind Kay’s back. Screw it. He wasn’t known for his courage for nothing. “You know what. You’re right.”
“Of course I’m right.” Lancelot threw an arm around Nate’s shoulders and grinned back at him. “I’m always going to be the best father you’ve ever had.”
Chapter 4
The reality of hanging out with a gang of Navy officers on the beach had been different than her expectations, but still fun despite the lack of volleyball. Instead, they’d enjoyed hilarious attempts at bodysurfing and an impromptu sandcastle competition.
One of the female sailors, a werewolf named Maria, flashed Astrid a knowing smile. Shifters often recognized each other, by scent if not by mannerisms alone. They kept one another’s secret and chatted amicably about life in San Diego until one of the guys returned with a pair of rented jet skis.
Later, they abandoned the beach as a group and moved on to the county fair for an evening of greasy food and carnival rides. By midnight, the magical hour when she finally forced herself to part from his side, there was only enough vigor in her bones to stand drowsily beneath the shower and crawl into bed with damp hair.
Over the next few weeks, their thriving relationship progressed to visits over lunch at the cafe or her shop and evening picnics beneath the stars at Balboa Park. For a military man, he had a formidable grasp of romantic gestures, and before bed each night, they chatted over text messages or on Facebook.
He even charmed her friends.
Dating became a gratifying experience, but time with Nate mentally and physically exhausted her. After a night on the dance floor, she crawled into bed without washing off her makeup, afraid she’d pass out in the shower.
Two days later on a Monday morning, the alarm company monitoring her shop awakened Astrid from a dead sleep in the early, pre-dawn hours. She arrived to find a surprise awaiting her at The Dragon’s Hoard. In bright red paint, someone had sprayed the letters DRAGON’S WHORE on the glass. The door, which had been a custom order featuring a stained glass window, had been reduced to a mass of splinters attached to broken hinges. Colorful glass shards covered the rug beneath her feet.
A police officer was already on scene, a sympathetic, middle-aged man who had a shifter daughter of his own. He patted her shoulder and concluded that the vandal must have been frightened by the noise wailing from the alarm.
He asked her about any possible enemies, relationships recently ended with bad blood, or angry customers unhappy with the results of her work. He took photographs for evidence, and once she’d called the insurance company and the home improvement store to order a temporary replacement door, Astrid retreated to the rear of her shop and sobbed.
Toni appeared by noon with frozen vanilla lattes. She worked at the same cafe where Astrid and Nate met. She’d begged off of her shift an hour ahead of schedule, citing a family emergency.
“Girl, I’m so sorry I couldn’t get out of work earlier to come. Maybe we can get it off with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser? I’ll run down the road and buy some.”
“I already called a cleaning service. I don’t even want to look at it anymore.”
Would her customers remain loyal if the truth emerged, or would her store become swamped with curious people hoping for a glimpse of the billionaire movie tycoon’s dragon child? Ever since she’d changed her name and Max had enacted laws of privacy, she’d had a chance to enjoy her life without restrictions.
The press had called the law a dictatorial move, but everywhere across the United States, shifters had wept in relief and celebrated the opportunity to keep their lives secret. Normal. Human spouses and parents of shifter children rejoiced, free of the fear they’d receive a terrifying call in the night.
Despite all of her protection, someone had defiled the sanctity of her greatest possession, the only thing she truly owned of her hard work and love. She felt violated and no longer wanted to sit inside the shop.
“Did you call your parents yet? Let them know? If the press gets wind of this and the news runs with it, they’ll find out soon.”
“We bribe the press not to run any stories about us like this,” she said numbly. “Keeps my identity safe now.”
“Still, give them a call.”
Toni hugged her and tossed away their empty cups before hefting the bag of trash to take out to the dumpster.
Heeding her friend’s advice, Astrid called home. Chloe picked up on the second ring. “Hi, sweetie, what’s wrong?”
“Everything.”
She gave her mother an accounting of the events beginning with the first call from the security company to the police officer’s comments. She’d spent hours counting inventory and noticed nothing missing.
“Oh no,” Chloe breathed on the other end of the phone. “We’re on our way. All of us. Sit tight and we’ll—”
“Don’t bother, Mom. There’s no point in coming, and it will only draw more attention. Toni and I are about to go and get some lunch anyway.” Though she had no appetite and would only pick at her meal. “Actually, can you ask Aunt Mahasti if she’ll come weave some spells around the place?”
A heavy silence dominated the line.
“Mom?”
“Sweetheart, Mahasti did leave a ward around your store,” Chloe said.
“What?”
“You know how your dad is, but he didn’t want you to think he doubted your ability to protect yourself. It’s—wait, hold on a moment. You think what?”
Astrid overheard Mahasti’s voice in the background and strained to hear the genie speak.
“Are you sure?” Chloe said in a panicked voice.
“Mom, what? What is it?”
“Astrid, love, do the police have the person responsible for it? Were they at the scene of the crime when you arrived?
“No, Mom. If they had him, I would have told you right off. There’s no sign of the vandal and only a blurry image on the security cameras.”
“They left without any sign of injury?”
“Yeah, the police couldn’t find any physical evidence here or anything.”
“Mahasti believes there’s magic involved. The moment someone broke through the integrity of your door, the wards should have immobilized them until long after the cops arrived.”
***
If Nate wanted to be successful, he had to rally the knights behind him before Kay became aware of his plans.
He drove early into town for the meeting before any of the knights appeared at their lodge. In his Jeep, he listened to music and watched the parking lot until Gawain, the only underage knight among them who attended meetings, arrived in the company of Sir Bors. Like Kay and Nate, the two were father and son in their present lifetime.
After killing the engine to the Jeep, he stepped outside onto the pavement and called out, “Hey guys! What’s happening?”
“Oh hey, dude!” Gawain called back.
“How’s it going?” Bors asked him pleasantly.
“Well enough. Hey. You have time for a quick chat?” Nate asked.
“Of course. I’ve always got time for you, Nate,” Bors replied with a jovial smile. “What can we do for you?”
“I want to know what you think about Kay’s recent outbursts and my current mission. What you really think, not what you’d say at the round table t
o avoid division among us.”
Bors opened his mouth to speak but the teenage knight beat him to the punch. “I think it’s lame,” Gawain said. “It’s not cool to lie to a woman like that, man, and I felt bad for you when Kay gave you the job.”
Nate nodded. “Agreed. And you, Bors?”
The middle-aged knight sighed. “Agreed, but what can we do when Arthur left Kay, Gareth, and Pelleus in charge during his absence from the world?”
“Do any of us know for a fact that Arthur gave him the leadership?” Nate asked.
“Hell no,” Gawain said. “I don’t have my memory back yet either, but we’d all know if Arthur wanted someone to lead. Everything I’ve ever read about Arthur suggests that he keeps detailed notes. He’d have left something behind for us.”
Bors pursed his lips, and a thoughtful look came to his brown eyes. “You’re quite right, Gawain. But of course, Kay only has Gareth and Pelleus to corroborate his claims.”
“Who both have something to gain from him leading the knighthood in Arthur’s absence. Don’t you find this a little suspicious? Arthur never agreed with hunting peaceful dragons.”
“No, he did not,” Bors agreed. “And he would take special offense to the stalking of Astrid Drakenstone. It surprised me when you accepted the job.”
“I didn’t want Pelleus to do it,” Nate admitted. “I’m going to be honest with you both. Whether or not she’s a dragon doesn’t matter now. I think we can have peace between us all. A genuine lasting peace now that they have a dragon in the White House with something to lose if their kind go on the rampage.”
“Then if I may be so bold, Nate, what do you need from us?” Bors asked pleasantly.
“Your support when the time comes. I don’t know yet what I’m going to do, but I have a feeling that change is coming.”
“Sure thing, man,” Gawain said. “Hey, there’s Sir Tristram. I bet he’d want in on this.”
He did.
As a group, the four knights chatted to the side of the building as more members of the knighthood arrived for the gathering. Most of them waved in passing and continued inside, but Sir Percivale paused to study Nate’s congregation.
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