We will get back there. Let’s kill this monster, and then we can get to more important things. Like you teaching me magic.
Sweet little hawk, I’m going to show you all kinds of things.
Bridget’s face heated. Normal Bas had been bad enough, but a Bas that was synching up with his dragon side was making her sweat.
“It’s super rude for you two to talk to each other in your heads, you know,” Apollo said, flicking Bas in the ear.
Bridget kicked his chair. “Don’t pout because you aren’t as cool as us.”
“You’re not in this family five minutes, and you’re already full of sass. Tame your brat, Basset, before she bites off more than she can chew.”
Bas smiled sharply. “Mess with her at your peril, Sunspot.”
“I’m so scared,” Apollo said.
Bas pulled out his phone and held it out in front of Apollo’s face. Bridget didn’t know what was on it, but Apollo’s eyes glowed, his attitude disappearing. He shook himself out of it and glared at Bas.
“You’re such a dick,” Apollo growled.
Quinn turned around in her seat. “Don’t make me come back there and break you up, children.”
Bridget nudged Bas for his phone and saw the photo of Lachlan Ironwood on the screen. She burst out laughing.
“It works every time,” Bas said, and pulled Bridget in for a kiss.
Cosimo and Valentine were waiting for them as they pulled into the parking lot of the Ironwood estate. Bridget clenched her jaw to keep it from falling open.
The Ironwoods lived in a fricking castle. She got out of the car and stared wide-eyed at the stone facade and the people in work gear and weapons filing in and out.
“No time to dawdle. We are already late,” Cosimo called to them. When they got nearer, he caught Bas up in a hug. “My beautiful boy, I’ve never been so proud or so terrified than I was last night.”
“Sorry if I scared you,” Bas said, hugging him back.
Bridget swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She had never had a father and wondered what it would feel like to have someone like Cosimo give a fuck about her.
Bridget yelped as Cosimo dragged her into the hug too.
“You helped my boy come back to himself. Thank you, Bridget,” he said and kissed both her cheeks.
Oh. So that’s what it felt like. She swallowed down the salty taste of tears and emotion that were flooding her mouth.
“Aren’t we going to be late?” she said meekly. She couldn’t process this much feeling at once.
“You’re right. We had best not keep Kenna waiting,” Cosimo said, letting her go.
“Too late. Are all magicians this tardy?” a stern brogue demanded. A strong woman was waiting by the door, hands on her hips. She looked like she could wrestle a bear with her bare hands.
“Apologies, Kenna. Bas shifted into a dragon last night! We are all very excited,” Cosimo said, face beaming with parental pride.
“Christ.” Kenna sighed loudly. “That’s just what we need in this family. More dragons.”
“I heard that,” Taranis said and bent to kiss her cheek.
Kenna’s eyes narrowed, and Bridget knew there were few males out there ballsy enough to pull that kind of move on her and live to tell the tale.
“You know that I didn’t mean you,” she replied. “Get your asses to the conference room. We have things to discuss. You must be Bridget? Good. This rabble of magicians needs another woman in their family, so there’s some common sense.”
“Ah, thank you? Nice to meet you,” Bridget said. She hung onto Bas and tried not to get distracted by the weapons on the walls and ancient portraits of ancestors with Kenna’s stern expression.
