SEB
My thoughts are heavy as I make my way to a little diner called Alice’s in the boonies outside LA. It’s a hole-in-the-wall, the type of place where the floor is always sticky, even when it’s clean, and the paint job has seen better decades. Regardless, Alice’s makes the best pancakes and is a safe place to be a dragon. For one, it’s usually empty. Plus, it’s not the type of place that richy rich Order members tend to hang out.
It is, however, exactly the kind of place I need right now. The coffee is strong, the servers are friendly, and the regulars are quiet. I need time and space to think. I need a plan. Today, I activated the code red. All dragons are going into hiding. That includes my brothers and me. This might be my last meal as a free dragon.
The bell above the door rings as I walk into the diner, the smell of floor wax and warmed coffee hitting my nose like a kiss from an old friend. There’s no one at the hostess stand, so I turn left to follow the row of booths deeper into the restaurant. And what do you know, the creator is playing games with me.
In an otherwise empty restaurant, Zoe Willow, dressed in a T-shirt and bomber jacket that make her look both casual and iconic, like the girl next door you always dreamed might love you, is sitting in one of the booths. She looks up at me through the steam from her cup of coffee, her brows rising as if she’s as surprised to see me as I am to see her. I offer her my best attempt at a charming smile and walk over to her.
“Is this seat taken?” I ask, sliding in across from her.
Her lips sag in an exasperated frown. “Are you following me?”
I smooth my hand across the edge of the table. “No. Of course not.”
“It’s just that you carried me offstage last night and propositioned me with a very scammy-sounding offer?—”
“That was not a scam.”
She arches a brow skeptically. “You would offer me a two-album deal and a place to stay with a recording studio, in exchange for me doing a little magic for you.”
“One hundred percent. The offer is still open, by the way.”
She takes a sip of her coffee, which I notice is as pale as hot cocoa. “Why are you here, Seb? I can’t imagine many music producers frequent this place.”
“On the contrary. I come here for the pancakes.”
“They’re the best in California,” we say in unison. The jinx lightens the mood, and we both laugh.
“I had no idea you’d be here,” I say seriously.
“Really?”
At that moment, Sally comes through the swinging door from the kitchen and sees me. “Hey there, Seb. You want the usual?”
“Yeah, Sally.”
“Full whip?”
“Always. How’s Ken?”
“Doing better now that the chemo’s done.”
“Glad to hear it.” She disappears back into the kitchen, and I give Zoe an intense look that can only mean I-told-you-so.
“All righty then, I guess you come here for the pancakes.” She shrugs and turns her attention to her coffee.
“Are you waiting on an order?” I ask, noticing she doesn’t have any food.
“No.” Her voice drifts off, and she doesn’t offer an explanation. I can’t leave it alone.
“If you acknowledge that Alice’s has the best pancakes in the universe, then why aren’t you eating any?”
She sighs heavily. “I lost my job today.”
“Did that asshole from the Barrel Room fire you over what happened last night?”
She snorts. “No. I haven’t lost any gigs, thank the goddess, but unfortunately, those don’t pay the bills anyway. They barely pay for my Uber to get there. No, I was let go from my real job as a call center rep. This cup of coffee is my treat to myself for remaining upright and not collapsing into a pile of tears, but it’s all I can afford right now.”
