Maya paused, unsure how to answer that. She hadn’t gotten the name of the blond shifter, but it was possible he was named Apollo. Instead of answering the question, she just smiled. “Focus, Cullen. And go get lined up so that you can be there for your brother. There’s time for the rest of this later.”
She smiled as Cullen moved away with several of his brothers and the rest of the groomsmen. It was good to see that things were going to go well, especially since the kid seemed so pleased.Should be a nice payoff once I leave here. After everything I’ve accomplished, I could really use a break.
Maya slipped into a bathroom and shimmied her body a little. An elegant blue evening gown formed around her body,and some uncomfortable high heels pushed her up. “I really hate heels,” she muttered.
It wasn’t long before the ceremony started, and apart from a few minor issues, Maya was pleased to see that things ran much more smoothly than she had hoped. An hour later, she finally relaxed a little as people took off to the reception venue. Walking outside, she was finishing up the last of the items on the cleaning checklist when an older woman approached her. She wore a knowing grin on her face as she hailed Maya with the kinds of words the wedding planner hated.
“Maya Strife, it’s your lucky day.” The woman was slightly taller than Maya, with white streaks in her dark brown hair that was brushed up into a loosely styled bun.
Without any emotion, Maya replied, “I’m rather certain it’s Sasha and Noel’s lucky day. One of many, but decidedly theirs."
The woman blinked, clearly not expecting that kind of response. “Yes, well, of course. But,” she hitched her smile back in place, “you now get to start your own love story. You’ve been chosen.”
Maya looked at the woman, her expression unreadable. “I have things to do, Mrs. Proust, so you will have to accept my sincerest—”
Again surprised, the woman frowned. “How did you—”
“You are wearing a name tag,” Maya pointed at the woman’s chest. “And I have been literate since I was two years old.”
Flustered, the woman smiled uncertainly. “Ah, of course, yes. I should have realized that.” She laughed awkwardly. “Now, you need to leave your tablet, and if you will please accompany me, we will get you—”
“As I said, I have other urgent obligations, so you will have to find some other guinea pig for your island.” Since she hadalready talked to Cullen about the gift, she knew that she had to go to her shop and take herself back to the time when he arrived. There would be serious repercussions if she didn’t.
The woman looked offended. “You do realize that there are hundreds of shifters that would kill to be in your position, don’t you?”
“Then help prevent bloodshed and take any one of those. I am not interested.”
She turned to leave, but the woman’s curt voice cut through the dusk, “Our new king said the same thing. And he was still taken there.”
“Indeed he was,” Maya said without looking back. “But I know that you use portals and objects, so it will be much harder to dupe me into—”
Her words died in her throat as the tablet was ripped from her hands, and the world seemed to fall out from under her. The next thing she knew, Maya’s knee slammed into a chair located in a quaint-looking kitchen. Reaching out, she caught herself by grabbing the table. A deep scowl creased her brow as someone near her spoke.
“Now, that is one way to make an entrance.”
Her head whipped around, and Maya found herself looking up at the storm dragon she had seen earlier in the day. “Oh, fantastic. As if banishing me to this hellhole wasn’t bad enough.”
The shifter’s eyebrow rose. “I beg your pardon?”
She sat and rubbed her knee. “You are a storm dragon, and clearly they think that we are mates. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s no chance in hell I will ever allow that kind of chaos into my life.”
To her surprise, he laughed. “The next thing you’ll tell me is that you hate romance and the idea of marriage.”
“Thank you for saving me that trouble.”
“Are you always this joyless?”
“Always,” she shot back without a hint of irony.
“Then you need not worry, my dear, because the last thing I need is someone else trying to suck the joy out of my life.”
Maya walked past him, ignoring the pain in her knee as she said, “I’m not at all worried.” She walked to the front door of the far too quaint and manicured room, almost as if it were a set for some terrible, cheesy rom-com. But when she pulled on the door, it wouldn’t open.
The storm dragon was leaning against a doorframe, a smug look on his face, but he didn’t say anything.
“Are you the one keeping it from opening?”
He held up his hands. “As flattering as that is, I’ve no control over this place.”
