A beautiful medieval church sat next to the river in Old Town. I was about to climb one of the towers for its view over the city when my phone sounded. A video call from Rufus. He obligingly waited while I found somewhere to sit and talk to him, and then he told me he’d been hurt.
After my first moment of blind panic, fury followed. “What thehell,Rufus?” My voice echoed around the picturesque old square. “Fucking Fortescues, taking me out of the country just when I need to be there. I can’t—the flight’s scheduled for late afternoon, but I can fly commercial and be with you by…” I looked at my watch, calculating journey times.
“Nate. Nate.Nate.”Rufus’s voice finally penetrated. “I’m okay. Honestly. I had a paramedic look me over, twice. You don’t need to interrupt your trip for this.”
My eyes quartered his face. He looked pale and had dark shadows under his eyes, but he didn’t appear in imminent danger of collapsing. “I promise,” he said softly.
And then he proceeded to tell me all that had happened. My head was spinning with what he told me, but somehow I couldn’t let go of the fact he’d been hurt when I wasn’t there.
“Let me talk to Mark,” I demanded when he got to the end of his story. I didn’t know Mark well, but one video call had been enough to reinforce how protective he was of Rufus. IfMarktold me Rufus was okay, I’d believe him.
Rufus rolled his eyes. “For God’s sake, I’m not ababy.”But he handed his phone to Mark, whose cheery grin reassured me more than any of Rufus’s words.
“Honest, Nate—I’ve got him well in hand,” he said, a wicked light in his eyes at those words that I really didn’t want to know about. “If I thought he needed medical attention, I’d be dragging him there myself. He’s okay.” He then segued into the parts of the story that Rufus had missed, and by the end I had almost relaxed. Almost. There was still that shock rattling around inside that reminded me of being a dragonet and accidentally breathing fire for the first time.
Rufus was an adult, I told myself after the call ended. I should trust his judgment of the situation.
Yet it wasn’t quite as easy as that to let go of my concern. It spilled out in a text to Alex.Rufus was injured last night.
He answered instantly.He’s in Oxford, isn’t he? Can I go and check on him for you? Make sure he’s ok.
My heart overflowed with love for Alex at that moment. Who else would even think of doing that, let alone offer to?
His boyfriend’s with him. But thanks. Really. Means a lot.
I had to stop there before I blurted out too much. I couldn’t wait to see him again.
Chapter Twenty-two
ALEX
I gave Margaret the heads-up that it would be helpful for me and Nate to have the house to ourselves sometime soon.
“Am I supposed to overlook the fact you didn’t stop your shenanigans when I asked you to?” Her face was set in severe lines.
“Firstly, I don’t know what shenanigans are. And secondly, don’t you think we should know what Steven’s got up his sleeve? He might have his own plans in addition to his father’s.”
She sighed. “Why do I have the feeling this burning desire to investigate is more about spending time with the Mortimer dragon than anything else?”
“It isn’t,” I said, almost sincerely. “If we weren’t doing this, we’d just go for a coffee together. But Steven could be a loose cannon. In any case, the more information we have, the better we can strategize to keep ourselves safe when James makes his move and dragon society melts down.”
“Alright, Alex. I can see not all my lessons have gone to waste. But becareful.I’ll get them out of the house on Monday afternoon. Does that suit you?”
It did. I left her visiting the tourist information bureau—I suspected I wouldn’t be allowed through the doors after the whole Jane Austen’s aunt shoplifting thing—to find a group activity for Monday.
I waited for Nate at Sheila’s. When I saw him push open the door, I was glad our reunion wasn’t at the Fortescues’, because I couldn’t stop smiling at him. He was tall, he was gorgeous, and he wasmine.My dragon was crooning with delight.
Nate crossed the room swiftly and pressed a kiss to my lips. It was short and chaste, but it was still good. God, I’d missed him.
“How was the trip?” I asked, once he’d ordered coffee and cake.
He rubbed his forehead. “You know that saying—to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail? Well, to a man with a guilty conscience, everything looks like a trap. I don’tthinkI gave anything away.”
“D’you think they’ll offer you a job?”
“Possibly. I might have messed up by refusing to sleep with Michel, if that was really the reason I was—”
“I’m sorry,what?”We were together. I’d thought that meant exclusive. With a sinking heart, I realised that not everyone saw a relationship that way.
