His mother, who had no idea he had found his mate … and his mate.
Even his dragon was wary.
But there was nobody better he could think of to give Maya the information she needed and convey it with the utmost ruthless parental efficiency. If she put her mind to it, Igraine Blackburn could have written a thesis on dragon child-rearing. She had only born one heir—him—but she had stopped at nothing tolearn as much about her kind as possible. She was terrifying, and impressive.
If she found out that the infant dragon she was being called upon to provide advice about was the child of his unclaimed mate…
His chest twisted.
The one saving grace was that she would not be physically present. A phone call only. He ensured everything was prepared at his house: light refreshments, a comfortable place to sit in a private room, and tasks for him to complete so he didn’t end up pacing behind the door, eavesdropping on his mother telling stories from his childhood.
Yes. Disaster, most assuredly.
The bell rang, and he let Maya in. Something was different about her.
“Tomás is still asleep. I’ve left Fee with him to play magic sparkles when he wakes up.”
“I wish I could be of more help.”
She shot him a strange look. “You’ve beenallthe help. You knew what he was doing, and you figured out what he needed. Even if you can’t use your own power to distract him…” Her expression softened. “You’ve already helped so much.”
But it still wasn’t enough. He bit back the words. Hopefully this meeting would go some way to rectify that.
“And now I’m going to talk to your mom about dragon babies.” She quirked a smile. “I’m terrified. Should I be terrified? Oh no. What is it? Tell me.”
“What is what?”
“You have that look on your face like something’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong. You look … different.”
She frowned, plucking at her outfit. “This is the sort of thing I wore every day at your office. Do you know how long it took me to find my box of even semi-nice clothes in the attic?” Shesqueezed her eyes shut. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be ungrateful about you organizing this meeting. It’s just…”
“Stressful beyond belief?” he asked dryly. “Agreed. And don’t worry. You look perfect.”
And that was what had seemed so strange. The Maya in front of him was the old Maya. Prim and tidy and professional. It was as though the walls she’d kept around herself as his assistant were back in place.
Then she grimaced at him, and the illusion was broken. The old Maya would never emote so obviously. “Does she know—you know?”
“That you are my mate?” He braced himself. “No.”
“Oh, good. Not that it needs to be a secret, but…” She winced. “One big thing at a time?”
“Telling my mother there is a baby dragon in the world who needs her expertise is a big enough thing for one conversation,” he agreed.
“You’re not going to reassure me that it’s going to be fine?”
“You’ll be talking to my mother.”
“And it’ll be fine?” she prompted him again.
“It will be a gauntlet. But she loves being the most knowledgeable person in the room even more than she does prying into other people’s lives, so you’ll be fine.”
Famous last words.
Corin got Maya settled in the library and started the video call. His mother was lounging on some sort of sun-soaked recliner, but he didn’t let that fool him and hoped Maya wouldn’t, either. He made the introductions, and left them to it.
His own phone started buzzing before he’d even closed the door.
