“There won’t be any trouble.”
“You don’t think the person we’re after is only waiting for me to leave before they strike?”
“If they are, Apollo and Felicity will deal with them.” She pressed her finger against his lips before he could speak. “Or Arlo, or Harrison, or my landlady and her terrifying knitting circle. I’m sorry, Corin. You’ve done too good a job of convincing me I actually do belong here, and my new friends want me to stick around.”
His eyes narrowed to knife-like glints of glee. “I’m heartbroken.”
“You’d better find out what you need and hurry back, then.” Her lips pressed together, revealing the smallest amount of worry.
“Even if I cannot find a way around my duskfire’s destructive power—”
“You will.” She sounded determined, and made herself look determined. His heart melted. “You’re Corin Blackburn. And you’re a dragon. Whatever you want, you get.”
“Understood.” He picked up her hand and kissed her fingers. “You are my queen, regardless. If I can’t find a way to conquer my duskfire—”
“I still love you.”
“And I love you. Always.”
He still felt uneasy. And when someone knocked at the door, a strange sense of foreboding lifted the hairs on the back of his neck.
Maya frowned. “Who could that be?” She began to pull on her clothes as, in the next room, Tomás woke up and squawked with excitement at the prospect of a new day to fill with mischief. “Can you get him up? I’ll see who’s at the door.”
He was too distracted by the sound of her light footsteps on the stairs, and then by Tomás dangling from the hoard-shelf at the top of his closet, to pay attention to whoever was outside.
And then it was too late.
A familiar voice echoed through the house. “Miss Flores! Is my son about? I’ve been all over town looking for him. My assistant said he was staying in that dull place on the hill, but the people there said he’s mostly been—ahh. There you are, Corin!”
Corin stood frozen at the top of the stairs, Tomás in his arms, staring down at his mother.
She beamed up at him, as fresh and energetic as though she’d just woken from the most refreshing sleep—not hauled herself with no notice from whatever retreat she’d been on to arrive at his door at the crack of dawn.
Not even his door.Maya’sdoor.
“Mother,” he said coolly.
“Son.” Her grin sharpened.
“NABANAS,” Tomás demanded, grabbing a handful of Corin’s hair and pulling on it.
“And here he is! Little Tomás. I thought I had better come and see how you all are getting on,” his mother declared shamelessly.
Maya rubbed her forehead. “Oh … thank you?”
“You’re welcome. Now. Is there any chance of a coffee? I swear, I thought country people rose early, but it’s a ghost town out there. Not even a single cafe open.”
“Hideaway doesn’thaveany cafes,” Maya said absently. “I mean, there’s Tess’s place, but that’s more for ice-cream…”
Igraine Blackburn’s eyes opened wide. Slowly, she put her hand over them, like a general who had just heard all her troops were lost. “I had no idea things were so bad,” she whispered. “Brave girl. But that must mean you brew your own, yes? Corin—”
“Mother.”
Half-led by Tomás still yanking on his hair, he marched up to her. She raised her eyebrows at him, a challenging twinkle in her eye. “It’s lovely to see you,” he said, not even slightly growling. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
“I thought it would be better help to you in person,” she replied smoothly. “One phone call isn’tnearlyenough to get through everything Miss Flores and I need to discuss.”
Her eyes flicked to Tomás, and the draconic brightness in them softened. Corin had been about to suggest, kindly but withabsolutely no room for his mother to blithely ignore him, that she leave—but he closed his mouth.
