She was, specifically, grumpy at herself for being so disappointed when he failed to make an appearance the night before.
“You’re mad.”
“I’m not. Jax isn’t actually my assistant. What he chooses to do with his evenings is none of my business.”
“Then why were you upset when he didn’t come last night?”
She paddled to the shore and climbed out of the water, shaking out her feathers as she did.“I wasn’t upset.”
Bean snorted.“Tell that to the pitchfork.”
“When did you suddenly acquire sass?”Odessa squinted at him from the corner of her eye.“It just would have been nice to have a little bit of notice, you know? And Sonya was waiting for him.”
“And because you love him.”
“What?”A surprised honk escaped her.“I do not.”
“You get a funny look in your eye whenever you watch him, and you turn pink when he calls you pretty.”
“He’s a flirt,”she grumbled.“It doesn’t mean anything.”
“He doesn’t call me pretty.”Bean sloshed through the shallow end of the lake and perched on a large, sun-warmed rock.“But you don’t see me keeping you from breakfast because of it.”
She so badly wanted to roll her eyes, but settled instead for shaking out her wings.“Ugh. Fine. I’m upset because he didn’t come, and it makes me evenmoreupset that I’m upset becauseI knew all along that he was never planning on staying here. He’s made no secret of the fact that he’s only here until his wizard friend can find a way to send him home, and then he’s taking you and leaving. I knew all of that, and yet I still had to fall for him anyway. Him and his ridiculous sense of humor and his stupid, charming smile and his infuriatingly adorable curiosity. When he leaves, I’ll be Bean-less, Jax-less, and yet still a swan, because how could I ask anyone else to break the curse when I can’t offer them my heart because it’s already been stolen?”She breathed deeply, feeling slightly better after releasing all of her pent-up emotions.“There. Are you happy now?”
“I would be happier if I had breakfast.”
Odessa threw her wings up in a fowl imitation of the human gesture.“Then go find yourself something to eat. I’m not exactly sure what you expect me to do about it.”
Bean hopped off the rock, landing much more lightly on his feet than his size suggested, and crossed the distance between them. She had to fight her swan instincts as he approached—despite the waddle he stubbornly held on to, he was quite obviously a large, intimidating predator. He stopped and dropped his head so that his forehead gently bumped hers. She could smell the smoke and feel the heat from his breath as it left his nose.
“I love you, Mother. Jax does, too. It will all work out.”
Without waiting for her answer, he turned and jumped into the trees, moving from branch to branch until he disappeared from sight. Odessa watched him with a sigh, then fluttered to the lake and slowly started making her way back to her cottage.
She had barely rounded the corner of the shore that put her within eyesight of her home when her father’s voice sliced through the stillness of the morning, sending her heart leaping to her throat.
“Odessa.”
Boris spoke her name with the finality of a judge serving a death sentence, and it took everything within her not to turn around and swim to the opposite shore. She approached cautiously.
“You’re early. Is this about Dmitri’s party tonight?”
He ignored her question, crossing his arms over his thin chest and leaning down as his voice turned dangerous. “What have you done?”
“Most recently? Taken a nap.”
“Don’t be smart with me! You know what I mean.”
“I can only speak into your mind, not read it.”
Before her brain could register the movement, one of Boris’s hands darted out and closed around her neck, applying just enough pressure to feel threatening without actually cutting off her air. She froze, turning still as a statue. “Something in their curse has changed, allowing them to take human forms at sunset. I know you had something to do with it. I’ll ask you one last time: What have you done?”
“I didn’t do anything.”It was as close to the truth as she would give, imminent death or no.“Have you considered that maybe you’re just getting older?”
His fingers tightened a fraction of an inch as his jaw worked back and forth. “It was that blathering bird fellow, wasn’t it? I knew nothing good would come of him hanging around. The fool.”
“If he’s such a fool, how was he able to affect your magic?”
