Skye Tucker cut in. "Let the kid be a kid, Viv."
I bit back my first response, the dragon in me wanting to burn the question out of existence. Instead, I said, "Why are you so damn interested in my son?"
The deck went silent.
Vivienne’s smile faded, replaced by something almost human. "Because I care about the future of this family. Of all of us."
I didn’t believe her. But I didn’t say anything else.
The tension held for a long moment, then Ashton, ever the diplomat, said, "We should get back to work. The garage isn’t going to organize itself."
Chapter 18
Krystal
Nathan,Bryce, and I sat at my dining table. Bryce had his shoes on the wrong feet and his hair stuck up like he’d rolled in a puddle and let it dry there. He’d taken exactly one bite out of his donut and then started dissecting it, poking out the center and turning it into a miniature volcano. Nathan watched this ritual with an amused expression. I stared at my coffee and tried to come up with the right words.
Nathan cleared his throat, then activated his dad-voice. "Do you remember what we talked about last night?"
Bryce shrugged, mouth full of dough. "About the parent thing?"
I fought the urge to laugh and instead nodded, pushing the donut box closer. "Yeah, bud. That thing."
Nathan leaned forward, folding his hands like a cop about to read Miranda rights. Old habits of a retired police chief. "Your mom got some important news, and we wanted to tell you together."
"Am I adopted?" Bryce asked, entirely too serious. "Cause Elle told me I was adopted from a zoo."
It was hard not to laugh at that. "Not adopted," I said, not sure if I should be relieved or worried that was what his first guess was. "But, um, it’s, okay, there’s no easy way, so I’m just going to say it. We found out who your father is."
Bryce dropped his hands to the table, fingers splayed. He was silent for a moment, the gears in his head grinding away. "Is it someone I know?"
My tongue stuck to my teeth. "It’s Zaden."
"He’smy dad?" Bryce said with a huge grin, as if he’d just realized he’d won a contest he never entered.
My hands gripped the coffee mug tighter. "Yeah, bud. He is."
There was a silence that wasn’t really silence, just the fizzing in my ears and the distant sound of the neighbor’s lawnmower, and then Bryce let out a whoop so loud the birds outside the window shot up into the air. "Cool!" he said, and I blinked at him, not sure if I’d heard right.
"Cool?" I repeated.
"Yeah! He’s a dragon! Does that mean I’ll shift into a dragon?"
I glanced at Nathan, who managed not to laugh. "Maybe. We don’t know for sure. But if you are, we’ll help you figure it out. And so will Zaden."
He nodded, but his mind was already sprinting. "So, does that mean if I get mad at stuff, I’ll set it on fire? Or like, if I sneeze really hard? Will my hair turn into horns?"
I snorted, and this time Nathan did let himself smile. "Probably not the hair," he said. "But it’s possible you might have somepowers. We’ll keep an eye out. And Zaden wants to be here to help."
"Is he your mate?"
That was a little hard to explain but I went with the simple truth. "Yes, so you’ll be seeing him around more." I probably wouldn’t be able to get rid of him.
Bryce slumped back in his chair, looking happier than I’d seen him in months. "This is the best day ever." He wiggled in his seat, bouncing like he’d downed an energy drink.
"Glad you think so," I said, but even as I said it, I saw the shift in his face, the way the brightness dimmed, like a lightbulb catching a brownout.
He pressed his fingers to his temples, winced. "My head hurts," he said, the excitement leaking out of him.
