Standing outside the front door, he took a moment to look around.
Down the side of the house, he could see compost bins and vegetable patches. It was obvious that she was an avid gardener.
Turning around to face the front, he spent a moment taking in the view, which he had barely noticed on the way in due to how distracted he’d been.
Diana’s house really was lovely, its pale green walls and white trim almost disappearing amongst the rambling garden. It was the kind of place that a homeowner’s association in the city would turn its nose up at, but Calvin thought it was delightfully rustic, and – well,natural.
Native flowers and grasses sprung up every which way amongst larger trees and shrubs, shading the area from the worst of the heat and creating a riot of color. Barely visible dirt paths led into secret dens, hidden from the world by densely interwoven branches. It was clearly lovingly tended, and Calvincould only imagine that it would be a magical place for a child to grow up.
Birds hopped and twittered amongst the plants in the dying twilight, and bushes rustled with the movements of unknown small animals. The heady fragrance of the flowers was almost overwhelming, and Calvin took a moment to just breathe it all in.
Our mate created all of this,his wyvern said appreciatively, and Calvin could only nod in agreement.
A series of high-pitched squeaking noises caught his attention, and he looked around in confusion, trying to locate the source.
His jaw dropped in astonishment.
There, hovering only a few feet before him, was an indescribably small hummingbird.
He watched, entranced, as the tiny bird seemed to float before him, suspended in mid-air as it fed from a flower, its brilliant colors practically glowing in the sunset as its wings buzzed and hummed.
He stood there for he wasn’t sure how long, simply happy to watch the impossibly tiny creature, before, eventually, it had had its fill, departing for places unknown.
As he looked up, movement caught his eye – and then the curtains on the front window snapped shut.
Had Diana been watching him watch the hummingbird?
Well, he didn’t mind. He could only assume that Diana enjoyed the bird life around here as well, if her incredibly bird-friendly garden was anything to go by.
Still, he had probably lingered longer than was entirely appropriate, even if he did have a good reason for it.
Reluctantly, he walked up the driveway toward the road, pulling out the map that Diana had given him.
We must treasure this map always,his wyvern declared.Our mate is a master cartographer.
Calvin wasn’t sure he would gothatfar, but the map was certainly good enough to do the job, and he definitely appreciated that she’d gone to the trouble of making it for him.
In the end, the B&B was less than a half-hour’s walk away, and he made the most of the time, enjoying the deep greens of the evening as the temperature finally started to drop. His mind was awhirl with the day’s events, but as always, nature provided a balm that soothed his racing mind.
Before he knew it, he was walking down the dirt road that Diana had indicated in her instructions. According to the map, there was a smiley face at the end of the road – he could only assume that that represented the B&B.
The final sliver of sun dipped below the horizon, and as if on cue, fairy lights twinkled into sparkling life in the trees around him. The effect was enchanting, and he stopped walking for a moment to enjoy it.
I really hope that I can take Diana here once everything has been sorted out.
He continued on his way, rounding the last bend in the road.
The first thing he noticed was the mansion, looming up before him in the darkness. Even though it wasn’t brilliantly lit, his shifter eyes were more than up to the challenge of checking out every detail.
It was definitely impressive. While he wasn’t an expert on older styles of architecture, he knew enough from his work in construction to be able to tell that it was very well built, and impeccably restored. Obviously whoever had renovated it knew their stuff.
The second thing he noticed – well, technically it was his wyvern who noticed it first, though Calvin was only a momentbehind – was the blond man who was walking out the front door of the building.
The wyvern’s eyes narrowed.
Shifter,it hissed.
Calvin felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end, and his muscles tightened in preparation… but he wasn’t about to go into attack mode just yet. Surely Diana wouldn’t have sent him to stay somewhere dangerous.
