“Bring me back my egg.”
I whipped around. But there was no one there.
Strange.The voice had been in my head. My eyes landed on something I hadn’t noticed before on the counter. It was shiny and bronze. As if with a mind of its own, my hand reached for it before I could stop it. It was about the size of a makeup compact, shaped like a scale, and shimmered with a familiar iridescence. I realized what it reminded me of. The egg! Except instead of darkgreen with a bit of bronze, this was bronze with a little bit of chartreuse. Was this a dragon scale?
I don’t know what made me put it into my purse, but I did. It almost felt like I was watching someone else do it. Then I went to wash and dry my hands again.
“Meera, are you okay?”
I turned to Shelby and Emily, who both looked at me with concern in their eyes.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” Emily asked “You’ve been drying your hands for a while staring off into space.”
“I’m…” There was something important I should tell them, something significant, but I couldn’t remember. My eyes scanned the room, going from the counter to the mirror to the dryer. Nothing. “I… There was something I was going to tell you guys but I don’t remember.”
“I’m sure you’ll remember soon. Tell us then. Let’s get back to our table.”
I followed them back, all the while still feeling like I was missing something.
We returned to find the seating had been rearranged, and my plate was now right next to Graham’s, like some twisted culinary matchmaking attempt. I narrowed my eyes at Shelby, whoblinked at me with the innocence of a kitten who’d just knocked over a whole damn shelf of vases.
Oh, this was totally on purpose.
I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly pulled a muscle. Please. Like this would change anything. Graham had made his position crystal clear. And I wasn’t going to throw myself at his feet like some lovesick puppy.
But they knew that, which I guess was why they’d resorted to subterfuge.
The rest of the night dragged by at the pace of a sloth hurrying to cross the road. Every accidental brush of his arm against mine sent a jolt of awareness straight to my core. It was impossible to ignore how close he was and how infuriatinglygood he smelled. I couldn’t even describe it. I just wanted to rub up all over him so I could smell like that too.
I tried to focus on the conversation. On the laughter. On anything but the way my skin tingled every time he shifted in his seat and the side of his thighs touched mine, reminding me again and again that gargoyles burned hot despite being made of stone.
And when we all got up to go back to the penthouse, which was only several blocks away, everyone paired up, leaving Graham and me together. Because of course they did.
The night had been warm and humid when we left Redrock, but now the temperature had crashed, and the wind cut through thedarkened city streets like a blade. The first fat raindrop hit my face.
Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.
The one raindrop turned into six, and then into twelve, and then I lost count.
I broke into a run with the others, but the damn shoes I’d borrowed from Tansy—technically my size, but just loose enough to be a death trap—betrayed me. My foot twisted. My arms windmilled. And then I was going down, the pavement rushing up to meet me.
“I got you.”
Graham’s voice was rough, his arms already closing around me before I could hit the ground. One second I was airborne, the next I was pressed against his chest, my heart hammering against his.
There was a deafening rumble, and without skipping a beat Graham turned and sprinted for the nearest overhang with me in his arms, even as the sky split open into a deluge.
Somewhere down the street, I heard some colorful cursing as the rest of the group scrambled for cover. A streetlamp flickered, then died, plunging us into near-darkness.
“Is everyone okay?” Tansy’s voice carried over the rain. “Where’s Meera?”
“I’m here!” I called back, my voice breathless. “I’m fine. I think I broke your shoes. I’m sorry!”
“No worries!” she shouted. “I’ll get them fixed!”
And just like that, I was stranded. Again. Alone. With Graham.
