Keegan cleared his throat and stood. “Thank you,” was all he offered, ignoring Isaac’s Earth-loving gesture. They most definitely thought he wasbonkers.
I knew cob was some type of mud paste but I hadn’t seen any “dwellings” when we drove up. We’d been too focused on burying Cooper to see anything but his limp red fox … the image still haunted me. Isaac bade us goodnight then and walked away, I guessed he was assuming we could find our way around. That’s when Keegan and Logan formed a tight huddle aroundme.
“How long are we going to stay here?” Keegan asked in a low voice, and looked atLogan.
Logan blew air through his lips and looked at me, shrugging. “However long Sloane needs to learn whatever it is she needs to learn.” He made sure to spend an extra amount of time looking at my shoulder and the new tattoothere.
Keegan didn’t like that answer. “He’s a druid! We’re just going to live here with him for months on end while Sloane trains to be…” He cut his protest offthen.
“A druid,” I added for him, crossing my arms and pinning him with a glare. Keegan was back to being dick #1.
Keegan sighed. “It’s just hard to take in, that’s all,” he said, running his fingers through his blond militaryhaircut.
“For me too.” I motioned to my tattoo, a freaking magical tattoo that theEarthgave me, and he nodded. I could see Logan was wrestling with something else. The way his face tightened, his thick lips turned downslightly.
“There’s more skyborn? That can’t be,” he said, almost tohimself.
“Why would he lie about that?” I couldn’t believe it either. It was shocking after all this time of Logan thinking he was alone, and that only he was keeping humanity and our shifter friends alive. What did that do to a person? That muchpressure?
Keegan ran a hand through his short-cropped hair once again. “I don’t know, but I’m going to play nice with this guy for a few days and then I’m going to make him tell me more aboutthat.”
I smiled. I didn’t think Keegan couldmakeIsaac tell him anything. He’d single-handedly held off Ardan back there. “Come on, I’m exhausted. Let’s find our ‘earth dwellings’ and check on everyoneelse.”
As I spun around to walk in the direction of the bus where our friends were being triaged, Logan’s hand slipped into mine and my core pulsed with heat. I had once thought I was stuck in perpetual heat, but now I knew he was my mate. I didn’t want to move too fast, but I wasn’t sure how long I could keep my dragon from claiming himfully.
Logan grinned hugely beside me, and I cursed myself for thinking so loud. I needed Eva to do her spell or whatever that helped bring down the volume of my mental broadcast. We trekked through the path of ferns and between two huge redwood trees to the large yellow school bus that was Isaac’s daily car. As we came around the corner, I saw a mini campsite had popped up. Ruben and Roxy sat on camp chairs in front of a fire grilling hot dogs, while Eva was hunched over Gear’s human form, finishing up wrapping his shoulder. Nadine knelt to the side and assisted Eva. You could see the anxiety in Nadine’s face. She secretly loved Gear, yet it was against pack rules to date unless you were mates. But shifter mates weren’t like dragon mates, you just fell in love with and chose your mate as a shifter. So basically Keegan’s system was broken. I felt bad for my friend, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Just standing here looking around at the pack reminded me of our loss. OfCoop.
Danny was talking to Dom and Sophie, pointing to something in the woods just beyond the fire. That’s when I saw the “earth dwellings,” adorable little dome mud huts. Five of them, with solar panels on top and little light-up walkways outside so you could see where you were going. All five huts were built in a circle around a small garden in thecenter.
“That’s incredible,” I breathed, anxious to get a closer look. The artist in me itched to draw the scene, and I inwardly mourned the loss of all of the pencils and drawing journals in my car. My car that was parked back a few blocks from Janine’s club. No way could we get itnow.
Eva had finished with Gear and made her way over to us. Her suit coat was off, showcasing a sleeveless, collared shirt and some seriously buff arms. It was cold out here, but right now, with stress hormones flooding my body, I didn’tmind.
Eva sighed, no doubt strained from the night’s events. Her gaze followed mine over to the little dome village and she gave a tired smile. “Isaac is a visiting professor of sustainability at Berkley from time to time. He builds all of this by himself, and teaches students how to aswell.”
I nodded, impressed, and was about to speak when Logan’s angry voice sounded next tome.
“Funny, you never mentioned your good buddy Isaac,the druid, in all our years of knowing each other.” His teeth clenched in anger, but I could see the hurt in his eyes. He had once told me Eva was like a mother to him. For her to keep this from him … ithurt.
Eva’s lips tightened as I saw her rein in her emotions. “Logan, what would it matter to you that I was friends with a druid? A good druid. A good man.” She put extra emphasis on thegood.
Logan took a step closer, lowering his voice. “It matters when this man says he knows ofdozensof other livingskyborn.”
The sharp intake of Eva’s breath, and the way her mouth hung open in shock told me that this was her first time hearing about this. “Wh-what? He told you that?” she whisper-screamed.
Logan bobbed his head. “Justnow.”
Eva nodded, rubbing her chin, and then gave a shrug. “Makes sense. I never told him what you were, so he would have no reason to tell me this. To trust me withit.”
It made me wonder if keeping our existence a secret was hurting as well as helping. Maybe we could have met up with other skyborn by now, if we had been a bit lesssecretive.
‘You’d be dead if you had done that,’Logan said into my mind and Ifroze.
“Okay! Eva, I need that spell that keeps Logan out of my head,” I interrupted, giving my mate a look that could cut glass. He just smiled and gazed at me with his gorgeous green twinklingeyes.
Grrr. Stupid gorgeousman.
Eva blew air through her teeth; the exhaustion was showing on her features. “Step into my office.” She gestured to the front of the bus, where the mini triage center had been set up. I stepped over to the camping chair, while Logan went with Keegan to talk with theothers.
