I snort, a puff of smoke coming out of my nostrils. ‘Definitely not. He spent half my childhood dragging me to every doctor and magical healer he could find, trying to find a wayto give me some level of hearing. Nothing worked. Human inventions are incompatible with dragon physiology, and there didn’t seem to be a magical method. Then he heard about a powerful sorcerer in Birchester; Wema Muroyi.’
‘Ayo’s mum,’ Raj signs. ‘Hang on, are you telling me you visited here because your dad wanted you to become hearing?’
I nod. ‘I hated that he couldn’t accept BSL as my language choice, so I was sulky and pissed off that day. Ayo’s mum took one look at me and insisted my dad go through the paperwork with Ayo’s dad, both of them keeping an eye on Ayo and Milo, while she took me to prepare the spell she’d be using.
‘Only, we didn’t go anywhere near the basement where the spell was going to be performed. She took me on a tour of the manor instead.’
He smiles tightly. ‘That sounds like the woman Ayo’s told us about.’
‘Maybe it was just intended as a distraction, but I was in awe of the place. I’d never seen a building like it before. It was love at first sight. So many nooks and crannies, tall windows and soaring ceilings. I immediately decided I was going to be an architect when I grew up so that I could design buildings just like it.’
‘So that day changed your life, even after the spell didn’t have the intended effect.’ His hand movements are steady, his smile softer now.
‘Oh, that’s not the end of the story, treasure.’ I give him a wry smile. ‘When we reached a music room, I immediately went to the bass guitar mounted on the wall. Wema was surprised, so I got my phone out to explain how at my human Deaf school I learnt to play using the vibrations, then made her get the bass down so I could give her a demonstration. She smiled the whole time. Afterwards, she asked me if I wanted to be able to hear music, or other sounds.’
He leans closer. ‘What was your reply?’
I smirk. ‘I gave her this look full of teenage attitude and typedsomething about how I didn’t see how becoming hearing would be better.’
I still hold the same opinion, but I could have been nicer to the woman willing to help me.
‘She gave me this thoughtful little smile and kept showing me around. Anyway, as we explored, there were witches and mages in various rooms mixing potions, making charms, and doing spells with runes. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, so when we finally did go down to the basement with my dad, and Wema said that all I had to do was concentrate on the sense I wanted, I kept thinking how awesome it would be to actually be able toseeevery type of magic.’
Raj’s eyes widen. ‘Wait, the spell worked? That’s why you can see magic?’
I grin. ‘Yep. Never regretted it.’
His mouth falls open slightly, then widens into a beautiful smile. ‘That’s amazing. How long did it take you to understand what you were seeing?’
I snort, a puff of smoke coming out of my nostrils. ‘Years. Wema and I emailed about it a lot, which helped, then after she died I was at university and had more access to magic-users and their books than I did at home. As for fae magic, I paid attention in Wargate and asked the guards questions. They liked to brag.’
‘Well, I’m certainly impressed. Your knowledge is incredibly thorough.’ He leans in and kisses me, careful not to get mud on himself.
It’s tempting to stay out here, to keep kissing him under the sunset, but the best of the light has already gone and I could really use a shower. ‘Ready to head back?’ I ask.
He stares at my lips, looking like he’d prefer to stay right here and carry on kissing, but stands anyway. ‘We probably should. Ethan’s planning to order Chinese takeaway for everyone, so text him if you have any specific requests.’
I smirk as I get to my feet. ‘You gave up onyour plan to cook?’
He sticks his tongue out at me. ‘I’ll get Jet back, don’t you worry.’
We’re just reaching the front steps leading up to the manor entrance when Skye in eagle form swoops in through the open double doors and immediately shifts. Raj beckons for me to hurry, so we rush inside and down the hallway after Skye. We catch up to him in the dining room where the rest of the pack look up from their various laptops and phones.
‘What’s going on?’ I ask Raj.
He frowns. ‘Skye says there’s a problem. Want me to interpret?’
‘Please.’
Skye has his hands on his hips, breathing hard. “There was a drone. It couldn’t get past the ward, but it kept trying so I stayed above and followed it. Eventually it left, and I was able to discover the operator.”
Ethan quickly crosses the room to Skye. “Who was it?”
Skye grimaces. “Idris.”
‘The human you fancy?’ I ask as the rest of the pack gather around Skye as well.
Cal takes off his shirt and hands it to Skye. It falls to Skye’s knees as he buttons it, covering up the wolf and wings tattoo on his shoulder that matches Raj’s, then rolls up the too-long sleeves. “Aye. Idris finding out is risky enough, but if he uses that drone to record a video of someone shifting, even if it’s not us, we’re stuffed.”
