Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Yes. The better to protect you if I must. He nuzzles my hair and then leaps back up to the roof, perching next to Kael.
I think we’ll be all right, I tell him. At this point, we’re in too deep. I glance around Claudia’s cozy place. Despite the big hole in the ceiling, it looks comfy and lived in. The walls have framed artwork, there’s nice furniture, and in the corner there’s an absolutely palatial bed with lots of fluffy pillows and fresh-looking blankets. On the far end in her “kitchen” area, she’s got a charcoal patio stove with a grill over it so she can cook. A nearby shelf has a lot of kitchen implements and food stored on it. It’s clear that life in the After is treating Claudia well and that she’s a pro-level scavenger. It’s also clear to me that defensibility isn’t high on her mind because this place is open and breezy despite the Texas heat, whereas my little auto shop was a real hotbox, but it was safe.
They do not need to worry this high up, Zohr tells me. No one can reach them here.
Must be nice.
Claudia gets out a couple of mugs and sets a percolating coffeepot onto the grill over the coals. “Hungry?” she asks. “I have some old Pop-Tarts that are still wrapped. If you don’t mind that they’re a little dry with age, they make a decent breakfast.”
I try not to be too swayed by the offer, but oh my god. Pop-Tarts. I try to play it cool even though I’m already drooling. I sit down at her little table and make myself comfortable. “What flavor?”
Her eyes glint with pleasure. “Chocolate.”
Oh. My. GOD. “Yes, please.”
She grins and offers me a crinkly foil package that makes my heart sing. “I had peanut butter ones for a hot minute, but Sasha snagged those. She has a real hard-on for peanut butter. How do you like your coffee?”
I try not to weep with pure joy as I unwrap one of the priceless Pop-Tarts. If I’d found a box, I’d have hidden them from the world instead of sharing them with a stranger. “Do you have sugar?”
“I do. Some old creamer, too, but the taste is a little sketchy. You want it anyhow?”
I shake my head. “Just sugar.”
We wait for the coffee and I take the first bite of Pop-Tart. It’s stale and hard—I expected it to be—but nevertheless, there’s a sugary burst of chocolate, and I close my eyes in bliss.
You are making me jealous of food, Zohr tells me with a low growl.
Oh please, I think of your dick the same way, I tell him. And I get it far more often than Pop-Tarts.
I expect him to send me back a playful response but instead, he says, Another female is coming.
Sasha? I ask, swallowing hard around my dry, delicious Pop-Tart.
I do not know. This female comes from within. No drakoni accompanies her. I can smell perfume all over her. His thoughts are full of distaste. Her smell is awful.
As if she can hear our thoughts, Claudia grabs a pack of Pop-Tarts and sits next to me at the table, kicking her feet up. “My sister Amy’s going to join us, if that’s okay? I can tell you’re chatting with Zohr and I just wanted to reassure you that she’s okay. We can trust her.”
“All right,” I say around my mouthful, though I’m a little skeptical. I’m not sure I trust any of this.
Kael says not to worry about Claudia’s sister. She is soft.
Soft? I try to figure out what he means by that, but it’s evident a moment later when a lean, winsome blonde limps into the room. I can smell the wall of perfume covering her before she even approaches, and the description “soft” seems pretty apt. Her hair is long and silky and she wears a thin, gauzy sundress. She looks younger than Claudia and very gentle. Sweet.
My brother and Azar’s men would have eaten her alive.
She smiles at me shyly as she moves to the table, walking slowly. Her limp is more pronounced as she comes forward, and she sits with a heavy thump. “Am I too late for breakfast?” Even her voice is gentle.
“Not at all,” Claudia says. “We’re still waiting on coffee and on Sasha. You want a Pop-Tart?”
Amy shakes her head. She smiles at me. “I’m so happy to meet you, Emma. Sasha’s told us so much about you.”
“She has?” I ask between dry mouthfuls, a little surprised. “How did you know it was me?”
“Oh, well, I figured if we had a visitor with a dragon, it had to be you. No one else would be allowed up.” She looks at her sister uncertainly, and then I notice her gaze flicks to my big dragon roosting overhead.