same jaded eye.
“Yup.”
“Looks like a porn star.”
“Do I wanna ask how he knows what a porn star looks like?” Jim asked Rene.
“I do not think so, my friend. Aisling, I have my little companion with me, if there is any trouble with the blue wyvern,” Rene said, touching my arm as he patted the breast of his jacket. “Him, I do not trust farther than I can spit.”
“How on earth did you get a gun smuggled into England?” I asked, surprised.
He gave his trademark Gallic shrug. “I did not travel by conventional means.”
“I don’t think I want to know,” Uncle Damian muttered, shooting me an odd look.
I smiled and tried to look as normal as possible, which, given that I was standing on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral, surrounded by my uncle, a daimon, and my demon dog, wasn’t very successful. “Oh, Traci!”
The demon steward popped into view in front of me holding a cup of coffee and a croissant. Its startled expression changed to one of resignation that morphed almost instantly to irritation. “My lord Aisling. I wondered when you were going to summon me. The situation is most urgent, I assure you. If you had just warned me ahead of time that you would be summoning me, I would have had the paperwork in my possession—”
“What situation?” I asked, one eye on Fiat as he trotted down the steps of the cathedral, flanked on either side by his two henchmen. “No, never mind, I don’t have time for it right now. I have to attend a meeting of the blue dragons, and you’re here in the guise of protection. Got it?”
“Er—”
“That guy approaching who looks like he should be on the cover of GQ , that’s Fiat, the blue wyvern. You’re to particularly watch him, OK?”
“Eh—”
“And his cronies.” I straightened my shoulders and tried to look a lot calmer and cooler than I felt. “They may all look like Adonises, but they’re sneakier than snakes. Don’t take your eyes off of them.”
Jim squinted at Fiat as he stopped in front of us. “Hey, Fiat. Nice highlights. You use Miss Clairol or another brand?”
I tried to keep from smiling at Jim’s irreverent quip. There was no love lost between Fiat and my demon, but I didn’t need any more antagonism than was absolutely necessary. “Hush, Jim. Hello, Fiat. Long time no see.”
Fiat ran a quick glance around at my companions before taking my hand and kissing it. “ Cara, cara, do you really think I would harm my own mate? This show of force is unnecessary, I assure you.”
“Unnecessary, possibly, but I have no intention of putting myself in your control.” I tried to pull my hand back from where he was still holding it, but his grip was deceptively strong.
He smiled. It made my skin crawl. “Do you believe you could be free of that?”
“Let’s get something straight right now,” I said briskly, jerking my hand out of his. A flash of blue fire lit his eyes for a moment, but it was nothing to my ire at finding myself in this position. “You may have finessed a way for me to act as your mate, but we both know that it’s not going to be a relationship that will work out. The green dragons acknowledge me as their wyvern’s mate. Drake and I are going to be married in a few days. We love each other, and nothing you can do is going to stop any of that. I accept the fact that I have to attend your sept meetings until such time as you come to your senses, but don’t deceive yourself that I am weak and powerless. I may not technically be a Guardian at the moment, but I am a friggin’ prince of Abaddon, and you do not want to see what happens when I get sufficiently pissed.”
“Yeah,” Jim said, plopping its big old Newfie butt on my foot in a show of support. “She came close to bringing the Guardians’ Guild building down around their ears yesterday.”
“I find that rather difficult to believe,” Fiat said, eyeing me up and down as if I were a piece of beef.
“Believe it,” Rene said, straightening
“Yup.”
“Looks like a porn star.”
“Do I wanna ask how he knows what a porn star looks like?” Jim asked Rene.
“I do not think so, my friend. Aisling, I have my little companion with me, if there is any trouble with the blue wyvern,” Rene said, touching my arm as he patted the breast of his jacket. “Him, I do not trust farther than I can spit.”
“How on earth did you get a gun smuggled into England?” I asked, surprised.
He gave his trademark Gallic shrug. “I did not travel by conventional means.”
“I don’t think I want to know,” Uncle Damian muttered, shooting me an odd look.
I smiled and tried to look as normal as possible, which, given that I was standing on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral, surrounded by my uncle, a daimon, and my demon dog, wasn’t very successful. “Oh, Traci!”
The demon steward popped into view in front of me holding a cup of coffee and a croissant. Its startled expression changed to one of resignation that morphed almost instantly to irritation. “My lord Aisling. I wondered when you were going to summon me. The situation is most urgent, I assure you. If you had just warned me ahead of time that you would be summoning me, I would have had the paperwork in my possession—”
“What situation?” I asked, one eye on Fiat as he trotted down the steps of the cathedral, flanked on either side by his two henchmen. “No, never mind, I don’t have time for it right now. I have to attend a meeting of the blue dragons, and you’re here in the guise of protection. Got it?”
“Er—”
“That guy approaching who looks like he should be on the cover of GQ , that’s Fiat, the blue wyvern. You’re to particularly watch him, OK?”
“Eh—”
“And his cronies.” I straightened my shoulders and tried to look a lot calmer and cooler than I felt. “They may all look like Adonises, but they’re sneakier than snakes. Don’t take your eyes off of them.”
Jim squinted at Fiat as he stopped in front of us. “Hey, Fiat. Nice highlights. You use Miss Clairol or another brand?”
I tried to keep from smiling at Jim’s irreverent quip. There was no love lost between Fiat and my demon, but I didn’t need any more antagonism than was absolutely necessary. “Hush, Jim. Hello, Fiat. Long time no see.”
Fiat ran a quick glance around at my companions before taking my hand and kissing it. “ Cara, cara, do you really think I would harm my own mate? This show of force is unnecessary, I assure you.”
“Unnecessary, possibly, but I have no intention of putting myself in your control.” I tried to pull my hand back from where he was still holding it, but his grip was deceptively strong.
He smiled. It made my skin crawl. “Do you believe you could be free of that?”
“Let’s get something straight right now,” I said briskly, jerking my hand out of his. A flash of blue fire lit his eyes for a moment, but it was nothing to my ire at finding myself in this position. “You may have finessed a way for me to act as your mate, but we both know that it’s not going to be a relationship that will work out. The green dragons acknowledge me as their wyvern’s mate. Drake and I are going to be married in a few days. We love each other, and nothing you can do is going to stop any of that. I accept the fact that I have to attend your sept meetings until such time as you come to your senses, but don’t deceive yourself that I am weak and powerless. I may not technically be a Guardian at the moment, but I am a friggin’ prince of Abaddon, and you do not want to see what happens when I get sufficiently pissed.”
“Yeah,” Jim said, plopping its big old Newfie butt on my foot in a show of support. “She came close to bringing the Guardians’ Guild building down around their ears yesterday.”
“I find that rather difficult to believe,” Fiat said, eyeing me up and down as if I were a piece of beef.
“Believe it,” Rene said, straightening
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