Up In Smoke by Katie MacAlister

situation with Magoth and me had nothing to do with the reason you neglected your spring.”
    â€œOf course it does! I was so worried about you!” she protested, and I sighed as I heard the sincerity in her voice. I knew that in her mind, she had fully justified her actions by using me as a scapegoat. I thought about arguing the point with her, but long experience with Cyrene had taught me one thing: she was going to win. Somehow, no matter how firm my intentions, I always ended up caving in and helping her. “All right, I’ll give him a call. What’s his number?”
    â€œYou’ll have to see him in person,” she said brightly, happiness brimming from her voice. “He doesn’t believe in cell phones. And you’re lucky—he’s in Portugal for a big surfing competition, so you won’t have far to go to see him.”
    â€œ We won’t have far to go,” I corrected, a note of steel entering my voice as I spotted Gabriel waiting for me at the entrance of the shop.
    â€œWe?” Cyrene asked, her voice almost inaudible.
    â€œOh, yes. If I have to go see Neptune, you’re coming with me.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œWhere exactly is he?” I interrupted with ruthless determination. I might have to help Cyrene out of yet another sticky situation, but by the twelve gods, I wasn’t going to lose any more time with Gabriel than I already had. I’d make a very fast visit to Portugal, convince Cyrene’s boss that she was as innocent as she possibly could be, and return to Gabriel’s arms.
    â€œThe surfing competition is in Faro,” Cy answered slowly. “But really, May, I think it would be better—”
    â€œI’ll meet you there . . . Let me think . . . I have a dragon meeting today, and although I don’t think there’s anything pressing on the calendar immediately following it, I would like a little time alone to reacquaint myself with Gabriel. How about we do this in four days?”
    â€œI suppose that would be all right,” Cyrene said in a voice tinged with disappointment. “It’s so very kind of you to take time out of your busy life for me.”
    I gave the phone a wry smile. “You don’t do catty well, Cy; you never have.”
    â€œI know,” she said, sighing. “Four days is all right. I have a few things to do, myself.”
    â€œWhat sort of things?” I asked, suddenly suspicious.
    â€œOh . . . you’ll see.”
    â€œCyrene Northcott, if you are up to anything—”
    â€œI would hate to have a mind as suspicious as yours; I really would,” she answered with annoying and completely unreasonable self-righteousness. “I’m not up to anything, as you insist on putting it. But I do have work of my own to do, you know.”
    â€œUh-huh. If you’d been attending to that a little more closely, and fawning over Kostya a little less, I wouldn’t have to make time for a trip out to see your surfer dude.”
    â€œYes, Mother.”
    â€œMuch as I would love to bandy wits, I’ve got to run. Gabriel is standing all by himself looking utterly delicious, and I have six weeks’ worth of kissing to catch up on.”
    â€œMayling—”
    â€œI’ll see you on Wednesday. And, Cy, please try to stay out of trouble until then.”
    â€œYou never used to be this mean to me,” she answered sullenly as I got up and headed for Gabriel. “I don’t think the time you spent in Abaddon did your character much good. I just hope you don’t think you can talk to me like that all the time and get away with it! I am your twin, you know! You wouldn’t be anywhere without me! You should really be thanking me for your existence rather than bullying me.”
    I gently closed the phone as I stopped in front of Gabriel, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, the molten silver gaze so hot it all but