“Oooh,” Jim said, his eyes wide. “Hey, Slick, in case you don’t know, she’s talking about your—”

“And furthermore,” I interrupted loudly, slapping my hand on his chest again, clutching his shirt to shake him a little. “I’d like a little acknowledgment of just how nice it is that I’m not fighting the whole idea that I’m a dragon’s mate, especially given that twenty-four hours ago, I hadn’t a clue that there even were dragons, let alone mates. And while we’re on the subject, why is it that I have to get all the information about being your mate from Aisling? You should be the one telling me this stuff!”

He opened his mouth to protest, stopped, and then considered me for a moment. Slowly, gently, he disentangled my fingers from his shirt. “Aisling should know better than to interfere,” was all he said before turning and striding off toward the main office.

“Oh, man, he did not just do that,” Jim said, whistling softly. “Eefs, you are in for it now.”

I patted the dog on his head and smiled. Jim was absolutely right; I was in for a hell of a ride, but at least I knew an important life-changing fact: I was a dragon’s mate. “And if Kostya thinks he is going to get out of cherishing me the way Aisling says he should, then he can just bloody well think again.”

“You tell him, girlfriend,” Jim said, falling into place alongside me as we followed Kostya. “Although I kind of get the feeling that Slick isn’t going to fall to his knees with gratitude, if you know what I mean. He seems kinda broken to me.”

“Broken,” I mused, nodding my head. “That’s a good way of putting it. He does seem broken, and since I’ve been there and glued the bits of me back together—via the help of Dr. Barlind, although, again, I could have done without the electroshock torture—I’m the perfect person to help him piece his life into what it should be.”

“And still get into his pants,” Jim said with another bobble of his eyebrows.

“That goes without saying, although really, there’s something almost borderline creepy about hearing a dog say it.”

“Evidently I’m a student of human nature,” he answered with a shrug.

“You’re something all right.” I was about to enter the airport office when Kostya emerged, a slip of paper in his hand.

“We go to Stockholm,” he said, taking my elbow and steering me back the way we came. “There’s a pilot here who will fly us.”

“Wait, you want to go to Paris right this second? Kostya, I can’t leave Sweden yet.”

He didn’t stop marching me toward the hangars. “Why not?”

“Because my house burned down, remember? I have stuff to deal with concerning that, not to mention talking to my sister and brother so we can make some decisions about the house.”

“Do they live elsewhere?”

“Yes. Bee has an apartment in Venice, and Rowan’s job is in Malta, so he’s there a lot of the time. But they come home a couple of times a year, so I’m going to have to tell them what happened. Oh gods, they aren’t going to believe me!” I rubbed my forehead. “What if they have me committed again?”

“I would not allow that.”

“Yes, well, the fact still remains that I have to deal with the situation of the house.”

“I’ve told you that it isn’t safe here. The red dragons know you are here—know we are both here—and they won’t stop tracking us both down and attempting to destroy us. If they find out that you have the ring, they would launch an all-out onslaught.” His jaw tightened. “I don’t concern myself much with the mortal world, but I have seen the devastation that a war with Abaddon can wreak upon it, and I would not wish to have that unleashed again.”

I thought of the looks on the red dragons’ faces when they realized I had the ring, and blanched. Those dragons were dead, but if others found out…

“Eep,” I said, my skin crawling at the thought. “I can only imagine that would be seriously bad. Wait—does that mean you’re not mortal?”

“I am a dragon. We can be killed, but we do not die of illnesses or old age, as mortals do.”

I looked at him with a new awareness, then pointed at Jim. “And demons?”

“They cannot be killed, although their forms can be destroyed. Do you notice that I am answering your questions even though I have much to do?”

“Yes, and you will receive a gold star at the end of the day for your willingness to play with others.” I bit my lower lip in thought. “So what about me? Now that I’m your mate—”

“You are not my mate. I do not have a mate. I did have one, but she abused me horribly, so I disavowed her. I will never claim a mate again.”

“—does that mean I get to be not-mortal, too? Is immortal the right word? That means ‘can’t be killed,’ though, and you said dragons can be. Okay, now I’m just confused.”

He stopped and gave me an irritated look. “Did you not hear what I just said?”

“Yes, but I decided to ignore it, because men who let their past experiences with ex-girlfriends screw up relationships that will be happy and healthy are just too irritating for words, so therefore, I’m ignoring any references you make to your ex. No, I take that back. I’ll say this: I’m sorry that you got burned, Kostya. We all have. I had a boyfriend in high school who was using me so he could pass his classes and stay on the swim team. I know what it’s like to be used, and I also know that it’s possible to get over it. I’m willing to cut you a little slack if it was a recent event—”

“It was two years ago.” He donned a noble yet martyred expression that made me smile to myself. “I will never forget the shame she brought to me.”

“—but at the same time, I’m not going to ignore what’s obviously right in front of us.” I leaned forward and kissed him, willing him to share his dragon fire. To my amazement, little balls of fire formed in my hands. I spread them on his chest and stepped back with a smile. “So does that mean I’m a dragon, too? Will I die like a normal human, or will I just go on, like you?”

He made an annoyed noise, took my hand, and started forward again. “A wyvern’s mate is not mortal, no. I will not discuss the matter any more with you—I have stated that you are not my mate, and that is final.”