Her lips curled in a delightful smile. He felt an answering smile on his own lips, and for a moment, he reveled in the emotion. It had been a long time since he had shared a simple joy with anyone.

“You really are different from other men, you know that?” She tipped her head to the side and gave him a visual once-over. “You don’t say anything I expect you to say. You want my story? OK, I’ll give it to you short and sweet: my parents dumped me as soon as they realized I wasn’t normal. I spent some time in the foster system, running away pretty frequently because the families I got were horrible. I lived for a few weeks at a zoo, hiding in the buildings and eating the stashes of snacks the workers left. Then I ended up finally at the home of a woman who knew what I was. She was kind of Wiccan-lite, and knew that sirens were more or less outlawed in the Otherworld.”

“That must have been a difficult life for a young girl,” he said, admiring her strength in triumphing over such trials. He contemplated telling her that, but decided that now was not the moment. She was clearly not a person who was free with her trust, and he wanted to hear more of her experiences.

“It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure.” She made a face and wiggled in the seat. “This chair is awful. My left butt cheek has gone numb.”

He rose. “You may sit here.”

“No, I wouldn’t wish this chair on my worst enemy.” She waved him back and then, after a moment’s hesitation, sat on the bed, not close enough that she was touching him, but he felt the pull of her presence nonetheless.

What was happening? Was he so long out of the company of females that he was drawn to the first one he’d seen? But no, that could not be. He’d met some of the female dragons who were present for the party, and although he’d been mildly interested by them, it was the same interest he felt for all his children.

This woman was not his kin, and yet she held his interest like no one had since Maerwyn.

“I stayed with her—the last foster mom—until I was eighteen. Then I was officially kicked out of the system and had to go to work. I floated around for ten years doing odd jobs, and hiding from anyone who knew what I was.”

He frowned. What had happened to the world that women such as her were considered dangerous? Could they not see the purity of her soul shining like a halo around her?

“Then I ran into Andrew—he’s the leader of the band—and he recognized right away what I was, and they asked me to join. At first, it was just so they could throw some harmless glamours on the crowd, like making them want to dance, or feel happy, or even think the band was top-notch. But then he had the brilliant idea of me holding them in a thrall while they stole their valuables.”

“Ah,” he said. “And how did you react to that?”

She smacked him on his arm. “How do you think I reacted? I am not a thief! I told them I wasn’t going to help them steal anything.”

“They blackmailed you?” he asked.

“Yes.” She slumped back, making him want to take her in his arms and comfort her.

And perhaps do a few other things.

“Andrew said if I didn’t help them, he’d turn me in to the nearest Otherworld policeman, and claim I glamoured them into taking me into the band. The bastard.”

“That is one word for it. I have others,” he said.

She flashed a grin at him for a few seconds. He felt as if he were standing in the noonday sun. “I do, too, actually, but that’s the most polite. That was two years ago, so now here I am, almost thirty, and I’m on the run with a gang of outlaws.” She sighed, and asked, “How old are you?”

He was surprised by the question. “Why?”

A little blush pinkened her cheeks. “Just curious.”

“I am old. I am the First Dragon.”

“Yeah, we’ve been over that. But you were born, right? When was that?”

He thought. “I don’t believe anyone kept track of the years then.”

“What does that mean? Like Roman times?”

“No, I can remember the Romans spreading across many kingdoms.”

“OK, we’ll go a bit back. Ancient Egypt. The guys with the pyramids and those pharaohs who married their sisters, and all that.”

“Before that. One of my brothers is a lord of their underworld.”

“Wow, really? That’s kind of mind-blowing. So much so that I think we’re going to move on.” Her brow wrinkled in thought. “What came before that? Um. OK, Iron Age.”

He shook his head.

Her eyes widened. “Bronze Age? Stone?”

“The Stone Age people had excellent storytelling skills.”

“Holy time lord. Do you remember people evolving from apes?”

“No. That is before my time.” He smiled at her, marveling a little at how much he enjoyed talking to her. Perhaps finding another mate wasn’t such a bad idea. But what would the siren think of such a thing?

“I’m trying, and I have to admit failing, to wrap my brain around just how old you are.”

“Why does it matter?”

“I guess it really doesn’t,” she said after a moment’s silence. “It’s just ... well ... it’s kind of nice to know you have something in common with someone you like being with.”

He watched her cheeks flame, and wondered at that. “Why are you embarrassed?”

“Me? Who says I am?”

“You are blushing.”

Her chin lifted in an obstinate gesture that secretly delighted him. “I just basically told you that I like you. That’s kind of embarrassing considering we met a little more than an hour ago.”

“Why?” he asked again, genuinely puzzled.

“Are you yanking my chain?” she asked, a flash of anger giving her voice a sharp edge.

“I don’t believe so,” he said carefully. “Assuming that is a colloquialism.”

She gave a martyred sigh. “It is. Surely, even someone as old and out of it as you are can understand how ... awkward ... it is to admit you like someone when you just met them.”

“Out if it,” he murmured, turning the phrase over in his mind. Was he out of it? He didn’t feel particularly unaware of modern life, but given what the siren had told him, perhaps he was. What he needed was someone to guide him through the intricacies of this current world. “I don’t see why it is awkward. Would it help you if I said that I enjoy your presence?”