“Or burned them,” Sera said glumly. “Whatever the case, I can’t get any information that way. And there isn’t anyone I can ask about it.”

“That’s not true, Sera.”

“Naomi—”

“Talk to Kai. He might know something. Or maybe he can get you these books. If nothing else, you will feel better if you can share this with him.”

She’s right, her dragon said.

Thanks for chiming in.

Her dragon smirked. You’re welcome.

“Sera?”

“Sorry.” Sera shook herself. “I was just discussing things with the peanut gallery.”

“The peanut gallery?” Realization dawned on her face. “Ah. Your dragon. And what does she say?”

“That you’re right.”

“There you go then. Two-to-one.”

“This isn’t a democracy,” Sera told her.

Naomi shrugged. “You can’t argue with yourself.”

The dragon beamed inside her head. I like her.

“Let’s just get this drug lord onto the ship,” Sera said, hurrying across the dock.

Naomi nodded at the two fairies who’d been watching the children. Sera walked up the plank and dropped Cloud on the deck.

“Ready to go home?” Sera asked the children.

They flashed her chocolate-faced smiles. A pile of crinkled candy bar wrappers lay around them. As Naomi sailed the ship toward San Francisco, a breeze rustled across the wooden deck, displacing the wrappers.

I really should tell him, Sera said as she chased down the wayward wrappers and stuffed them into a garbage can nailed to the mast. Pirates could be practical when they wanted to be. Except in their choice of clothes.

Finally. Welcome to reality.

Do you realize how odd that sounds coming from the voice in my head?

Her dragon chuckled.

I want to tell him, Sera told her.

But you’re afraid.

Yes, Sera agreed. If he turns on me…

He won’t.

I am an abomination.

No, you’re not. You’re a person. A good person. Kai knows that.

I can’t fight him. I can’t…

Kill him?

Sera shook her head. No.

You love him.

Sera didn’t respond. Her dragon knew her feelings as well as she did. Maybe even better. She felt a tight pressure in her chest, pain and pleasure wrapped up into one mangled package.

Sera didn’t know how long she’d fallen deep into her own thoughts, but by the time she snapped out of her trance, the ship was closing in on the city. As it rocked gently against the pier, she saw a crowd of mercenaries standing in front of several big black vans. They were from Mayhem. Naomi must have called ahead while Sera had been standing at the edge of the deck, staring blankly across the bay.

The mercenaries streamed on board, carrying the children off toward the vans. They’d be reunited with their families soon. Sera walked down the plank. Naomi and Cutler were debating what to do with the spiffy pirate ship they’d confiscated. Cloud sat on the ground at Naomi’s feet, his hands chained to a metal post. Thanks to his fairy blood, he was awake, if not still somewhat dazed. But Cloud didn’t look particularly thankful as Naomi and Cutler—diverted from their pirate ship debate—turned their eyes on him to discuss his fate.

Sera’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen. Kai. She took a deep breath and answered. It was time to stop running.

“Hi.”

“I heard you’re back in town,” he said.

“You have excellent sources.”

“Yes.” He paused. “Are you up for finishing our date?”

She waved goodbye to Naomi. “Absolutely.”

“Then I’ll be right there.”

* * *

Kai wasn’t kidding. Sera had only been waiting there for a few minutes when his black SUV pulled up beside her. She didn’t comment on the creative way he’d navigated the pedestrian zone, nor tease him about his tank of a car. Right now, her mind was too preoccupied for sarcasm.

She hopped into his car. “So, where are we going tonight? Prime Steakhouse? The Sanctum? Illusion?” she asked, naming a few of the places the city’s magical elite frequented. Places that Kai liked.

“Illusion is still repairing that broken window,” he told her. “And even if they weren’t, we’ve had no luck going out to eat. So I thought we’d stay in tonight.” He paused, glancing over at her to gauge her reaction. “My place.”

“Sounds great.”

Unlike most of the city’s magical elite, Kai didn’t live in the Presidio. He had an apartment close to the Drachenburg Industries building in the Financial District. Like its location, the building was practical. Oh, it was all kinds of posh too, but at least the architect seemed to have actually thought about how people would live there rather than just gotten lost in how cool it looked. The walls seemed to be at nice right angles—for the most part.

Kai parked in the large underground garage. He took her hand as they crossed the concrete expanse, leading her toward an elevator.

She smirked at him as he pressed the button for the top floor. “I’ve decided that dragons are like cats. They like high places.”

“That’s not all I like.”

Her smile faltered as he met her gaze, his eyes pulsing with blue fire. His magic electrified the air, jumpstarting every nerve in her body. Hot and potent with sweet spice, it crackled in front of her, daring her to touch it.