“Oh, can you make me a snowball?” the girl said eagerly.
“Probably not,” Cadence admitted.
“Are you sure? I bet you can!”
The girl looked so hopeful that she closed her eyes, concentrated hard, visualized a snowball and blew into her cupped hands.
She looked down. There was a tiny little snowball the size of a marble there.
The girl peered into her hands.
“That’s not too bad,” she said politely. “It’s not the worst snowball I’ve ever seen. I think.” She considered for a moment. “It’s probably a hailstone. It looks hard; I could throw it at my brother’s head.”
“Why?”
“He burned his homework this morning and then blamed it on me. And he says he can fly higher than me and he’s a liar.”
“I’m starting to like you,” Cadence admitted.
“Phoebe!” Orion’s voice boomed and made her jump. He stalked into the room and stood there scowling at the little girl.
“It’s fine,” Cadence assured him. “I’m not busy. She’s keeping me entertained.”
“Yes, I’m keeping her entertained,” Phoebe echoed anxiously.
“Are you supposed to be here, or are you supposed to be in class?” He arched one perfect eyebrow and fixed her with a red-eyed glare.
“But she needs me to keep her entertained… Yes, Dominus.” She pouted and slunk out of the room with a woebegone look.
“Don’t fall for it,” Orion said.
“She’s very good. If I saw her alone on a street corner, I’d adopt her and give her cookies,” Cadence said. Then she tossed the snow marble into the trash. “In case you’re ever hoping that I could blizzard on command…not gonna happen.”
“You could probably make a mean frozen margarita, though.” He settled into a chair next to her.
“Hmmm. Using my powers for good. That’s not a bad idea, you know,” she mused.
“I’m more than just a pretty face,” he said. “So, I’ve found out who sent the kidnappers. Gorman Filmar, from the Filmar Clan. Working with your father’s clan – he has promised them your delightful scaly hand in marriage.”
Her eyes widened in alarm.
“Fortunately, they went too far in their attempts to grab you. When they started a sky battle right over human occupied territory, it ended up biting them in the butt. The Dragon Elders received a formal complaint from the governor of North Carolina, and they had to punish someone, so they banned the Filmar clan from pursuing their claim on you.”
“Well, that’s good news, right?” She brightened.
“Yes, but that’s just one clan. There are several ice dragon clans who are clamoring for you to be handed over to them, and the Elders are debating what to do next. I told them that you and I are in the courting stage, and that should buy us some time.”
“Oh,” she murmured. How much time, exactly? How long would Orion get a kick out of angering her father’s clan? How long until he decided she was more trouble than she was worth?
He met her gaze. “They won’t take you,” he said.
She bit her lip and nodded.
“In the meantime, would you like to go on a flying tour of our property?”
Chapter Six
They walked out into the meadow behind the house, and stopped by a clearing with a gazebo and stone tables and chairs. Orion stripped out of his clothes, and Cadence concentrated very hard on looking anywhere but at his muscular naked body, which resembled a Greek statue come to life. Chiseled abs, flat stomach, a dusting of dark hair on his chest, a treasure trail leading down…
Ahem. She needed to think of something else. Anything else.
She tipped her head back and looked up at the sky. A perfect day for flying.
“I wish I could shift. I wish I could fly,” she sighed.
“You may be able to yet.” He shrugged. “From what you’ve told me, your dragon genes only recently became dominant, so they should become stronger over time. There are things that could help. Meditation, visualization exercises, that kind of thing.”
“I never needed that for my wolf,” she said. “I just closed my eyes and let her flow through me. I miss having an animal side.”
“I’d like to see this animal side,” he said, with a gleam in his eyes and a curl to his lip.
She felt her cheeks heat up in a blush. She thought of Viola, consumed with rage and disappointment. Had he flirted with Viola the same way?
He was a pretty playboy who drew women to him like flies to honey – and he’d told her quite specifically that he’d brought her here to get back at her family. Nothing more.