Leonard shrank back. “Yikes.”

  “I know. It’s bad. But I didn’t make his entire line suffer. Just him. He was the one who deserved it.”

  “I can’t say I approve, even if he did deserve it,” Leonard noted.

  “Yeah, and I’m OK with you not approving. I just want you to know that I wouldn’t ever use it against you. I would never hurt you,” Charlotte promised him.

  He kissed her temple. “Let me think about the curse removal thing, OK? Maybe we should both take some time to just think about all of this. We’re moving a little fast and maybe you should think about long term stuff, like whether you want to stay here in the Bayou, which is my plan for the near future, and whether you can live with my being cursed if I decide not to have it removed.”

  She opened her mouth to object and he held up a hand. “Let’s both just do some thinking.”

  She nodded. “All right.”

  6

  Charlotte

  She woke to what felt like thunder rattling her trailer apart. She shot up in bed, checking her phone for missed calls or weather alerts, blearily registering the blows raining down on her door. It was only three a.m.

  She’d only dropped off to sleep an hour or two before, stewing over her conversation with Leonard, and wondering if she’d managed to derail their relationship before it even started. The lack of sleep made her slow and stiff, so she was unprepared when Zed’s voice boomed from outside, “Charlotte! Wake up, please! It’s started!”

  She stumbled to her door to find Zed, wide-eyed and shirtless, panting on her doorstep. If she was not such a loyal person–and not deeply afraid of what Dani could do with those lightning balls–she would be much more affected by the sight.

  Zed shoved a travel cup of coffee at her. “Dani sent this.”

  “You remembered coffee for me, but not a shirt?” she asked, rubbing at her eyes.

  “That was Dani,” he said. “Bael called. Jillian’s water hadn’t broken. She’s only had four contractions in the past hour. But in the middle of the contraction, she set her phone on fire. And then she set Bael’s phone on fire while he was texting me. And then she set his laptop on fire. It was a rough day for electronics at their house.”

  “OK, so we don’t need to panic. Everything is going just the way it should. Why didn’t Jillian call me?” she asked, closing the door so she could slip on some jeans and shoes.

  “The phones were all on fire,” Zed reminded her.

  “Right. You’ve got those fireproof suits at the cave, right?” she called, grabbing her medical kit and her go-bag, a phone charger, and her granny’s journal.

  “And the extinguishers,” he yelled back, lowering his voice as she stepped out and locked the door. “Bael’s already got her on the way out to the cave. I’ll have to blindfold you to take you there. It’s a dragon thing. Secret treasure hordes and rules and such.”

  She nodded and wrapped the bandana around her neck. “OK.”

  Zed’s dark brows rose. “No objections?”

  “Do you think that’s the weirdest request I’ve ever gotten?” Charlotte asked.

  Zed frowned. “Well, I did.”

  Zed managed to find a spare shirt behind his driver’s seat. Charlotte climbed into the truck and tied the bandana tightly around her eyes. She could feel Zed making hand gestures in front of her face. He started the engine and drove out of town. She could feel the tension rolling off of his huge frame as he silently maneuvered the truck. He only spoke again once they’d parked in a dark wood that smelled of wet earth and decay.

  “Do you mind if I invade your personal space a little bit?” he asked over the drone of nighttime insects. “It would be easier if I just carried you rather than asking you to go trip through the woods blindfolded.”

  “Sure,” she said, shrugging. “I’ll need my strength over the next few days.”

  He wrapped her around his back piggyback-style and carried her bags in either hand.

  “I’m literally the only other person besides Jillian who knows where this is located. And that was only after Bael knew me for years and for safety purposes. He had a cousin that was crushed under some ancient Greek marble statue in his cave and no one found him for months because he left a series of very complicated maps and clues to find his cave. Bael didn’t want to die in the dragon version of ‘I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.’”

  She snickered into Zed’s hair. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that all zana had an infallible sense of direction. She knew her exact coordinates down to the nearest tenth, even blindfolded in the dark woods. It was necessary when your kind was expected to help lost children find their way in the forest. But Bael didn’t need to know that. She’d never steal from him. And who could say no to a piggyback ride through the woods?

  Zed seemed to calm down while walking through the woods, though he kept a brisk pace. Unlike the drive, he kept up a sort of stream-of-consciousness one-sided conversation talking about his lifelong friendship with Bael, what it was like to see his best friend fall in love when Bael had sworn to stay single his whole life, the hilarity of watching Jillian “hand him his own ass” on several occasions. It was nice, and Charlotte had almost fallen asleep against Zed’s back when he finally stopped.

  “All right, you can take off the blindfold,” Zed said.

  She loosened the bandana. They were standing outside a huge concrete structure made out to look like rocks, covered in vines and swamp plants. Several bonfires lit the enormous campsite outside the cave entrance. Bael had Jillian seated in a little camp chair while he carried boxes through a set of metal double doors set into the side of a concrete “cave.”

  “Hey,” Jillian said, waving awkwardly. “Sorry about sending Zed to kidnap you.”

  “Oh, it’s fine,” Charlotte said, waving her off. She pulled her blood pressure cuff out of her bag and checked Jillian’s vitals. “Everything looks good. How are the contractions?”

  “They’re maybe fourteen minutes apart. I told Bael we probably shouldn’t call you yet, but then I set our phones on fire and freaked him out,” Jillian said.

  “It’s fine. Better too early than too late,” Charlotte assured her. She nodded to the moving boxes stacked near their chairs. “What is all this? Groceries?”

  “Oh, Bael and Zed stocked the cave ‘pantry’ yesterday. This is books,” Jillian said. “If I’m going to sit on a nest for days at a time, I’m going to need entertainment.

  Charlotte nodded. “Sure.”

  “Is that a port-a-potty?” she asked of the green plastic structure placed fifty paces from the door.

  “Yes, it is,” Zed told her. “Good luck with that.”

  She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Well, it’s not the roughest conditions I’ve ever worked in.”

  “Do I want to ask?” Jillian snickered.

  Charlotte shook her head. “No, you do not.”

  Zed nodded towards an enormous plastic water tank nearby. “The good news is, with Bael around, there will always be hot water for you.”

  He lifted the lid of a nearby cooler to reveal carefully labelled containers of gumbo, cornbread, chicken and dumplings, and other comfort foods. “My maman cooked enough to keep you fed for a couple days. Some of it is labeled for when–before and after the birth–Jillian is supposed to eat it. To keep her strength up.”

  “May the Fates bless your maman,” she sighed.

  Zed nodded to another cooler. “And then Siobhan sent a whole case of what she called ‘medicinal pies,’” he said, nodding to the smaller cooler. “And I’ll make regular deliveries.”

  “Shit!” Jillian hissed in pain as another contraction hit. Her hair erupted into blue flames, crowning her like a nightmare queen. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”

  Zed rushed to Jillian’s side and took her hand. “Now, come on, bebelle, what was that whole thing about not introducing profanity to the womb? I’ve watched my mouth for months no-owwwwwww!”

  He howled in pain and dropped to his knees as Jillian squeezed his hand, breathing through the contraction.

  “Ohhh! Zed, I’m so sorry and I love you very much, but stop making word sounds near me!” Jillian cried. Zed only whimpered in response.

  “Deep breaths,” Charlotte said, her voice firm as she placed her hands on Jillian’s belly. The baby kicked inside, strong and sure. Everything was right on schedule…just painful.

  Zed slowly and carefully pried his hand out of Jillian’s, shaking the blood back into his fingers. He whimpered, “Ow.”

  “OK, let’s move you onto your nest,” Charlotte said. “Bael!”

  Bael sped out of the cave and cradled Jillian into his arms, her blue flames spread over his body. He didn’t even seem to notice, just carried her inside the cave, her blue light shining in the dark interior.

  “Wow,” Charlotte breathed, watching them with wide eyes.

  “Yeah, I threw a bucket of water on them the first time I saw that. And then I did it again, just for fun,” Zed told her.

  “Your hand OK?” she asked.

  He flexed his hand, grunting ruefully. “Don’t tell Jillian, but I think I should go to Will’s and make sure she didn’t break anything. And maybe cry for a little bit.”

  “I’ve got my satellite phone. If I need you, I should be able to reach you,” she said.

  “I’ll drop by every day, just to check in.” Zed’s eyes were almost misty as he eyed the cave door. But she couldn’t tell if it was sentiment or the throbbing of his potentially fractured fingers. “That woman means an awful lot to me. And Bael, I don’t know what would happen to him if…. Please take care of them.”

  “I will,” Charlotte promised, hugging him.

  Zed closed the door behind her as she walked into the warm space with its strange musty, metallic smell. She was immediately overwhelmed by a sense of claustrophobia. She was a creature of the forest, of green growth and light. She was not meant to be kept underground. She shuddered as her footsteps echoed into a deep, concrete-lined void that stretched beyond what she could see.

  Jillian had shifted into an enormous and brilliant blue bird, feathered in flames. She was settled onto a nest of glowing embers, her long swan-like neck tucked down as she breathed deeply.

  Bael paused and casually blew out a lengthy line of flames that lit one and then a long line of torches stretching to the end of the cave. Torchlight reflected off of piles of gold–coins, platters, statues, chests of jewels–practically blinding her if she stared too long in one direction. It was all she could do not to run around the cave, shoving treasure into her pockets, fulfilling her Goonies fantasies. But she knew that she was already pushing Bael’s instincts to their limits, she didn’t want to test him further.

  The fellas had obviously “swept” a significant corner of the cave, baring the floor to make room for two camping cots and a pile of pillows and blankets, multiple camping coolers, and an enormous rock fire circle already chock-full of lumber. In the far corner, in the darkest part of the clearing, he’d set up a privacy screen and a beaten copper bathtub.

  “We tried to make it as comfortable for you as possible,” Bael told her “Jillian’s used to sleeping in a sort of nest of pillows at home, so I brought them–for afterwards.”

  “Do you need to take a break before we get started?” she asked. “Drink some water, get something to eat? Because your energy is a little…on edge.”

  “It’s nothing personal. It’s just a big thing to let a stranger into my treasure horde. Between that and trusting you with my mate and my young–that’s an awful lot of trust I’m placing in you, Charlotte,” Bael said.

  “I know, and I appreciate that. You’re going to do great, Bael,” Charlotte promised him. “But can I ask–just one more time–that your dragon form try not to eat me?”

  He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “If you could just keep reminding me that you’re there to keep Jillian and the baby safe, that would help.”

  “I can do that. We’ve got this.” She extended her hand, which he shook firmly. He crossed the cave, undressing in an unlit corner. Charlotte heard cracking and metallic shrieks while the shadows shifted and grew.

  Bael was impressive in human form, but in dragon form, he was a magnificent nightmare made of fangs and scales. Her brain just couldn’t seem to process a threat as large as a bus and she stood there, goggling at him like an idiot. His green and gold scales shimmered in the firelight in blinding patterns. He stretched his wings, the span rivalling that of most commercial jets and shook them out. While her hind brain was in a total panic, she couldn’t help but think that he looked like an enormous dog shaking off water.

  Bael curled his body around Jillian’s nest, breathing in a sort of comforting huff. Jillian leaned forward and nuzzled her bronze beak against his snout. Charlotte sat on the bed, keeping vigil while the parents curled into each other and waited. She tried not to let Bael see her staring at his treasure, but every once in a while, some shiny piece would catch her eye–a jewel-encrusted comb, a silver shield engraved with the goddess Artemis, a sapphire the size of a mailbox. So she took lots of patient notes to keep her eyes on something else.

  Jillian’s contractions became more regular, if the shuddering and bursts of blue flame from her beak were any indication. She only got close every hour or so to check on Jillian (while wearing full fire gear). And even through the thick protective canvas, she could feel the heat radiating off of Bael’s scales.

  She tried to give Jillian as much privacy as possible as the egg, well, emerged. She hovered nearby as the great bird’s body gave a final heaving shudder. Relieved of its burden, Jillian’s fiery form sank against the coals, as if drawing the heat from them. Dragon-Bael bumped his nose against Jillian’s side and then the egg, which was indeed metal and about three times the size of a football. The surface was scaled, in concentric patterns of shimmering blue and green. It was the most beautiful thing Charlotte had ever seen. She was afraid to touch it as Bael’s massive form crept forward, nosing the egg into position under his own body.

  The blue flames and feathers disappeared, leaving a naked and very sweaty Jillian on the cave floor. She smiled, laying a reverent hand on the egg. “Hey there, baby. It’s Daddy’s turn now, but I have all kinds of books to read you while you’re waiting.”

  “Bael, just a reminder that I’m here for Jillian and the baby. It would be very bad manners to barbecue me,” Charlotte said, covering Jillian quickly with a fireproof blanket before starting her usual exams. The new mother seemed to be in perfect health, other than being exhausted and sore.

  Charlotte handed her a robe, which Jillian slipped into and slumped into Bael’s side. He lowered his huge head to gently touch the top of her own. She laughed and kissed his snout.

  Not for the first time, Charlotte felt like an intruder in a very intimate experience for this little family. She missed Leonard. Even though things were still unsettled between the two of them and she wasn’t even sure if he would use the removal potion when she made it–she missed him desperately. She wanted to text him, to let him know she was thinking of him, that she’d slept badly the night before, worrying that she’d ruined a relationship that was only starting. But she figured, “taking some time to think” probably meant a break in communication. She didn’t want to overstep again. But she missed feeling that growing connection between the two of them, the feeling of being understood, even when they disagreed. With seeing his face, her hours seemed just a little bit darker.

  Of course, she was in a cave, which could have something to do with it.

  She tried to give Jillian and Bael some privacy, disappearing into the shadows of the cave to fluff Jillian’s “nest” of pillows Bael had prepared and dig into Zed’s miracle coolers. She noticed a box marked, Books for when Bael is playing penguin.

  Charlotte burst out laughing. “Because male penguins sit on the eggs, right?”

  “Yes!” Jillian’s face brightened and made grabby hands for the books. “You get me.”

  Charlotte eyed Dragon-Bael carefully as she passed Jillian the books. She held up a jar of dark golden broth swirled with flecks of sediment and bubbles of oil. “Apparently, Zed’s maman swears by this bone broth, according to the label. She makes it for every new mother in the parish. You’re supposed to sip it to restore all the stuff you just lost in labor.”

  Bael grumbled, constricting tighter around his family like the great reptile he was. They stayed, cuddled together like that, for what felt like hours, while Jillian sipped her broth and read from a book titled Dragon Tales of Scandinavia. A lot of the stories seemed to involve human heroes being tricked and eaten by the dragons, but Jillian’s warm, gentle voice made them sound magical. Jillian read until Bael fell asleep and her own voice seemed to go hoarse.

  “It just occurred to me why the egg is made out of metal,” Jillian said, leaning into Bael’s side. “It’s so tiny compared to the dragon’s body. It’s way too easy to crush. This whole magique thing is just full of amazing little intricacies like that. It almost makes the world make sense. Ours, at least.”

  Jillian chuckled, finishing her broth. Charlotte helped her clean up as much as possible and got her settled onto the pillow nest. As she ventured outside, squinting into the too-bright sunlight, her cell phone pinged with all of the text messages and emails she’d missed while underground.

  “These satellite phones have some serious reception,” she told Jillian, as she carried water back into the cave.

  “Anything interesting?” Jillian asked.

  “Just an email from my mom, which contains an ancient recipe for curse removal,” Charlotte said, scrolling with her thumb. “And a reminder from Sonja that you’re not supposed to ask for any news about what’s happening back at the League office when you’re supposed to be resting and recovering. She and Alex have everything covered.”

  Jillian pinched her lips together. “She doesn’t know everything about me.”