Dira sliced her steak and mentally tabulated the answer. “Four hundred eighty-three, eighty-four if you count Mak and myself.”
Enker coughed. “How long have you been there?”
With a little bit of pride, she smiled, “I was part of the build team.”
Mikhela looked at her, “That would make you…”
Dira sipped at her water glass. “Really old.”
Enker gave her a long look. “You would make an excellent model for our ads, as well as your colouration would break up our family blondness.”
She laughed, “If it is in the interest in colouration diversity, I would be willing to let images of myself be used. Websites are fascinating things, as are fashion shows and the textiles industry in general. I have missed a lot.”
Mikhela looked around the dining room. “Enker and I discussed it on the way here, and we would like you to accept this home as a gift, and you can consider it your territory. Will that help in your adaptation to the modern world?”
Dira looked around at the open balcony that looked out over the open space, the forest and the rock, everything a dragon needed to start a new life.
“If Mak will accept it, I will. I would also offer to purchase it from you if that is not the case.” She continued to eat her meal, and she grinned at the faces around her. “I have been out of the loop, but I have not ceased to accumulate wealth. I have accounts with several brokers and I communicate via phone. Wealth comes easily to my kind. Even small interest payments make a difference when you have a large enough pile of starting capital.”
The table of unicorns was surprised. Apparently, once they had settled her status as ancient and out of touch, they couldn’t imagine that she would be able to work her way around financial matters. She waved her fork in the air. “You have your skills with humans, I have mine with money. It doesn’t stop just because time passes.”
She checked the time and winced. “May I make a quick call? I will be right back.”
Mak extended a small square and she wrinkled her nose. “Cell phone, right?”
He grinned. “Give me the number and I will show you how to use it later.”
Dira caught Lilan and Donovan looking at each other, and instead of flicking them with a bolt of heat, she gave Mak the number for her favourite niece.
He handed her the phone, and she held it to her ear. When the connection went through, she spoke quickly, “Hiya, Teebie.”
“Aunty Dira! I haven’t heard from you in months. How are you doing?”
“Pretty good. I have finally taken the plunge and have a mate.”
“No way! What is he? It is a he, right?”
“It’s a he. He’s a unicorn. Now, I need to ask you a question, and I need you to think it over for a while.”
“Shoot.”
“Will you take a temporary position at the Crossroads and run my B and B? You don’t have to answer it right now.”
“I’ll do it.”
“You don’t want to think about it?”
“Aunty, I have more than enough energy to run your housekeeping routine, and while my muffins are not as good as yours, I make quite a cup of coffee. What would I have to do?”
“Do you have a paper and pen?”
“I do.”
“I need you to contact Derios at the head of the Shifter Council and explain who you are, and then, you need to call the Transport Guild Master and get Krisia to pick you up.” She rattled off the numbers and exhaled. “If you do this, you can live for free at the Crossroads, and you will be able to pursue your muse all you like.”
“Will do. What is your phone number, so I can keep you posted?”
“I will hand you to Mak, it’s his phone. Love you, Teebie.” She smiled and handed the small object to Mak.
She heard Teebie greet him, “Welcome to the family, Uncle Mak.” And after that, she concentrated on her dinner.
A wave of her finger brought everyone’s meal back to warm, and she winked as they tried to hide that they were listening to the call with her niece.
Mak answered a few questions and rattled off a ten-digit number before disconnecting the call. “She seems nice.”
“Oh, she is. She also is almost pure djinn, so she is a little blue-violet. It makes it hard for her to live in the human world, so I thought a trip to the Crossroads would be refreshing for her.”
Mikhela raised her brows politely. “Her name is interesting. Teebie?”
Dira winced. “That was my fault, it stands for Totally Blue. I named her the day she was born, she’s my goddaughter. The djinn have pigments that occur randomly in their population when there is crossbreeding involved. She is fourth generation from a griffin and a djinn.”
Lilan looked at Dira wide-eyed. “Really? A griffin? I have never seen a griffin.”
“She was my sister. I currently have forty-nine nieces around the world, none are shifters.”
Enker cocked his head. “How many know about you?”
“All of them. Since my sister died so young, she was not able to raise her children, so I gathered her four daughters up and kept them safe before I brought them home. The crusades were not a good time for anyone, but I brought them to their father’s people once they were old enough. The djinn took it from there.”
Donovan raised his hand. “So, you have actually associated with the fey?”
“Of course. I mean, I don’t really like most fey, but I do love my nieces, and they strive to do the best for their community each and every day. Eventually, I will lose touch with that branch of the family or start my own, but until then, I am Aunty Dira and I will go to them if they need me. It does mean I do a lot of birthday calls every year, but it keeps me up on my languages.”
The rest of the evening was lost to dessert, conversation and questions about how she could be so good at some modern things and a complete loss at others.
Adapting to time spent outside the Crossroads was a fascinating thing, and as they sat on their balcony and watched the moon rise, Dira knew she was lucky to do it with a fascinating mate.
The family was staying for three days, and after that, it was a honeymoon for Mak and Dira. After all those centuries alone, she was wondering what it would be like to share that much time with only one person.
“You know, you are going to have to shift for my family. They are not going to really believe it until they see it.” Mak lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.
“Do you want to go riding?”
He blinked. “I didn’t see a place to slip on your back.”
“You have to climb on behind my head, slide your legs under the back of my skull and hold onto my mane.”
He grinned. “Yes, yes, please!”
She stood up and slipped off her dress, shoes and underwear. Naked, she stepped onto the balcony rail and shifted as she fell.
Her body grew and magic kept her from the ground. With a few quick motions, she returned to the balcony where Mak waited and propped her head against the rail while her undulations kept her up.
Mak settled in her mane, and she heard voices calling out and saw his family pointing and with their mouths hanging open.
Mak’s mind was excited as she flew over the meadow and across the tree line, circling slowly to let the Norwins get a good look at her.
This is amazing, Dira. Thank you for coming out of the Crossroads for me.
It is the things that we do for our mate casually on a daily basis that prove our love. That I think of you daily is my gift to you.
It truly is. Now, can we do a barrel roll or a loop-the-loop?
Yes, love. Hang on. I am going to take you to school.
Hearing her mate squealing like an excited child as she played in the sky sent a spiral of joy through a heart that had been static too long. Change was a good thing and love and laughter were better. It was wonderful that she was getting them all.
Author’s Note
So, now, we have one of the components of how the S
hifting Crossroads came to be. Dira has a huge romantic streak and life with a unicorn is going to fill her with the sort of magic that she can’t manage on her own.
Next month is Poisoned Pen, in which, we find out what makes Chuck tick and how he manages to balance life in the Crossroads with a deeply romantic streak. When a swan arrives who happens to be a huge fan of his work, he has to debate exposing his alter ego or experiencing romance first hand instead of in his fiction.
Zenina Masters
www.zeninamasters.com
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[email protected]
About the Author
Zenina Masters was born in Canada and lives in Canada. She has a regular job and does nothing particularly exciting with her life. She enjoys fishing, silence and the ability to pick and choose friends she can trust. Life is too short to watch your back all the time.
Her writing life is a teeny bit of escapism, she would probably chicken out if confronted by three naked men and looks forward to one day finding out.
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