A small tapping came from the wall beside her. Hailey fumbled with the remote but raised the blinds.
"Ready for more?" Alex asked through the panes of glass.
She looked at the book in his hand and nodded taking the gesture as it was given, a way out of her own head for a little while.
Chapter Eight
"Excuse me, Miss?" Lia looked up from her laptop and groaned.
Over the past few years she had researched all there was on dragons and most recently, Silas. Both she and Dacea knew where his various homes lay, who his supporters were, and all of the Green Dragon headquarter locations. What they didn't know was why Silas wanted Hailey and which location she was at. While Dacea figured out where she was, Lia looked into why she was there. The first step was learning about Hailey herself. But right as Lia pulled up Hailey's birth certificate someone interrupted her, and it was the last person she wanted to see.
"Katherine, was it?" At the harpy's nod Lia continued, "What can I help you with, besides showing you the way out?" Dacea had kicked the woman from the property the day before and with no surprise on Lia's part, she was back.
"Could you point me to where Dacea is? I can't seem to find him." All smiles, Katherine stood in the living room a bit more cautiously than she had yesterday. It pleased Lia to see that the woman wasn't as confident.
"I believe he is out front down by the gate. Why don't you go walk your pretty little Prada pumps down the driveway and go find him. I'll be sure to tell the guards you are coming so they can have the gate open for you." And close it behind you went unsaid.
"Is that any way to talk to your Mistress?" Katherine looked around the room with her upper lip curled disapprovingly at the furnishings. Lia could almost see the gears turning as she mentally redecorated.
"Excuse me?" Lia closed her laptop.
"I am Dacea's Mate therefore Mistress of this household."
"The hell you are." Lia pushed to her feet ready to pounce. "I'll be damned if I let some harpy come in here and ruin everything while Hailey is gone. Get. Out."
Katherine raised an eyebrow and laughed. "This Hailey is an impostor, Dear. I am Dacea's Mate and will make him see reason in time. You better back down. Minor goddess or not, you can't stop me." They had both moved forward until they were eye to eye. Equally tall slender women, they stared down the other, neither backing off.
"Enough," Dacea's deep voice sounded from behind Katherine. "I said you were not welcome here Katherine."
She whirled around after narrowing her eyes once more at Lia, her face becoming a mask of delight. "Just the man I wanted to see!"
Lia gave Dacea props, he wasn't bending. "Leave or I will have your forcibly removed, again." Katherine only batted her lashes at him. In an "I don't have time for this bullshit" tone, Dacea said, "Time for you to go." He grabbed her elbow and none to gently walk her out the door.
Lia waited till she heard the car start before she fell back onto the couch and opened up her laptop. That harpy was bad news and was going to cause problems, more so than they already had. Lia had her fair share of run-ins with harpies in the past and never met one she liked. They were all sneaky and greedy, only doing things for themselves. How Dacea ever saw something Mate worthy in Katherine, she would never know.
The birth certificate was still on her screen. Lia looked it over once and didn't see anything wrong, but with a second glance a very big detail stood out. "Hmmm," she said frowning. "That can't be right."
*****
Dacea had been with his treasures. He touched the cool smooth blades of the swords, the carved hilts of the daggers, and the chains interlocking his handcuff collection. His collection room was—in a word, a giant safe—protected by countless security measures and magic wards. He had missed his things while with Lennox, and then again with Hailey. But now he had a room full of his collectibles and it wasn't nearly as satisfying as it should have been.
It used to fill him with pride, joy even. Just feeling the cold steel or the facets of the emeralds encrusted in the hilt of a sword would leave him elated. The smoothness of a blade still brought a smile to his face, but it wasn't like it used to be.
He had a life to look forward to now, a reason to wake up in the morning. That reason was recently kidnapped and hidden from him. The only collection he wanted to touch now was that of her freckles that dusted across the bridge of her nose. With all other means of locating her exhausted at the moment, Dacea lay on the couch and tried to find that lost reason through his dreams.
His connection with Hailey had been sporadic at best the last few weeks. They needed to be properly mated for it to be consistently reliable. But he still tried every time he rested. The previous night he had almost found her. It was as if she was on the other side of a curtain. He could see the outline of her form but nothing else. His calls to her seemed lost in the thundering silence, whether she heard them or not was a mystery.
He had been napping and searching when he was woken up by his phone ringing incessantly. Somehow Katherine got through the gate again and was on her way to the house. This was twice now that they let her in under his direct orders not to. After they found Hailey, he was going to do a little security cleanup.
Katherine now chatted away in the passenger's seat beside Dacea. After dragging her to the car and telling her once more that she is not allowed in his house, he drove her back to her hotel. They made a pit stop at the guard house by the gate. He threatened bodily harm to anyone who let her in again.
It was only a ten minute drive, but Katherine talked the entire time about nonsense. Shoes she just bought, gossip about a friend he didn't know, a restaurant they must got to, etcetera. Dacea gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white, and kept driving. He wanted to push her from the car but thought better of it, considering she might scratch the exterior with her new manicure that she spent entirely too long telling him about.
Katherine went eerily silent as they pulled in front of the hotel. She made no attempt to get out, instead studied her nails. With a frustrated groan he got out of the car and walked around to her side where he opened the door. "Out," he growled.
"No need to get fussy." She took her time exiting the car, making sure to flash as much leg as possible. It wasn't wasted on uninterested eyes for the valet got a good show. "Would you like to come up to my room for a bit? Just to talk of course." Her wide eyes fluttered.
"No." He slammed the door shut.
"Lunch then," she said quickly, "just right inside." She motioned behind her to the hotel. "I think you owe it to me to at least have a conversation about this."
He felt as if he owed her nothing. All these years he had stuck by her because he did feel a sense of debt to her. She helped him through a tough moment in his life. But as time went on, his better judgment took hold. He realized he had paid his debt to her long ago. If anything, she owed him for walking out without a word.
Katherine pouted. It was fake, as was most everything else about her. "Pleeeease," she said dragging out the word.
"Fine. We will converse over lunch about why you are no longer my Mate." He handed the keys to the valet who was still staring in awe at Katherine. She grabbed hold of his arm, winding hers around his. He looked down where they linked and scowled but didn't say anything. Better to just do it and get it all over with.
The restaurant was nothing special, only a small café, which made it perfect. In and out, he thought. After ordering he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. What had he seen in Katherine all those years ago? Her beauty for sure, but was that it? Had he been so shallow back then? Dacea's memories of that time were ones of happiness and contentment. Yet he remembered her being exactly as she was now. It wasn't until he brought her home that he saw her for the woman she really was, jealous and unstable.
"You wanted to talk," he prompted.
She smiled at him and reached her hand across the table palm up. He looked at it with revulsion then back at her, keeping his
hands as they were, fisted and crossed over his chest.
"How are you?" she asked, slyly moving her hand to grab her water.
"Fine."
"Dacea, the truth."
"My Mate goes missing and then you show up out of the blue the next day. How do you think I'm fucking feeling?"
She frowned and set her water glass back down. Her voice was soft, almost musical. "I only ask because I worry about you. Last time I saw you this upset was the night we met."
Bollocks, he thought. "That was different."
"Was it?" She looked up at him, her blue eyes piercing his with worry and speculation.
"Katherine I'm going to say this one last time. Do not come near me again." The waiter interrupted with their food. Neither of them talked while he set the plates in front of them. "Our Mating was dissolved," he said once the waiter was gone. "It never happened in the eyes of the Council. It's what happens when you leave without word and never show up again. I thought you were dead, Katherine."
She picked at her salad. Her head tilting sharply to the side, as it did so often. "I meant to come back, I just lost track of time."
"That is no excuse." His food looked about as appetizing as a dog food. He pushed it away and reached for his water. It at least cooled his dry mouth.
"You love her, don't you?" she asked frowning as if finally putting it all together in her mind.
"Yes, I do."
They sat in silence, Katherine continuing with her salad while Dacea sipped his water. When she finished, she placed her fork down and wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin.
"I understand. I had no idea that you had such strong feelings for the girl." He didn't fail to notice the emphasis on the word girl. "I am happy you found someone, Dacea. I never meant to keep you waiting."
"I know," he responded, part of him recognizing the woman he used to know surfacing.
"I won't bother you anymore."
"Thank you," he sighed, relief settling into his bones. With nothing more needing to be said Dacea pulled out his wallet, dropping a few bills on the table he stood to leave. Katherine followed suit but grabbed his arm before he could go too far.
"I'm sorry, Dacea. I never…" Tears glistened in her eyes. For a moment he was transported back in time to his boyhood. He loved this woman once, a voice reminded him, he had cared for her enough at one point to bring her into his home and share his bed. Dacea wrapped her in a hug. She felt the same as she always had. There was a part of him that would miss her, but all of him was glad for it all to be over. Closure was a wonderful feeling.
Katherine placed a light kiss on his lips and stepped back. "Goodbye, Dacea."
"Goodbye, Katherine." He tipped his head and walked past her and out of the hotel.
*****
Katherine watched him go with a smile. She took the elevator up to her room and slipped off her shoes just inside her door. There was a hum on her lips and bounce in her step.
"You seem happy," Silas said from the chair in the corner. Katherine looked over her shoulder and beamed at the Green dragon.
"Oh I am."
"Your lunch go well I take it?" He scrolled through the pictures on the back of his camera. His own happiness levels much lower than Katherine's.
"What's wrong with you? Didn't you get the shots?" She walked over and grabbed the camera out of his hands. "Silas, these are perfect!" The entire lunch had been photographed, kiss and all. "Hailey will die when she sees these."
"Yes," he said solemnly, "I know."
"I'm not sure what that face is all about but you need to pull it together. This is what we want."
"I don't wish to hurt her." Silas took the camera back with a scowl chiseled hardly into his brow.
"Oh geez." Katherine walked over to the bed and sat. "Take those back to the girl and let me know how it goes. I am tired after my performance." She began to unzip the back of her dress. "And, Silas? Snap out of whatever funk you're in. It's ruining my fun."
The dragon rose and left without a word. She always thought he was so sexy with his commanding attitude. On more than one occasion she thought to seduce him. But recently he'd been so preoccupied with Hailey that he barely even looked at her. "What is it with that filth that has all the men tripping over themselves?"
*****
Dacea was scarcely in the door when Lia rounded on him. He continued past her into the kitchen and pulled a beer from the fridge.
"Did you hear what I said?" she asked waving the papers in her hand.
"No I'm sorry. My mind is elsewhere." Years of weight Katherine had piled on him were now lifted from his heart. He felt lighter, more open. There was so much room inside of him now that his need for Hailey became deafening as it echoed through the caverns of his chest.
"Everything went well then?"
"Yes," he said simply and explained what happened at the hotel. After a long pull from his beer and nodded toward the papers in her hand. "What's that?"
"Did you know Hailey is adopted?" Lia laid the papers out on the counter. He walked around to stand beside her. He hadn't known but then they hadn't known each other for too terribly long. Still, that was something he would have expected her to tell him.
"I did not," he responded while studying the birth certificate.
"The date is wrong," Lia pointed out. "It was issued six months after her birthday."
Dacea picked up one of the other files, a hospital record of an infant being dropped off in the early morning on the day of Hailey's birth. The man cloaked in a hooded jacket left the child in the emergency room when no one was looking and left. She was put into the system and taken into child protective services.
Lia handed him another paper. "Adoption papers. Took a little digging but I found them. Don't look at me like that. It was all only slightly illegal."
Dacea shook his head and grinned. He shuffled through a few more of her notes. "Do you mind," he started unable to pull his eyes away from the words, "if I look at these in my office?"
"Go right ahead. I need a break anyway." Lia left him to look over the papers in peace. He gathered everything up; his half drank beer left behind and went up to his office on the second floor. There he spread everything out and started from the beginning.
Did Hailey know? They hadn't been together for long but she was very open about her life. Surely this would have come up if she had known? Lia had found pictures of her as a child too. He had never seen anything of her younger than she was now. They hadn't gotten that far.
As Dacea flipped from photo to photo he realized that he didn't know much about his Mate. Maybe she had been right to be cautious about moving in. He accepted her for what she was, her past included, but he now understood her uncertainty. He had lived hundreds of years longer than she had; they had only hit the tip of the relationship iceberg.
He wondered for the hundredth time that day what she was doing. Was she trying to get out or waiting for him to find her? She had never been one to act the damsel in distress part but he had no idea what conditions she was placed in. Silas had blocked his number when he called earlier or Dacea would have been calling every hour to talk to her.
He pulled the top drawer of his desk open and picked up the ring he had stowed there. It wasn't common for his kind to trade rings, but human tradition stated the exchange was needed. He had over looked Hailey's cultural traditions once; he would be prepared this time. The ring had been his mother's, given to her by his father on her birthday.
He spun it around the tip of his finger. The ruby would complement Hailey's pale skin. She might not agree with him, but her skin tone was a blank canvas just awaiting a wash in color. Jewel tones looked especially well.
Dacea put the ring back in his pocket. He wanted to have it on him in case the situation arose that called for the gesture. He missed her and with Katherine giving him the closure he had not known he needed, there was more room for Hailey.
She just needed to be there to fill it.
Chapter Nine
Life was strange sometimes.
For instance, it had been one week since Silas had locked Hailey in a glass encased room. In that time, she had gone from picturing his head skewered in a rotisserie oven, basting in his own nefarious juices, to watching Finding Nemo with him on the bed in her cell while sharing a box of Milk Duds.
"How did you get to the pick the film again?" he asked only five minutes into the movie.
"I'm magical like that."
"You're not," Silas said blandly. "I am a shape shifting creature of magic; you are a nerd with too many books."
"If you're going to insult my books then you can just leave right now."
That's how she found herself sitting between two dragons, one Blue and one Green. Hailey recited almost every line. And much to her enjoyment, they didn't tell her to shut up or threaten to take her Milk Duds if she didn't quiet down. Instead they only murmured about not letting her pick the movie ever, ever again.
Silas looked the happiest she had ever seen him. His cheeks were in a constant upward state and the sinister look had all but been erased in the past few days. It should have been creepy on him, but Silas wore the look well.
"What are you smiling about?" he whispered in her ear. She turned her head and flicked him in the forehead.
"None of your business, Mr. Nosey Pants."
He leaned back on his pillow and snagged a Milk Dud from her box with a smile. She let him get away with it since he had brought them to her. However, her candy sharing hospitality only would go so far. Next time he tried to steal, she would punch him.
Hailey wasn't sure of the exact moment, wasn't sure if there even was one, but at some point she had gone from hating him to looking forward to their talks. He came down at least once a day and they would talk about whatever was on their minds. In the last day or so, he let Alex come join them instead of talking through the wall. She now understood what Alex had meant when he said they would be friends if their situation was different. Silas was enjoyable to be around when he wasn't trying to kill her.
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