pain.
‘‘I’m sorry,’’ I said, feeling the need to apologize. ‘‘I didn’t mean to turn the evening into a peep show.’’
‘‘You-’’ Cyrene started to say, then stopped, biting her lip as she looked away.
‘‘I liked it,’’ Jim said, plopping its big butt down next to a chair. ‘‘You don’t often get to see a wyvern claiming a mate. It’s better than Skinemax. Is there going to be an encore? If there is, can you hold off until I make some popcorn?’’
Aisling spoke a few hurried words and, before the demon could do more than open its mouth in protest, banished it to the Akasha. ‘‘I’m sorry about Jim. I think a little time-out is in order. I’m afraid, though, that it might be right about one thing.’’
I slid a glance toward Gabriel. He was watching me with an intensity that both flattered me and made me uncomfortable. ‘‘Yes, I’m afraid that it is… It would seem that despite the fact that I’m a doppelganger, I appear to be your mate.’’
‘‘I don’t understand how…’’ Cyrene ’s voice trailed away to nothing as she sank rather less gracefully than normal into a nearby chair.
‘‘The how is not important,’’ Gabriel answered, his dimples slowly emerging. ‘‘What matters is that the impossible has happened. I’m delighted that you understand the significance of being able to share my fire, May. I never expected to have a mate, but now that I’ve found you, I am very pleased.’’
I wanted to shadow, to go find a quiet spot where I could think over recent events by myself, without any other distractions. I was a thief, dammit, a shadow walker, servant of a demon lord, keeper of Cyrene ’s common sense, and responsible only for myself and her well-being. And now I found myself bound to a stranger? I shook my head. I just didn’t have experience with men, let alone dragons. The situation seemed untenable at best.
‘‘I don’t understand any of this,’’ Cyrene said, giving me a hurt look. ‘‘You
‘‘I’m sorry,’’ I said, dropping to my knees next to her. I took her hand and gave it a squeeze. No matter how scatterbrained she was, no matter how many times she got herself into scrapes and expected me to pull her out, she was still my twin. I owed my very existence to her. ‘‘I didn’t like deceiving you, but it seemed like less stress for everyone if you thought I wasn’t interested in men at all.’’
‘‘You’re a dragon’s mate,’’ she said slowly, as if she was absorbing this new image of me. ‘‘I still don’t… Are you sure we’re not both your mate?’’
Gabriel considered her for a moment.
‘‘We are identical,’’ she told him, her expression earnest. ‘‘May is an exact copy of me. Well, she’s not a naiad, but other than that, she’s my duplicate.’’
I have never minded being called her twin, but for some reason, her insistence on referring to me in dehumanizing terms rankled a bit. I stifled that as best I could; with the exception of her common sense-a trait that had been given over to me at my creation- she wasn’t saying anything that wasn’t absolutely true.
‘‘You were born,’’ Gabriel said gently, taking her hand from me. ‘‘The black dragons are cursed to never have a mate born to them.’’
‘‘But if May-’’ she started to argue.
‘‘This is a question easily settled,’’ he interrupted. His fingertips suddenly burst into flame, causing Cyrene to squawk and leap backward, yanking her hand out of his when he touched a spot on her wrist.
‘‘My apologies if I hurt you,’’ he said, bending his head over her arm. Cyrene watched with openmouthed amazement as he first breathed on the small burn mark, then lowered his mouth to it, his tongue lathing the spot.
Rage burst into being within me, startling me with both its presence and its intensity. Gabriel was
‘‘Er…,’’ I said, taking a step closer.
‘‘It’s all right, don’t be alarmed,’’ Aisling said, watching them with interest. ‘‘Gabriel has the most amazing saliva. All the silver dragons do. They make a wonderful healing ointment out of it, but it’s not quite as potent as when it comes from the source.’’
‘‘Um…’’ I tapped Gabriel on the shoulder. He looked up with a distinct twinkle in his eyes. ‘‘That doesn’t look very hygienic.’’
‘‘I assure you, it will do her only good, and no harm,’’ he said, smiling as he returned Cyrene ’s hand to her with a little bow.
We both looked. The small red burn mark had disappeared.
‘‘That was amazing,’’ Cyrene breathed, gazing at him with wonder.
I stifled the last little bubble of irritation, reminding myself that he was just doing his job.
He didn’t have to enjoy it quite so much, though, did he?
‘‘And now May,’’ Gabriel said. I looked at him a moment, wondering what sort of a man it was that fate had bound me to. I held out my hand, watching with dispassionate interest as he traced a symbol in flames on my wrist. It burned merrily on my skin, although I felt nothing more than a mild heat.
‘‘Dragon mates have the ability to share dragon fire. They can use it, mold it to their own desire, drawing power from it when needed,’’ he said, watching me as I coaxed the little flame to my fingertips. It shimmered there, as if it was about to go out. I held my other hand out over it, willing it into a small ball, smiling to myself when it obediently formed a sphere. I held it in the palm of my hand for a moment, admiring the beauty and power held within it, before throwing it directly at Gabriel.
A slow smile spread across his face as the flame ball exploded against his chest, bathing his upper body in fire for a few seconds before it evaporated into nothing. ‘‘I believe that answers your question, Cyrene.’’
‘‘It doesn’t even begin to cover the questions I have,’’ she said softly. I took a few steps away from Gabriel, startled by the undertone I had heard in Cyrene ’s voice.
‘‘Well, as you said, what does it matter how it happened-it did, and it’s a miracle. I hope you both will be very happy,’’ Aisling said as she gave Gabriel a hug before turning to me to do the same.
I frowned. ‘‘I’m not sure I follow you. Happy doing what?’’
Her smile slipped slightly as she glanced quickly at Gabriel. ‘‘Er… happy being together.’’
It took me a few seconds to understand what it was she was talking about. ‘‘Oh, we’re not together. At least, not in the sense you mean.’’
‘‘You’re not?’’ she asked, looking downright confused.
‘‘No. I can’t. It’s just not possible,’’ I answered, turning to Gabriel. ‘‘I’m sorry if you assumed there would be some sort of a… for lack of a better word, romantic relationship between us.’’
His eyes turned to molten silver. ‘‘You have just accepted that you are my mate.’’
‘‘Yes, it seems foolish to deny it when all the evidence points to that conclusion. But that doesn’t mean we are… you know, a couple.’’
Drake looked at his wife. ‘‘You’ve infected her.’’
Aisling’s mouth dropped open a smidgen. ‘‘I have not!'
His green eyes narrowed upon me. ‘‘You have an American accent.’’
‘‘Yes,’’ I answered, wondering what that had to do with anything. ‘‘ Cyrene was living in Louisiana when I was created. I moved to the West Coast shortly thereafter.’’ I didn’t mention the reason for my sudden move away from my twin-Magoth, fascinated with the early movie industry, had based himself in Hollywood, and bound to him as I was, I had little choice but to follow.
‘‘I miss New Orleans,’’ Cyrene said wistfully. ‘‘I’m living in London now, and of course, it’s very cultural, but there’s none of the je ne sais quoi of the U.S. '
‘‘I knew it,’’ Drake said, nodding at Aisling. ‘‘It’s something in the water that makes American women the most stubborn beings on the planet. Try to deny it.’’
She smiled at me. ‘‘We’re not stubborn, sweetie- we’re smart. We simply want to know what we’re getting into before we agree to anything.’’
‘‘Well… there is that, yes,’’ I said slowly, unwilling to say too much. ‘‘But there are certain obligations I’ve got to consider, and I’m afraid that right now, I’m just not in a position to maintain anything but a distant relationship.’’
‘‘You are my mate,’’ Gabriel said with an obstinate glint to his eye.
‘‘Yes, I believe we’ve established that fact,’’ I said, glancing at my watch. ‘‘It’s very late. Since Cyrene appears
