He shook his head as he returned Hugh’s hug with enthusiasm. “Can’t. I’ve got too much to do.”
Along with a conversation he needed to have with his parents.
“Call if you need anything else.”
“I will,” Liam promised. “Talk to you later?”
“Any time.”
As they parted, Hugh strolled back to the Starbucks line. Liam strode toward the nearby bank of elevators. Then he paused. While his dad probably had too much to do in the aftermath of Constantine’s passing, he would bet money that his mother was spending time in the penthouse, keeping watch for his return.
He still wasn’t ready to talk. Not quite yet.
Digging out his phone, he typed out a text. Hi Mom. I love you.
Almost immediately, his phone pinged in reply. I love you too. How are you doing?
Pretty good. His thumbs moved rapidly across the small screen. I’ve been getting my head sorted out. I have a few things I need to do, but can we talk at noon?
Of course. Do you need anything?
He smiled. No. But thank you.
You’re welcome. You know I’d do anything for you, right? Just say the word.
Yeah. I do know. Talk to you soon.
Once he hit send on the final message, he tucked his phone back into the pocket of his jeans, swiveled and headed out the wide glass doors. The public library would be opening soon. He could use one of their computers to find out more about Glenhaven.
And, just for the hell of it, he might do a little Internet searching on dogs while he was at it.
Chapter Three
Several hours later, right at noon, Liam walked into the penthouse to find his mother and father waiting in the living room.
Dragos sat in an armchair nearest the Christmas tree, reading a book on ancient Egyptian treasure, one ankle hooked over his knee and a cup of aromatic coffee on the nearby table. Pia curled up at one end of the couch, flipping through a magazine. The scene looked peaceful and inviting, and they looked quite calm.
Calm was good. Calm was super good.
Dragos was also present in the middle of a workday, during a highly stressed time, so Liam knew just what a priority his parents had placed on talking to him.
As Liam entered, Dragos laid his book on the table, and Pia straightened to set her magazine aside.
Tucking his hands in his pockets, Liam strolled over to throw himself down on the couch beside Pia.
He said, “Hi.”
“Hi, sweetheart.” She gave him a wry smile. “You know I have to ask it—are you hungry?”
“No, thanks. I picked up a sandwich when I was out.” He returned her smile with a crooked one of his own before he said to Dragos, “I’m sorry to interrupt your workday.”
“It’s no trouble.” Dragos reached for his coffee cup. “You are always going to be one of my highest priorities.”
Yeah, he knew that. Once he could get his dragon side to calm down, he could even feel it. Liam was uneasy with how his dragon bristled when his father got too commanding. Dragos was not just a powerful personality. He was a ruler. Rulers tended to get commanding and dictatorial from time to time.
He said, “I have some things to say.”
Pia laid a hand on his knee. “You can tell us anything. You know that.”
“Yeah, I do.” He squeezed her hand and took a deep breath. “First, I wanted to say thank you, and it’s my turn to apologize. Things haven’t been easy on anybody, but even through that, you guys have been super patient with me, and you’ve given me space when I needed it. I really appreciate it, and I’m sorry if I’ve added to your stress this week.”
Dragos waved that aside. “Don’t concern yourself with that.”
Even though Dragos meant nothing but good, and Liam’s dragon had calmed considerably, it still bristled at his father’s autocratic way of wording things. He choked his reaction down.
Now that he was nearing maturity, would it always feel that way between them? They were two male dragons, both territorial, both possessive.
As much as he’d had to wrestle with himself lately, it would have been handy if he could have split himself in two, because sometimes he simply wanted to put his hands around the neck of his dragon and throttle it.
Pia asked, “The important question is, are you feeling better?”
He nodded. “I flew around all night and did a lot of thinking. Then I talked to a few people and researched some stuff.”
“Who did you talk to?” Dragos asked.
Now it was his turn to wave that away. “That’s not important. The main thing is, it helped.”
“Good.” Dragos said, “What else?”
Here we go.
“Thank you for offering to get me a puppy.” He looked at both of them in turn. “It was really thoughtful of you. I did some thinking about that too, and I’d like to turn your gift into something bigger, if that’s okay.”
Pia’s gaze went wide with interest. “What did you have in mind?”
“I want lots and lots of dogs. Sort of.” He gave them a crooked grin. “I’d like for you to buy West River Animal Shelter.”
Dragos’s eyes narrowed. “You want us to buy an animal shelter? Your mom already donates to several already.”
Liam turned to Pia. “Yes, I know, but you only donate to no-kill shelters, right?”
“Of course,” she said.
“West River doesn’t have a no-kill policy,” he told her. “I want us to buy it and turn it into a no-kill shelter so that one way or another, every dog that goes there gets a home.”
Pia started to smile, and her eyes shone. She whirled to Dragos, who inclined his head and made an acquiescing gesture.
Dragos said, “As long as you two take care of all the details, I have no objections.”
Liam grinned. “Thanks for the Christmas present.”
“You are the most outstanding son anybody could ever wish for,” Pia said as she threw her arms around him. “I love that idea so much, and I have no idea how to go about doing it.”
“Are you kidding?” Dragos said dryly. “They will be ecstatic to get this offer. You do realize it will probably mean ongoing donations just to keep the shelter afloat.”
“That’s okay, I’ll add it to my list,” Pia said. She said to Liam, “You’ll help me with things, won’t you?”
“I’ll help you as much as I can,” Liam told her. “But that kinda leads me to the last thing I need to tell you.” Dragos raised his eyebrows, and Pia looked at him expectantly. He braced himself. “This morning I applied to Glenhaven College.”
Pia’s face went blank with surprise. She said, “You did what?”
Dragos’s expression darkened. He sat forward. “You applied to Glenhaven without talking to us?”
It was harder than he had expected to meet his father’s blazing gaze, but he couldn’t back down now. He said steadily, “Yes, I did.”
“Absolutely not,” Dragos snapped. “You’re not going to Glenhaven. I forbid it.”
Whoops, there was no throttling back his dragon at that one.
Liam snapped in reply, “You can’t forbid me to go!”
Anger burned in his father’s eyes. He snarled, “I can sure as hell refuse to pay for it!”
What the hell? “I didn’t ask you to pay for anything!”
“Stop it,” Pia said.
“You just asked me to pay for an animal shelter,” Dragos shot back.
“What, are you going to refuse to do that now?” Liam felt his fists clenching. “So I guess I only get Christmas presents or college when I do what you say?”
Pia leaped to her feet and shouted, “Stop it, both of you!”
There was so much passion and forcefulness in her voice, both Liam and Dragos stopped to stare at her. Her face was clenched, and tears stood in her eyes.
She pointed at Dragos. “You are saying things in the heat of anger, and you’re going to regret them.” Then she turned to Liam and told
him fiercely, “Of course you get Christmas presents and college. But both of you need to take care right now. Remember that you love each other and act that way.”
Unable to sit still any longer, Liam threw himself to his feet and started to pace. “I don’t understand why you’re trying to forbid me to go. It’s the only option open to me that makes any sense.”
“You’ll have to pick another college,” Dragos snapped. “Somewhere more accessible—maybe Harvard, or Yale. Glenhaven is far too remote and too secluded. If something were to happen, you wouldn’t be able to get in touch with us. We wouldn’t be able to get in contact with you, or help you.”
Right now that sounded like heaven to him.
Liam forced himself to breathe evenly and managed not to say it. Instead, he said, “Harvard and Yale aren’t appropriate, so if something were to happen, you’ll just have to trust me to handle it.”
Dragos shook his head. “You’re too young.”
“If you can’t trust me to go away to college by myself,” he said through gritted teeth, “then you sure as hell can’t trust me to become a sentinel. But you’re not expecting me to become a sentinel anyway—are you?”
His father said nothing. But then he didn’t have to. His silence said it all.
Tired tears sprang to Liam’s eyes, and he spun away to hide it.
“Look,” Pia said, her voice sounding a little ragged. “College is a good idea for anybody, and so is finding independence. But Liam, there are a lot of reasons why your dad and I are not reacting well to this, especially after our trip to the Light Fae demesne last month.”
He turned slightly at that. “What do you mean?”
“Before Tatiana split from the Seelie Court to form her demesne in Los Angeles, her twin sister Isabeau, the Light Fae Queen of the Seelie Court, and Dragos shared some kind of past together, and your father can’t remember anything about it.”
That brought him all the way around again. Frowning, he met Dragos’s gaze. “Is that part of your memory loss from the construction accident a few months ago?”
“Yes,” Dragos said, his voice edged. “Apparently I spent some time at the Seelie Court, and I don’t know if Isabeau and I parted as friends or not. All we really know is that Isabeau is very dangerous, and so is her private army. After watching her attack on her sister’s demesne, it’s clear that she’s not inclined to be a forgiving sort of woman. The United Kingdom isn’t the safest place for a Cuelebre to be, Liam.”
Exasperated, Liam flung up both hands. “The United Kingdom is a big place, Dad. Not only that, but Glenhaven closes their passageway during every term.”
Dragos folded his arms. “The United Kingdom might be a big place, but in many ways, the Elder Races world is a small one. Being my son will attract a lot of attention wherever you go.”
Quickly, Liam crossed the living room. He said eagerly, “But that’s the beauty of this—I don’t want to go to college as a Cuelebre.”
Pia stared at him. “Why not?”
He couldn’t keep his fists from clenching again, as he said, “For the exact reason Dad just brought up. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you are a really hard act to follow. Your reputation is—well, it’s just everywhere. There’s no place I can go to escape it if I go as Liam Cuelebre.”
Dragos’s expression didn’t change, but he blinked. He said roughly, “I didn’t know you were having a problem with being my son, or that you felt the need to escape.”
Agh. Now he had managed to hurt both his parents. Way to go, asshole.
Forcing his way past his own frustration, he reached for gentleness. “That’s not what I meant. I love you, and I am proud to be your son. I’m just finding it difficult to live in your shadow. I have to figure out my own way to go in life.” He looked at Pia. “I used your maiden name. I set up a new email address, rented a P.O. box, and I filled out the Glenhaven application as Liam Giovanni. I’m pretty sure that guy doesn’t have a reputation anywhere that he needs to watch out for.” He paused, and then in as neutral a tone as he could manage, he added, “Not only that, but he would probably qualify for either an academic or magical scholarship.”
With that, he put everything out there. He knew he was gifted intellectually and magically. While he didn’t come right out and say it, the information made it clear—he didn’t need his parents’ money to go to college. He didn’t need their approval.
And he could see in their expressions that they knew it too. Pia blinked rapidly as she absorbed everything he said, while Dragos rubbed his forehead.
Liam’s chest felt funny, heavy and dull. He walked over to the couch to sit beside his mom again and put his arm around her. As she leaned against his side, he hugged her and whispered, “I’ve really thought this through, and I want you to be happy for me.”
“Okay,” Dragos said suddenly. Both Pia and Liam turned to him in surprise.
“Okay?” Liam asked, hardly daring to hope. “You mean, it’s okay if I go?”
“I’ve listened to your argument, and I’ve changed my mind. I think you’re right.” Dragos leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and his hard-edged face looked alert. He looked at Pia. “This idea will work. We’ve always protected Liam’s privacy, and we’ve kept a tight lid on his growth spurts. Even those who do know wouldn’t necessarily recognize him after this latest one. Look at him. He looks more like you than he does me.”
Nodding, Pia wiped her face. She said to Liam, “You would have to keep your Wyr form a secret. Sometimes that takes some tap dancing so you would have to stay on your guard, but you can do it.”
“And I won’t hear another word about you taking a scholarship,” Dragos added. “You’re my son. I will pay for your college, and living expenses, and anything else you need while you’re in school.”
This time, his father’s autocratic way of speaking didn’t bother him in the slightest. The heavy dull feeling eased, to be replaced by a rush of emotion so intense, tears sprang to his eyes again.
He muttered around a lump in his throat, “Thanks.”
“Of course”—Dragos met his gaze—“I have stipulations.”
Stipulations were fine. They were good—they weren’t an outright refusal. “Oh yeah?” he replied. “Like what?”
“I want an undercover presence in Glenhaven, and another one in Edinburgh to protect the entrance to the crossover passageway. And you don’t linger or go on a UK walkabout between terms. There’s no sense in taking unnecessary chances. You go in, and when you come out, you leave Scotland entirely.”
That all sounded reasonable. He nodded. “I can do that.”
Pia said, “If you’re sure that this is what’s best for you, we’ll help you any way we can. And we’ll be here waiting when you’re ready to come home.”
Relief had him leaning sideways so that his head and shoulders fell into her lap. He muttered telepathically in her head, I hate arguing with you.
Well, technically, you argued with your dad, she told him, while she ran her fingers through his hair. But I get your point. And I hated it too. Are we all better now?
Comfort stole through him at her gentle touch, and he nodded again.
I’m proud of you, she told him.
Twisting onto his back, he looked up into her face. You are?
You thought things through, you used your best judgment and took independent action as the situation needed, and you didn’t take no for an answer. She smiled down at him. And who knows what the future will bring. After going to school, you might decide that you don’t want to try for the sentinel position after all. But if you still want to—you know, all of those things that you just did are good qualities for a sentinel to have.
They are?
Yes, they are.
For the first time in a week, he didn’t feel the compulsion to fly away. Things had started to feel right again, and that allowed tiredness to take over. A huge yawn cracked his face.
Nearby, chair springs creaked as D
ragos stood. He said, “I have to get back to work. Don’t hold dinner for me. I think it’s going to be a late night.”
Pia nodded and said, “Okay. I’ll have something waiting for you in the fridge.”
Dragos stepped forward to bend over Liam and kiss his forehead. Liam looked up into his father’s fierce gold gaze.
Dragos said, “You are unexpectedly stubborn and resourceful. You’re also a good boy, and I’m sorry I lost my temper. And I’m sorry you had to push to get us to recognize what you needed and wanted from us.”
“It’s all good,” Liam said. “I mean, it’s not like you guys were experts on what to do with a magically growing kid.”
“Well, we’re the only experts there are,” Dragos told him wryly.
Liam grinned up at him, so happy not to be arguing with his dad anymore. Just plain stinking happy. “And I’m going to college!”
“Yes,” his father said, returning his smile. “It appears that you are.”
Chapter Four
When exhaustion set in, it was sudden and fierce. Liam went to bed early and slept in late. The only reason he woke up at all was because Pia knocked on his door and then walked into his room.
“Get up, sleepyhead!” she said.
“Mmph,” he grunted, and pulled his pillow over his head.
She dragged the bedcovers off his body. “I mean it—get up!”
“Mooooom, it’s too early,” he complained. “You sound disgustingly cheerful, and I don’t need those covers anyway.”
“It’s not early—it’s almost ten o’clock, Liam. Here, I brought you a cup of coffee.”
He could smell the coffee from underneath his pillow, dark, rich and alluring. “Get thee behind me, Satan,” he said experimentally.
She burst out laughing. “Where on earth did you hear that?”
“Some woman muttered it yesterday when she was looking at the pastries at Starbucks.” Light fingers tickled his bare feet, and he jackknifed to a sitting position. “Hey! You cheated!”
“There’s your beautiful face,” she said cheerfully. She had set the coffee mug on his bedside table. “If you get up and shower right now, you’ll have enough time to eat breakfast before we go to the West River Animal Shelter to meet with the executive director, Eileen Riley.”