Chapter 2: Chapter 2

EVERMORE

Draco is sitting in his car with the window rolled down and his seat pushed back as he closes his eyes and thinks to himself, hand hovering in the air. He had demons inside, always fighting his instinct—when I was embracing mine.

But to be fair, Reds were very, very different from Silvers. His kind were inclined to evil, but when they were in control, they could be…~tolerated~.

“Hey, sweetie pie!” Fiona stops by his window first, her heels wobbling on the thick cobblestoned parkade of the Gypsy Love diner. “Happy birthday!”

Draco opens his ruby red eyes with hints of earth, reflecting his ability to think quietly and deeply while there was hell around him. That’s how he described home life with mobsters, ~hell~.

We were his heaven.

“Happy birthday, Draco.” I lean into the window next to Fiona as I grab his tie and look at the material Fiona kept bragging about, a silvery black. I see the sparkles. “You’re right; it’s weaved by a mage for luck. Very special.”

Draco hasn’t said anything. He’s stunned. I look at him curiously to see him staring at our dresses in shock.

“What’s this for?” Draco slowly grins. “You’re both beautiful.” He keeps it at that, awkward with complimenting women.

I step back, and Fiona yanks at his door, but it won’t open. “Careful, Penny. You’ll break it.”

“Grr.” Fiona tries to look angry.

Her full name was Fiona Penelope Moss.

It’s why Draco called her Penny every now and then. She hated the nickname, even though Draco and I both knew she ~loved~ it secretly. She always smiled when she heard it, then faked her anger.

Draco rolls up the full tinted window and jumps out of his sports car, which was scratched up and the tires need replacing. But he’d only ruin them instantly if he got new ones. He drove madly. No brakes.

At least it certainly didn’t feel like it, so Fiona and I avoided car rides with him. But walking on his arm? That’s a safe activity.

I take one elbow and Draco slips his other arm around Fiona’s waist as we walk into the diner together.

It was actually the fanciest restaurant in the Riverbeds. It was five stars, and it was completely separate from the main town. On the outskirts, near the National Park.

It was Draco’s choice, and we all fell in love with it as a place to get away. We always came here, once every fortnight as a tradition. Or for birthdays.

Inside, Fiona directs us to our favorite table she booked overlooking a little courtyard covered in fairy lights.

Draco slides into the booth and I slip in on the other side while Fiona looks at me wantonly before choosing Draco.

She sits next to him.

Draco grins handsomely at his favorite waitress—who was serving her favorite guest.

“The usual?” Diane asks for all of us. I nod, Fiona nods, and Draco pauses.

“Actually, add on the mountain this time. We’re all sharing.” He licks his lips at the thought.

Diane nods, twirls, and walks away, swaying her hips, but Draco immediately looks to us for our approval.

“You always wanted to try it, ten scoops, every flavor,” he mentions. “Tonight’s the night—we cross that line.”

“Damn it, Draco. It’ll melt and get everywhere,” Fiona mentions. “On our new outfits too.”

She wasn’t wrong. It was literally ten precarious scoops, on top of one another, in one cone. But…

“Lick it quickly before it melts. We’ll get the job done together.” I tap my fingers together, feeling evil at the thought. “But I want the blue bubble-gum flavor. No one else can touch it.” I glare at both of them, with wicked intent to possess my favorite flavor. “Okay?”

“It’s ~my~ birthday, I’m licking everything.” Draco kicks back and I watch Fiona and Draco do their cute little dance. He kicks up his leg and she leans back onto him, grabbing his hand and checking out his multiple rings as she rests on his torso, and he looks like a king.

It was weird to everyone else how close we were, but not to us.

“You’re so tense,” Fiona whispers as she twirls his rings. “Did you get into a fight today, Draco?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Draco growls and looks at me. “Did you?”

“How did you know?” I ask, confused.

“I keep pissing off the wrong people,” Draco murmurs, his eyes on fire. “And I was worried they might target you. Did you kill them, Evermore?”

“Not yet,” I whisper sweetly and Draco manages a small smile, while Fiona glares at me.

“Do you have to play with them?” Fiona asks. “I’m not taking their side, but you’re sick sometimes… Why can’t you just let me protect you? And you don’t have to fight ever again,” she says lightly but protectively. She was always protective.

“I’m allowed to defend myself, you baby,” I explain myself. “I don’t lust for it. I’m just good at it.”

Draco understands. He just tilts his head in agreement.

Our little mage was more mortal than monster, like us—who harbored fire and ice within. But even so, Fiona was still fucking formidable. She was the kindest—and the most ferocious…about small things, anyways.

“Will you finally tell us about it, Draco,” Fiona asks. “About it all. You never say anything much about your life.”

“I’m involved in more operations than I’d like at the moment,” Draco admits, and I see the storm in his eyes as he glares into nothing—but Diane reappears with our favorite drinks.

Fiona loved her mint tea. Draco loved his hot chocolate. I loved my caramel milkshake.

We wait until Diane moves away, and then Draco sits up and hugs his arm around Fiona’s waist, keeping her on his lap as they stir their drinks.

Fiona just stares at me, her red deep eyes so knowing—she reads my mind without reading it. “Come here.” She smiles when I narrow my eyes, feeling left out.

“Come on, Ice.” Draco smirks at his hot chocolate and then glances at me. He felt my loneliness too.

“Hmm, okay.” I grin, and I stand up to step onto the table with my heels, quickly jumping down next to him, snug in the corner. I did it quickly and silently so no one really saw. Then I drag over my milkshake, and I drink from the straw. I lean my cheek against Draco’s broad shoulder, and Fiona places her hand on my thigh.

I don’t know why, but we’d been getting closer and closer like this recently—and it was addictive. Just being warm with one another. I know it made my heart feel calm.

I know it had that effect on Draco too. When he held us, he relaxed. He drinks some of his hot chocolate and then drops it to touch me. His hand tickles through my hair, near my ear. I see his other hand, connected to the arm snug around Fiona’s waist, rubbing up and down the side of her ribs.

I always secretly liked the way he touched us, like we were precious and his.

“Gods, I want nothing else,” Draco drawls out, dark and meaning it. “~Fuuuck, my life~.” He lets out a smoky snarl. “Fuck it all.”

“What’s wrong?” I read his aura, and it’s challenged. Something terrible has happened today that he has been hiding.

“My mother ran away, and my dad is losing his mind. He thinks I’m hiding her,” Draco admits his trouble. “I don’t know where she is.”

“Why did she run?” Fiona asks.

“He’s too violent now. He takes me growing up as some kind of challenge, no matter how quiet I am, no matter how much I try to avoid him, he’ll threaten to hurt her, to rile me.” Draco sounds in pain admitting this, and we’ve heard him express his desire to kill his dad multiple times.

But there were a lot worse mobsters who would overtake, so Draco was determined to take over the Roses himself when he was ready.

Fiona and I fretted, knowing that might be next to impossible. But he was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“Run away too?” I suggest. “You can have my couch.”

“I’ll hide too,” Fiona begs. “We can all hide and disappear.”

“If he finds my mother and I’m not there to defend her, she’ll be dead.” Draco quiets down. “That’s not all—my father is always trying to partner me up with mates recently. He wants me to understand what it means to be a real dragon, and he thinks mating will change me. I don’t want his stupid fucking hoes ~thrown~ at me. I have you two and that’s all the female company I need.

“You don’t understand how disgusting some of those hookers are, the ones that hang around the gang. Fuck, it’s worse than hell. I’m sick of being in chains to them all. Always spat at and pushed down—the only thing they don’t do is try and beat me, or I’ll kill them.”

Draco finally lets out a long breath. “I feel a little better. I know everything will be fine. I just have to be patient. What have you been up to, girls?”

Draco always vented to us, and then he dropped it, not wanting to speak of it again. So we both know to change the subject now.

“I’m trying to work out ways to secure Evermore’s safety,” Fiona repeats herself, like always. “She’s always evading me, especially recently. She tricks me. I thought her parents were visiting today and instead she went shopping without me.”

“For that dress?” Draco’s hand slides down my bare skin across my back. “It’s drop-dead gorgeous…you both are.”

“I went alone because I wanted to surprise you both,” I admit. “You know, we um…we’ve never…” I thought I could breach this next topic confidently, but I immediately chicken out. When I glance at Draco, he knows exactly what I was going to say and he fights back a cocky smile.

Fiona glances up at me, confused.

“Hmm?” she asks.

“Drink your tea, Penny.” Draco kisses her ear, whispering into it, and watching her sigh and lean back.

“Why does that feel so damn good?” Fiona asks. “I almost enjoy your kisses…from a douchebag like you.”

“Cute bitch,” Draco growls playfully, and finally some hot chips arrive.

Our hungry stomachs break the tension as we all reach for the salty fries.

In time, we’ve demolished every one, and Diane behind the counter winks as she starts piling up the mountain.

“This wasn’t a bad birthday surprise after all—” Draco rumbles, content, until he completely freezes, and his face turns to the entry of Gypsy Love. “…~shit~.”

I hear true panic, and his aura darkens to violence. His hand curls tight around me, pulling me closer, while he puts his other hand on Fiona’s cheek and turns her face toward me, making sure she can’t see.

When I look, for the first time in my life, I get a close-up of Draco’s father—with three bodyguards tailing him. The guards are all Reds too.

Draco’s father’s red hair is shaved off, and only his pockmarked skin and neck riddled with scars shows his violent character. It highlights the amount of times people had tried to kill him.

His dark red eyes focus on his eldest as he strolls toward us, a purposeful stride.

He’d never met us.

But Fiona ~had~ met him when she was in the trade—and he had put his hands on her at some point. To say he was the scum of the earth was an understatement. I feel my fangs growing in my mouth, an urge to rip into him, taking over.

“Dad?” Draco asks quietly as the ugly Red Rose stands at the side of our booth, his lips twitching with a fake smile that disappears as he observes us three.

Fiona’s eyes are already filled with tears. I grab her hand and she squeezes my fingers so tight. I squeeze her back, hoping she knows I’ll protect her too.

If the Red Rose even breathes over her, I’m going to stab a fork through his chest. I don’t care about the consequences.

“So you came out here to fuck two girls?” Draco senior asks coolly. “That’s a nice birthday for you, isn’t it, son? ~You are sneaky~.”

“What do you want?” Draco asks, and I hear how equally cool he manages to sound. “If you need me, I’ll wrap this up and be with you in a moment.”

“How considerate you are. In truth, I’m just pleased to find out you weren’t involved in my mate running after all, since you’re too busy thinking of your cock. Why don’t you bring these two home?”

“~No~,” Draco answers too quickly.

“What…you don’t want to share—?” Draco’s father makes a sick joke, and Draco’s red aura starts to flare. The problem with Reds is when they lost it—they didn’t stop until the rage was quenched. With us, Draco’s father might just push him too far.

I have to intervene now. I have no choice.

Before Draco jumps his father in our favorite diner, the only thing that stops this—is me.

I jump up, moving lithe and with perfect silent grace, as I leap over my friends and land before our enemies. “Four Red Roses don’t scare me. If anything, I’m excited to kill them.”

With nothing but my cursed magic, I place myself in front of Draco’s father. I hold up a hand with Ice Fire—a blue shard that frosts everything it touches.

“Leave,” I whisper at the mob boss. “~Please~. Leave. I’d much rather have fun when this reaches its end, somewhere where I can take my time bleeding you.”

I continue to whisper and smile, so excited, my heart racing with the thought of a fight to the death. Knowing I can win.

I feel hands around my waist. Fiona tugs at me, Draco too, pulling me back.

The Red Rose slowly backs up, hands up in surrender, as he licks his lips. “A Silver? Interesting.”

He has dollar signs in his eyes, his aura is one of greed, imagining how many millions he can make on my skin. It’s all he has to say as he turns and motions to his men—and they retreat from the diner.

At least he didn’t even glance twice at Fiona.

I turn to my friends.

Fiona has furiously wiped away her tears, and Draco is looking mortified.

I sit back on the other side of the booth.

“What?” I ask both of them, into the silence. “You’re mad I—”

“No,” Draco answers, clearing his throat and running a hand through his red hair. He leans back, breathing heavily. “Evermore, it’s never you that makes me mad.”

“It’s evil,” Fiona murmurs. She looks pale and withdrawn. I worry for her aura. She’s feeling waves of trauma, triggered from his father’s sudden appearance.

“We need to get out of here, Draco. For Fiona,” I suggest.

“I have your dessert?” Diane appears as she comes over with it, balancing it precariously.

“Sorry, darling, we’re out early.” Draco hands her a big tip. “~You~ can have it.”

Diane nods and carefully makes her way back to the counter.

I notice the other guests look worried by the quiet drama that just went down.

Draco takes Fiona’s hand as he scans out front, to make sure his father has left.

When the coast is clear, he takes her out the front door and I automatically go out the back.

I look for spies. When I see none, I run toward his car and jump in the back while Fiona rides shotgun.

“Okay.” Draco revs the engine. “The plan?”

I decide. “My apartment. You can park underground securely, and Fiona placed so many hexes on my place—they’ll never find us, even if they find your car.”

“I’m not going home tonight,” Draco adds, sounding nervous about the prospect. “My dad will need to cool off first—”

“It’s fine,” I add. “Sleepover? Fiona. Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Fiona squeaks, and I reach around the chair to squeeze her shoulder, hoping my touch comforts her a bit.

Draco takes her hand and doesn’t let it go. He drives off without saying a word.

We have our plan.

Stick together.

Fuck the world.

Reality can stick it for a little while longer.