Chapter 4: Chapter 4

EVERMORE

What a shy morning it had been for us three. I had finished my shower first while they slept like the dead. Fiona almost in the same position, Draco face planted into a pillow, drooling away next to her.

I returned to the bed and sat on the side of them, stroking my hand through Draco’s dark red hair, and then moving some curly tendrils off Fiona’s cheek. They both woke at the same time, blinking and looking around blearily for a bit.

I just watched over them silently, watching their auras change from the purple of dreaming to the white shade of consciousness.

Fiona immediately noticed she was naked as she rolled around. Then she looked down at the brand on her chest and she moved quickly, rolling off the bed and scampering into the bathroom with the brightest red cheeks I had ever seen.

Draco watched her ass bounce as she ran so fast, smirking to himself before rolling toward me and laying a hand on my cheek as I slid down next to him on the pillow.

“Morning.” Draco blinked slowly, then he rolled over me and off the bed, walking into the kitchen, yawning and stretching.

But I read his aura, and I read hers. They’re both feeling shy about it. About the moment we all spontaneously fucked.

I? I’m not so shy. I lie on the bed for a bit, smiling to myself as I twirl my fingers through my long locks of silver hair. I couldn’t be happier.

Then I start to daydream. I think of all the ways I can maim the Red Roses, the day I get the main gang members into a room with me, with Fiona if she wants, with our Red—their prince, plotting for their downfall.

I imagine the arms I’ll take and the way every man will scream for mercy as we destroy them.

“Evermore! Your milk is expired, fucking disgusting.” Draco sounds revolted, breaking my thought process.

I roll off the bed. I’m wearing some loose beige pants and a white top, walking out to see Draco holding a black instant coffee, looking distressed about the lack of milk.

I raise a brow. “Oh well? My mom bought me the milk, I just don’t drink it.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t find arms in the freezer, considering how little normal food you stock…” Draco cocks a brow as he opens the fridge and exposes the empty shelves. “Arm eater.”

I shrug. He wasn’t wrong. Arms were my dragon’s favorite limb.

“Let’s bounce from this joint and go out, since it’s the weekend—my father will be in Requiem City. He never conducts business on weekends. So no Red Roses will be in town.” Draco nods to himself while placing the black coffee on the counter, looking at my silent stare.

“Do you think Fiona is okay?” he whispers, while she isn’t in the room. “She won’t…hate me after, will she?”

I smile slyly as I look over my shoulder, just as Fiona appears wrapped in a towel, her hair wet as she huffs out an emotional breath, glaring at Draco. “I overheard you say that.”

“Oh, uh…so…?” Draco asks awkwardly.

“You know I could never hate anybody, let alone one of my best friends.” Fiona’s eyes water.

“Penny.” Draco grabs the counter and leans forward, his ruby red eyes, sharp and focused, as his hair even ripples with darkening red passion. “Don’t cry about our friendship. You cry once a day, speaking about us,” Draco teases her. “I just meant…” Draco puts a hand in his hair. “Fuck. I just meant. Because we…because you let me…”

“~I loved it~. It didn’t hurt,” Fiona whispers and quickly changes the subject, looking at me. “Evermore. Come. Let’s get changed. And we’ll all spend the day out together. Should we go hiking?”

“I was thinking we could go get coffee first, since Evermore’s milk is fucking rotting…” Draco shakes his head at me. “Unbelievable. How did your parents agree to let you live alone?”

“I’m a dragon like you. I don’t need food. I need arms.”

“I don’t want to hear about your appetite,” Fiona scolds me. “You know it makes me queasy. I’m getting ready on my own then.”

Fiona huffs and slams my bedroom door.

Draco shakes his head some more. “She just wants you naked all the time, Ice. Not that I can blame her.”

“I’m feeling horny again already,” I admit in a quiet whisper. “We shouldn’t act on all our impulses, or we’ll ruin the day.”

“Agreed…to a point,” Draco growls out. “I’d rather hold off. I… I look at Penny and I want to…mmm…” he trails off, and I burst out laughing because I know she’s eavesdropping on everything and she’ll—

“Are you talking about me again?” Fiona bursts out of the room again, just as she’s pulling a borrowed black tank top over her bare breasts, lingering as she slowly pulls it down in slow motion, silencing us both.

Draco has stopped breathing, and I watch him turn like a robot and move to the door.

“I’ll be in my car, you girls don’t be long,” Draco speaks up like a robot too. “Come on,” he snarl-hisses it, glaring back at me and Fiona. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

When the snake comes out, his hiss overtakes his whole dark tone, and it’s nothing any dragon can do unless you’re Red. It’s a fury so deep, a fury you feel about the slightest inconveniences. That’s how he had described it to us in the past.

“You’re going to drive that Red crazy, Penny,” I whisper, smirking.

“Mm, oh, ~well~.” Fiona leans on the door, smiling mischievously. “We should go to the carnival tonight. Did you know he hates scary movies? I want to take Draco to the haunted house. It’s for kids but I remember him telling us years ago how much he gets scared by the dolls, the jump scares, the skeletons. Want to scare him with me? I’ll do my backward crab walk. I have it all planned.”

“You are a menace to this friendship, Fiona.” I purse my lips. “I’ll get ready, can you go to Draco and keep him calm until I get there? He started snarl-hissing.”

“Oh, I heard.” Fiona walks toward me, and she puts her hand on my arm. “Ever… I had fun.” She smiles sweetly and then she moves for the door, hesitating. “Don’t be longer than sixty seconds behind me, or I’ll come looking,” Fiona warns me with a wag of her finger. “Okay?” she grins. “Great.”

She leaves my apartment and I roll my eyes when the door shuts.

I run to my room and find some ripped jeans and a pink tank top. Slipping on my old runners, I pick up my bag and check my hair.

It always lies in perfectly waist-long silver locks. My eyes burn blue like my dead aunt, not purple like my mother Silver, or golden like the Shadow in the Sky.

But even so, I inherited most of my father’s personality. He wasn’t just a brooding character, but deeply disturbed by his own Tempest desires.

He had shut them off thousands of years ago, after delving in them for centuries. Silver was completely opposite.

The sweetest, most naïve Silver in existence. She had no mean bones in her body. I wasn’t mean.

Just curious. Deeply curious. I liked to understand people’s limits. I had learned all of Draco’s and Fiona’s a long time ago.

Draco couldn’t stand attention just because of his family name Cyrus. All the other girls treated him as a commodity.

Not us. Fiona’s major trigger was strangely just direct compliments. She preferred actions to prove it.

Hearing sweet words annoyed the hell out of her. I think I knew why—because words could tell lies. But even so, it delighted me to see her squirm ~just a little bit~.

I’ll admit I had a sadistic side, completely dragon in nature, but I would never want to hurt my Fiona or my Draco. I just loved to tease.

Like every day, I’m so excited to spend time with them. I run out of my apartment to find Draco sitting in the driver’s seat in the underground parkade, in his suit from last night, talking to Fiona in the front seat.

They both look at me and smirk as I get closer, and I pause. I place my hands on my hips, and Draco starts his car, revving the engine, his arm falling out the window as he smacks the side of his scratched-up ride.

“In,” Draco yells out, “now.”

Fiona snaps at him for his temper. I can’t hear her, but I read her lips.

~Don’t yell.~

Draco immediately smirks with her anger while looking at me. We both enjoyed her mortal tantrums.

Tantrums we could never engage in. Dragons were above that.

We just said what we felt, acted on what we wanted. Mortals and mages were so nuanced, silly, and wordy.

I walk over and jump in the back; however, the door isn’t even shut as Draco drives off like a maniac.

“Hey, ~slow down~, Ever doesn’t have her seat belt on!” Fiona yells, smacking his arm.

“Shh, relax.” Draco usually drove like shit because the Riverbeds was such a quiet town, the streets were wide, and you could see people coming from far away. “You girls want coffee? I’ll buy your sweet asses something.”

Fiona hiccups, “A strong one for meeeEEEE!”

Draco accelerates and drifts around the next corner so fast, the whole car screeches in a one-eighty before it parks perfectly outside a little café called Peekaboo.

We had both screamed when he pulled that move, both clasping onto his arm with our nails digging into his muscles.

As soon as the engine was cut, we both let out a long exhale. Fiona’s is the shakiest.

“Haaa-a-a….” Fiona looks at me. “~Oh gods~.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t fuss.” Draco gets out of the car and slams the door, eager for his coffee as he walks into the shop.

There was a family and two couples walking for the shop entry, but Draco wants in first.

“Let’s go.” I jump for the car door as quickly as she reaches for hers.

It was always a relief getting out of that metal trap. Fiona runs to my side, our arms brush together as we walk in side by side, to find Draco impatiently tapping his foot as he waits for our orders.

“My girls, what do you want?” Draco asks calmly, despite his racing pulse I see in the veins of his neck.

I’ll never not appreciate how much he keeps his temper cool around us.

“Strong, and um, sugar, but, one and a half,” Fiona starts to list off her order.

“Black is fine,” I add in my order.

“Oo, but, but for me… I want mine a bit colder.” Fiona reaches Draco’s side, she leans onto the counter. “And a dash of milk, a little bit. Actually, no milk. And no sugar. Actually…~mm~…”

Fiona could never decide on a sweet or bitter coffee, as she enjoyed both. It’s cute watching her decide.

As she’s talking, the six new arrivals are waiting, and I can see the male barista giving Fiona a nasty side-eye behind the coffee machine.

I only notice it then, before he speaks over Fiona’s excited stuttering. “Come on, love, we have others waiting.”

He speaks under his breath, clearly annoyed.

Draco gives the man one look, and the whole café dies of sound. The heat rises.

Draco looks to the woman taking the order. “You, you’ll make our coffee, him? He stands out the back until I’m gone.”

“Jasper,” the girl at the counter whispers to her coworker, “Go. Go, ~seriously~…he’s a Red.”

Jasper was confused until he hears ~Red~ spoken.

“Shit. Fuck. Sorry.” Jasper holds up both hands and sprints out the back a moment later.

Draco smiles sweetly at the girl. “Thank you.” He winks at her, and Fiona bites her lip, looking embarrassed.

“Sorry,” Fiona whispers at Draco and looks back at me. “I was… I was just being stupid.”

“Shut up,” Draco growls over her. “Don’t ever demean yourself.”

“O-oh,” Fiona stutters, and I grab her hand.

“Shh,” I whisper, hoping to calm her, to let Draco play this out.

When things went his way, his temper disappeared quickly. If Jasper had resisted…well…I’m not so certain I can say the café wouldn’t be painted red with his blood by now.

Draco looks at the others in line, and he apologizes to them. “We won’t be long. Sorry about that.”

They avoid his eyes or just nod in agreement, to avoid trouble.

Draco stands back and puts a hand around Fiona’s waist. I round his other side, and he slips an arm around my waist too, squeezing me tight.

“Thank you,” Draco murmurs under his breath at me. “Fuck.”

“You did good,” I tease him.

“Yes,” Fiona adds. “No arms went flying out windows today. ~Good~.”

“Ready.” The chick making our coffee starts handing them out to us.

We grab them while the shop is silent.

In the Riverbeds, the Reds are known.

Red Dragons are a bane and a curse to this town.

Although most people know just to stay out of their path, and they leave the locals alone.

For us?

I guess Fiona and I are lucky.

Because ~our~ Red is our protection.

Draco might be the Prince of the Red Roses, but he is our best friend first.