Lord of Destiny (The Dragon Demigods #6) - Charlene Hartnady Page 0,11

hand is shaking a little as she puts West’s large soda in front of him. “Here you go.” Then she puts a glass of OJ in front of me, followed by a coffee mug in front of everyone else. Her hand is still shaking when she pours the coffee. She manages to overfill Maddox’s mug, causing a spill. “Shoot!” She rubs her lips together. “I’m being such a klutz today,” she says as she wipes the counter down, her eyes still on Maddox.

He stares blankly ahead. Not acknowledging her.

“Thanks.” I smile at the server, trying to look friendly.

She seems to relax a little. “Your food won’t be long.”

“Thanks, Avery.” I read her name tag.

Avery smiles back at me; it’s strained. She picks up her tray. We watch as she leaves, making sure she’s far enough away before we start talking.

“I’m a dragon demigod,” I say.

“Told you,” West growls at Maddox. He grins for half a second. It’s more menacing than anything else. They seem to know what a dragon demigod is. I normally have to explain myself. Not that we’ve had to tell many people, but the reaction has always been the same. Confusion. Interest. Shock. Something along those lines.

“Which god?” Zale asks, narrowing his eyes. Interesting. I have an idea of where this is going, although I could be wrong. I highly doubt that I am.

“What does it matter?” West growls before I can answer. His eyes are blazing.

I shake my head. “First, tell me more about all of you.” I ignore West’s outburst. Everyone else seems to as well. “What are you?” I keep my eyes locked with Raven’s for a few beats before letting them drift across the group.

“We didn’t think there were more of us,” Maddox confirms my suspicion.

Holy fuck!

Wait just a minute. Does that make Raven a dragon demigod as well? My heart beats faster. Maybe a straight demigod? Who sired her?

Fuck!

I squirm in my seat. Maybe she’s my half-sister? She has my ability to see into the future. That would be all kinds of fucked up since I’m attracted to her.

Maybe she can read my mind because she juts her chin forward. “I’m a dragon shifter. No blood of the gods in these veins.” She holds up her arms, wrists-up.

I gulp down some juice, trying to hide my relief. I’m not planning on acting on my attraction to her. She may have kissed me on the cheek yesterday, but she doesn’t seem to feel the same pull that I do. Also, there’s something going on between her and West. I note that she has chosen to sit on the opposite side of the booth to him. A lover’s tiff? Were they together? Are they still together? Something else entirely?

I’m at the end of the booth. I pulled up a chair. I’m three seats up from Raven. I need to avoid accidentally touching her. I do this out of respect. I hate my visions. If she read me once, chances are she’ll read me again. That is, if she’s anything like me. I don’t want that for her, even though I wouldn’t mind knowing more about the vision she had.

Maddox takes a sip of his black coffee. “The rest of us are dragon demigods. Same as you.” He looks shocked to his core. Like he’s mulling it over. I can see his mind working. “We’re twenty-six years old.”

“All four of you?” I ask, even though I already know the answer to my question. It seems that the gods come down to earth sporadically. They have their fun, and then they head back to their own realm. A bunch of bastards who don’t seem to care about the offspring they leave behind.

He nods once. “Yes. The gods spent a couple of days partying it up with a group of dragon women from our weyr. Here we are.”

Similar to what happened with us. I push out a breath. “We’re twenty-nine.”

“All of you?” West asks, he’s frowning hard.

I nod once.

“How many of you are there?” Maddox lifts his brows.

“There are questions I can’t answer.”

“Can’t or won’t?” West’s jaw tenses.

I shrug. “I can only speak for myself. When Jarrod gets here, he can tell you whatever he feels comfortable divulging. That’s where it ends.”

West shrugs. “We already know that Rage isn’t human.”

“Doesn’t matter what you know or think you know. I won’t speak for the others. I can’t!” I clear that little misunderstanding right up. I keep my eyes locked with West’s until he looks away. There are some