Read Online Me and My Shadow by Katie MacAlister - Free Book Online Page B

You look well, May.”
    I wanted to goggle at his change in attitude.
    â€œThank you,” I said, a little stunned. By this point, I expected Kostya to be screaming for vengeance, or ranting about the past as he was wont to do.
    â€œI trust the shard is not giving you any grief?” he inquired politely.
    My eyes widened as I glanced toward Gabriel. He grinned at me and winked.
    â€œEr . . . not unduly so, no. Thank you for asking.” I was prompted by the knowledge that formalities must be preserved even in informal situations to add, “You are well?”
    â€œI am,” he said, inclining his head. “Cyrene and I took a little trip to my homeland. It is most pleasant at this time of year.”
    â€œI’m sorry,” I said, finding the whole conversation too bizarre to let pass without comment. “Are you chitchat-ting with me?”
    â€œYes, he is. Isn’t he doing it wonderfully?” Cyrene asked, blowing him a kiss.
    Gabriel laughed and moved over to stand next to me, his arm loosely around my waist. “It is quite amazing, is it not?”
    Kostya smiled at Cyrene, and for a second, I was aware on a primal level of the charm that had attracted her to him. But although my acquaintance with Kostya had not been of a lengthy nature, it had been violent enough to leave me wary of such a benign appearance, even despite the dragon shard’s interest.
    â€œIncredibly so,” I said, knowing my twin would completely miss the sarcasm in my voice.
    Jim didn’t. The demon choked. I eyed it, about to forbid it to speak if it looked like it was going to say anything inappropriate. Catalina leaned toward her el dest son, whispering furiously as she gestured an elegant hand toward me. He looked at her for a minute before turning an astonished gaze on me.
    â€œI am not mentally deficient,” I announced, just in case he believed his mother.
    Jim snorted again and opened its mouth to speak.
    I pulled out my dagger and spun it around my fingers before flinging it to the floor about half an inch in front of Jim’s toes. It leaped backwards. “All right, all right, I get the point! Man! I’m telling Ash you’re pulling weapons on me!”
    â€œDo not say anything about it,” Catalina finished speaking to Kostya in what she no doubt imagined was a whisper. “It is best if you do not dwell on the sad situation. Her kind gets so upset.”
    I smiled and slipped just a smidgen the normally tight rein I held on the dragon shard. It purred with satisfaction, sending silver scales shimmering up my arms, my fingers lengthening and turning crimson at the claws. I waggled them at Kostya. “Your mother has sage advice. And speaking of people who were resurrected, why do you think Baltic isn’t really Baltic?”
    â€œHe could not be,” Kostya said with a familiar stubborn set to his jaw. “Dragons are not easily resurrected.”
    â€œGabriel said that, as well, but his mom seems to think otherwise.”
    â€œShe’s never tried to resurrect a dragon,” Kostya replied with a glance at his mother.
    â€œIt is true, what my darling Kostya says,” Catalina said with a dramatic sigh. “I tried to have Toldi resurrected, but alas, he came back . . . less.”
    â€œLess than what?” I asked, curious about the odd tone in her voice.
    She cast me a sympathetic glance, nodding slightly toward me. “Just . . . less. It was a kindness to put him out of the way. Again. Which I did, naturally, because I was nothing if not a good mate.”
    An odd sort of choking noise emerged from Jim. I picked up my dagger, noting that the demon’s eyes widened as I twirled it around my fingers. “ ‘Again’ as in you killed him before?”
    â€œOh yes. He was not a nice man, Toldi. He murdered most of my family, you know, in order to get me to accept him as mate. Which I did, but only because I knew I would be