Fire Song (City of Dragons) Read Free Page B

patrons in her back room. More often than not, that was where Felicity and I ate breakfast too.
    “No, that’s okay,” she called. “Don’t worry about it. The Flamingo will be open in twenty minutes.”
    I came back into the living room. “I can cook, you know. I took that class in the fall. I’m good at it.”
    She smiled. “I know you are.”
    I sat down opposite her. “You’re patronizing me.”
    “No, I’m not,” she said.
    I eyed her. It wasn’t worth fighting over, and besides, I was noticing she was still in last night’s clothes. “Where have you been all night?”
    Her face broke out into a wide grin. “I am officially part of a couple!”
    My lips parted. “You… you are?”
    “Oh, Penny, don’t be like that.”
    “I’m not being like anything.” I got up and began fluffing pillows on the couch. For some reason, I didn’t want to look at her. “So, you have a boyfriend. Congratulations.” What kind of boyfriend could she have? What man was attracted to drakes? Sure, Felicity was still lovely in her own adorable way, but most people would see her as a monster. I didn’t want her to get hurt. I didn’t want her to get used.
    “You sound so completely sincere.”
    “I am sincere.” I fluffed another pillow.
    “Stop doing that and look at me.”
    I paused. Sighed. Sat back down and faced her. “You never mentioned that you were dating.”
    “I don’t bring this stuff up to you.”
    “Why not? We’re best friends. We share everything.”
    “It’s just because of how you are.”
    “How I am?”
    “About men, you know?”
    “How am I about men?”
    “Well, you’re wary.”
    “Wary?”
    “Understandably,” she said, smiling. “Of course you’re wary.”
    I studied my fingernails.
    “I want you to meet him,” Felicity said. “Will you have dinner with us?”
    “Sure,” I said. “I’m sure he’s great.” I forced myself to smile. When I met that guy, I was going to make sure that he never hurt my friend. If he did, he’d have me to contend with.

CHAPTER THREE
    “So, I said to him, I said, ‘What have you got against gargoyles?’” said Connor Beckett, leaning on the counter in the lobby.
    “Do you think it looks okay in here?” I said, leaning on a broom. I’d been sweeping up all day, it felt like. I’d had my staff checking people in by walking them directly from their cars to their rooms, avoiding the lobby entirely.
    But now it was night, and I wasn’t going to ask the people I employed to go roaming around after dark in the parking lot, asking anyone who parked if they were checking in.
    “He says, ‘It’s not about the fact you’re a gargoyle, it’s about the fact I’m straight,’” Connor said.
    “I mean, there’s no window, but it’s the beach,” I said. “So, who needs windows at the beach?” I stuck my arm through the place where the window should be.
    “But you tell me,” said Connor. “Anything that I said, did it sound like I was coming onto him?”
    “Someone will come and fix the window in the morning. And if anyone says anything, say it was an accident.” I turned to look at Connor.
    He furrowed his brow. “You aren’t even listening to me.” Connor was six feet four inches tall. He was moving and talking now, but his skin still had the grayish hue of stone. He sported small wings at his back. He was a gargoyle, which meant that he could only work at night, on account of the fact that he turned to stone all day and everything.
    “I’m listening,” I said. “Guy sounds like a homophobe.”
    “Exactly,” he said. “Thank you.” Connor was a gay gargoyle. He’d come out to his family and been disowned. They weren’t very open to alternative lifestyles. Anyway, now he lived at the hotel here with me and Felicity. When he’d told me what happened, I hadn’t had it in me to let him live on the street. “That’s what I said. But he didn’t like that very much.”
    “You called him a homophobe to his