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Chapter 7

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“I know you had very little choice about what happened in your life, but you can change that now.”

Just after sunset, Simone had joined Lisa in her office, and they were waiting for Andre to join them. He had gruffly told the pair to wait for him while he settled some “issues” over at the visitors’ quarters. He didn’t say what the issues were, but from the grim look on his face, Simone assumed they weren’t good.

“What do you mean?” Simone liked the no-nonsense Nightshade from the moment that they met. She wondered how long that she had been Andre’s second. Their relationship, like everything else about the Nightshade, was a complete mystery.

The office that they were sitting in was sparse and no-nonsense like Lisa. There was a plain but well-made desk, a bookcase, a spare chair, and a closet that had a massive lock on it. Simone could smell gun oil, so that might be where Lisa stored some of her weapons.

“It’s obvious that you’ve wanted to break away from your father for years,” Lisa patiently spoke as she typed away on the laptop in front of her. “Rumor has it that you petitioned to join the Chicago conclave when you went to school.”

Simone hadn’t realized that anyone had known about that. Usually, that was a matter for conclaves only. The dragon shifters were a notoriously secretive race. They tried not to involve others, particularly the Nightshade and fae, in their business. She supposed it had to do with their natures to hoard everything. She made a mental note about moving her small horde to some place closer to the Sliversbane Estate.

“I’m not sure I know how you know that. I hadn’t made it public that I was trying to move.” She moved slightly in her seat, trying not to show her unease.

Lisa laughed, her brown eyes crinkling at the corners. “Hun, I’m in charge of intelligence for Andre’s court.” She leaned forward slightly, looking for a second like an eager hound ready for the chase. “There isn’t much that goes on in the supernatural world under Andre that I don’t know about. But back to the subject at hand. Use your bonding to Andre as a gift. You can change your life to one of your making.”

Simone was about to protest but stopped as her analytical nature took over. Andre had said that he wasn’t interested in having her as just a prized pet on his arm. He wanted a partner. Lisa’s questioning caused her to pause and actually consider her future. She couldn’t change what happened without a lot of political fallout. But she could shape her future.

What did she want in her partnership with Andre? What could she bring to his court that no one else could? She was an ice dragon. While she was rare in the world, what could her draconic abilities of shaping ice and snow bring to him? She was a whiz at figuring out logistics. But unless he owned some companies, that wouldn’t be of use to him either.

“I’m not sure how I can help him,” Simone admitted quietly.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You’re a smart woman. Learn about the court. Talk with Andre.” Lisa continued to type into her laptop without looking up at Simone. “You don’t have to rush that. I just want you to see the opportunity in front of you.”

Duly noted, Simone thought dryly as she continued to watch Lisa.

“Can you explain a little more about the Nightshade-shadow bond?”

Lisa paused her typing and looked closely at Simone. She was silent for so long that Simone thought she had offended the woman somehow. Then, she seemed to make up her mind and started speaking.

“What do you know about the bond?”

“That the natural-born Nightshade have one being that is their shadow. And that person belongs to the Nightshade,” Simone said. “And to kill one is to kill the other.”

Lisa nodded. “All that is true. But that’s not the entirety of it. Every Nightshade dreams of their shadow. And very few of us actually find ours.” She tapped a finger on the desktop absently. “The Nightshade-shadow bond is a soul-deep one.”

“Like a true mate bond?” Simone asked. She had always hoped that she would find her true mate one day. But now, that hope was trashed. Even if she were to meet her mate tomorrow, the treaties between Nightshade and shifters wouldn’t allow her to be with her mate.

“No. It’s deeper than that. And it doesn’t have to do with mating. There are Nightshade and shadows who aren’t mated. Take Queen Sascha and Lord Matt, for example. While they are bonded together, they aren’t romantically involved.”

“But I thought that all Nightshade who had opposite-sex partners were required to have a least one child?”

The second snorted. “Love isn’t required to have children. But yes, that is Nightshade law. Even our queen wasn’t exempt from it. She and Matt have a son. He rules over Canada.”

That the bond wasn’t like a true mating was disturbing. She would be bonded to someone who possibly would never love her. That seemed like a cruel way to spend a lifetime. Simone remained silent.

“I’ll have you built into the security system by tomorrow. You’ll have access to the entire compound.” Changing the subject, Lisa tapped the keys for a few more seconds before she spoke again. “Sometime this week, either Andre or myself will take you by the vault Andre had built for your horde. Only he and I know the exact location, and you’ll be able to change the combination then.”

A lump appeared in Simone’s throat. Andre had a vault built for her horde? Did he know how important it was for a dragon to have a secure place for their horde? Not that her horde was large. It was only a few pieces, which was understandable considering she was in her mid-twenties. The horde comprised a few treasured pieces given to her by her parents and siblings for different occasions. It was small enough to fit in a velvet bag.

“Is there a jeweler around here?” Simone asked urgently as a thought popped into her mind.

Lisa looked at her in surprise. “Why?”

“If Andre and I are to bond, I need to get him something.” Dragons celebrated major occasions with horde-worthy gifts. Since she would not have a mate because of her bond with Andre, their bonding ceremony would replace a mating ceremony. While she wasn’t happy about having the bond, she would not dishonor Andre by not presenting him with a gift. “It’s a dragon thing. I have to gift my mate, or in this case, bond, with a proper present.”

“Ah... Then let me give you a clue. If you want to give Andre something he’ll treasure, consider a weapon.” Lisa gave her a smile. “And I know someone who can help you with that.”

“It has to be something that isn’t found easily.”

“Tomorrow I’ll send you to a shop in Flint. I guarantee the owner will help you find something appropriate. He isn’t cheap, but he’s good.”

Money didn’t concern Simone. She had a fund that was just for her mating gift. Her mother had given it to her when she was born. Her father never had access to it. Apparently, it came from her mother’s conclave, and they had locked it up tight. She just had to make a phone call to access it. When she checked the balance last, there was over one million in the account. That should be enough for a mating-worthy gift.

“That will work.”

Then, the smile fell off Lisa’s face, replaced by a slightly grim expression. “When you get back from the shop, it will be time for your introduction to Andre’s court.”

***

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“WANT SOME COMPANY?” Simone looked up from her phone at Andre. She was sitting in the dining room, relaxing before a late dinner. Lisa had shown her to the dining room and departed.

She gave him a small smile. This was the first time that she had seen Andre since she arrived at the estate. She would take Lisa’s advice and try to learn more about her soon-to-be role here at the estate.

“Sure.”

Andre took the chair next to her. The table they sat at could sit six with the leaves pulled out and up to ten with it fully extended. From what she gathered from Lisa, the dining room was rarely used.

“Sorry I didn’t meet you earlier; I got caught up with unexpected business. Did you sleep well?” Andre leaned back in his chair. It was unfair that he looked so sexy dressed in a blue dress shirt and gray slacks. If Simone didn’t know he was a Nightshade, she would have thought he was a young and upcoming businessman.

“Yes, I did.” She could feel flickers of hesitation coming from Andre. It was disconcerting to feel spurts of emotion that didn’t belong to her.

Andre smiled back and appeared to make a decision. “After you finish eating, I want to show you the vault for your horde.”

She hadn’t forgotten about the vault that Lisa mentioned earlier that evening. “Lisa told me about it earlier today. Thank you so much for thinking of my horde. I was wondering where I could store it.”

“Well, we couldn’t have a dragon’s horde without a way to protect it, could we?” Andre’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “You know, so that other dragons won’t steal it.”

“No dragon would dare touch my horde!” Simone curled her hands like claws and swiped at the air. Her mock growl caused Andre to laugh.

He shrank back in pretend fear. “The mighty Simone! I’m shaking in my boots.”

“Don’t you forget it!”

Laughter met Boris as he walked in with a tray containing a plate. Boris just smiled and placed the tray down in front of Simone. “Lord Andre, would you like something?”

“Some blood wine. And then a little privacy.”

The butler nodded and withdrew. Simone really wanted to know how Boris could appear without her hearing or smelling him. He had surprised her twice during the day. No other human had done that to her.

They said nothing until Boris brought back the blood wine and set it in front of Andre.

Simone eyed the glass of pink wine. From the smell, it was a chardonnay. “You know, this is the first time I’ve seen or smelled blood wine.”

Lifting the glass, Andre studied it before taking a sip. “Unless you spend time around the Nightshade, you would have no reason to be around it.”

“The only thing I heard about it is that it’s expensive.” She remembered Trevor bitching about the cost of it when one of the young dragons in Chicago had snuck into his wine cellar and opened a bottle. That poor fool spent the summer working to pay off the cost of the bottle.

“It’s extremely expensive because it takes both skill and magic to blend blood and wine together in a stable form. There are only three wineries in the United States.” Andre took another sip. “The waitlists for all three are years long.”

Simone nodded and picked up her fork. She remained silent as she ate.

Andre didn’t talk while she ate. Simone was grateful for that. After years of being forced to engage in polite conversation during dinner, she enjoyed silence while eating. While she was in her tiny apartment in Chicago, she learned to enjoy the frequent solo dinners.

When she set her fork down, she looked up to see Andre studying her. “Do I have something on my face?”

“No.” He reached out and took her hand. “How are you feeling?”

Damn, she had been enjoying herself until he asked that question. For a few minutes, she had forgotten the dumpster fire that her life had become. “I’m still numb. Being kicked out of a conclave is something that I would never wish on my worst enemy.”

While she hadn’t been the closest with members of her conclave, Simone still knew that she belonged. Now, she was a rogue. If she hadn’t been Andre’s potential shadow, she would have either gone to the Chicago conclave or to her grandfather’s conclave in South Africa.

Andre started rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. Little sparks of energy moved from his hand to hers. “I’m sorry that the party went the way it did yesterday.”

Simone wanted to be angry with Andre, but deep in her heart, she knew that the same thing would have happened with her father. If Andre hadn’t approached her father, it was likely that Anthony would have bartered her away to someone else. Her father was all about his prestige and power.

She closed her eyes for a second and then reopened them. “I’m sure that my father would have sold me to someone else. I now wonder if he did my sister the same way.”

Of course, she couldn’t ask her sister now. No one from the Detroit conclave would be permitted to speak to her now.

“Your father underestimated you. He didn’t expect you to defend yourself.” Andre stood up and pulled her up as well. “I have a vault to show you.”

***

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SIMONE WALKED INTO the ordinary-looking antique shop. Her nose wrinkled slightly at the dust and slightly musty odor of old things. Clutter filled the shop. Antiques and what appeared to be other random things overflowed from the shelves and onto the floor. There was barely enough room for the aisles. She sniffed as she stepped around some broken pottery on the floor.

Lisa had told her the night before, after she had returned from her tour of the estate with Andre, that she had set up this appointment for just after sundown with the shop owner. The driver and a guard waited outside of the shop for her. Neither had shown any interest in entering the dusty domain.

An old man emerged from the rear of the shop. He was as bald as an egg and looked to be older than most of the surrounding antiques. “Lady Simone! It’s a pleasure to meet you.” His deep voice belied his age.

She took a discreet sniff of the air. He appeared to be an old human male, but his scent gave him away as a magician.

“Hello, Derek,” she said, holding out her hand. He took it and gave it a good shake before letting go. “Thank you for seeing me after hours.”

Derek smiled widely. “The pleasure is all mine. How may I help you today?”

“My bonding ceremony with Lord Andre is later this week. Among the dragons, it is typical to give a mating gift.”

“I see.” He turned and started walking to the back. “With Lord Andre having a love of old weapons, you’ve come to the right place.”

Simone followed him until they came to a door. Derek opened the door to reveal a staircase leading to a basement. “I keep the good stuff downstairs.” He turned on the lights and started down the stairs.

The basement was not what Simone expected from the state of the shop upstairs. The magician finished it like a luxury store. She would have thought that they were in a boutique like the ones her mother and the other ladies of the conclave favored.

Derek snapped his fingers, and he changed. Standing before her was a man in his late twenties or early thirties. “It’s nice to remove the glamour from time to time.”

Simone jerked in surprise, her mouth falling open before she forced it to close. There was no need to look like a country bumpkin. “Why do you hide your true self?”

“I’m over a hundred years old. And I’m too lazy to start over somewhere else.” Derek made it seem like the most natural thing in the world. “Eventually, I’ll come back as my long-lost grandson and inherit the shop.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Actually, it didn’t, but Simone wasn’t there to question the magician’s choices in life. She just wanted a mating gift for Andre.

“Most of my weapons are towards the back. Some are magical while others are just old.”

Simone strode to the far end of the room, where there was a sword in a display case. Something about that sword called to her.

It was a katana. To her untutored eye, the sword was a masterpiece. While it wasn’t flashy, its simple lines called to her.

“This sword is one of the three made for the Dragon Emperor at the beginning of his reign.”

Simone looked up in excitement. The Dragon Emperor was one of the dragon alphas that had helped to free dragon shifters from slavery centuries before. Historians liked to postulate that the dragons might still be in slavery now if it hadn’t been for the Japanese alpha and his leadership.

How in the world had a magician gotten ahold of a major dragon artifact?

Her dragon roused and looked at the sword. It rumbled in want.

“I want it.”

How appropriate would it be for a Nightshade lord bonded to a dragon to wield the ancient blade? And if her Father or brothers knew she was the one who found it and gave it to them, their heads would explode. That helped to solidify the decision to buy the blade.

After some negotiating, they settled on a price that made both of them comfortable. Simone had honestly thought that she would have to spend more on the sword.

“Andre’s accountant has the account number where you can transfer the money. If you have a few more minutes, I would like to show you some horde-worthy jewelry pieces.” Derek’s eyes gleamed in satisfaction at Simone’s interest.

She calculated how much she had left in her mating account and figured she might as well grab something for herself. Why the hell not? She just spent a minor fortune on Andre’s gift. “Do you have anything with rubies?”