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“Why not?” she asked, raising a brow at me. “You left because of good intentions. He has accepted your good intentions. He even agrees with them. He followed his career precisely long enough to clear your name in Miami. He even made it so you could go back if you would like.”
“Pass.” I shuddered at the thought of dealing with the prejudice again. “Is Miami even going to be safe for you?”
“It’s fine. One time, a prejudiced cop came over to interrogate me about you, and I transformed into a dragon, showed him the back of my throat, and asked which was more dangerous, a necromancer or an angry dragon. He wisely said the dragon, apologized for misunderstanding the situation, and scrambled back home. I even told him there was a difference between a sweet, helpful purple dragon-kin with a runaway gift versus a necromancer. He even stopped after a few houses, turned around, and managed a complete conversation before resuming his flight. Of course, I may have been gliding above him making commentary about his running form as he did so.”
“You exposed yourselves as dragons?” I blurted.
“What are you worried about, baby? The dragons here have no care about people accused of necromancy in Miami. And your status as a dragon-kin of great beauty and integrity was not spread. The headline indicated that someone with a fledgling healing art had been accused of necromancy, robbing the police force of an important ally. You do not go around here identifying yourself as a dragon-kin, and the narrative in Miami involves a dragon-kin who kept quiet about being a dragon-kin to better serve her community. You have thoroughly convinced them you are just a human.”
“And why are all these dragons wary about you two, anyway?”
“We’re nasty dragons,” my parents chorused.
I rolled my eyes. “As evidenced by the fact you had me.”
My mother giggled while my father scowled.
“Wrong type of nasty, Kinsley,” he stated in a cool tone.
“Are you seriously telling me you come here every now and then and terrorize the other dragons?”
“Yes,” my parents replied.
I lifted my hand, rubbed at my temple, and wondered what I had done to deserve them as my parents. Had I been some monster in a previous life? If Erik came calling, I would have to, in addition to groveling and apologizing, swear I had fallen far from their tree of crazy. “And you have convinced an entire city of dragons that there is no way you two could possibly reproduce due to your ongoing feud?”
My mother grinned. “Basically. And those titanium dragons are going to help spread so many rumors about how you have been tormented, thus ensuring everyone leaves you alone about Garnet. And if there is a dragon killing possibly pilgrims and petitioners, they’ll steer well clear of you.”
“They will? Why?”
My mother snickered. “Because anyone who spotted you with us at Shrine Hill would have seen a human girl being subjected to absolute hell. And they would have seen you doing your duty to your kitten, who is beyond delighted with her starter stone kit. I will assist you in setting up the insurance policy, and we will pay for it. We bullied you into it, and while we are bullies, we are honorable bullies who do not give financial hardship to the undeserving. We save the white elephants for those who deserve to endure hardship.”
“I don’t know what game you two are playing, but you need to behave.”
My father smiled, adjusted how my necklace rested around my throat, and patted my shoulder. “I’m sure someone will figure it out. You don’t look much like your mother, but you look enough like my mother that someone will realize you’re a chip off my block. Your grandmother, like most dragons, still appears to be young enough. Fortunately, she spends most of her time in Asia, so there is little risk someone will notice the resemblance. You are also our opposite in temperament.”
“You mean sanity.”
My father grinned. “That, too. You like helping people. We like doing what we want and when we want. We are not known to be helpers. We are known to offer gifts to those we have annoyed and bothered. Just complain that we made you accept gifts, and the dragons here will understand you have been harshly imposed upon. I would prefer if you lived in a nicer home. I know why you won’t, at least at this point, but I’m sure you will make a more suitable arrangement soon enough. This place is not large enough for you, Erik, and two carbunclo.”
“You are assuming Erik will be able to find a little boy carbunclo that Garnet can tolerate.”
My mother heaved a sigh. “That is truly a cruel challenge, my daughter. I understand how you acquired Garnet, and she is truly well matched with you. You’re doing this to attack our bank account. You know who will end up buying Erik a carbunclo? Us! And we will have to stage countless introductions of kittens with him and Garnet until a proper pairing is established. You are a terrible child.”
I stared at my mother and wondered when she had lost her mind. “Dad, is Mom okay? Did she take my departure from Miami okay?”
While my mother scowled, my father laughed. “Your mother is fine. She just understands what you do not know about carbunclo. You gave Erik a difficult challenge, and it will take both our families working together to meet your demands. Don’t change your mind on that, by the way. You have shown your dedication to his cause, and it is time he does the same. And your demand is what is best for you and for Garnet.”
I regarded my kitten, who had fallen asleep while holding on to her smoky quartz cluster. “She really likes that stone.”
“Ah, yes. That mean old black dragon has a soft spot for carbunclo, and he was so very pleased to see how happy she is. That stone is when Garnet realized she was truly allowed to ask for the stone she really wanted, and she saw you did not even hesitate to get it for her. Black dragons see many things—and I would not be surprised if the shrine gifted her with the sight to see that you truly want her to be happy. She values that stone because she is growing into her certainty of her place with you. That blue garnet you got for her will always be quite special for her as well. But that stone? She saw it, she loved it, and you got it for her. She may even know that it’s not a particularly valuable stone, but by the time you finished at the shrines, she understood that you truly do value her. That one will be much loved. But the stones she will love the most are the ones you take her on adventures to find. That’s just how carbunclo are.”
I smiled at my kitten, marveling at how a creature so small could bring so much joy. “When Phillip gave her to me, he made me put a cat in a circle. What was that about?”
“While Garnet is of Argentinian breeding, carbunclo were born in Chile. They are creations of will. Enough people with some power, mostly dragon-kin, believed in the lore of the carbunclo, and this lore brought them to life. There are a few different stories of how carbunclo came to be, but the most popular involves them being a creature of treasure. They bring wealth and riches to those who own them. In reality, they cost their owners great wealth and riches keeping them pleased, but they bring greater wealth in the form of joy.” My mother made a thoughtful noise. “The black cat comes from one of the early carbunclo legends. Treasure hunters wishing to acquire the carbunclo’s wealth would chase the carbunclo, essentially performing a ritual in order to catch it and take its treasures. I won’t give you the specifics. You might try just to see what happens.”
“I am quite happy with Garnet, thank you.”
“Anyway, upon performing the ritual and locating the treasure, the treasure hunter would bring a black cat and toss the cat into the hole where the treasure might be found. Some claim a widow must be holding the cat. Some claim a virgin. Some claim that someone who has captured a carbunclo in the past must hold the cat. Some believe that the treasure hunter must somehow contain the cat while digging the hole. Time has made quite the mess of the original legend. In any case, the cat is thrown numerous times as the hole becomes deeper. I will not tell you any of those specifics. You might try to learn the truth of the carbunclo legend. To show fear or any negative emotion during the ritual digging will result in the treasure being lost. Failure to throw the cat would result in death of the treasure hunter.”