I watched Simon land at the bottom of the falls and then disappear into some trees. Jetta camouflaged herself again, then walked to the edge of the falls and jumped, falling just a few feet before rising into the air like a giant kite. I followed her, trying to catch up. Using my wings still felt a bit awkward, not that I’d admit that to her.

“What will happen to them?” I asked.

“Do you really care? They were horrible humans. The world is better off without them.” Her tone was flat.

“I agree. I’m just morbidly curious.”

She slowed down a bit, and we glided side by side through the clouds. “The Alversons will keep them in a holding cell until the council has a chance to decide their fate. If I had a say, I’d let the sisters feed on them.”

“Shit, that’s gotta be a hell of way to go.” It would take me a while to adjust to all this new information. Once my dragon returned, so did some of the stories my mother had told me. Most of them were dragon-related, but every now and then her stories had included a witch or a goblin. I’d always thought she was embellishing to make it interesting. I’ll be damned if she wasn’t telling the truth about all of it.

Jetta nodded. “In my opinion, men like Brandt need to be dealt with permanently. But that’s not for me to decide. I’ll testify against them, if the Court asks.” She picked up speed again.

The view below us was stunning. Snow-covered caps jutted above waves of evergreens and pines. But nothing was more striking than Jetta flying over the peaks and valleys of the canyon. It wasn’t just visual, although I could make out her outline easily despite her invisibility to the human eye. I could tell her spirit felt truly free up there. She was happy, for the most part.

We landed back at her cave, and she shifted back to her human form quickly. She jerked her clothing on in hasty motions as I shifted and moved to do the same.

I’d pulled my shoes on when she picked up the lockbox, removed the scales, and then hurled the rest into the pool of water at the base of the falls. Everything inside rained down in pieces before settling somewhere beneath the surface.

“Is it over? Will you be safe now?” I asked, truly worried she may have to face this again in the future.

“Yes, it’s over.” She held up the scales. “I’ll keep these in the cave for now. Dragon scales are too valuable to leave lying around. They should be safe there, assuming some deceitful asshole dragon doesn’t dig them back up and bring them out again.”

“Jetta, you have every right to be angry with me. I should have told you the truth in the beginning. But I swear to you, I really believed you’d just taken random valuables from him. I didn’t know the contents of the box until he showed them to me at the inn.”

She hung her head, and her voice was soft. “I trusted you, Conrad.”

“I know. As you said, I was a deceitful asshole. I’m sorry that I broke that trust.” My heart ached, knowing I’d hurt her so deeply. “If it helps, once I’d gotten to know you, I’d decided I was only returning the box to Brandt, even if I had to forfeit the rest of my fee.” I stepped toward her. “I’d realized shortly after I met you that regardless of what you’d taken, you weren’t the criminal he said you were. I couldn’t allow him to hurt you. If I’d only known the real story . . .” My voice trailed off in regret. “I’m so sorry, Jetta.”

She shrugged. “Yes, you are a deceitful asshole, but if you’d known the real story, you never would have come to Havenwood Falls,” she said. “I’d never have met you, and you may have never found yourself again.”

I nodded. “True.” I looked into her eyes. “But if it would have saved you all of this pain, I would do it all differently. I’d have stayed away forever if it would have protected you. I know it’s hard to believe, after all I’ve done, but I love you. I think I have from the minute I saw you.”

She took a moment to compose herself. “It’s not how I would have preferred to have met you, but I believe you were supposed to be here. It’s what was meant to be.”

I looked at the tattoo on my wrist, the flames of it now a vivid red instead of the dull black it’d been before putting on the ring.

“Maybe you’re right.” I closed the distance between us until we were face to face. “No matter what happens from here on out, I owe you a debt of gratitude. You saved me. Before learning the truth, I was drifting from job to job, restless and unhappy. Never allowing myself any kind of meaningful relationships. Solitude was easier. I wanted to avoid the risk of being hurt. But now I feel I belong somewhere.” I shook my head. “I wish Mama would have known about this place. We could have come here. She wouldn’t have died alone or had to worry about who’d care for me later.”

Jetta placed her hand on my cheek. “I wish she would have, too, but that ring got here somehow. We may never know the whole story, but someone expected you to find your way here one day and discover your truth. I’m glad I was able to help you with that.” She kissed me gently.

My heart swelled at the love I still saw in her eyes. She didn’t completely hate me.

As if she’d read my mind, she said, “Now, that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna put you through hell to make you prove yourself. Payback is a bitch, Monroe. You have a lot of work ahead of you.”

I nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll do my best.”

Then I kissed her thoroughly.

* * *

We spent the next couple of weeks making arrangements for me to stay in Havenwood Falls as a full-time resident. I went back to Atlanta and paid off my debts, thanks to a donation from Jetta’s diamond collection and what was left of the money I’d gotten from Brandt. Then I hauled my motorcycle and what few belongings I owned back to Havenwood Falls. I rented a little house near the Havenstone development and began my search for a job. Jetta moved in with me.

I registered with the Court, and after hearing my story, they allowed Addie to make minor modifications to my current family tattoo. Besides infusing it with the town’s magic, she also added something meaningful to me, per my request. I couldn’t wait to show Jetta, so as soon as her set was done at Fallview Tavern & Grille, I rushed to carry her off the stage.

“What are you doing?” she hissed. “Put me down. Everyone is looking at us.”

“Good,” I said, “let them.” I kissed her just to be sure there was plenty of fodder for the town gossips. I whispered in her ear, “I have something special to show you.”

She chuckled. “Oh, I bet you do.”

I shook my head. “And you say I’m the dirty-minded one.”

She clutched at my neck as I hurried outside with her in my arms. I sat her down in front of my truck and rolled up my sleeve. I no longer wore the cuff.

She gasped. “Is that a snowflake?”

“Yes. I asked Addie to put it in the center of the triskele.”

“But why?” Her beautiful eyes searched mine.

“For you, of course. You are the center of my universe. My happiness—my very life— revolves around your happiness.” I bent down on one knee and took her hand. “Jetta Mills, will you make me the happiest deceitful asshole on earth and become my wife?”

She grinned at my use of her new nickname for me.

I kissed her fingers. “I don’t have a ring yet, but I was hoping this could be our new family crest.”

She traced the lines of the snowflake. “It’s beautiful, Conrad.” Her eyes met mine, and her usual mischievousness replaced the emotion I’d seen moments earlier. “You know, if I say no, you are totally screwed. You’ll be stuck explaining that weird-ass tattoo for the rest of your life.”

I shrugged. “It’s a risk I was willing to take. I’ll just tell people I was drunk.”

She closed her eyes and pulled me to my feet. “Damn it.”

“What?” I froze, wondering if she truly was going to say no. I felt my heart beat so hard I thought it would knock a hole in my chest.

“My dad is gonna be so happy that I’m marrying a dragon.”

I picked her up and swung her around. “It’ll be okay. We’ll find other ways to make him miserable.”

“We?” she asked.

“Oh yeah. We are in this together. I go where you go. I piss off who you piss off. It’s a package deal.”

Her smile turned devious as she took my hand in hers. “I can’t wait to see what kind of trouble we’ll get into.”

* * *

We hope you enjoyed this story in the Havenwood Falls series featuring a variety of supernatural creatures. The series is a collaborative effort by multiple authors.

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