Love Burns by Georgette St. Clair Read Free Book Online Page A

the front steps. Ermengarde just sat there, shamelessly staring at him in admiration.
    “What are you doing here?” Olivia asked. The wail of a police siren grew closer. She could see flashing blue lights heading her way.
    “I heard reports of an attack at your address on the police scanner. I came to see if you were all right.”
    “How did you know it was me?”
    He looked slightly embarrassed. “I obviously need to know where the mayor lives. I mean, I’m Principe.”
    “Stalker.” But she couldn’t help but feel secretly pleased.
    He walked into her house, and she and Ermengarde followed him in.
    “What a butt…” Ermengarde said admiringly, and then caught Olivia’s look and finished “…head. The burglar, I mean. What a butthead. Oh my, is it hot in here or is it just me?”
    “It’s actually freezing, because everything’s covered with ice,” Olivia said, looking with dismay at her fire- and frost-ruined sofa and armchair.
    “So what happened?” Calder asked.
    “Beats me. I heard a guy rummaging around downstairs, so I got my gun and shot him in the shoulder.”
    She could hear patrol cars pulling up in front of the house now.
    Calder knelt down and grabbed a dragon scale off the floor. He held it up and examined it critically. “Odd. That’s an unusual color pattern.”
    “What the hell are you doing?” Teague’s enraged voice thundered from the doorway. He stalked into the room with another centurion following him, a man named Lionel. “This man is naked in my unmarried daughter’s house. I pronounce death!” and he whipped out his sidearm.
    Calder stared at him fearlessly.
    “Hey!” Olivia yelled. She jumped in front of Calder. “He didn’t attack me, and he’s naked because he shifted and flew here. Not that it’s any of your damn business. But if you end up shooting him rather than issuing a sky challenge, I swear I will publicly call you out for cowardice.”
    Quinton flinched. “I am within my legal rights to defend your honor.” But his gun wavered. Being accused of cowardice would be devastating politically.
    “Shoot him!” he ordered Lionel.
    “Do you need your men to defend your daughter’s honor too?” Calder said scornfully.
    “He’s right, sir, with all due respect,” Lionel said. “We can’t shoot him. She just told you that he didn’t attack her. If you feel that the family honor has been tarnished, it’s up to you to issue a sky challenge.”
    “You’re fired,” Teague snapped.
    Lionel nodded abruptly and turned and walked out, his back stiff with anger.
    “Well, that was just rude,” Ermengarde said indignantly.
    “You’re fired too,” he barked.
    “You can’t fire her, because she works for the town council, not you. And firing him was a mistake,” Olivia informed her father. “You’re unpopular enough as it is. Lionel is very well liked.”
    “I’m still waiting for my sky challenge,” Calder said as Teague stalked over to him. “Come on, what do you say? It’s a beautiful night for a flight – and a roasting.”
    Teague glared at him and snatched the dragon scale out of his hand.
    “Excuse me, that’s evidence,” Calder said coldly. “It’s a very unusual color. I haven’t seen it before. We can run it through our database and see where it came from.”
    “It’s my evidence,” Teague said. “The crime happened on ice dragon territory.”
    Calder scowled, but there was no way he could argue with that.
    Then he shrugged. “So, about that sky challenge…”
    Teague pretended he hadn’t heard Calder. Of course he did; Calder could fry his scaly hide, Olivia thought scornfully.
    “You’ll need to come back to my place tonight,” Teague said to Olivia. “Pack your bags.”
    “She can stay with me!” Ermengarde piped up.
    “Not safe,” Teague said coldly.
    “I’m not staying with you.” Olivia shook her head. “I’ll stay with Aunt Nora.”
    “I’m ordering you—” He saw the look on her face. “Fine. Be