Gods of Old, Part 3: Vesna

Chapter 3: Acquiring the apartment

Vesna takes Ty up to her penthouse so he can meet Ilona and Veles. And she’s not ready to let him go just yet. He gives her peace and she is comfortable with him around even though he is a people magnet, but they were all staring at him and not her. Quite a novelty to feel invisible for once and she likes it, a lot. She likes him a lot, too. Even if he is socially awkward and completely lost sometimes even in a public place, she thinks he just needs some guidance. It is different to be told something and to experience it on your own. Well, for him, it’s going to be with her. She only needs to convince him to stick around for a while. This just might be a fun break in her routine. And he is a very nice and pleasing looking addition to her model list.

“Hey, Ilona!” Vesna greets her best friend as they walk in the apartment. “I brought someone for you to meet.”

“Oh, my!” Ilona exclaims when she looks up. “A new model? A friend? Something more?”

“You are nosy! This is Ty. He just recently moved here and he came to see me, because I know his father.” Vesna clarifies, dryly. She doesn’t want Ilona to question things too much. It’s all so fresh and new and exciting.

“Aha. If you say so.” Ilona laughs, but she doesn’t pursue the matter.

“Hi, Ilona.” Ty stretches his hand out in a polite greeting.

“Hi. You don’t smile?” Ilona asks the handsome young man. “Or did she forbid you to smile?”

“No! Don’t!” Vesna shouts. “Ty is a dragon. He is a completely different kind of a shifter that you’re used to. And Veles’ magic doesn’t work against his charms.”

“Oh.” Is all Ilona can manage.

“She’s right and you’re human. I would hate to cause strife.” Ty agrees with Vesna. “We just wanted to ask you something.”

“Where is Veles?” Vesna frowns and thinks it’s weird for Veles to leave Ilona alone. They seem to be attached at the hip lately.

“He’s in Iceland, helping Freya with something.” Ilona answers her friend without a glance in her direction. Her eyes are focused on Ty. “What did you want to ask? I doubt it was about Veles.”

“Would you be willing to rent out your apartment to Ty? He’s got quite a commute to the city.” Vesna asks in effort to bring Ilona’s attention back to her. With no avail as she keeps gazing at the dragon. 

“Where do you live? I can’t place your accent.” Ilona is curious.

“In Castelletto, but I’m from Germany. I just moved here.” Ty explains to the gorgeous redhead. And it’s getting hard not to smile. Something about Ilona makes him happy and relaxed.

“I would have to think about it.” Ilona responds. “I guess I don’t need the apartment. But I have to warn you, it’s small.”

“Please?” Ty gives her his best impression of puppy eyes and he can’t fail with those. It worked with his mother, so it will with a human, too.

“Yes, sure.” Ilona looks a bit dazed as she answers.

“Ty! Stop it!” Vesna reprimands him and slaps her hand on his shoulder. “You can’t just hypnotise people into doing what you want them to do!”

Vesna snaps her fingers to get Ilona out of the trance Ty put her in and she just shakes her head at him. She will need to coach him better in restraint. Is two days enough time or should she cancel the party? Dilemmas, dilemmas. But right now, she needs to show him the apartment and get him away from Ilona before he does something that will cause his death and a lot of grievances for her. It’s really not fair for him to practise on her best friend, but test subjects are so hard to come by in this day and age, when people don’t know about dragons. Maybe she could pay Allegra to be a test subject for a few days. It’s a thought that needs careful consideration, since it could leave lasting damage on the wolf’s brain and she does like her assistant.

“Ilona, thank you so much. I’ll call you in a few minutes.” Vesna tells her friend and drags Ty to the door. “You are coming with me. We need to talk.”

“What did I do now?” Ty pouts like a small child.

“You can stop that. The sad puppy routine doesn’t work on me.” She smirks and opens a portal to Ilona’s apartment. It doesn’t work because she’s using all her strength to bring her walls up. Damn, he is an alluring one. “We are going sightseeing now.”

Vesna tries to look at Ilona’s apartment through the dragon’s eyes. Yes, it’s tini, but it has the location. And it’s temporary and not overly expensive, which is always good. Dragons hate to part with their money. It’s colorful and not crowded. The windows bring in enough light and there are trees outside. It has everything one person needs. And there is room for occasional visitors. Did she miss something? Ty is awfully quiet. What is he thinking about? She wishes her powers were more stable to use, she could just read his mind that way. Alas, talking is the way.

“Ty? Care to share your thoughts about this?” Vesna inquires.

“It’s nice. So colorful.” He c***s his head a bit and there is a faint smile on his lips. “I like it. It’s about the same size as the master suite in the castle. And in better shape.”

“Shall I call Ilona and tell her you’ll rent it from her?” She asks.

“Yes. I’ll just poke around a bit.” He answers a bit distracted.

Vesna shakes her head and wonders if everything will be this easy with him. Show him something new and he is like a small child, distracted for a while. Dragons get drawn to treasure and art and style. They instinctively understand the difference between style and what’s considered modern and trendy. And Ilona has great style in decorating. She takes her phone out and dials Ilona’s number.

“Hey, girl. He’ll take the apartment. He loves it.” Vesna says as soon as Ilona picks up.

“Good.” Ilona drawls. “Why do I feel like someone just dragged me out of water and my lungs are still half full?”

“I’m so sorry.” Vesna sounds genuinely remorseful. “That was Ty. I guess he really wanted this and he accidentally put you in a trance. I need to coach him better. He’s still so young and he wasn’t out in the world much. And probably never on his own.”

“He is young! He’s what? All of twenty?” Ilona laughs.

“Remember how wolves age slowly? Dragons stop ageing at around twenty, but Ty is one hundred years old.” Vesna tells her friend.

“Oh my god! Really?” Ilona exclaims and then she gasps and whispers. “Is he there listening? Does he have the same abilities as wolves and bears?”

“No, he’s checking out the bedroom. And yes, he’s got the same powers only enhanced and a few more and weirder.” Vesna laughs, too. “The way dragons look at his age, he’s considered a teenager.”

“A very good looking teenager.” Ilona makes a popping sound. “Since he’s legit, what are your intentions? I did notice the way you look at him.”

“Sush. We’ll talk about it when we’re alone.” Vesna says finally and hangs up as Ty returns to her side in the living room.

“What did she say? She didn’t change her mind, did she?” He inquires. “I called my housekeeper and told her I’ll be staying in town for a few days.” 

“No. You can have it.” Vesna smiles at him.

“Wonderful news.” Ty grabs Vesna around her waist and spins her around. “I love it!”

“Put me down!” Vesna demands of the over exuberant dragon. She narrows her eyes and glares at him, but the joy in his eyes quickly washes away her anger. The wide smile on his face makes her smirk. He is so young and the childish exuberance and joy for the smallest things make her smile, too.

Ty sets her feet back on the soft carpet but he doesn’t let go, so she raises an eyebrow in question and he only smiles some more.Damn, her walls are down and his smile pulls her in like a moth to a flame. He got her with his charming smiles.  She gets the breath knocked out of her as he bends his head down to hers and gives her a soft kiss. The sparks that fly off could start a wildfire, but they’re only in her head and all over her skin. Damn, it’s just a kiss! Or is it?

‘Mate.’

The single word echoes around the room and she knows that neither of them has spoken out loud. She is afraid, oh yes, she is. Afraid of him, of herself and what she might do. Afraid of the world and mostly afraid for the world itself. She takes a breath and steals her heart against the pain she will without a doubt cause for both of them.

“No.” Vesna says out loud. “No! No! And no! I am not your mate. I refuse, I do not acknowledge it. And never touch me again!”

As soon as Ty lets his hands fall away from her, she fades out and she can see the hurt in his eyes. And that is the last thing she sees before completely disappearing from the human realm. Oh, those sad eyes are going to haunt her. But she just can’t do this. She cannot be a dragon's mate. Not any dragon and especially not this one.

Vesna forms again on the perfect lawn, strewn with small white flowers. The clearing in front of her cottage is just as she left it, perfect. The quiet and solitude of the place is oppressing, but she can learn to live with it again. She did it once before. The cottage is in good shape, it only needs some cleaning. A good way to kill some time and maybe then she can sleep for a decade or two. 

“And you bought yourself a thousand years the last time.” She whispers to herself and pushes the door open. The hinges squeak and the sound travels through her like a spear. The pain grounds her, she doesn’t like it, but it feels deserved for what she just did. She forces herself to step inside and she glances around her cottage. It stopped feeling like home a long time ago. 

A shudder passes through her at the sight of the few things she owns here. A small bed, hard as a rock in the corner by the window. A table and one chair to remind her that she is all alone here. A few pots and pans on the ledge by the open fireplace. No bathroom, no living room, no library and no restaurants, no coffee shops and no people. Well, luckily, she has all the time in the world. There is dust everywhere and the pans need to be washed before use. So that’s a trip to the well, or maybe two. But first, she needs to gather some firewood before it gets too dark to see.