Page 42 of Shattered Magic

Hari blinked and stared at the dragon who had sculpted himself into Vega’s ideal man. “Oh, wow.” The magnitude of the situation suddenly hit her.

Several discrete servers came out and settled their appetizers down on the table. Asta had a bit of colour to her cheeks as she directed the others with soft words.

She smiled, inclined her head, and was turning when Vega said, “Asta, is something wrong?”

“No, Vega. I was just caught off-guard.”

“That doesn’t happen.”

Asta shrugged. “Not often. I will check on your meals.”

Vega smiled, and as soon as Asta was out of sight, she shot to her feet. Arkus blinked.

Hari got up and grinned. “Little girl’s room?”

“Yeah, by way of the XIA table. Excuse us.”

Zerul blinked. “But the food.”

“Mine is cold.”

Arkus smiled. “I can heat anything up if necessary.”

Hari followed Vega through the tables until they found the XIA group, and Benny grinned with a cheerful wave. “Hey, guys!”

Hari looked at Steerik and the hot blush on his cheeks. “Oh. Wow.”

Steerik cleared his throat. “Miss Hari. Good evening.”

Vega blinked. “Oh, he’s the—”

“Yeah.”

“So, he and Asta...”

Steerik chuckled. “A flirtation, nothing more.”

Tremble chuckled. “Yeah, Benny nearly melted just watching.”

Smith smirked. “Part of her did.”

Hari smirked. “Ah, well, mystery solved.”

Vega nodded. “Yes, now I know what put the colour in her cheeks. She never gets colour in her cheeks.”

Steerik paused and then nodded. “Interesting.”

Vega paused. “Well, I don’t want to intrude, and I am recovering from a harrowing experience, and he’s waiting at our table.”

Benny chuckled. “Well, then, thanks for stopping by. The food is fantastic.”

Vega smiled. “I am glad to hear it.”

Hari nodded and asked, “How long are you staying?”

“Until the governor’s ball. The guys are dying to get into ballgowns.”

Three grimacing expressions focused on her, and she shrugged. “Fine, they are looking forward to seeing me in an evening gown, and they all like dressing up and undressing afterward.”