Dragos Takes a Holiday (Elder Races #6.5)(2)

“You always sound so confident.” She walked over to the stainless-steel island where a bottle of red wine stood alongside two wineglasses. Dragos noted with pleasure that she had opened one of his favorites, a Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac that had once in Versailles been dubbed “the King’s wine.”

“That’s because I am confident.”

“No doubt you’re right.” She concentrated on pouring the rich ruby liquid into the glasses. “I think his bunny is in the living room. It might make him feel better. Would you mind getting it?”

“Of course.” He took the baby down the hall.

Liam’s bunny was one of those things Dragos didn’t understand. The stuffed toy was floppy, super soft and had big, dark eyes. Liam adored it, although Dragos wasn’t quite sure why. In real life, a bunny that size would barely make an appetizer.

His iPhone buzzed in his suit pocket. He checked it. Graydon’s name lit up the display. He could leave a message. Dragos pressed the ignore button as he scanned the living room. Most of the spacious area lay in shadows, but a few accent lights remained on. Liam’s bunny lay on one end of the couch. As he strode over to it, a flash of gold caught his eye.

He turned, his attention sharpening.

The flash of gold came from the front jacket of a hardcover book. It sat atop a pile of several books on one of the end tables. Absently, Dragos scooped up the soft toy and presented it to Liam. Liam snatched at the bunny and hugged it while he laid his head on Dragos’s chest. Dragos cupped the back of the baby’s soft head, cuddling him, as he strolled over to get a proper look at the cover.

The book was lavishly decorated in rich, eye-catching colors. A treasure chest sat on a bronze background, underneath the title Missing Treasures of the Seventeenth Century. Old, gold doubloons spilled out of the open lid.

Dragos flipped open the book. It was from the public library. He read the inside of the jacket. The narrative focused on several European ships that had gone missing on voyages of exploration.

Pia walked into the living room carrying two glasses of wine. He said, “I don’t know why you keep going to the library instead of buying any book that you want.”

“Because going to the library is an experience.” Pia set his glass on the end table and curled up at one end of the couch. “It’s a fun outing away from the Tower, Liam enjoys story time and the other babies, and I like supporting the library.”

While she talked, he made a mental note to write a large check for the public library system. If Pia and Liam enjoyed going, he would make sure the library could provide them with anything they wanted.

“Why don’t I have this book?” He owned several books about treasure in his own personal library, but he knew he didn’t have this one. He would have remembered the flashy gold cover.

“You’ve been pretty busy. It came out last November.”

“Mm.”

He set it aside and picked up the next one, a large, trade-sized paperback entitled The Lost Elders. This one was decorated with a heavy, glossed cover. He flipped it over to scan the blurb on the back.

“I don’t have this one either.” He frowned.

“I think that one came out in March. I’ve skimmed all your books about treasure, and they made me curious, so I only checked out books that you don’t already have.” Pia sipped her wine. “Didn’t you say that you used to hunt for lost treasure?”

“Yes, I did. Of course, I had a lot more free time in those days.” He hefted the paperback in one hand as his gaze went unfocused. “I remember when this happened.”

“Really?”

“It was early in the fifteenth century. Isabeau, the Light Fae Queen in Ireland, and her younger twin sister, Tatiana, had been feuding for several years. Tatiana sent the ship Sebille to scout for a new land where she could settle with her followers. The ship was rumored to have been loaded with gold and all kinds of treasure, so that the captain could negotiate with indigenous people for land rights.”

“Tatiana… Do you mean the Light Fae Queen in Los Angeles?” Pia asked.

“Yes.” He set the book down and settled beside her on the couch. Liam had started to chew on one of the bunny’s floppy ears. “Eventually she settled in southern California, but the Sebille disappeared completely, and people have been looking for it ever since. Some even said that Isabeau caught wind of the expedition and sabotaged it, but I doubt that. From everything I’ve heard, Isabeau wanted to get rid of Tatiana as much as Tatiana wanted to leave.”

Pia slid close to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Warmth filled him, and he put an arm around her as she rubbed Liam’s back. “What do you suppose happened to the Sebille?”

Dragos thought back. “There were rumors that it sank off the southeastern coast of North America. I wonder if this book goes into more detail.”

She lifted her head. “You mean it might have gotten lost somewhere around the Bermuda Triangle?”

“It’s possible, although back then it wasn’t called the Bermuda Triangle.” Unwilling to reach for his glass and disturb either Pia or Liam, he took a sip from her wineglass and handed it back to her. “It was called the Devil’s Triangle, and still is sometimes. The area wasn’t very well understood at the time the ship went missing.”

“I didn’t know it was that well understood now.”