The latter hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. ‘‘No. He would just shake you.’’

‘‘May can follow him,’’ Cyrene said. ‘‘She’s very good at following people. I had a boyfriend once who I thought was two-timing me—he had the tiniest eyes, which I’ve always felt was a sign of a shifty nature— and May followed him around for a week without him ever knowing she was there.’’

‘‘Mayling will stay with me,’’ Gabriel said, grabbing my wrist and hauling me up the stairs after him.

‘‘Well . . . I suppose I could do it,’’ Cyrene said with a slight frown. ‘‘It can’t be that hard to follow someone. And I’ve been watching May do it for years.’’

‘‘Don’t even think about it,’’ I called from the top of the stairs. ‘‘He’s much too dangerous, Cy. We’ll keep an eye out for him, never fear.’’

The last I saw before Gabriel pulled me to our bedroom, Cyrene was still standing in the entryway, her lips pursed as Aisling smiled at her dragon.

‘‘To Paris?’’ Aisling asked.

‘‘To Paris,’’ Drake replied in a grim voice.

‘‘This is just like that wacky movie with the Black-adder guy, where they were all racing to find a treasure,’’ Jim said, its voice following us as we hurried down the hall. ‘‘Only with dragons, an ex-virgin doppelganger, and a really attractive Newfie. Bet people would pay big bucks to see this!’’

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

‘‘I’m going to talk to Aisling for a few minutes,’’ I told Gabriel as we headed to our room to pack our things for the trip to Paris. ‘‘It’s just girl talk, nothing important.’’

He frowned as I went straight for the bag István had so recently brought me. I had taken only one or two things out of it, so it was easily repacked. ‘‘Girl talk? Are you injured in some intimate manner?’’ He put his hand on my belly as if to feel some sort of internal problem. ‘‘Has our mating been too rough?’’

‘‘No, it’s nothing at all like that.’’

‘‘May, I am a healer in addition to being your wyvern,’’ he said with a serious expression. ‘‘You must tell me if you are having any sort of physical problem, no matter how embarrassing you find it.’’

‘‘Honestly, it’s nothing—’’

‘‘Take off your clothes,’’ he said, nodding toward the bed. ‘‘I will examine you to make sure all is well.’’

‘‘Agathos daimon! I just want to have a little girl talk with Aisling, Gabriel! I don’t need a gynecological exam! Besides, if I take off my clothes and get on that bed, you’ll end up with yours off, too, and we’ll never get to Paris.’’

‘‘When’s the last time you had your period?’’ he asked, a frown furrowing his brow as he ignored the playful little nibble I gave the tip of his nose.