Treasured Claim (Excerpt), Mythos Legacy Book One

Chapter Three: Part One

Elaina weaved through the gathering, self-berating thoughts piling high in her head. "Reckless idiot" summed them up.

Her logic warned her to abandon the ruined plan and slink toward the ballroom exit before Alex could corner her again. As though a hastily thought-out Plan B would be any better. Forget that.

Her danger-junkie instincts had the right idea this time. Suppressing them would accomplish nothing and kill her by morning. She searched for the grand prize of the diamond and opal necklace, and her senses aimed her toward Governor Boyce's wife, fifty feet away.

A shiver seized her heart at the memory of Alex's touch. She ignored it.

Between his money and his looks, the guy was clearly used to getting everything he wanted. Good thing dragons couldn't love, so she was immune to his charms.

His warmth didn't tempt her. His powerful aura didn't affect her. Nope, not at all. She was here to do a job, and she wouldn't let him get to her. Reckless? Abso-friggin-lutely.

She joined the group clustered around Governor Boyce just as he was introducing his wife to the gathering. Showtime. Salvaging the plan, Elaina dismissed the distraction of her inconvenient reaction to "Lex" and gathered her wayward thoughts.

"Mrs. Boyce, it's such a pleasure to meet you."

She hid her left arm behind her back and shook the woman's hand. At the touch of bare skin, she mentally called to the pendant around the woman's neck.

Elaina's left palm remained empty. Damn it, that man had flustered her.

Or maybe she wasn't strong enough to do a summoning.

No, she refused to believe that. She could do this. As long as her determination to acquire an object was stronger than the wearer's attachment to it, she could take ownership—a nifty trick thanks to her DNA—and starvation made her damned determined.

Desperate even.

She changed her approach and lightly pumped their handshake, faking excitement. "I admire your unflagging support for your husband's career. He's a great asset to the state, and I'm sure you must be the foundation of his success."

A flush rose to Mrs. Boyce's cheeks. "Why, thank you."

If the woman's emotions toward Elaina softened enough, the necklace's resistance to her call might diminish. Elaina concentrated harder.

A second later, the jewelry vanished from Mrs. Boyce's collarbone and materialized in Elaina's hidden hand. A giddy laugh bubbled up her throat. She'd normally suppress the not-quite-human sound, but she needed to draw the others' attention from Mrs. Boyce so they wouldn't notice the disappearance.

"No, thank you." She released Mrs. Boyce and gave the woman a genuine smile.

Elaina's smooth, practiced motion to lift the hair off her neck brought the pendant unseen to her bare skin. Against her flesh, the necklace bonded to its new owner—and became invisible to humans.

A sudden rush fried her thoughts. Oh, um, wow. That was new.

The energy kick from the bonding satiated her starvation and then some, the necklace's strength explaining its earlier reluctance. The overflow buzzed inside her head, and she excused herself from the group before she started giggling like one of her drug-using neighbors.

She'd won. She should definitely indulge her recklessness more often.