The aroma of fresh coffee and pastries met Kevin as he entered Tyson’s kitchen through the side door. He walked in with Pete, his green fey dragon, Pete, sitting on his shoulder, and grinned at everyone in the room. He moved the little beast from his shoulder to the kitchen island and offered it some grapes from the fruit bowl.
Tyson studied his cousin closely. Kevin wore basketball shorts, a torn T-shirt, and no shoes despite the cool morning air. His mass of long, unruly hair was pulling into some semblance of a bun at the back of his head. He had dark circles under his eyes, indicating he had gotten little to no sleep during the night and could not hide it.
“You didn’t sleep last night,” Tyson stated. “Were things that bad? If they were, why didn’t you wake me? It is my job to take c
