It was done. Ling had chosen her place. Does she even need me anymore? Cao grimaced and wandered to the ledge, taking in the night air. The Chosen would protect her, perhaps better than he could.

What should he do?

He rubbed his hands across his eyes and rolled his shoulders. Maybe he could convince the other Eight Immortals to get massively drunk and battle some underwater dragons, like they’d done ages ago. That had been fun. And stupid.

Those days were long past. He tossed his head. Probably for the best.

“Jīng is a powerful force.” The Matchmaker sauntered onto the balcony, gliding toward him.

Jīng? Sexual energy. “Uh, yeah, it is.” He rotated about and frowned at her. What was this? A sex talk? He was a little old for that.

“Especially for dragons.” M paused in front of him and folded her arms, long red nails resting on the sleeves of her finely embroidered cheongsam. Those dark green depths studied him with keen intensity.

He shifted his feet, but nothing about M intimidated him anymore. Once, he had been. But now he knew her story and viewed someone like him. Just beyond the reach of hope.

“What about dragons?” Ling strolled outside to join them.

M glanced sideways at Ling, before regarding him for a long moment. “I suppose, it’s best to tell both of you, because you’ll discover for yourselves soon enough anyway.”

Okay, cryptic woman. He was on the verge of a retort, but clamped his tongue.

The Matchmaker lowered her arms, veered toward Ling, and pressed a gentle hand to her forehead. “We never told you the truth about your origins, because we deemed it safer for you not to know. I stand by my decision, but the time has come for you to learn who you truly are.”

Ling blinked, pressing her lips together.

He had the same ominous warning sliding down his spine. That app better not fail him now.

“Han Xiangzi is indeed your father, but your mother is not who we’ve told you she is.” M stroked a finger across Ling’s forehead, then let her hand fall to her side. “Your mother is Princess Tasi of the Qinglong dragons.”

Silence rang in his ears, like a bomb had gone off.

“That’s not possible,” Ling countered, inching backward.

“I’m afraid it is, my dear.” M’s expression softened.

“My mother died in childbirth, twenty-eight years ago. That dragon has been in prison for far longer.”

An irrefutable fact. “Damn straight.” He nodded in agreement.

“Indeed, she has been.” M also agreed.

What the fuck?

“I’m twenty-eight,” Ling repeated.

“Yes, you are.” M stepped forward and rested her hands on Ling’s shoulders. “Twenty-eight years ago, you hatched from your dragon’s egg, my dear. Many centuries ago, Tasi and Han did what no one thought possible, what had been forbidden to their races for millennia. They had a child. Well, an egg.”

Wait. So, Ling should have been born centuries ago? They very well could have met then, and who knew where that would have led? He shot a quizzical look to M, but she avoided his scrutiny. Almost as if remorseful.

The Matchmaker continued, “When I learned this, I convinced the pair to hide their progeny, for surely, the forces in this world would destroy it. They agreed and released the egg into my care, where I placed an enchantment over it so it would not hatch. You recall what happened next, how your mother was imprisoned and your father became a hermit. Twenty-eight years ago, he convinced me to allow him to raise you. Regrettably, I granted his request. Only to have him prove a horrible parent to a child with more enemies than you can imagine. There was nowhere you’d be safe, Ling, except if no one, not even you, discerned what you were. So, I took the knowledge from you and hid you with Da Xia.”

M paused, and Cao stood like a gaping fool. Struggling to process the tale.

The reality. Shit. She really was like a butterfly. The exquisite creature within her just waiting to emerge and spread her wings.

Ling was a dragon.

A dragon princess’s daughter.

And quite possibly, the most targeted being on the entire planet.

Also, she was definitely still his ward.

* * *

It was too much. Ling swayed on her feet, like a piece of driftwood being slammed by one wave after the next into a rocky shore. Never slowing enough to catch her breath.

A dragon.

M couldn’t be serious.

“I’ve never sprouted scales or a tail or breathed fire.” Ling shook her head, because those were things dragons did, and she didn’t do them. Therefore, she was not a dragon.

Right?

Wrong.

“You’ve never done those things because you don’t know who you are. However, you can restore your dragon, Ling. You can become everything you were supposed to be, if you so choose.” M’s words were gently spoken, but the pressure smacked into Ling nonetheless.

Sure, she’d always admired dragons and often fantasized about being one.

The reality of it was far less exhilarating.

“People want me dead?” Her mind flung her back around to that nasty little fact.

“I’m afraid so. Many object to that sort of union. Humans, dragons, those of the Jade Emperor’s world, both friends and foes.” M sighed. “There are many who believe dragons and humans shouldn’t breed and, for a long time, the Jade Emperor made it so they couldn’t. How your parents managed to, I’m not certain. What I do know is this is your destiny, your path. You belong not to one world, Ling, but to two. You are both human and dragon, and in these desperate times, you may be the only one capable of bridging those two worlds.”

Yay, me. What a weight to drop onto her shoulders. “I can’t.” She bowed forward, so overwhelmed.

“You don’t have to do this tonight.” Cao strode to her side and draped a comforting arm around her shoulder. “Right?” He lifted his chin toward M.

“Indeed.” She inclined her head. “This journey of discovery will take time. Don’t rush it. I will help if you require my aid.”

Ling straightened and bobbed on her feet. Whew. That eased things a bit. Handling one more monumental event tonight might break her.

After all, it appeared crazy was in her genes. Thanks, Mother.

“Out of curiosity, what would I do?” Her seemingly innocent question made both the Matchmaker and Cao freeze. Okay…

Cao cleared his throat and shuffled his feet.

M just smiled like usual, coyness in her expression. “I’ll check in with you in a few days. Take care of each other.” Her heels clacked on the stones as she sauntered from view.

Puzzled, Ling spun around and out of Cao’s embrace. “You going to elaborate?”

The damn man grinned at her. “Nope.”

“Fine.” She slapped a hand across her mouth to conceal her yawn. Exhaustion crashed through her now that the excitement was over.

“Home?” Cao offered his hand.

“Yes.” She’d repay him for this later. Right now, she was too tired to care.

Tomorrow, she’d become a dragon.

* * *

Two days. Ling had slept for two damn days straight. Cao punched the bag three times in succession, but the agitation remained. What did M discern about their situation that he didn’t?

Jīng. She’d dropped that loaded hint like it was nothing.

But it wasn’t nothing. It was the answer. How would Ling remember how to be a dragon?

Jīng.

Sexual energy.

Who was supposed to share it with her?

Me.

He slammed his fist into the bag.

It didn’t make any sense. Why him? Why now? Why not some other guy she’d slept with?

Those sparks he’d observed lighting from her skin, that was the dragon awakening. He was sure of it.

Ling hadn’t known. What would she conclude when he told her the key to her future…was through him?

Gods, that wasn’t crossing the line; it was dropping a fucking nuclear bomb on it.

He’d never slept with a dragon, but he’d heard rumors. They were even more intense in bed than out of it, and that was saying something.

A dragon who didn’t fathom how to control herself, well, she would be lethal.

As an immortal, lethal didn’t give him pause. Ling might hurt him, sure, but she couldn’t kill him. Which was why it had to be him.

There had to have been other guys, right? He scraped the back of his neck. What had happened to them?

He swallowed hard, the questions itching to be answered. Meanwhile, Ling was still asleep.

After landing a few more punches, he headed downstairs to check on her again. He had two days’ worth of food waiting for her in the fridge. The results of his impatience.

He paused on the stairs and peered toward the bedroom. The bed was empty.

Finally.

His chest tensed as he listened for noise. Soft banging came from the bathroom. Good, she was up and showering.

And naked.

Fuck.

No, not fuck. Not even with the Matchmaker’s hinted go-ahead. There were other ways to release jīng.

Besides, he wasn’t sure how she would react to the news. Only one way to find out.

He sucked in a steadying breath and sank onto the stairs, waiting for Ling.

Unsure of which answer he longed to hear more.

* * *

Ugh. Her head was massively groggy. Ling basked beneath the warm spray, clearing her brain fog. How long have I been out? Where’s Cao?

Questions for after she got cleaned up. The haze dissipated enough for her to be able to function like a moderately normal dragon-human. Dragman? Hugon?

She snorted at the absurdity and dressed, then brushed through her wet hair. Her hands quivered as she straightened her fingers to study them. The entirety of her body was a bundle of nerves knotted together.

What did Cao know? He’d behaved almost modest but not shocked by the Matchmaker’s dropped hints. What part of their conversation had she missed?

Uneasy, she twisted the knob and shoved the door open. Cao perched on the staircase, hawk-like stare targeted on her.

“Hi.” She raised her hand in a small wave.

“Hey.” The intensity smoothed from his face and spread into an easy grin. “Sleep well?”

“That depends. What day is it?”

He chuckled. “Monday.”

“Ugh.” She scrunched up her face. “That would explain why I’m starving.”

Cao leapt five stairs to the bottom and dashed to the fridge. “Got you covered. Noodles, rice, soup?”

“Rice.” Start with the blandest food. At least, that was what her nǎinai always advised. Man, she missed her dragonly grandmother. All that time, having raised her and not being able to share in their natures together? Must have been hard.

She hopped onto a stool while Cao heated a bowl of rice for her. He was really sweet that way, always taking care of her. It was easy to fall back into their pre-kiss routine, but the truth was, their kiss had changed everything.

Into what, though?

He’d kissed her before he’d learned she was half-dragon. She nibbled her bottom lip between her teeth and murmured thanks as Cao placed the steaming bowl in front of her.

Mindlessly shoveling rice into her mouth, she ran through the events of Friday night. Lucy and Sheng hadn’t been upset over her outburst at their wedding, so that was lucky. Joining with Dragon had put Sheep at ease. Somehow, she’d ended up back home instead of with the Chosen. Guess Cao was her best protection, especially since she grasped the real reason why she needed him.

A half dragon. Her musings drifted to her mother, but Kadence and Lok had met Tasi. They’d confirmed the rumors of her having gone cray-cray.

Then again, what mother wouldn’t if her child was ripped from her?

She should visit her mother. What if doing so was the key to discovering who she really was?

Who I really am.

She drummed her fingers on the counter. This was why the Matchmaker had insisted Ling pursue the stones. Because I’m the only one who bridges those two worlds. Well, except for Kadence and Lok’s new son, Arsen, but it wasn’t as though they could share him with the world. Not yet.

Not until I make it safe.

Wow. The enormity of her future settled about her. She’d perceived her destiny would be epic, being a Chosen during the time of a deadly plague, but never had she dreamed it would be this monumental. If she recovered each of the stones and presented her case to the dragons—my people—she’d convince them to stay. If the dragons stayed, humanity survived. It was that simple.

Even now, the areas where dragons clustered in the greatest numbers—Asia—had been the last assaulted. Though no one specifically came out and declared it, Ling had a sneaky suspicion dragons emitted protective powers—even when they were unaware.

“That bad, huh?” Cao’s easy chuckle broke into her musings.

“Hmm?” She lifted her gaze to vanish into his honey depths. “Sorry, was lost for a moment.”

He leaned forward across the island and closed his large, warm hands around hers. “Then let me help you find a way back.”