Julian awoke, pulling in a gasping breath as he sat up in bed. He panted for a moment as he studied his surroundings, taking in the deep brown walls, hardwood floors, and framed abstract paintings on the walls. He knew he should recognize it all, but the dream world he had just come from stopped him at first. As Julian woke fully and his hands touched the soft blankets spread over him, he was once again hit with the hard reality of where he was. Earth.

He sank back onto the pillow with a sigh, closing his eyes to help retrieve whatever fragments of his dream he might still be able to recover before they were lost to the light of day. It wasn’t the first time he had dreamed of Naomi, not since she had left him back on Charok and not since he and the other shifters had arrived on Earth almost a year ago. She visited him often, her cerulean scales and the delicate shift of her slitted eyes so clear in his mind that she could have been standing right in front of him. The visions were so realistic that at times he could reach out and touch her, feeling the thin skin that stretched between the bones of her wings.

And in those dreams, she was healthy. They always took place when she and Julian first met and fell in love, spending all of their time together in that hidden meadow in the woods where nobody else could see them. Julian knew that there was no real reason to keep their relationship a secret. Most of the dragons didn’t have the same sort of odd sensibilities that Earthlings did about who their friends and family decided to be with. But it was fun, nonetheless, and they never had a chance to come out and declare their love publicly before she’d had to go.

So many times, Julian had wondered what had happened to her. Had she died on some craggy mountaintop on her way to this mysterious promise of health? Or had she been able to find what she needed and started a new life? It didn’t really matter, since the War of Storms broke out only a few years later and killed every dragon on Charok. If she hadn’t died from her illness, then she had surely died from the spell cast by the evil Tazarre.

Rolling over, Julian stretched and checked the time on the alarm clock. It wasn’t even set to go off for another half an hour, but that was nothing unusual. He found that he had never been able to sleep as deeply in a soft bed as he had on the hard floor of a cave, and lately, the problem had only been getting worse. That was just as well, because he had plenty of studying to do before Kaylee awoke.

Slipping quietly past his daughter’s bedroom and to the kitchen, Julian retrieved a mug from the cabinet and poured a large serving of coffee. While he hadn’t found pleasure in everything that was involved in being a human on Earth, the black drink and the automated coffee pot were two things that he took great comfort in. He carried his cup to the library and sank down into a leather chair, putting his feet up on the matching ottoman.

Retrieving a Book of Shadows he had borrowed from Autumn, Julian stared at the cover for a moment, his mind slipping back to how he and his friends had gotten to Earth in the first place. Life had been good back on Charok, when they were free dragons living peacefully amongst the mountains. But no peace could last forever, and when the ogres started a war against the dragons over who had the right to use the Andrullian Lake, Julian wasn’t certain it was worth fighting over. But the wizards, who had been disputing the land in the Great Basin, soon joined the fight. That was when he knew it was all over.

It was Tazarre, the leader of the wizards, who had come up with the spell that would kill all of dragonkind. He was confident enough to announce his plan for all species to hear, making even the ogres tremble before him. Julian had been studying a few spells himself, but it had never been anything more than a hobby. He didn’t have anywhere close to enough knowledge to do anything about it. Even now, he could remember that day so clearly in his mind that the library disappeared around him, replaced by the woods on the far side of the mountains.

“Varhan!” Julian trudged through the woods, not willing to risk flying. He would be seen instantly and taken down. From the horror stories he had been told, he would be tortured for several days before they finally killed him. Instead, he had opted for his bipedal form, feeling it was the safest bet. “Varhan, are you home?”

To his relief, the little wizard came rushing out of his hut. His eyes were wild, his hair standing out from his head as though he had slept upside down. “Julian! What are you doing here, my friend? It’s a death sentence for you, surely!”

“Yes, but you and I both know that I have death looming over my head, anyway. I’ve watched everyone around me die, slowly poisoned by the black magic that Tazarre has injected into every rock and blade of grass. There are so many carcasses on the mountainsides that we can’t keep up with them.” His eyes blurred, making the wizard little more than a pale, shadowy form. “I need your help, desperately.”

“And what about the others?” Varhan looked behind Julian expectantly.

Julian’s shoulders sagged a little, feeling shame for not trusting the wizard completely. “Yes, they’re here with me, too. How did you know?” He had told his friends to stay behind until he knew whether or not it was safe for them to come. Julian had known Varhan for quite some time, visiting him at his little hut and learning everything he could about spells and magic. But he hadn’t known if there would be other wizards around. What if they had discovered Varhan’s sympathies for dragons and had set a trap?

“That’s alright. I knew they would be. I’ve been expecting you for a few days now. Tell them to come. We’ll have to hurry.”

Julian gave a whistle to the others. “What do you have planned?”

Varhan’s lips pressed together, and he shifted his feet in the leaves. “Something I’ve been working on for a very long time. I’ll be sending you someplace safe.”

“But rumor has it that the entire planet is affected,” Julian argued.

“I know. I know.” Varhan stepped inside his hut, leaving the door open as he talked. “You won’t be on Charok anymore.”

“There’s something you should know.” By this time, Holden, Beau, and Xander had come up behind him, each carrying a heavy load. “We’re not alone.”

The wizard stepped back through the doorway, a small clay pot in his hand. He stirred the contents vigorously with a brush, but he stopped as soon as he saw what the other men carried. Stepping forward, Varhan laid a delicate finger on the silvery surface of the oblong item in Holden’s arms. “Is that what I think it is?”

Holden gave the wizard a dirty look, but he held his head high as he answered. “The last four eggs of our queen, who now lies dead in her throne room. As far as we know, they’re still viable.”

Julian watched Varhan with a ball of despair in his throat. “Do you think you can help us? All of us?”

The man nodded slowly, and then more forcefully. “Yes. Yes, I can. This is perfect, actually. It’s even better than I had anticipated. You’ll all need to shift, though, and do it now. We don’t have time to be shy about such things. If we don’t get you out of here soon, there won’t be anything I can do for you.”

The dragons did as they were told, taking on the shapes they had been born with. It was usually a pleasurable experience, one that Julian looked forward to after he had spent some time as a man, but at the moment, he just wanted to get it over with. “Varhan,” he said when he was finished, “you sound as though you knew this was coming.”

“I did, but there’s no time to really explain it. Just know that you’re going where you’re destined to be. Remember that, if nothing else. Now come here.” The wizard reached up with the brush and began painting a sticky substance over Julian. “This will protect you in your journey. There should be enough for the eggs, as well.”

Even now, Julian could still remember the way that bristly brush had felt against his scales. It had burned off completely by the time they had arrived on Earth, and so he could only assume it had done its job.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Julian opened the Book of Shadows and found where he had left off the evening before. He had come no closer to finding a way to return to Charok, no matter how many books he read. Xander had a library filled with books about humans and life on Earth, but Julian’s collection consisted almost purely of books about spells, hexes, voodoo, and otherworldly experiences. It might take forever, but he still held out hope they could return to Charok with their children and that perhaps some of the dragons there would have been spared.

Kaylee awoke half an hour later when Julian was deep into a section about protection spells. “Da-deeee!” she called from her room.

Julian eagerly set the book down and hopped to his feet, trotting down the hall to retrieve his baby girl. She might not have been his by blood, but bringing her across the universe in the form of an egg was enough of a bond for him. With her olive tones and brilliant green eyes, she looked every bit as though he had fathered her.

“Good morning, sweet thing,” he cooed as he lifted her out of her crib and hugged her. “Did you have any good dreams?”

She grinned at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Doughnuts?” she asked.

Julian had to laugh. He’d made the mistake of letting her experience the sweet breakfast treat two weeks ago, and she hadn’t stopped talking about them since. “No, I think we’ll go with scrambled eggs and some toast, instead. Then we’ll go see your Uncle Holden for a little bit.”

“Otay!”

An hour later, they pulled up in front of the massive house Holden had chosen as they each settled into their new life on Earth. On the outskirts of town, it was the sort of place that was apparently very impressive to most humans. Though he couldn’t be certain, Julian imagined Holden had picked it out because the roofline reminded him of the mountains back on Charok.

“You’re just in time,” Holden said as he flung open the front door. “Leah has just left for work, and Finn has already been asking what we’re going to do today. I’m sure he’d love to play with Kaylee for a bit.”

“I thought about taking her to the park, but it looks like it’s going to rain.” Julian stepped into the foyer and set down his diaper bag. “Besides, I wanted to talk to you, and it isn’t the sort of thing I would want the other parents at the park to hear.”

“Oh?” Holden led the way down the hall to Finn’s bedroom, where his little boy was stacking up wooden blocks until they were as tall as he was. He clapped and grinned when he saw his cousin.

Julian set Kaylee down, watching with satisfaction as she crawled over to play. He’d been putting off this conversation for a while, content to wait things out as long as he could, but there wasn’t much choice but to bring it all out in the open now. “Do you remember, when Varhan was sending us here, that he said we were going where we were destined to be?”

“Of course, I do.” Holden leaned against the doorway and folded his arms in front of his wide chest. “I have to admit I wasn’t very certain about him when you first said there was a wizard who might help us. After all, I had seen what Tazarre and the others had done. But there was something about the way Varhan spoke, like he knew far more than we did. It’s what let me know we were doing the right thing.”

Looking down at Kaylee, who had picked up a block and was turning it over to examine each side of it, he nodded. “And I think in many ways, we did. We saved the children from a doomed fate.”

Holden scratched his chin. “I have to admit that I was worried at first. If we were meant to be here, then in my mind, that implied we would find our mates here as well. But I knew we had to, for the children’s sake, and I can see now that Varhan really was right. Xander, Beau, and myself are all taken care of. Now I just have to find a way to get you out of the house.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve made a few efforts, as you know, hoping that you were right. But there’s more to the equation that you don’t know, and I don’t think I will find my mate here.” He should have brought it up a long time ago, but it never seemed like the right time.

“What are you talking about?”

With a sigh, Julian tried to make as short of a story as possible about Naomi. “I already met my mate, back on Charok.”

Holden raised an eyebrow. “You never told me that.”

“We didn’t tell anyone. We didn’t want the pressure of going through formal ceremonies, and it was exciting to have our little trysts. But she got sick and she left in search of some cure she wouldn’t tell me about. She’s dead now, just like all the others.” He thought it would make him feel better to tell Holden, but the weight of the telling was heavy on his shoulders like iron. Somehow it didn’t make things any better to admit out loud that he would never see her again.

His friend stood for a long time, his lips slightly pursed as he studied the floor. “I see,” he finally said.

“I thought you should know because you’ve always been the one encouraging us and giving us hope of having a real family here on Earth. I have Kaylee, and I have you guys. Now I have Summer, Autumn, and Leah as well. But it’s never going to be more than that.” He had taken comfort in knowing that he wasn’t the only dragon on Earth. Having the children around made a difference, and so did knowing that his friends were happy with their mates. Some days that was enough, and some days it wasn’t. Right then, after yet another vivid dream about Naomi, it wasn’t.

Holden’s thick hand clapped him on the shoulder. “You don’t know that.”

Julian snapped his eyes up. “Did you not hear what I just told you? I already found my fated mate. I felt the fire burning inside me anytime we were apart. I even tried to take on a human form around her, just to prove to myself that I couldn’t keep it for more than a few minutes before I had to shift back. I had her, and now she’s gone.” Frustration and anger built up in his chest all over again, and he wished he could shift right at that moment just to vent it all out in a massive ball of flame.

“I heard you,” Holden assured him calmly. He never got bent out of shape, not unless someone was threatening his woman or his child. “But I’m not entirely convinced.”

“Are you seriously going to tell me I don’t know how to tell when I’ve found the one? I might have been a bit younger when it happened, but I wasn’t stupid. It’s a fairly unmistakable feeling.” He wouldn’t fight Holden, not over something so stupid, but the urge was definitely there.

Holden gave a light laugh. “I’m not saying that at all. Calm down. I was just thinking about the fact that none of us were very confident we would find our mates, but three out of the four of us have. Maybe your first love is gone, and I hate the thought of that, but it doesn’t mean that you’re completely out of luck.”

“I think you’ve been on Earth too long and you’ve forgotten that we’re not actually human.” Julian knew perfectly well that humans all thought they had one special person out there waiting for them, but in reality, they fell in love over and over again.

“Just listen, okay? I’ve thought about this a lot, even though I know that Leah is the one person I’m supposed to be with. But we’re not talking about dragons being with dragons. We’re talking about dragons being with humans, and maybe that’s different. Maybe we’re not restricted to just one person. Maybe there’s more than one who could make us happy. It’s impossible to say, and I hoped that none of us would ever need to find out, but I guess you’ll be our experiment.”

“Gee, thanks.” Julian was pretty sure Holden had been spending too much time with Xander, making anthropological theories that they had no real way of proving. “I feel so honored.”

“I just don’t want to see you go through your life with no one at your side. I know it’s made a big difference for me, and I’d like to think that it will for you, too. I know you’ve got to be heartbroken, but don’t let that affect the rest of your life. Consider that it will affect Kaylee, too.”

“Oh, I have.” Julian had weighed the consequences either way. It would be good for his daughter to have a mother in her life. She loved the other women, but it would be different if she had someone to call her own. But if Julian didn’t pick the right woman—something that could easily happen since he wouldn’t feel the same sort of wild emotions that happened when a dragon met his true love—it could also cause great devastation for Kaylee. What if they didn’t get along and the woman he chose left? Then his daughter would be worse off than she had been in the first place. He did his best to communicate these concerns to Holden.

“Don’t give up just yet,” he advised. “I know I haven’t given up on you.”