Xilon held his dragonfire inside his lungs, ready to exhale and whatever sorcerer had turned his brothers into humans, he’d burn to cinders. Why would a Renjerian want to become a puny human anyway? No, it had to be a bad spell.

“Kohl has always been able to shift,” Taurian said, his sapphire tail brushing across the dirt floor. “But he and father hid it from us.”

“That explains him, maybe.” Xilon lifted a talon and tapped it against Taurian’s chest. “But you and the rest of us have never been able to transform. So how is it possible that you were a human?”

“It's a long story—”

“Try me.” He'd find this magic user and crush them. Who knew what harm would befall his brother shifting into a human.

“I accidently ingested some of Kohl’s blood when he had Tryn poison as I tried to resuscitate him. Then a lightning storm struck while I fought one of the big Tryns. Next thing I know, I landed on Earth as a human.”

Xilon shuddered. “And now? You are able to change back and forth?”

“Yes. At first though, I was stuck in human form until my body went through a metamorphosis. Dena says—”

“Who?” Xilon snapped. That wasn't a Renjerian name. If he had his guess, he'd say it was human. Was she the sorceress who afflicted his brother? He'd charcoal her flesh and crush her bones.

Taurian smiled and looked off into the distance. “She's my mate. An animal doctor who's been trying to help us.”

“How does she think she can...help us?” Xilon snorted.

“We can't continue like this here.” Kohl waved an arm out. “The Tryns are multiplying too rapidly and our own numbers are dwindling. Every season, there are less and less born. Even now, our females of mating age aren't reproducing frequent enough.”

“Desmonda—” Xilon argued.

“Is the exception.” Taurian sighed. “At this point, we should have nearly all of our mated females pregnant yet only one percent are. And many of those younglings don't survive the year.”

Xilon paced. What his brothers said was true. He hadn't taken a mate because fighting and battling were his mistresses. But truth was, there were four to five times more males than females. The next generation would be even worse if things continued like this.

“Then we send the females and their mates to another planet while we stay and finish the Tryns.” Xilon nodded to his father. “As king, you can say who will stay. Everyone will follow your orders.” Especially the warriors like him and his brothers who were tired of hiding. Only venturing out whenever it was night to mask their presence. Waging war at certain times when they spotted a small group of Tryn they could easily overcome.

Ever since the regent king-to-be, his eldest brother was killed by the Tryns, his father had been overprotective of the rest of them.

“No, we need to discuss this with everyone.” His father paced. “Take volunteers outside of the royal family.”

“What? Why?” Xilon swung his head toward him. “The time to act is now. Our females are scarce and younglings even more so.”

“But Kohl's human, Isabelle is pregnant.” Taurian grinned. “And me and Dena are trying as well.”

No wonder Taurian wasn't freaked out about being able to shift into a human. Hmm…that might work to Xilon's advantage. If he could transform into a human, he could lure out Tryns. They would think Xilon an easy target and when they came, he'd blast them all with his fire.

“Do you think what happened to you, brother, could be repeated?”

Taurian cocked his scaled head, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

“I mean about becoming human, not mating with them.” Xilon stiffened. Human women weren't attractive. They were weak and had a tendency to scream and faint whenever they saw a Renjerian.

“Not sure.” Taurian shifted his tail. “We can try it, but circumstances have to be right.”

“And a lightning bolt to travel inside.” His father nodded. “You'll try Taurian's blood first. That will let us know if he and Kohl can donate their blood to others who wish to transform. Or if Kohl is the only one to pass along this ability.”

“What about you, Father?” Kohl asked. “Would you want to be human in part too?”

“No, never.” Their father patted his shoulder with a talon. “But in honor of Kohl’s mother, and my one-true love, I will not stand in any Renjerian’s way who wishes to be able to shift into both Renjerian and human.”

“Call me immediately if any of see a storm approaching.” Xilon marched away. “Hope you both have many fine sons.”

* * *

Evening colored the sky in purple and orange as the second sun faded into the horizon. Xilon spread his wings and careened through the air. All he needed was one of his planet’s lightning storms to form, then he'd take some of Taurian’s blood and travel a bolt to Earth. If he went through a transformation like his brother had, then that would tell them if Taurian's blood was now like Kohl's and could transform a Renjerian into a human.

A hint of Renjerian blood whispered on the wind. What the—

No one should be out of the caves this early. There was still enough sun for Tryns to spot someone and he was the only one who risked his life like this on a regular basis.

He inhaled again, trying to follow the faint scent. A mix of Tryn blood flooded his senses. Who was attacking the enemy? He'd thought everyone else in the caves still slept.

Banking to the left, he lowered closer to the ground. A valley was up ahead and the order was stronger there. Tryn blood choked the air.

Night crawled along the sky, but Xilon slowed his wings, gliding along with the air current and letting his Renjerian night vision open. The colors of his world muted, turning everything into a thousand different greys. Below him, the treeline faded to a sloping meadow.

Then black bodies littered across the grass. Shock radiated him and he dipped a bit too low, his wing digging along the ground.

He righted himself and hovered down to a better landing.

Around him lay dozens of Tryn. Dead.

How was this possible? No firebreath wiped them out. Then what? They didn't have bite marks or even claw marks. Instead clean, straight cuts to their torsos. Some had been decapitated. Others missing a limb or two.

Up ahead, a few more Tryn whimpered in pain.

Xilon crept forward. This could be a trap. Damn Tryns had almost captured his father and Kohl in an ambush. Kohl had sacrificed his life to save the others. Then his human brought Kohl and more Tryns to their doorstep. For weeks, Xilon and others had fought constantly to keep the Tryns away from their last sanctuary. Guards had been tripled and everyone slept on high alert. Maybe Kohl and Taurian were right. They needed to evacuate their home. Keep the warriors here to fight as many as they could.

And the Renjerians that fled could use Taurian and Kohl's shifting blood to become human and blend in with the Earthlings. If the transfusion even worked again. And how much blood was needed? And Taurian acted like the change to shifter was permanent, but what if it was temporary? Once a storm rolled in, Xilon would test Kohl and Taurian’s theories in hopes that it wasn’t a weird coincidence and that only Taurian was able to become human.

He scratched his chin. On Earth, they could hunt for quassicrystals to power their weapons. With those working again, and their firebreath, they had a chance to destroy the Tryns and cleanse this planet of the bastards.

A rustle behind him sounded. His instinct took over and he spun with a roar.

“Holy shit! You're a…a dragon?” she asked.

Standing before him was a woman, blood clinging to her hair and clothes. A human.

Impossible. He snorted. Then rage locked in his heart. The Renjerian scent he smelled early was mingled with hers. Was she a shifter like his two brothers? Or the witch that tricked them all and made his brothers human? Humans had betrayed his kind and hired dragon-hunters, as they called them to attack his kind.