No eerie pictures from my dreams adorned the bedroom suite. The room was a light blue with white trim. Normal. The thought kept me sane as I finished cleaning up in the bathroom. Robert's rooms gave me more confidence. His walls were bare and it was clear nothing had ever hung on them. This was more like my own room growing up. Simple, though his was more elegant as the floors were mahogany.

Dragons, wolves, dogs, pups. Everyone here kept accusing me of forgetting, or not knowing, but my mind hummed with images of all of these things, always coming around to the white face of the dead man in the portrait.

As I left the bathroom, I stood by the massive window. Snow now fell outside and I was mesmerized for a few seconds. This was the fourth time I ever saw snow.

Then a thought raced through my mind that caused my pulse to quicken. Serena died from leaving a window open and someone had broken in or was that just something told to the children? If I’d made up a story for children, it wouldn’t be a break-in but more like a “moved to the farm” theme. At least nothing stirred in the twilight.

I pulled the curtains shut as I heard the door click and turned around to face Robert. His dimples stirred something inside me that made my lips part and my body temperature soar. He closed the door and crossed the room. My heart thumped as his strong arms wrapped around me. His lips briefly met mine, and I felt the world lift me up. "Daphne."

My body was lax as my hands reached out to hold his shoulders and keep him close. "You’re back."

He sighed and again showed me his sexy dimple. "I've not had the urge to write in almost a year. It was like I became me again, but I should have shown you around first."

The smell of the forest and the image of a cave protecting us overwhelmed me. "Robert, I'm just glad you're here."

He stepped away, but took my hands in his. "Are you hungry?"

My stomach growled. I hadn't eaten since the plane ride, and that wasn't a filling meal. "Yes."

"Good. You'll need your strength." He winked at me and took out his phone. "So let's go downstairs and get something."

He turned, and cold dread enveloped me. Night was almost here but I didn't want our moment to end. I had so many questions. I swallowed my pride. "Can we stay in the room instead? I want to talk."

His brow lifted. "I'll have Mrs. Adams bring dinner up."

Goosebumps at the woman's name went down my spine. I imagined her telling me to fetch my own meal. "Perfect, but don't take too long. I want to be with you."

His sexy stare made my stomach flip, then he dropped his phone on the bed and took my hands. "I texted her. Food should be here in twenty minutes."

So many questions flew through my mind. His children, his brother, and everyone’s active imagination. How to broach the topic? Dragon talk might make me sound crazy, but I had a sense this was the key to understanding. "Robert?"

His lips hovered near mine. My body trembled in anticipation. I closed my eyes as he answered, "Yes."

If I didn't ask, he'd kiss me. I could taste the delicious forest pine on my tongue. I turned my face toward the curtains that hid the window. "How did your wife die?"

He fixed my hair out of my eyes and his fingers trailed against my cheek. My entire body wanted him, though I kept myself under control. Eventually he said, "It was a car accident."

A spark of awareness burst inside of me. I angled my head to gaze into his blue eyes. "Your son believes “others” came for her."

"Others sounds like a boyish imagination." His eyes narrowed and he shook his rumpled hair that he must have tugged at earlier. "Besides, vampires aren't real."

"I never said vampires." My imagination ruled me as I then wondered why Robert had chosen vampires. His horror novels had all sorts of creatures and I think a few were vampire novels. I planted my feet. "He said others, and I believe him."

Robert crossed his arms in a defensive manner. "Then he lied."

No. Robert couldn't shut down. We needed to talk. I lowered my palms to my sides. "Why would he do that? Maybe he was told a lie and he believes it."

He uncrossed his arms and massaged the top of his forehead as he closed his eyes. "What do you know about others?”

“I don’t know anything.”

“Do you ever have dreams about being a mythological creature?”

This must be a writing question. I nodded but lowered my lashes. "I told you before that I dream about flying. Specifically of being a dragon, but my grandmother told me never to tell anyone about it." My heart hammered. "Sometimes in my dreams I see men with swords trying to stab at me. Other times I see far worse. Just crazy dreams.” I glanced at him and changed the subject. “I met your children today. It was awkward without you there but they are good kids.”

"I should have introduced you. I’m sorry.”

“I muddled my way through. Perhaps once we spend time as a family they’ll open up more to me.”

His face flushed. I hadn’t noticed that he was embarrassed until now. I certainly didn’t want him to be uneasy, but it was the truth. "The pups are loyal and honest. Did your grandmother tell you to find your flight?"

"No, well kind of. She said I’d understand one day." I sat on the edge of the bed while I kept my gaze on him. "I don't know what any of this means, but as night deepens, I'm scared."

He ran his hands through his hair, his shoulders tense. "Don’t go out there, ever, not until you transform."

"Transform? I'm just me." I lowered my gaze. I wasn't sure what I believed, but transformation was just as improbable as the rest of my thoughts. "What's so scary about the night here?"

He shrugged. "Night is scary no matter where you are when you are one of us. I choose to live in a place where I can defend myself rather than simply hope I blend in with the humans."

My hair stood straight on my arms. Grandma had always stressed fitting in. "Grandmother said my mom's flight made a grave error which caused them to crash. That wasn't an airplane, was it?"

He released a heavy sigh as if he hated the question. "The last flight…”

“I asked you about my parents.” I cut him off since I didn’t want a lecture. My skin was on pins and needles.

“They were in the last flight and no, it’s not an airplane.”

In the mirror from the open door of the bathroom, I swear I saw red wings shimmer behind him. I blinked and they were gone. My body ached. “Then what was it?”

“A flight is what we call the twelve dragons who come to earth and shift into being humans, and back again to dragons. Your parents were in the last group. Your grandmother was in the flight before that.”

Shape shifters? We were not in one of his horror stories or in the paintings that lined his hallway. I shook my head. “That’s insane. My parents weren’t dragons. They looked like me.”

“We shift into human form from our dragon form.”

“We?” He thought himself and the children were dragons?

“Yes. You don’t remember yet.”

Remember lunacy? It seemed I was the only sane one in the house, but I needed to understand. “Continue. The last flight…”

“The last flight chose to bring the battle into the daylight. Humanity wasn't ready. I won't make that mistake."

“Your parents were dragons?” He believed this with his whole heart. It was written in his expression.

“Yes.”

One simple word but it echoed in my heart. I glanced up though I had my knees to my chest. "Were your parents in that flight? With mine?"

He sat on the edge of the bed. As our gazes met, the heat in the air seemed to grow. "No. Usually half of the flight comes from the parents of the last one, like me and you. The rest return into the world without guidance.”

“They just show up?”

“There are often orphans and people with little family.”

My mind was blank as I thought about what he was saying. He continued, “We take turns. Every twenty-five years the new flight is born and the old flight trains them before they leave. Your grandmother chose to stay until you were ready."

“Why didn’t my grandmother train me?”

“She taught you how to stay safe at night and avoid dangers. Thick blankets. Drawn windows. Make your house a cave so no one sees you inside.”

Yes, she’d been adamant we lock down the house. I doubted that drawing the curtains… wait, I wasn’t sure this story made sense at all. Something in my heart rang bells of recognition, but I couldn’t say that. "How do you know? I never told you that."

"Once you're ready, you'll have the power to talk to your grandmother directly."

The room seemed to shrink and then expand again. If I could hug my grandmother one more time, I’d give anything. The blue walls of his bedroom somehow became solid and I hugged my waist. "So the dreams I have are really visions?"

“Yes.”

My heart broke into shards of glass on the floor. I stayed absolutely still and hoped to find the words to ask him how dragons shift, how any of this was possible.

“In the car we talked about adoption.” Robert stood and took papers out of his back pocket. He handed them to me. "Daphne, I printed some papers I need you to sign, if you’re still willing."

The one hundred eighty degree turn of our conversation helped my heart calm. I swung my legs to the side of the bed and read what he’d given me. A Consent to Adopt form? My name was already filled into the boxes. I gripped the papers. "What?"

He stood and found a pen on his dresser top. "It's part of my will. I want to leave everything including the children to you. I want to send the signed forms to my attorney at once."

Pools of tears formed inside me. He wanted me to have his children. My hand trembled as I held the pen and stared at the form. "Why?"

"You’re more powerful than you realize.” He massaged his lower back. “The night Serena died, I lost a scale."

"We can buy another at the store. Scales are not a big deal.”

---

“I’m not weighing myself.” He laughed. “Dragons are made of scales.”

I lost the ability to think. He wanted me to protect dragons. How was that possible unless I was a dragon? I couldn’t say that out loud. It made no sense.

I couldn't look at him as I handed the signed papers back. He set them aside and reached for me. My heart soared as his hands brushed against my breasts and then squeezed. My neck tilted toward him. "What are you doing?"

He nibbled on my ear as his fingers unbuttoned my blouse. His calloused fingers set me on fire. "Showing you what you do to me."

He finished unbuttoning my shirt and worked on my skirt. I moaned out my response. "Robert, hurry.”

His hands caressed my soft skin as he freed me of my skirt. I suckled on my bottom lip as he said, "Your every curve turns me on."

Then the door creaked open.

He let me go instantly.

I tucked my shirt into my skirt and turned around to see Helen, the blonde, blue-eyed girl who could be a cherub in any movie, standing in the door.

Robert said nothing to his daughter.

"Your father was helping me get ready for bed." My cheeks felt hot and flushed, but I buttoned the shirt as if nothing was wrong. "Are you okay, Helen?"

"Aunt Sam went outside and I'm scared."

Lightning cracked outside the window. I patted the bed and said, "Why don't you stay here with your dad and me for a while."

"Dad doesn't like me."

My lips parted. Robert said my dreams were visions. If true, then if Robert was a dragon, loyalty to those who love us was absolute. Us? The thought made my head spin. "That's not true, sweetheart. Robert, tell her. The kids think you don’t care."

Robert went down on one knee and opened his arms. "I love you, Helen. You and Harper are my number one priority."

Helen didn’t budge. My heart ached for her and for the hurt on Robert’s face too. "Helen, it’s okay to give your dad a hug."

She ran toward Robert and hugged him. They both closed their eyes and waited there. My eyes watered as Helen said, "I love you, Daddy. Why did you leave us?"

To not cry, I stood and slipped my nightgown on. I wasn’t hungry and this was a private moment for all of us where we’d be a family. Then I dropped my clothes to the ground.

Robert said, "I had to go and find Daphne and then bring her back here for you."

What? I froze, unable to move. Had the meeting on the bell tower been fate or had he been waiting for me? Helen's voice was high. "Why?"

I finished changing and returned next to them. Robert brushed his daughter's hair with his fingers. Her blonde hair cascaded on her back and again she reminded me of an angel. "Because she's kind and good and we need her."

Kind and good were nice, but it didn't mean that Robert loved me.

The door opened wider. Harper's blue eyes pierced the electrified air. "What's going on?"

Robert stayed on the ground with Helen. I walked closer to the door. "Harper, come in. Your sister is scared because Samantha went outside, so she's staying here. Would you like to bunk with us tonight too?"

Harper turned toward me and then his father. "Why is Dad hugging Helen?"

I placed my hand on his head. "Because he loves her. He loves you too."

Robert opened one of his arms. "Harper, come in. I missed you, son."

Harper’s face crumbled and his shoulders tightened as he took a step forward, but then stayed next to me. His voice trembled. "Am I your son or will you abandon me?"

Robert's gaze locked with Harper’s. "I will always take care of you."

I massaged Harper’s shoulder encouragingly. Anyone who believed Robert would be cruel to his children didn’t know him very well. "Am I your son?"

Robert nodded with understanding. "Even if we're different, it doesn't mean I would ever disown you."

Harper was too young to understand that answer. I choked on my words. "Just say yes, Robert."

Robert looked up to me and back to Harper. "Yes, you are. It's why I have to find my flight. To protect my children."

Harper left my side and bolted toward his father as he said, "Dad."

Robert hugged both of his children. I walked beside them and placed my hands on Robert and Harper. Right now this family was broken, but together we'd find a way to heal the wounds.

Despite how big they were, Robert picked up both of his children and placed them on the bed.

Thunder cracked outside the window, but the storm didn't matter. I slipped into the bed with the children as Robert kicked his shoes off.

We were a family. This was where I belonged.