Chapter 1
“Connor, this is Emily. She just moved here from Dublin.”
Connor looked from his older brother, Owen, to the petite young woman standing beside him. She was stunning. Not only did she have the most gorgeous, flaming red hair he had ever seen, but she possessed deep blue eyes, a rarity for gingers in their home of Carlingford, Ireland – a rarity for anywhere, really.
She was beautiful, to say the least. Her naturally athletic-looking frame only added to her attractiveness. He sensed a power about her well beyond her appearance. She looked like she could take anyone in a sprint, despite her diminutive stature. There was an air of fearlessness that seemed to radiate from her as she stood beaming happily at him.
“Pleased to meet you, Emily,” Connor replied, trying to seem unmoved by her presence, though the truth was that he was instantly stunned by her.
“Likewise,” she told him, her eyes never leaving his. “Owen has told me a lot of good things about you.”
“Oh, well don’t believe any of that. He’s always making up things about me so that he can feel better about himself,” Connor joked, smiling at his brother for a moment before he returned her gaze to her.
“Really? Because he kind of said you were a great guy,” she laughed.
“I see. He must be coming to his senses in his old age,” Connor told her playfully as Owen stood looking at him with a bemused smirk, but he barely noticed it from the corner of his eye. His gaze was focused squarely on Emily as if Owen was no longer even there.
For a few moments, it was as if no one else existed but the two of them. Was there something happening between them, or was it just his imagination? More importantly, was she a shifter? These were both questions to which he suddenly found himself desperately wanting answers. Fortunately, his brother was going to help him with the answer to at least one of them, it seemed.
“Emily is a dragon shifter, too. Her aunt asked me to show her around a bit, but I’ve got to head up to the city center to pick up some supplies. I thought maybe you could show her around the village, perhaps take her out for a flight around the Mournes to show her the safe zones later,” Connor told him.
“Sure, no problem. I’d be happy to do that,” Connor replied, secretly delighted by the opportunity to get to know her better.
“Good deal. Thanks, brother,” Owen told him with a knowing smile before turning to walk away.
Both he and Emily replied to tell Owen goodbye, almost in perfect unison, causing him to pause and turn back toward them for a moment with what passed for a smile from his usually solemn brother. He nodded toward them and then resumed his retreat.
“So, how long have you been in Carlingford?” Connor asked, turning back toward Emily with great interest.
“I just moved my stuff here today. My mother recently passed away after a long illness. I came here to stay with my aunt and, you know, to be with people like me. There aren’t that many of us in Dublin these days.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your mother. Loss is hard. Owen and I lost our father when we were young. How did you end up in a place like Dublin, being a shifter and all?” Owen asked.
“What do you mean? There are quite a few shifters there. I still have some family in the city.”
“It’s just so limiting, is all. Trying to live among humans without notice there is difficult. I would think it would greatly limit flight time.”
“Ah, yes. It’s just a necessity for some, I guess. You know, jobs and all. In smaller clan villages like this, you have to learn a trade or have a business of some sort. More mainstream jobs require city living, so it’s a tradeoff. My father was an engineer. He fell in love with bridges when he was a boy. So, he wanted to design them, and that took him to Dublin.”
“That makes sense. I’m afraid it’s not quite as bustling here as it was in Dublin. The village can take some getting used to. It’s a very close-knit group, and they are a bit wary of outsiders, but they are really good people once they get used to you. Usually, if the dragon leader is okay with you, then you won’t have any problems from anyone else. Have you already met Aiden?”
“The dragon leader of your clan? Yes. We met earlier today. He seemed a little creepy. Is it okay to say that?”
“Yes, you can say that.” Connor laughed. “He does come across as creepy quite often.”
“Glad I’m not the only one that thinks so. I’ll be keeping a healthy distance from him, I think.”
“Probably not a bad idea. He’s been our clan leader for quite some time now, but not many care for his policies or heavy-handed interference in everyday life. Still, no one wants to challenge him. He’s known to be quite ruthless.”
“I don’t think I’ll be hanging out with him anytime soon. He’s not exactly the sort I’d want to settle in for a spot of tea with.”
“No, he isn’t. Anyway, let me show you around a bit,” Connor offered, raising his hand to motion toward the small walkway to his left that led into the city center. He continued talking, trying not to come off as chattering nervously as they strolled along.
“Everyone on this side of the mountain is part of our clan. Most of the other side is, too, but there are a few non-shifter friendlies over there as well. Bottom line is that you are safe spreading your wings anywhere on the ground here, but limit your flights toward the east, over the water. Try to stay over Carlingford Lough and only go out during twilight or dusk when you aren’t as noticeable from a distance.”
“It will be so nice to be able to fly every day if I want,” she said. “I was so limited in Dublin. Even though it is on the coast, there was way too much going on at the port with ships coming and going. I could only fly in complete darkness in the wee hours.”
“I understand completely. That is what I meant earlier about it being an odd place for a shifter to settle, but it makes sense with your father’s job. You will find that we are much more accepted here by the people who live nearby, but not so much outside the mountain. Still, we have a lot more freedom than in other places.”
“I’ll try to keep a low profile. My dragon is fairly compact anyway,” she joked.
“Nothing wrong with that. Anyway, come on and we’ll meet some folks while we wait for the sun to drop a bit so we can get you out to stretch your wings a bit.”
Emily was well received by the members of the clan that Connor introduced her to, returning home with an armload of gifts given to her by assorted members of the community. They dropped these off at her house and then walked back through the village center to meet some of the shopkeepers and show her the markets available there without having to leave the mountain to shop.
“We try to be as self-sufficient as possible. It’s a quiet community, and we do our best to support one another without involving outsiders,” he told her as they walked along.
“Outsiders? Like me, you mean?” she replied, seeming a bit put off by his words.
“No, of course not!” he replied, horrified that she had taken it that way. “I mean, non-shifters. Most don’t understand us and what we are. They view us as some sort of danger to them. Even if they are accepting of us, they aren’t so good at keeping our secret.”
“Ah, okay. I understand. It’s too tempting to tell everyone what they’ve discovered. Humans aren’t very good at knowing something that they can’t tell anyone else. They tell one person they don’t think will tell anyone, and then that person tells someone…before you know it, the world knows your secret.”
“Exactly. It’s no problem for them if the wrong people learn we are shifters, but a huge problem for us. That is the primary reason it is forbidden to take a human mate in our village. Not everyone agrees with that, but Aiden insists it remain a rule,” he replied with a dismissive shrug.
“I suppose it doesn’t matter who agrees with it as long as he has made it law,” she said, her attention directed toward a small diner nearby. “Do you think we could grab a bite to eat before we continue on? I’m starving!”
“I can’t think of a better idea. I’m pretty hungry myself,” he laughed, steering her to the inside of the eatery.
“It’s not very crowded in here,” she said curiously, before leaning into him to whisper, “Is that a bad sign?”
“No, not at all. She just doesn’t have a lot of people dining in, is all. Her food is fantastic, but most grab it and go because she gives such large portions that it makes an easy dinner for the family,” he told her quietly.
“Oh. I hate wasting food. I guess I can take what’s left home with me if it is too much,” she said uncertainly.
“You might as well plan on it,” he laughed, pulling out a chair for her near the front window.
The owner, Cassi Baker, had been running the small diner since she was a young woman, and before that, as a teen, she had waited tables for her parents who had owned it before her. No one knew exactly how old she really was, but she had been in the village when it was founded and longer than anyone else who currently lived there.
“Cassi, this is Emily. She just moved here to live with her aunt,” Connor told her, realizing suddenly that he had no idea what Emily’s last name was or which member of the village was her aunt. She had been so mesmerizing when he had met her that he hadn’t even thought about it. Now, he found himself suddenly hoping Cassi wouldn’t put him on the spot by asking him for details.
“Pleasure to meet you, honey. I hope I will see more of you. Too many people eat on the run these days. It’s always nice to have a young couple dine in with me.”
“Oh, no. We’re not a couple,” Connor stammered, feeling a hot flush spread up over his face.
“Connor is just showing me around town,” Emily offered, sensing his discomfort. Of course, it wasn’t hard to miss, based on the vivid shade of red he had become.
“He’s a good boy,” Cassi replied, seeming completely oblivious to his discomfort, patting him on the top of the head as if he were still a tot. “What can I get for the two of you?” she asked.
Connor’s face began to return to its normal color as they ordered their food and settled in to chat while Cassi returned to the kitchen to prepare their meal. Emily put him at ease quickly, changing the subject to discuss what there was to do locally for fun. He quickly found himself offering to take her around to more activities to help her get acquainted with the place and everyone in it. By the time their meal was finished, he felt like he had known her for a lifetime rather than one afternoon.
After dinner and a few more introductions around town, Connor and Emily headed up the mountain, walking until they reached the peak. The sun was going down as they stood there, overlooking the sea below them. Something about being here with her felt magical. How could she have such an effect on him so quickly? He told himself to shake it off, to snap out of it. It was far too soon to be so hung up on a woman, especially since it might not even be mutual.
“Ready?” Connor asked, smiling down at her softly.
“Beyond ready,” Emily said, stepping away from him and toward the edge of the overhang on which they stood.
He watched as she morphed from her already beautiful form into the most gorgeous blue and silver dragon he had ever laid eyes on. Her blue eyes glimmered a metallic shade as they peered through the silver stripe that crossed her brow and spanned down her neck, flowing toward the tips of her wings as they began to spread. She turned and took flight out over the water.
Connor jumped from the cliff behind her, enjoying the free fall in his human form for a moment before he morphed midair into a bright red and orange dragon. His wings spanned twice the distance of hers as he tried to catch up. She was so much smaller, and yet incredibly fast. He felt something stir within him as she seemed to slow, waiting for him to catch up. He dove below her as they continued their flight, with her soaring only slightly above him as they made their way further out to sea.
To anyone that might have seen them, they would have been a glorious sight. The large orange dragon with red flecks soaring protectively just beneath the small blue and silver one, both of them beneath the moonlight that flickered across their scales. It was always such a shame to have to hide their beauty from the world, Connor thought. Their kind had been around since long before most of the humans they were forced to hide themselves from, yet they were deemed the intruders.
As the stars lit up the sky, they had come quite a way out from the village. Conner moved forward ahead of Emily to guide her toward a place for them to rest a bit before they began the return trip home. They landed on a small island far away from prying eyes and shifted back to human form. Lying beneath the star-laden sky above them, they talked well into the night.
“It is so beautiful here, especially at night,” Emily said breathlessly.
“It is. I’ve always found it magical to fly over the waters at night, to look up at the stars that we can’t fly quite high enough to reach.”
“I know. All the human people always mourn that they can’t fly. We can fly but still mourn our limitations. I guess everyone has their limitations in some way.”
“That’s very observant and very true,” Connor said. “I sometimes wonder if there is anyone out there who is truly content with what they have, with who they are.”
“I think a good many people are as close as they can be. We accept our limitations and get on with life.”
“I suppose we do, but I think we all have regrets,” Connor replied, lost in his own thoughts for a bit as he continued to look up at the sky above.
“Perhaps,” she said. “What are your regrets? If there was one thing you could change, what would it be?” Emily asked, rolling onto her side to face him.
“I would have saved my father,” came his rather solemn reply.
“I never knew my father. He died before I was born. All I know is that he was an engineer and after he died, Mom didn’t want to leave their home in Dublin where they had spent their lives together. I would have saved my mother if I had been able. I’m sure your brother would have saved your father, too, if he could have,” she said kindly.
“Possibly, but the choice would be harder for him,” he said. “He lost someone – a woman he loved. He has been different since then. We were young when our father died. It was painful, but you don’t understand as much as you do later on. He had barely come to an understanding that our father was not going to return when he suffered a tragedy that did far more damage. He was eighteen when he lost Margaret, his high school sweetheart. He’s never quite recovered from it.”
“That explains his demeanor. He strikes me as a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. I mean, he was nice to me, but very reserved and withdrawn into his own thoughts during the little time I was with him. It was as if he couldn’t find you fast enough and get me off his hands. I honestly thought he had taken an instant dislike to me, though he was polite about it,” Emily observed.
“That wasn’t the case at all. He is just horrible at one on one, especially with attractive women,” Connor said softly, turning to pull her closer to him against the chill of the night as they continued to talk. He wasn’t sure that she wanted him to hold her, but it felt right, so he just went with it. It was a mix of relief and joy when she nuzzled in closer to him, rather than pulling away.
As morning drew ever nearer, they found themselves still in one another’s arms, lost to a passionate kiss. Connor had never felt anything like what he was experiencing with Emily. It was something that he knew he could never let go, even now, when they hardly knew one another. It was all he could do to pull away from her, but he had to, knowing they had to get home before the dawn.
“We need to get back home,” he told her reluctantly.
“I suppose we do.” She smiled at him and planted another light kiss on his lips before pulling away from him and standing up.
“I don’t want to go,” he told her, wanting to express how much he was enjoying being here with her.
“Me neither,” she replied, adding, “Catch me if you can!” before morphing and sailing back out over the sea toward home.
Connor quickly followed her, once again marveling at how fast she was even as he struggled to keep up with her speed. He might be bigger, but he would never take her in a race. It was something he was willing to accept. Then again, he had the feeling that there was very little he couldn’t accept about her.