Chapter 1
Miracle Caprice dipped the end of the metal blowpipe into the melted glass in the furnace, picking up a glob and drawing it out of the heat. Her best friend Tonya, a dragon shifter like herself, was sitting on a large pillow on the floor, drawing in her sketch pad.
Miracle rolled the blob of melted glass across a metal table until it formed a cylinder, blowing air into it until a bubble formed inside the glass. She reheated the glass and moved to the tooling area to begin to shape it into the form she wanted.
“What are you making this time?” Tonya asked, her charcoal pencil making scratching noises as it moved.
“A coffee mug. My dad broke his the other day and he’s mad at himself.”
Tonya’s brow arched. “The one you made for him?”
Nodding, Miracle worked the opening of the mug until she was satisfied, and then moved over to the oven to let the glass set. After tapping the mug off the end of the pole, she closed the lid on the oven and rolled her neck. “The tremors in his hands are getting worse. He was holding the mug and just lost his grip. I really don’t want to make another one for him because I’m afraid he’s going to be upset if he breaks it again, but he loves my glasswork so much I can’t say no.”
Her parents were both ninety and lived next door to her in their clan’s gated community. Their clan was small, with only twenty members. She and Tonya were two of the few females. Tonya’s mate had been killed during a territory battle seven years ago, before the clan had moved to the quiet Pennsylvania mountain town of Delfi. The clan had built their gated community on the outskirts of the mostly-human town. Miracle made a living there with her glasswork. Everyone wanted to buy glass items made by a fire-breathing dragon. Well, everyone except the dragons, because her abilities were nothing special when everyone could breathe fire.
Except Tonya, who was a rare ice dragon. Her breath was downright frosty at times.
“What are you snickering at?” Tonya asked, looking up once more from the sketch pad.
“I was just thinking how cool you are.”
Miracle made a circular foot for the bottom of the mug. After marrying the two together, she worked on the handle.
“Oh ha ha. Is this where I tell you how hot I think you are?”
“Of course not. If Tais has ever said a remotely truthful word, I’m not hot, fire abilities or not.”
Tonya tapped her pencil on the top of her sketchbook and made a face. “I told you not to mention his name. You’re free.”
“Not yet,” she said, sighing as she put the finished mug back in the heated chest.
She was bitter – she could admit that, even though it made her feel weak. She’d spent the last twenty years in an arranged mating with a male who’d only wanted a cook and a maid. Half the time he didn’t even come home, and when he did, he would stink of human females and booze. Miracle had been given no choice in the matter, however. According to dragon law, all females were required to be mated at age eighteen, but Miracle had never done anything right.
First, her parents had struggled to even have her. She hadn’t been born until they were in their fifties, and her mother nearly died during the birth. Then Miracle hadn’t shifted until she was almost eighteen, when most dragons shifted at age twelve. Her scales weren’t right – they were a deep forest green splotched with brown and black, perfect for camo in the woods, but not perfect for a group of shifters who prided themselves on having perfect, single-color scales. And her eyes, one amber and one green, had forever taunted her as she’d looked in the mirror.
To top all those physical issues, she was also barren, which made her about as desirable as a mate to male dragons as a fluffy bunny shifter would be. If there were fluffy bunny shifters.
She decided to ask Tonya.
“Are you seriously asking me if bunny shifters exist?”
Shrugging, Miracle looked at her friend. “Surely they do. And how adorable would they be?”
“They’d be super weak and easily killed in their shifted forms.”
“Yeah, but maybe their cuteness is their weapon. Like, a wolf shifter comes up to eat them, and they turn on the cute and he’s putty in their little paws.”
“Wolves don’t ask questions first; they just eat their prey.”
“Says you. I bet wolves do ask questions, and I bet that bunny shifters do exist. With little fluffy butts and everything.”
“You’re insane.”
“I’m in good company.”
Tonya stood and joined her. “The council has to let you free of the mating. You did your twenty. You’re like a human cop; twenty and done. You didn’t want the mating, but you did it anyway. He’s never been faithful or a good mate, even though you’re amazing. So what that you can’t have kids? And so fucking what if you have awesome eyes and cool scales?”
Tonya had never had children either, but that was because her mate had died before they’d conceived. She had never re-mated, even though she’d been pursued by a few of the unmated males.
There was a little-known clan law that stated a dragon could leave their mating after twenty years. It was meant as a safeguard in the event of an arranged mating that didn’t work out, but twenty years was still a super-long time. Maybe the writers of the law hoped that the couple would work things out if they had to wait that long. All that twenty years had done for her was cement in her mind how unfair the clan laws were. They gave with one hand and took with the other.
She’d petitioned the council to let her out of her mating a half dozen times over the years, but now the law was on her side. Her twenty years had been over a month ago, and they were now deliberating her freedom. Turning her attention to her friend, she said, “What are you sketching?”
“Topic-changer,” Tonya accused.
“I’m genuinely curious.”
Tonya turned the book that she’d been hugging to her chest to face Miracle. It was a sketch of a beautiful phoenix, wings spread high.
“Oh, that’s so lovely,” she said.
“Thanks. It’s for you.”
“You haven’t made me a picture in years.” When they were younger, Tonya used to give sketches to Miracle often.
“It’s for your tattoo.”
“I don’t have one.”
“You will. This one.”
“Um, no. Dragons can’t be tattooed. When we shift, the scales somehow dissolve the ink.”
“You can absolutely be tattooed if you mix a special ingredient with the ink.”
“That sound ominous.”
“Your tears.” Before Miracle could say anything, Tonya continued, “Specifically your dragon’s tears. You shift and ask your amazing best friend to collect your tears. Then you take the vial to the tattooer and he’ll mix it in. It’ll make the tattoo permanent.”
“How do you know?”
“My dad had a tattoo and he told me about it. Humans used to think that dragon tears were magical, remedies for different ailments, but all they’re really good for is spell-casting and permanent tattoos.”
Miracle looked at the sketch and then at Tonya. Her mind flipped to Tais, who had spent so much time making her feel worthless. A phoenix was exactly the sort of image that fit with her new life, after she’d stripped herself of the shackles that bound her.
“You’ll go with me?”
“As if I’d let you go without me.”
Miracle hugged Tonya and closed up her little studio. It sat at the back of the property, two hundred blissful feet away from the house that had always felt like a prison to her. She glanced up at the sky as they walked from the studio toward the house. It was late afternoon, and the council would bring their decision to her at nightfall. In a few hours, she could honestly and truly be free.
“If they dissolve my mating, I’ll get the tattoo.”
Tonya cheered. “They will, I can feel it. Good things are going to happen for you.”
* * *
A week later, newly single and ready to grab life by the horns and live, Miracle sat in the lobby of a tattoo shop in the next town. The place smelled of blood, cleanser, and ink, and the whir of the tattoo machines made her dragon pace.
“You Miracle?” a tall, lanky male with a long blond ponytail asked as he walked past the reception desk. He was tattooed on every visible patch of skin, from his cheeks to his fingertips.
“Yes,” she said, standing to shake his hand.
“Come on back, I’ve got your drawing ready to go.”
Tonya had made the arrangements with the tattooist via e-mail, sending him a photo of the image. Miracle had opted to have it placed on her right shoulder blade. She’d worn a strapless top that bared her upper back so she wouldn’t have to strip. After discussing the placement, he prepped her skin and then transferred the image onto it. As Miracle turned to look at the image in the mirror, Tonya said, “This goes in the ink.”
“What is it?” he asked, eyeing the vial skeptically.
“A special chemical that will allow the tattoo to become permanent.”
He looked at Miracle. “What are you?”
She looked at Tonya, who shrugged. Miracle answered, “I’m a dragon.”
“Tatts don’t work on dragons; your skin won’t hold it. Unless…are these tears?”
Both women nodded.
His eyes widened, and he grinned. “Well fuck me, that’s awesome! I hope it works. There are some other types of supernaturals who can’t hold a tatt. You could sell your tears. You interested?”
“Um, no. That’s a personal thing to ask. Dragon tears are hard to get and take time,” Miracle said. Her stomach churned uneasily, but she ignored it because she trusted Tonya in choosing the right tattooist.
He put his hands up. “Hey, sorry. No worries. If you ever change your mind, give me a call.”
Miracle gave a non-committal snort and sat down on the chair, lying across the tilted back and bringing her long blonde hair forward over her shoulder. Tonya sat in a chair across from Miracle and got out her sketch pad.
“You’re not sketching another tattoo for me,” Miracle said.
“Of course not. I’m sketching you getting a tattoo.”
“Good grief,” she said, rolling her eyes.
The machine began to buzz, and he laid the needles against her skin. Her dragon huffed in annoyance. Unnecessary pain wasn’t appreciated. Closing her eyes, Miracle listened to the buzz of the needles as Tonya discussed a blind date she’d gone on the night before. Miracle smiled, deciding she couldn’t wait to go on a few dates herself.
Four hours later, with her shoulder throbbing from the needles, Miracle stared at her reflection in the mirror. The phoenix was lovely, colored in shades of red, yellow, and orange that made it look like it was made of flames. It was both fierce and delicate, a feminine design she was proud to wear.
“Do you feel like a phoenix?” Tonya asked.
“Yeah.” She hugged her friend and said goodbye to the tattoo artist, after paying him for the tattoo and collecting the vial of remaining tears.
Miracle had been living with her parents since the mating had been dissolved. The council had agreed she could have the house that she and Tais had lived in, but she didn’t want it. It was nothing but four walls and bad memories. She’d cleared out all her belongings immediately, but she was still in the process of looking for a new studio for her glassware.
“I need to stop at the studio,” she told Tonya as they got into her friend’s car.
“Did you find a place yet?”
“No, but there’s a shed manufacturer I found online who ships completed buildings right to you. All you have to do is have a concrete pad for them. Dad said I could use their backyard.”
“That’s cool.”
“Yeah. It would work because I’d be able to stay with them and help out, but I’d also have my own space.”
“You could always stay with me.”
“I know. That’s because you’re such a good friend.”
“Good? I’m freaking awesome.”
They walked around the small house toward the studio. The house was quiet, so Miracle didn’t think that Tais was home. She hadn’t seen him since the council dissolved the mating. He’d been angry and had threatened to hurt her if she didn’t take back the dissolution. His uncle had threatened him, telling him that he wasn’t to touch a hair on her head or he’d be dealt with severely. Since that time, she’d not caught a glimpse of him, which was just fine with her. Once she found a place for her studio, she’d never have to come to this part of the gated community, and he could rot alone in the house for all she cared.
Her steps slowed as she saw that the door to the studio was open. The lock that she’d installed to keep Tais out of the studio was broken.
“Oh no,” she whispered as she pushed open the door to the studio and saw the ruins of her hard work. Everything was destroyed. All her finished glassware, which she’d kept on metal shelves against one wall, was smashed to pieces. The kiln had huge holes in it, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to the sides, and all her tools were bent.
“How could he do this?” Tonya demanded as she pressed a button on her phone. Miracle couldn’t even answer. Everything she’d made in the last three months was destroyed beyond repair. She’d have to start over from scratch, and she’d most definitely lose clients because of the delay. It would cost her a fortune.
She listened to Tonya inform the head of security about the break-in and destruction, and within an hour the incident was investigated and a report was sent to the king.
“The king sends his apologies,” Ness, the head of security, said as he looked at his phone. “He asks you to send him a list of replacement items and their cost, and he’ll have the money transferred into your account.”
“Fat lot of good that will do with her customers,” Tonya said.
Ness shrugged. “Tais is angry. The king told him to leave you alone, but this is technically his property. The king is being generous in replacing the ruined items. You had to know when you dissolved the mating that he might retaliate.”
Miracle blew out a breath. She had wondered if that might happen, but she hadn’t expected him to destroy her studio. Maybe that was foolish on her part.
“He shouldn’t be allowed to retaliate,” Tonya said.
Ness opened his mouth, shut it, and then sighed. “All I can tell you is to just try and move on with your life. We’ll keep an eye on him, but if you have any other problems, call the security office immediately.”
The security team escorted her and Tonya to the car and then followed them to Miracle’s parents’ home. She stared at the house, knowing her parents were inside, unaware that Tais had done something so cruel. They would be upset for her, and her dad would threaten to shift and tear him apart.
This was her home now, and she was going to do just what Ness had suggested and start her life over.
“What’s the plan?” Tonya asked as she got out of her car and Miracle joined her.
“I’m free. Even though it was a terrible thing that Tais did, he actually saved me from having to go back over there again. I’ll rebuild my business and it’ll be better than before.”
Tonya smiled. “The best revenge is to not let this get to you and to have a better life. Although, I’m still not against making him bleed a little.”
Hugging her best friend, Miracle said, “He’s not worth the effort.”
“Ready for a new start?”
“Definitely.”