I didn’t know what I was thinking giving her any illusions that she was in control. But if I’d learned anything from watching Skinner, Bart, and my father … it was that giving them the slightest bit of comfort went a long way with them cooperating. So I led her to my bike.

“Get on,” I told her as I threw my leg over the side.

“How will you hear me tell you where we’re going?” she asked.

“Tap me once on this shoulder if you want me to turn left and twice on this shoulder if you want me to turn right. Got it?”

She nodded quietly, “Got it.”

We rode through the streets like we were the only people out. A few Scalers had taken to the sky, but none paid attention to us. It’s like we were invisible. Her arms wrapped around my waist. Her breasts pushed against my back while her hair whipped around my face constantly giving me the sweetest aroma of her. I nearly crashed while zoning out thinking about what it’d be like having those same strands drip around me while she straddled my… Forget it. She was repulsed by the idea of even talking to me. I couldn’t imagine us getting anywhere beyond this moment right here.

A few minutes of this and we were down by the docks. An uneasy feeling washed over me. I didn’t like it. Coming down here outside of being healed wasn’t for me.

“We should get out of here,” I told her bringing the bike to a stop. Not a Scaler in sight, nor any Anthros either. If she wanted to talk in private, this was it, but again; I didn’t like it.

“So a big, bad, fire-breathing, winged beast of death is uncomfortable down here?” she giggled.

It made me smile seeing her smile. I shrugged, “I’m not used to being down here. Not to mention I never know what’s in the water. So let’s talk.”

“Not here,” she said with her eyes drifting upward to the sky and then out toward the water. The moonlight did its best to illuminate the city while a few scattered street posts remained lit. Grady let Celia convince him that it was necessary for hunting at night, but I think she had a soft spot for them like I did. It did help down here by the docks too.

“Where else did you have in mind?” I asked her with a raised eyebrow.

She grinned motioning toward the open water.

“What? Out there? You want me to fly you over open water? I have to tell you that we won’t get much talking done dragon to Anthros,” I laughed.

“No, not out,” she grinned again, “Down.”

Peering over the edge, all I saw was an abyss of blackness. My heart sank. This was seeming like an even dumber idea than I originally thought. I’d given her too much room.

“Come on,” she said pulling her hair into a ponytail, “You can swim, right?”

“Only if I have to,” I admitted. I’d prefer to leave the water to the Scalers with gills; Scalers like Aya.

She didn’t say another word to me, only backing up to the edge with her arms extended out like she was about to sprout wings. It made me wonder what she’d look like scaling into a Black Sapphire … extraordinary I believe. But fantasies of us flying into the sunset disappeared as fast as she did under the surface of the water.

FUCK!

I took three deep breaths and took off after her. I dove into the water like a missile. My eyes burned for a moment as my lungs tried to regulate themselves. I had to fight scaling underwater. Fear damn sure tried its best to overcome me, making me believe I needed to survive this dive. I’d never done it under water before. I had no idea what would happen if I did and I was in no mood to find out.

I paddled for a moment trying to find which way was up when I felt her fingers grab me. Suddenly, she lit up like a mermaid. Her smile, her eyes, she wasn’t bothered one bit like I was. She waved her hand at to me to follow her. So I did. It’s not like I had too many other options.

We glided through the water toward a spinning light. It looked like a buoy that had flipped upside down and simply stayed there. I was surprised I couldn’t see this light from the surface. It made me wonder how far down we actually were. There wasn’t much time to ponder it as my chest began to grow tighter. I was running out of air and Whisper was a few feet in front of me. I swam harder and caught up in just enough time to pass under what would have been the edge of the wall we’d just dove off of.

Within seconds we were able to stand in shallow water. She laughed and it echoed like we were in a cave, but I knew that to be untrue. We were in an underground part of the city. I could hear music, people, and the aroma of something cooking over an open flame hit me, making me hungry.

We were greeted by Aya, to my surprise. I bowed my head to her, but she held her hand up to Whisper. She snapped her fingers and someone with a leash around their neck brought a tray with two glasses on it. They held a bubbling blue liquid with smoke wafting out of the glass.

“You drink,” Aya commanded us.

I nodded and swallowed the beverage. My insides burned for a moment before my entire body heated up. In seconds, I was completely dry.

“When we have to leave, we won’t get wet on the way out either,” Whisper told me.

It was clear she’d done this before. Me? I had no idea this even existed.

“Come on!” she held her hand out, but Aya stopped her from moving forward pointing to me and wagging her finger back and forth.

“I am the only Scaler allowed down here. You know that,” Aya said to Whisper.

“Please, Priestess, we just need a moment, a safe place to talk, and then we’ll leave,” she begged her.

Aya looked me up and down and then to Whisper, “You talk, and then you go. Make it quick.”

“Yes, Aya,” Whisper said with a humbleness in her tone. She seemed like she was more scared of her than she was of any of us.

I followed her toward an entrance that looked more like a party was going on, but that’s not where we went. She led me past that and down a hall to another door. It seemed like we were walking through a maze until we came to a large opening. I watched her move toward it, and finally sat down. When I joined her, we were high above the party looking out over the people and the water we’d just come out of.

“A lot of us come here to unwind and have a good time. It’s one of the reasons why Aya doesn’t want you here,” she said softly.

“I didn’t know that you all were familiar with her,” I told her.

“Oh yes, very much so. She’s quite the business woman, playing both sides. But I only brought you here because you said we needed to talk and this is the safest place I know that we can do that and still let me walk away without being your pet,” she reasoned.

“You might be able to walk away without being my pet, but are you prepared to be a mermaid for the rest of your life? You won’t be able to walk around up top anymore without me, without my mark for protection. I’ve tried to let it go since the day we met, but now without it? Skinner, Bart, they’ll all want you. I can’t even believe you’ve made it this long,” I chuckled.

“What do you mean?” she stared at me.

“You really don’t remember me, do you? You have no idea who I am?” I asked her with a raised eyebrow.

She shook her head, “No. I mean outside of what you did for me today, I can’t say that I remember running into anyone like you.”

I wriggled my neck around a bit trying to shave the years of Black Harbor living off of my face, telling her in a hushed tone, “My name’s Ashton, and I live near The Towers.”

“No that wasn’t you!” she shoved me and this time I moved under her touch. “I was wondering why those assholes at The Towers looked at me like I was crazy. I thought you were going to put in a good word for me.”

“Believe me, my word doesn’t hold much weight under the buildings, but anywhere above it’s golden,” I smiled.

“I see that. So what makes you think you can convince me that being one of your play things is going to make all of this okay? What stops them from sniffing me through the air and coming to snatch me away from you?”

“I’d have to mark you. Every time they find you, they know you’re unmarked. They check to be sure but normally, there would be a clean line just above your heart, running parallel to your collar bone, that stops right over it. Your scent wouldn’t be as strong either. It would mixed with mine. You’d be safe,” I told her.

“But I’d be yours. I’m not property. I’m not -”

I stopped her, “I know that. It’s why I haven’t done anything yet. It’s why I chose to dive into the dark waters of Black Harbor after you. It’s why I’m sitting with you right now. I’ve been keeping tabs on you since the day we’ve met. That day I was supposed to take you but the guy you met today-”

“Finner Skinch?” she snarled mocking his name.

“No, the other one,” I chuckled, “Bartholomew Victor, leader of the Scarlet Wings.”

She swallowed hard, “He was the leader of the Scarlet Wings?”

“Yeah.”

“I shouldn’t be alive right now, should I?”

“Not after riding my motorcycle, no you shouldn’t,” I replied honestly. “Bart’s exacting when it comes to his gifts, and in his position when it comes to your type.”

“What position is that?” she turned to face me.

I wanted nothing more than to hold her face in my hands and kiss her deeply. I didn’t want to have to convince her anymore that she should be with me. She should just know that what I’m telling her was in her best interest. If she wouldn’t believe the words I had to say, then I’d have to do something even more drastic to convince her. But for now, I’d continue to reason with her, “He doesn’t like to keep pets.”

“But he called me delectable,” she said with a noticeable chill rippling down her body.

“Yeah delectable in his eyes means menu worthy. I’m not a fan of eating things that look like me, but I can’t say that for every Scaler out there, especially with conditions in Black Harbor as they are.”

“So, I have the leader of the Onyx Skulls trying to keep me as his pet. To be one of the many he’s already claimed from multiple stations to juggle his balls while the leader of the Scarlet Wings wants me filleted and slathered in butter,” she gazed into my eyes, “So if you mark me, neither of them can have me then right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. You’ve been off limits for a while, but you’re out in the open too much. You’re getting into way too much trouble than I can get you out of, and honestly, you’re exhausting to keep after,” I laughed.

“Jasper says the same thing. I’ve always felt like someone was watching over me. I kind of wanted to believe it was my parents or something dreamy like that, but I guess my own winged protector is just as good as sweet memories… Better even. I’ve never said this to a Scaler before, but thank you, Ashton. Thank you for saving my life.”

I wanted to return the gratitude, but my nerves stopped me from saying anything else. The fact was that after I met her, I never looked at another Anthros the same. Every time I saw a female, I wished it was her. Every time I heard someone running, I wished it was her. And for those occasions that it was, I’d keep my dragon to the sky to keep her protected along the ground. It’s only been today where I had to physically step in. And now here we were, trying to figure out our next move, together. But I knew what our next move had to be. I had to take her home.

“There’s no other way you get out of this alive unless I take you to The Towers,” I leveled with her.

She sighed and nodded, “I think I’m starting to believe you on that.”

“Why don’t you let me take you there under the guise of being my pet, and we’ll take it from there? I won’t mark you unless you tell me it’s okay. As for now, with the way I feel about you, I’m not going to let you out of my sight. You’ll never be okay if I do.”

“Fine, Ashton,” she reluctantly agreed, “Let’s go to The Towers.”