When the alarm finally went off, Anna was wide awake. She spent the night trying to get some sleep, knowing she'd need it for the next day, but what she'd witnessed was simply too intense to allow her to rest.
He's a dragon, she thought. My boss is a dragon. How is that even possible? Dragons aren't even real!
But she knew what she'd seen. She was there as Jason transformed, turning from a human to a beast that was as majestic as it was terrifying. The image of him was clear in her mind as he stood proudly on the roof, his scales as brilliant and silver as the moon above.
Anna didn't want to leave the bedroom. Part of her wanted to find the nearest fire escape and climb down, despite the fact they were hundreds of feet up. She was keenly aware that she couldn't quit this job, despite the fact that she was apparently working for a monster out of medieval fairy tales.
So, steeling herself, she showered and got dressed. Once ready, she took a deep breath and left her bedroom. As she approached the main room of the apartment, she heard the sounds of breakfast. Anna checked her watch to make sure she hadn't overslept. Sure enough, she was on time. Stepping into the main room, she walked in to see Jason up, making a pancake breakfast for William and Sophia, who were still in their pajamas and sitting at the kitchen bar.
"Morning," said Jason, flicking his blue eyes to Anna.
Anna felt small under his gaze. But she knew she needed to play it cool.
"Good morning, guys," she said, entering the kitchen. "Am I late?"
"Not at all," said Jason. I've been up for a while, so I figured I'd handle the kids this morning–don't get the chance very often. I'm heading out soon, so you can finish getting them ready and take them to school."
"Sure, no problem," said Anna, pouring herself a fresh cup of coffee.
"Hey, dudes," she said to the kids.
"Morning," they both said, their attention occupied by the pancakes on their plates and the screens in front of them.
"Hey," said Jason. "What'd I tell you about using screens at the table?"
"It's not a table," said William. "It's a bar."
"Are you eating off of it?" asked Jason.
"Yes," said William.
"Are you sitting at it?"
"…Yes."
"Then it's a table."
"I'm studying for a test today," said Sophia, proudly.
"What kind of tests does a baby like you even have," said William. "How to be a loser?"
"Dad!" said Sophia, her cherubic face tightening in frustration.
"Will," said Jason. "Cool it. And both of you put those things away and give Miss Anna a proper good morning."
"Good morning," they said, putting their devices down and speaking in unison.
Anna smiled and gave a friendly nod.
The little scene was such a normal, domestic situation that Anna managed to forget, for a brief moment, that the man speaking next to her was some kind of shape-shifting dragon.
"Okay," said Jason. "You guys get ready. Get on, now. And remember, it's Friday; if you want to do anything fun tonight with your friends, you'd better be on your best behavior today."
The kids shoved down their last bites of breakfast and trundled off to their rooms.
"So," said Jason. "Kids are going to be off for the day, which is the usual situation during the week. You can have the day to do whatever you want, just as long as you're outside their school waiting for them at three-thirty on the dot. I…don't like them walking home along."
"Okay," said Anna, feeling like she should've said more, but still feeling tongue-tied.
After all, how exactly do you speak to a dragon?
"And I've arranged for the kids to have a sleepover this evening. I'll leave the address on the counter. Just bring them back after school, get them after their homework, and drop ‘em off."
"And…you have the evening off, too?" asked Anna.
"I do," said Jason. "And make sure your plans are clear for the evening. I want to discuss some…matters with you."
Anna's blood ran cold; she was certain the issue of what happened last night would be discussed.
But how would he know? Anna thought to herself. I saw him, but he didn't see me. Then again, if he's a dragon, who knows what other kinds of powers he has?
"I'll, um, go see to the kids, then."
Jason nodded, and she was off. William seemed to have no problems getting dressed, but Sophia was hemming and hawing over a few different outfits. Anna helped her decide on one, and soon, both of the kids were ready to go.
"I'm off," said Jason. "The school's just a few blocks down the road. I'll head to the street with you three."
He did just that, riding down the elevator with Anna and the kids. The family said their goodbyes on the street and Jason was off. Anna couldn't help but watch Jason leave; she was fascinated by him now that she knew what she did about his true nature.
"Why are you looking at my daddy like that?" asked Sophia, snapping Anna out of her stare.
"I bet it's because she likes him," said William, and an impish grin on his face.
"Eww!" said Sophia.
"Come on, you little weirdos," said Anna, leading the two along.
After a short walk, the three arrived at the stately red brick building where the kids went to school, the entrance to the place a bustle of kids, parents, and teachers.
"Now," said Anna. "Just like your dad said–be here at three-thirty. And if you're both good then maybe we can stop for some ice cream on the way back."
Sophia's eyes went wide. "I'll-be-good!" she said, smushing the words together.
"Alright, get on in there."
The kids marched along the path leading up to the school, and soon, disappeared into the crowd of children. Anna sighed in relief as they went up, feeling good for getting them off on their first morning without a hitch.
But then a thought occurred to her as she walked back to the apartment: if their father was a dragon, then what did that make them? Surely, Jason's dragon nature wasn't some weird fluke, like being born with six fingers on one hand. Anna realized it had to be something passed down by the parents. Were the children both dragons as well?
Anna shuddered, feeling overwhelmed by the entire situation. She headed back to the apartment for a time, trying to relax, but unable to shake the weight on her about what she now knew about Jason and his family. And as she waiting for the day to pass, the door with the silver crest seemed to call out to her. Before, she'd just assumed Jason was a gun-collector or some such, or that the door barred the entrance to a study that was decidedly child-free. But now, Anna couldn't help but wonder just what was behind the door. If Jason was willing to keep this secret from her, then what else was he hiding?
The day passed by slowly, Anna spending most of the time trying to catch up on her reading while getting used to the apartment. By the time school was about to get out, she was more than ready to get the kids. True to her word, the three stopped for ice cream and Anna set them to work on their studies as soon as they got back. Once they were done, it was time to drop them off at their friends. Anna had them gather two small bags and then they were back outside. The friend's home was a gorgeous townhome near Central Park, and, just like with the apartment, Anna's mind reeled when she considered how much it must've cost.
I guess that explains why a guy in security can afford an apartment like his, thought Anna. Maybe he paid for it with dragon's gold.
Once she was back at the apartment, she made a fresh pot of coffee. And as it brewed, Jason arrived.
"Good day?" he asked, undoing his tie and taking off the gun from under his suit jacket.
"Yeah," said Anna. "No problems so far."
"They're good kids," said Jason. "Just don't take it personally when they start acting like little terrors, and you'll be fine."
"So…" said Anna. "Plans for tonight?"
"Right," said Jason. "I thought we could do with a little dinner out. Some adult time. And there're still a few finer points to the job I want to go over with you."
He slipped out of his suit jacket and tossed it onto the back of a nearby chair. Anna couldn't help but notice how his undershirt fit on his broad, muscular body.
"Give me a second," he said. "Go change if you need to. But nothing too fancy."
"That won't be a problem," said Anna with a smile.
Jason disappeared down his hallway and Anna rushed to her bedroom, trying to find something that wasn't wrinkled to hell. She settled on one of her work outfits, a simple black pencil skirt and a burgundy sleeveless top. She rushed to get ready, as if the faster she got dressed, the faster she could get to the part in the evening where Jason told her just what the hell was going on.
Who says he even wants to bring it up? Anna thought to herself. Maybe he didn't see me after all. Maybe this is just a normal night out.
She returned to the living room, where Jason waited with a glass of caramel-colored alcohol. He was wearing another one of his exquisite suits, this one dark blue.
"I'm ready if you are," he said.
Anna couldn't help but notice the way his eyes lingered on her legs.
"Sure," she said.
A silent car ride later, the two of them arrived at a slightly-upscale, very trendy restaurant on the Upper West Side. Anna's stomach tingled with anxiety; she didn't know what to make of this evening. Just as before, Jason ordered for the both of them, two of the fish specials along with a bottle of red wine. What she'd dropped on the rooftop last night.
Jason took a sip from his large glass, his eyes on Anna's drink.
"Not thirsty?" he asked. "I mean, I do know you like red."
Anna's blood went cold. She froze in her seat and stared straight at Jason like a prey animal caught in the sight of a predator.
"Um, you, I, uh," stammered Anna.
"Easy," he said. "I saw your little mess from last night."
"Then…you know that-"
"I know that you know," he said.
A silence hung in the air as Anna waited for whatever came next.
"You…weren't supposed to see that," said Jason, setting down his glass on the dark wood table. "Not yet, at least."
"What?" asked Anna. "What do you mean ‘not yet'?"
"Let me start from the beginning," said Jason, his voice low and words deliberate. "I'm not just in security. Well, not in the way you might think."
"I figured that from the apartment. And the helicopter."
Jason chuckled. "Don't know many security guards who can afford a penthouse," he said. "I'm aware that there are plenty of aspects of my life that are…incongruous with what I've told you."
"Then explain," said Anna. "I need to know just what I've gotten myself into."
"I'm getting there," said Jason. "First of all, I'm not in security; I'm a mercenary. I work for Silver Dragons Mercenaries, one of the oldest mercenary companies in the western hemisphere."
"And one that employs dragons."
The word fell out of Anna's mouth and onto the table like a stone.
Jason took another sip of his wine, his ice-blue eyes on Anna all the while.
"That's right."
Anna looked around, as if she might be on some kind of prank show.
"Dragons?" she hissed in a low voice.
"That's right," said Jason. "I'm a dragon. Well, a dragon shifter, to be more precise."
Anna sat still and straight in her seat.
"I…don't understand," she said. "This is the most insane thing I've heard in my life and you're just sitting there telling me like it's the most natural thing in the world."
"Well, for me, it is the most natural thing in the world. I haven't known anything else."
I guess he's got me there, thought Anna.
"Then, um, uh, tell me about this," she said. "Tell me everything."
Soon, the food arrived. But Anna's appetite was totally wiped out. She wasn't interested in anything but Jason explaining his situation. Jason, on the other hand, calmly placed his napkin on his lap and dug into his meal.
"Try it," he said, gesturing to her fish. "Best fish in the city, in my opinion."
But all Anna could think of was Jason in his dragon form, swooping over the ocean and snatching up claws full of sea creatures and shoving them into his mouth. Or whatever he did to eat while changed.
Finally, after another bite or two, Jason seemed to realize that Anna needed some information.
"Shifters are beings that can change from human to animal form at will," he said. "There are many different species, and I happen to be a dragon."
"And you're a mercenary."
"That's right."
"So…who exactly do you work for?" asked Anna. "I'm guessing you're not guarding any old clients."
Jason nodded.
"For the most part, you're right. I do some work for human clients every now and then –rich Saudis, paranoid tech moguls, those types- but most of the work my organization and I do is for various members of the dragon community."
"The ‘dragon community'?" asked Anna. "How many of your kind are there?"
"Many. And not just in New York. Our species is one of the oldest in the world; some of our kind have been around for over a millennium."
"And you?" asked Anna.
"Not a spring chicken, but not one of the elders. Some of my kind have been around since the days of Rome. You ever wonder where all the myths of dragons come from? Well, the source of some of them still walk the earth to this day."
Anna sat back in her seat, trying to take all of this in.
"And the kids?" she asked. "What about them?"
"They're shifters as well. But the ability to change typically doesn't begin to show until at least adolescence. So, they don't know their nature just yet."
Jason opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to change his mind.
"You know what? I think I have a better way to explain all of this. Go ahead and eat your meal; it's getting cold."
Anna turned her attention back to her meal. She still felt beyond freaked out by all of this, but something about Jason's cool confidence managed to put her at ease. Hesitantly, she took a bite of her fish. Sure enough, it was delicious. And the wine didn't hurt when it came to calming her nerves.
Soon after, they were back in the apartment.
"Come this way," said Jason, leading Anna down his hallway.
Anna walked with Jason, and the two of them came to a stop at the door with the silver crest. Anna had been afraid to even approach it before, but now that she was close, she could see that the crest was an ornate, elaborate symbol that contained an image of a dragon and words in Latin.
"What does that mean?" asked Anna.
"Not an exact translation, but the closest would be ‘even dragons have their ends'."
"Pretty morbid," said Anna.
"That's the point," said Jason. "To remind us of our mortality. Dragons are powerful, but we can be killed. An important thing to keep in mind when you're in the business I'm in."
Jason then placed his hand on the crest, the door unlocking with a click. He pushed it open, and what Anna saw next was something she wasn't prepared for.
The room was a massive, old-fashioned study, the walls lined with colorful spines of books, the floor covered with a deep red tapestry of an intricate pattern. But all around the room were decorations that seemed…otherworldly. There were bones of animals that Anna couldn't recognize, artifacts that looked to be thousands of years old, and portraits of stern-looking men and women with the same strange eyes as Jason.
And weapons. Lots and lots of weapons. Swords, guns, crossbows, slings- they were all here.
"What is this place?" said Anna, stepping in.
"Call it my memorabilia room," said Jason. "I'm a little bit sentimental, and this room is where I keep little reminders of missions I've gone on over the years."
Anna wandered over to a beautiful sword with a decorated gold hilt and a gleaming silver blade.
"That," he said, "is the sword of Richard the First."
"From England?" asked Anna.
"No," said Jason. "From the bodega down the road."
He flashed Anna a smart-ass smirk.
"It's amazing," she said.
"It was given as a gift to me," Jason said. "Back when I was very young. It's not our way to interfere in the human world too drastically, but there were some…individuals who were threatening the stability of the kingdom and that was part of my payment for eradicating them."
"So, humans know about…shifters?"
"That depends on the human and on the shifters. But you'd be surprised at who knew about dragonkind."
Jason stepped to Anna's side, a pair of drinks in his hand. Anna took hers without thinking, sipping it slowly. And as Jason stood close to her, she couldn't help but take in his warmth and strange, appealing scent.
What's gotten into me? she thought. I've learned my boss is pretty much a monster and all I can think about is how goddamned good-looking he is.
"And so, now you know what all the secrecy is about."
"And why interviewing for a nanny position felt like I was getting grilled by the CIA."
"That's right," he said. "There was much more to the background check than you realize. And you passed, which means you've been determined to be the type that could handle information like this. I mean, look at you- you're not freaking out and running for the hills; you're taking all of this rather well, all things considered."
Anna thought about it.
I guess he's right. This is all totally insane, but part of me is more…interested than anything else.
"Well, I guess this is a hell of a lot more interesting than working at an investment firm."
"Good to see you've got the right attitude," said Jason. "Now, come with me."
He led her out of the room, shutting it tightly behind him.
"I assume this is all covered under the NDA," said Anna with a wry grin.
"You learn fast," said Jason, returning her smirk. "Now, come on outside and get some fresh air; you've learned a lot today."
Anna felt that this was the best call possible. The two of them stepped out onto the balcony, and between the cool early autumn air and the incredible view, she felt more at ease. The booze didn't hurt, of course.
As the two of them stood together, Anna couldn't help but feel something else. Sure, she'd been attracted to Jason from the start, when she first saw him standing in the office, but now there was a new dimension to her attraction. Now that she knew he was some sort of terribly powerful beast, something inhuman, she began to feel…safe. She stood close to him on the large balcony, the two of them looking out onto the city in silence as they sipped their drinks. Before she knew it, their bodies were nearly touching, the skin of her arm rubbing against the soft fabric of his suit jacket.
Anna turned to Jason and saw that he was already looking down at her, his eyes just as brilliant and blue, even in the dark. There was something between them at that moment, a feeling of heat and intensity that grew by the moment. Anna felt weak before Jason's gaze, as if he could do whatever he wanted with her just then and she would be more than willing to accommodate him. She couldn't believe the hold he had on her from merely a gaze. And even more, she couldn't believe how much she liked it.
She was more than thrilled when he leaned in and kissed her.