Peggy
One.
Two.
Three.
In and out I breathe, focusing on making it through this moment and into the next.
He knows.
He knows about the oath.
I don’t know how or why, but the dragon seems to know that I’ve sworn an oath and that it means something. Apparently, it means something to him, too, because he’s looking at me like I hold some magical secret and right now, I want nothing more than to be honest with him.
I want to tell him everything.
I want to pour out my heart to this man who knows nothing about me.
I want everything.
There’s a small worn couch against one wall. I motion for the dragon to go with me to it, and he does. He doesn’t protest or argue or ask questions. He just follows me quietly and we sit side-by-side on the squeaky, squishy sofa. His naked body is so close to me that I could easily touch any part of him.
I won’t.
It doesn’t mean that I don’t want to.
Suddenly, it strikes me that there must be clothes in here somewhere. Somewhere in this cabin, that wolf shifter must have had clothes. Right? It’s a little late for that, though. I think we both understand that we’re past the point of modesty.
“I’m a janitor,” I whisper.
“You clean buildings.”
“Schools. Well, one school in particular.”
“Did something happen while you were cleaning?” He takes my hand in his, and he holds it. Somehow, this motion makes me feel calm and relaxed. I take a deep breath, and I nod.
“I went outside and I felt someone watching me. It was weird. I thought that maybe I was going crazy, but I couldn’t shake the feeling.”
His eyes narrow and he lets out a tiny little growl. He’s not mad at me. I instinctively know that, but he seems to be angry that I was scared or afraid.
“I stood for a long time and then I decided to just be brave. I felt stupid being scared of the dark. It’s such a silly thing, you know. It wasn’t a long walk to the car, so I started moving. I kept looking around, trying to make sure I was aware of my surroundings.”
I’m trying to prove to him that I wasn’t being stupid.
Naïve.
Dumb.
Somehow, the idea of this man thinking I’m weak or stupid bothers me. I don’t know him at all. I’ve only just met him, but I want him to like me. I want him to think that my opinion matters and that I’m not the type of person who would get into trouble just for fun.
“What happened next, Peggy?”
“The woman came.”
He stills, and I wonder if it’s a dragon he knows. Is someone missing from his clan? Does he know? Does this dragon know who Cameron is and how I can find him? Surely he must know. He has to know. He must.
And he can help me.
“She was hurt,” I whisper. “And bleeding. She had the baby. She made me promise to take the baby to Fablestone. She told me to find Cameron and tell him that Lucky is coming.”
The dragon stiffens.
“Tell me the woman’s name.”
“Ellie.”
With that, the dragon leaps from the couch and instantly shifts, morphing into his true form. The side of the cabin is torn to shreds and the roof begins to collapse. I dive across the room to get Daisy and the kittens. Somehow, I gather them all as the dragon begins to scream.
It’s a sound I’ve never heard before and a sound I never want to hear again.
It’s the sound of complete pain, of total suffering.
The sound of loss.
He knows her.
The dragon jumps, leaping into the air. His wings flap and he begins to soar higher and higher. He doesn’t leave. He doesn’t fly away. He just goes up, up, up, and then, when he’s so high I almost can’t see him, he shoots flames as far as the eye can see. The fire bursts from his body, and then he begins to come back down.
I’m still. Daisy is crying and my kittens are meowing, but somehow, I manage to stay perfectly still as the dragon comes back down. He shifts into a man right as he lands, and then he looks at me.
“What the hell?” I manage to ask.
“We have to go now,” he says.
“I thought we were going to wait until the morning.”
“That was before,” he tells me. “That was before I knew.”
“Knew what?” I ask, confused. “What did you learn that you didn’t know before? Do you understand what the message means? Do you know who Lucky is?”
“Not who,” he says. “What.”
“Okay, do you know what Lucky is?”
He seems distressed. He begins to pace back and forth. Daisy manages to find her thumb and she starts sucking on it. I wish the kittens had thumbs to suck on because they’re meowing like crazy and tearing my backpack apart. Every so often, a claw catches my back, and I know I’m going to look like hell tomorrow.
“Lucky is an evil organization that hunts and performs science experiments on dragons,” he tells me. “Last week, they took a man from our clan and his daughter.” He jerks his head toward Daisy. “His wife left the clan to go find her.”
“Ellie,” I whisper, looking down at the baby.
“Yes. If she says Lucky is coming, then it means the dragons aren’t safe and we need to warn them.”
“But they’re dragons,” I whisper. “Won’t they just fight? Can the scientists really do anything to them?”
It might be ignorant, but I honestly don’t know what big, giant dragons are going to be up against when it comes to a bunch of scrawny little scientist nerds. Unless the scientists have a bunch of weapons, the dragons will simply breathe fire on them. Won’t they? Can’t they just demolish them with a single breath?
And that’s when I realize the scientists must have a weapon.
They have a plan.
And they know where Fablestone is.
If the dragons aren’t prepared for whatever it is that’s coming, if they don’t know there’s danger lurking, then they won’t be preparing for an attack. They won’t be ready for an invasion. I don’t know what Lucky has planned, but it’s nothing good.
We can’t waste anymore time. We must go to Fablestone and warn the dragons. We have to find Cameron and tell him what’s happened. I still don’t know this dragon’s name, but I trust him, and I think that’s the most important thing. He’s saved me. He might be big and scary and a little bit overbearing and bossy, but he’s the best shot I have at helping the dragons.
“Now,” he says, and I follow him outside.
“What happens next?” I ask him, and then he shifts. I’ve seen him shift twice already, but I don’t know if this is something I’ll ever get used to. He changes into his dragon form and then the dragon man kneels down before me.
You are mine, a little voice whispers in my head, and my entire body stills. Where the hell did that come from? Why would I think something like that? He’s not mine. He’s not anyone’s. He’s just a man. I’m just a woman.
And we’re just about out of time.
Somehow, I manage to climb onto the man’s back. It’s awkward and strange, and a little bit uncomfortable, but we manage to make it work. Once he’s satisfied that I’m not going to fall off of his back, he leaps into the air and he begins to fly.
The first rays of the dawn light are beginning to show, but I don’t pay attention to any of that. Daisy seems unfazed by what’s happening, and I’m guessing that she’s flown with her shifter parents many times before, but that’s not the case with me.
With me, this feels new and fresh.
With me, I feel like anything can happen.
We soar up and then down. The dragon stays close to the trees, which seems smart. It seems like we’ll be less likely to be seen. He flies in the direction of the stone tower, and then as soon as it comes into sight, he turns, and we’re off in a different direction. He does this several times, this changing of directions. I’m not sure whether it’s to keep someone off of our tail or if there’s another reason, but eventually, I start to lose understanding of which direction is which way.
All I can think about is the hope that I suddenly feel.
Now that we’re actually going to Fablestone, I don’t feel so fucking afraid or anxious anymore. I don’t feel like my entire world is going to end anymore.
No, right now I feel like suddenly, everything is going to be okay because this dragon is going to protect me and Daisy and Mocha and Frappe. He’s going to do whatever is takes to make sure we get there safely. He’s going to keep us alive one way or another, and then he’s going to help me save the dragon clan.
And we’re going to do it together.