The craziest thing in a long list of completely crazy things was facing all of them—dragons and witches—knowing they knew what we just did. They had to, unless they were deaf.

Or blind, since I couldn’t stop smiling like a nerd.

Alan cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. The room quieted immediately. I wondered if he knew what a natural-born leader he was. He didn’t need to say a word to demand attention. Selene was like that, too, but I got the feeling her powers had something to do with it.

“As you are more than likely already aware, the Blood Moon Priestesses have graciously agreed to share our home with us,” he began, scanning the room as he spoke.

All eyes were on him—and, I was glad to see, nobody looked angry or resentful over him making a decision without consulting them first.

“You may be questioning the motives behind my extension of hospitality,” he continued. “And it is for the best that we are all on the same page, so to speak. The Order of Gwydion poses a threat to the Blood Moon Priestesses without the benefit of our protection, and it would appear as though the Gwydions played a part in revealing our location to our captors.”

A murmur rose over the group. “How can you be certain of this, Alan?” one of them asked.

“To be quite frank with ye, I’m not entirely certain. I will never be certain until we meet the Gwydions ourselves and ask them flat-out—naturally, even then they could easily lie and claim ignorance.”

“They could not lie to me,” Callie piped up from the back.

“Nor to me,” Selene added.

“Indeed, but there would be no hope of meeting the Gwydions face-to-face without our presence,” Alan concluded, looking over the faces of his clan members. “So, once again, our union is key to both the protection of the Priestesses and of our clan. The enchantments around the woods and mountain would regain their original potency, strengthening our security, and we could provide the protection the Priestesses have been without since our falling out.”

I looked around again, trying to get a feeling for what everyone was thinking. They seemed to be in agreement. Anybody could see the sense in Alan’s plan. Even me, and I had nothing to do with any of their history.

I exchanged a look with Keira, who winked. At least I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been around from the beginning. We shared that much, just like we had always shared something no one else had. A closeness we’d felt from the beginning, on the day we met. Like we were meant to be friends.

Alan looked across the room. “Do you have things in order?” he asked Selene.

“It would appear so.”

He took a deep breath. “If anyone has anything to say in opposition to this course of action, let them speak now. I do wish to hear it. Truly.”

Silence, and a lot of shaking heads. I couldn’t help my proud smile when I looked up at Alan.

“Let us start out, then.” He assigned two dragons to every witch, just in case there was anything—or anyone—lurking out in the woods. I would feel much safer once Selene and her ladies worked on upping the protection.

The Gwydions did not sound like a group I wanted to meet.

“I’ll tell you all about them one day,” Alan promised as we lead the way through the tunnel, reaching for my hand.

“I’m not sure I want to know,” I had to admit with a chuckle.

“Unfortunately, you must. What we do not know—either because we’ve deliberately cast it away from us, or because we were kept in the dark, can ultimately come back to hurt us. I would not wish that for you. I’ve seen what the results can be.”

“I understand. And I was only kidding, anyway—half-kidding,” I amended when he shot me a look from the corner of his eye. Boy, he was tough, and the whole “being able to feel each other’s thoughts and moods” thing didn’t make it easier.

To think, the last time I’d been down the length of the tunnel leading out into the woods, I was running away from him. From everything, all that I had just learned.

Now, I was walking with his hand in mine, walking toward my future.

Bizarre.

“Might I ask you something?”

I nodded. “No, I don’t think I snore. I don’t care which side of the bed I sleep on. Toilet paper should feed from under the roll, not over it. I don’t hog the covers. Random whistling drives me insane. I bite my nails, but I am trying to break the habit.”

“All of that is quite fascinating, but none of it is what I wished to ask.” His blue eyes sparkled even in dim light. “And I agree with you when it comes to toilet paper, by the way.”

“Whew. Because that is a serious deal breaker. I’m just saying.”

“What I meant to ask,” he laughed, “was whether you believe you’re ready to… Meet my dragon.”

The question knocked me sideways. “You know, in the outside world, that would only be a euphemism,” I murmured. There I was, trying to use humor to deflect from a situation I had no idea how to navigate.

“I sense your confusion,” he replied. “Perhaps it was too soon to suggest it.”

“No, no,” I insisted, squeezing his hand. “No, it wasn’t too soon. But I think you have to admit, this would be a little overwhelming for anybody. So many things happening at once.”

“Aye, I’m sure of it.”

We reached the mouth of the cave, and the curtain of roots and branches and vines opened up on a bright, sunshiny day. I pulled him aside, away from the others as they started the hike to the mountain.

The rueful look on his face made me regret my reaction. I took both of his hands then, staring up into his eyes. Willing him to believe me. “Yes. I want to meet your dragon. I want to know all about you, every last bit. There might still be times when I balk at first, since… I mean, a dragon. I was raised to believe you were just a myth. But believe me, I’m trying to adjust.”

“And you’ve done wonderfully well in a very short amount of time.” Once we were alone, the others having already started out, he flashed a sexy smirk before peeling off his tight shirt.

“Ooh,” I grinned. “I didn’t know I would get a show.”

“It’s either this or destroy every stitch,” he explained.

I took each piece of clothing he handed over and tucked them into my backpack, which Selene had been kind enough to return.

It was the least she could do after sending witches out to find me.

No, not me. Keira. Her granddaughter. God, everything was so crazy all of a sudden.

I turned my attention to the embodiment of physical perfection standing before me. If there was a single flaw in his muscular physique, I’d be hard-pressed to find it. But I would be more than happy to keep looking…

“I appreciate the appreciation,” he winked.

My face flushed. “Oh. I forgot you can sort of feel what I’m thinking.”

“Lass, anyone with eyes would be able to tell what you’re thinking.” His smile faded. “Are you ready?”

“I am.” And even if I wasn’t, I would make myself ready. He needed me to be ready. “I love you.” I stunned myself with my exclamation, but damned if I didn’t feel it. Fully.

“No more than I love you,” he whispered as he took several steps away from me, giving himself plenty of space on all sides. My hands curled into tight, sweaty fists. I was about to see a real, live dragon for the first time.

When the shift came over him, it was not gradual. Not like it was in the movies, on TV. He didn’t cry out in agony as his body morphed into something new. He seemed almost to shimmer in front of me, and in the blink of an eye, a dragon stood where his human form had only just been.

His scales were a tawny color, a sort of brownish-orange, and they glistened like jewels where the sun hit them. He spread his impressive wings, thrashed his horned tail—not threateningly, but almost like he was showing off. I bit back a smile.

His eyes were the same. That same deep blue I could nearly swim in, set on either side of his face. A hot gust of air exploded from his nostrils.

But he wasn’t kidding when he’d told me they didn’t breathe fire. Hot breath, I could deal with.

His eyes narrowed, his head bowed. As though he was asking me a question. I couldn’t connect with the dragon’s thoughts as easily as I could with his human consciousness, but I sensed what he wanted to know just the same.

“You’re beautiful,” I whispered.

And he was. This was not the fire-breathing, destructive, fearsome creature I would have expected only a few days back. I didn’t doubt he could be destructive and fearsome if he wanted to be, but he’d never be that way toward me.

I knew it as surely as I had ever known anything else.

I reached for him, my hand resting gingerly against the side of his face. It was smooth, warmer than I would have imagined.

Then, to my surprise, his head dipped lower until his chin nearly touched the ground.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He only jerked his head upward—a quick, sharp movement. Get on, he was saying.

“Whoa. Hang on a second,” I giggled, suddenly very breathless and a little dizzy. “Are you sure about this? I’m not going to fall off, am I?”

He shook his head.

“Oh, Lord,” I muttered. “When did I lose my mind? One day I’m in Brooklyn, sitting in my living room, and within a week I’m riding on the back of an actual dragon. If a leprechaun danced out of the woods with a pot of gold, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Even so, I braced one foot against his shoulder and threw my other leg over his neck. When I felt somewhat secure, both arms wrapped around one of his thick horns, I said, “Okay. Let’s do this.”

I only hoped I didn’t throw up on him. What a way to start a relationship.

He spread his wings and reared up on his hind legs.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

And then, with one strong flap, we were airborne.

The wind blew past me, through my hair, and I let out a shout of surprise. But not fear. He was as sturdy and strong as a tank, and he had been flying for centuries. All I had to do was hold on.

When I finally dared open my eyes, I could hardly believe what I saw: the entire world, or so it seemed, stretched out around me. Trees and more trees, rivers that looked more like silver ribbons which shimmered in the sunlight.

A loch, surrounded by mountains, the largest of which came to an arrowhead peak that glowed like an emerald under its moss. I had been looking for it, and there it was. I’d only needed a little extra time to get there.

I was sure we would touch the clouds, we were so high up, and I squeezed Alan with my thighs to signal how much I was enjoying myself. But my whoops and laughter and shouts probably got the point across just as well.

I was almost sorry to land in front of that emerald mountain, but reminded myself there would be more flying. Because there was absolutely no way I could go without doing that again.

“How do you manage to get anything done at all?” I asked him once he’d shifted back. “I would spend all day flying!”

* * *

“How are you holding up?”

Keira sat across from me at a table in the common room, which was more like a game room or media room than anything else. I couldn’t get over how different this cave was from the one I’d started out in—but the dragons couldn’t just dream up everything they wanted, so they had to rely on technology and actual creature comforts.

I smiled at my best friend. “I’m fine. Really. After what I saw back with the Priestesses, I can handle anything. And this place is practically a hotel compared to the other cave.”

“It’s practically a hotel compared to our apartments,” she snorted, but we fell silent for a minute after that. Right. Our old lives.

“Do you miss it?” I whispered.

She shook her head. “There’s something better here. Something I was meant for.”

“Literally,” I reminded her. “You were literally meant to be here.”

She glanced out to the corridor, where Selene was talking with Alan and Tamhas. “That’s my grandmother,” she whispered, almost more to herself than to me. I wondered what it would be like to suddenly find my family.

And to find out they were a bunch of witches and dragons.

“Has she said anything to you about that? Like, tried to approach you and talk about it?”

“Not yet, but I’m waiting for it,” she said. “I think once things calm down, we’re going to have a lot to talk about. I do want to know about my mother, what she was like. I guess I’ll never know about my father.” She grimaced.

“Do you wonder about the timing?”

She quirked a brow. “What do you mean?”

“Well, your parents, that was quite some time ago, right? Maybe hundreds of years ago? Or did I get that wrong?”

“I’m not sure how long…” She shrugged.

“But you’re only in your twenties. Right?”

Another shrug. “Yeah, I wondered about that. Maybe it’s my dragon blood? It aged me slowly? Or my Priestess genes?”

I shook my head, no less confused than she. “Who knows.”

“I’ll have to ask Selene. There’s got to be some magic involved.”

I nodded. “Could be. Do you think you’ll ever be able to shift, like they do? The dragons?” I asked. I couldn’t help myself.

She shrugged. “Who knows? I don’t even know if I want to. This is so much to take in all at the same time.”

“And I’m only heaping more on your shoulders, babe. I’ll shut up now. I’m sorry.”

Her eyes flew open wide. “No, no. This is good! I need to be able to talk about it with somebody, and Tamhas doesn’t get what it’s like to be a fish out of water. You do. I was telling Alan that very thing when you were unconscious.” She pulled her feet up onto her chair, wrapping her arms around her knees.

“What did you say?”

“That I needed you and hoped you weren’t going to shut me out forever. I needed you to understand, since nobody else here would.” Her chin rested on her knees. “And you do.”

“I definitely know what it’s like to feel like I’m on the outside, looking in,” I admitted.

“They’ll all welcome you,” she assured me.

“Oh, I know. Everybody’s so friendly.”

Ainsley walked past and smiled our way.

“You’re lucky,” she giggled. “They weren’t so friendly to me. They fought me, actually.”

“And I bet you showed them what a mistake they made by doing that. Right?”

She only smiled—then, she turned thoughtful. “You know something? I wonder if it was meant to be—us being friends, I mean. Meeting up when we did. What were the odds of us crossing paths in the foster system? Out of, what, thousands of kids?”

“Not just meeting up but forming a connection the way we did. I already wondered about that,” I admitted.

“And?”

“And… I guess it was meant to be, like you said.” I shrugged. “You were always going to find your way back here, one way or another, and I was meant to come after you. Your family was waiting here for you.”

“And Alan was waiting for you,” she added. “He was frantic when you fell. Even more so than I was. It’s special, what you two have. I know how surprising it is, how strong. How you might tell yourself it can’t be real because it’s not like anything we’re used to in the other world. The world we grew up in.”

“The other world,” I murmured. “It sounds so… weird to say it like that. Up until now, that was the only world.”

“We had no idea.”

“No, we didn’t.”

“Maybe that was why we always felt so out of place,” she suggested. “Because we were never meant for that world. This was where we were meant to be.”

Was she right? Was this where we were meant to be all along? Was I meant to live there, in a tricked-out cave, working with Owen to keep the clan’s location safe from hackers like me? Loving the clan leader to the depths of my soul, helping him in any way I could, being proud of him for always doing what he felt was best for his clan?

He caught my eye then, still standing outside the doorway. There he was, so tall and gorgeous and mine, working out the details of adapting to life with another eleven inhabitants of the cave.

No. Twelve. Including me.

I smiled, and he smiled back.

Whether or not it was meant to be, I was all in.