As I got ready the next morning, I tried to shake off the glum mood that wanted to take hold of me. We needed to leave. Omari needed to be taken to his people.

I knew that.

My life was even more messed up than it had been just a week ago. No matter what Omari wanted or how much I cared about him, going to the phoenix territory was the right thing to do.

It didn't help that when I wasn't worrying about Omari, I was thinking about Ashur. Which was just as futile, really. I couldn't stay here either. My life was back in the city dome. And it wasn't as if we had any kind of commitment to each other. We'd fooled around once. That did not a relationship make. And Ashur might want me now, but I couldn't stay on the off chance it might become something more.

"Ready?" I asked Omari as I stood up with my bag.

The bow I'd used during the attack was beyond repair from the blast of fire I'd taken, so I'd had to throw it away. Luckily I had the backup in the car.

"Yes," Omari said, still a little glum.

"Come on," I said, smiling as I took his hand. "It'll be fine. Everybody loves you here—I'm sure everyone will love you there too."

He nodded. But he didn't look any more convinced than I was. Still, we both wore our brave faces. When we walked out into the hall, there still wasn't a guard there. I guess they'd given up on watching us.

We walked down the hall and to the elevator. This was the last time I'd do that. It made me sad, though I wasn't usually so sentimental. I needed to focus. This wasn't a vacation. I was on a job. It would be best if I kept that in mind.

I wasn't some naive schoolgirl with stars in my eyes either.

We made it down to the first floor, and Omari immediately spotted his group of tiny friends.

"Can I go say bye?" he asked wistfully, his eyes on the group.

How I could I say no to that? He was running over before the “yes” had completely left my mouth.

"They're going to miss him too." I looked up to see Enzi and Hathai walking up to me.

Hathai nodded in greeting. "All the kids love Omari," she confirmed, her face more impassive than Enzi's. She took in the bag slung over my shoulder and my holstered weapons. "Leaving?"

I nodded.

"I need to get Omari back to his people. Are you here to stop me?" I'd have to come up with a different way out if they were. But both of them shook their heads, a strange smile on Enzi's face. "No. Just wanted to wish you luck on your journey." Hmm. I narrowed my eyes at him. Something was off.

"Thanks," I said cautiously.

Omari ran back to me. "Bye Hathai! Bye Enzi!"

Both of their faces softened and they returned his enthusiastic hugs.

"Come on, Omari," I called, walking towards the open doors. "Time to hit the road."

Nobody else stopped us as we walked out onto the street and turned towards the parking garage. I firmly squashed my disappointment that Ashur hadn't at least come to say goodbye. It was for the best. I might have made a fool of myself if he had.

"How long will it take to get there?" Omari asked as we entered the dimmer garage area.

"Well..."

I trailed off and came to a stop as I discovered what was waiting for us by the car. Or, rather, who was waiting.

"Ashur!" Omari exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement. "Are you coming with us?"

Ashur smiled, straightening from where he'd been leaning on the car. "Yes." He looked at me. "Someone has to watch out for you guys out there."

I stared at him.

"Omari, get in the car," I ordered, unlocking the door.

"But—"

"Now."

"Okay," he said, letting out a put upon sigh as he climbed in. "I never get to hear anything good." He closed the door with a little more force than necessary.

As soon as he was safely out of earshot, I turned to Ashur again. "What are you doing?" I hissed, trying to keep my voice down. "You can't come with us!"

"Sure I can," he said in an infuriatingly calm voice. "I can't let you two go out there alone—who knows what you could run into? Look at what happened when you ventured out here—we caught you immediately."

True. But it still burned, damn it.

"You'll just make it harder for us," I tried. "The phoenixes won't be happy to see me bringing a dragon with me. Especially a Dragon Lord!"

"I won't cross over the boundary," he reasoned. "No reason for them to be angry if I don't trespass."

"What about your people? Don't you need to be here to run things?"

"I have a close-knit group of trusted people who can handle anything that could happen while I'm gone." He took a step closer, his eyes scanning my face. "You don't have to like it or even agree," he murmured. "Hell, you can even pretend I'm not there at all since I'm planning on flying above you so I can keep watch."

I was at a loss. I didn't know what to say. This was more than I expected. More than I wanted to expect. I didn't want to start depending on him. That was the road to disappointment. And I already had enough of that in my life.

"Ashur-- " I started.

"I'm not letting you go alone," he said firmly, his eyes flinty now. "Deal with it."

With one last look at me, he turned and strode out of the garage. Probably to climb onto a roof and change.

I stood, watching him leave. He was always walking away from me. What did this mean? Did he feel obligated? Did he feel like we were now his responsibility? Or was there more to it? Did he actually care?

"Mia?"

I turned to see Omari sticking his head out the open door.

"Are we leaving?"

I sighed. It didn't matter why. I couldn't control Ashur. Whether he came or didn't, we needed to leave.

"Yes. We're leaving."

I got into the car. It was odd, like I hadn't driven it in months though it had only been days. So much had happened since we first sat inside. Shaking off the disconcerting feeling, I maneuvered the car out of the garage. I'd taken a look at the map this morning, so I already knew where I needed to go.

As we drove out onto the street, the people drifted to the sides to let us through, watching our progress. The farther we drove from the center of the bustling city, the fewer people we came across. Then the buildings abruptly turned from beautiful and glimmering to old and dilapidated. Shells of old cars lined the sides of the streets, stacked on top of sidewalks like the dragons had come through and picked them up from the middle to make the road usable. Broken windows peered out at us, the rooms inside dark even during the daytime.

And it was quiet. Eerily so.

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled as we drove through the ruins of our past. Maybe it wasn't completely empty. I didn't really believe in ghosts. But isn't this where they would be if they existed?

"Does anyone live here?" Omari asked in a quiet voice, his eyes scanning the windows just like mine were.

"No," I said, catching movement out of the corner of my eye. But nothing was there when I turned to look. Unsettling to say the least. I really wouldn't want to be driving out here alone at night.

As we took another turn and I judged we were nearing the city’s edge, a giant shadow flew over us. A giant dragon-shaped shadow.

"Ashur!" Omari exclaimed, looking up with a big grin on his face.

I immediately felt a little safer.

Damn it.