Levi’s knees wouldn’t stop bouncing as he sat in a ladderback chair next to his mother’s bed. Her olive complexion had turned gray in the last couple of months, and her hands were slender and forever shaking. Matilda had been growing more and more ill as the years had gone by, going from not having much of an appetite to growing weak, and now, bedridden.

Levi blamed himself for her condition, making it that much harder emotionally. If it wasn’t for his rebellious attitude toward the Kingdom, Matilda could have gotten treatment from a healer. Instead, Levi had been taking care of her himself, buying potions and elixirs to make her more comfortable from his connections who still remained in the Kingdom.

Matilda began to cough, and Levi sat up, helping her sit up some so that she didn’t begin to choke on her own spit. Guilt washed over him like a tidal wave. He needed to do something about it, and he needed to do it soon. Or else… No, Levi wouldn’t allow his mind to wander there. Grabbing a glass of water from the bedside table, he tilted it to his mother’s lips, instructing her under his breath to drink. Once he was satisfied with the amount of water she took in, he sat the glass back down.

“Is Ginny still coming over later?” he asked her, scratching the back of his head.

“I believe so, as long as she can get away. Last time she tried, she wasn’t able to come out until the middle of the night.”

Levi groaned inwardly. In no way did he regret leaving the Kingdom. It was corrupt and led by a mad king who fed upon his people’s fear and wealth. However, he loathed what it had done to his family. His younger sister, Ginny, stayed in the Kingdom because her soulmate was one of Tallant’s warriors. His mother, on the other hand, was caught in the middle and carefully watched. Levi was a wanted man, and it made caring for his ill mother impossibly difficult. She was neither in the Kingdom nor outside of it, making it complicated to get the care she desperately needed.

Levi kept all of his frustrations to himself and simply nodded. Fetching a small vial from his pocket, he placed it on the edge of Matilda’s nightstand. “Make sure to drink that with your next meal. I gave Ginny everything you should need for the next week. I’ll try to stop by if I can.”

“Thank you, Levi. You’re such a good boy,” his mother weakly called up to him, reaching out a clammy hand to touch his arm.

He softly smiled down at her and patted the back of her hand. “I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

“I love you too, son.”

With that, Levi left, his heart heavy. His mother and Ginny were the only two people in history to ever hear the words I love you from him. It wasn’t something he tossed around as many other people did. Love, to him, was the willingness to lay your life and beliefs down to bring them into the world and make them real. If his mother got any worse than she was, Levi would have to kneel before the crown. That was love.

Lifting his hood up over his head, Levi exited his mother’s small bungalow. Matilda lived in a tiny community just outside of the city, away from the bustle of the Kingdom, but not far enough away to raise questions. He made his way out of the neighborhood on foot, having the common sense not to park near his mother’s house. That could potentially draw attention. Cutting through a patch of woods, he made it onto the next street and began down a hill toward his old, silver Chevy truck. He let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the vehicle and dug in his pockets to fish out his keys.

Then, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He could feel eyes on him. Trying to shake the feeling, Levi told himself it was just a nosy neighbor wondering what a guy was doing walking around with a hood on. Yet the feeling didn’t go away—it intensified. Only then did he allow his eyes to peer around, turning his head slightly to see behind him.

Levi cursed under his breath when he saw two tall men with stark blonde hair making their way towards him. His jaw clenched as he walked right by his car, not wanting to give away what vehicle was his. The hassle of getting a new car was something he didn’t want to think about. Levi kept walking, keeping his hands deep in his pockets and his eyes forward. Making his way down the road, he turned left and headed up another street.

Since the men were attempting to hang back, obviously wishing no passersby to suspect them of following him, Levi had the opportunity to turn another corner before they came into eyesight. He cut through someone’s yard, hopping their fence and making it a few roads over in no time. Mentally, he was mapping out a strategy to get far enough away from his chasers so that he could loop back around to his car and drive away without being seen.

Much to his dismay, however, as he started down a winding road, two figures appeared in the distance. Sweat began to break out over Levi’s forehead, growing nervous that he wouldn’t be able to shake them without confrontation. Levi could take down two men without too much of an effort, but it wasn’t dark yet, and they could attract the attention of humans.

If he knew anything about Tallant’s men, it was that they wouldn’t care to cause a scene. Their freedom would be purchased by Carlyle instantly. Levi, on the other hand, would be left to rot in jail, and he would have an impossible time with it, since he did not have a social security number, a government ID, or a birth certificate. He would be caught in legal limbo with the American government. Was that their plan? To intimidate him into getting captured by the police?

Whatever it was, Levi didn’t want to know. He beelined toward a nearby patch of forest, figuring he could get lost in there for a little while before making his escape. It was only when he was totally out of sight from the road that Levi broke into a run. He weaved in and out of the trees at a rapid pace, without rhyme or reason for each direction he took. Time was lost to him, not realizing how long he ran until it was completely dark outside.

He had to have been in the woods for over an hour, running around like a madman. Hoping that it had been long enough, Levi slowed his pace and emerged from the tree line. Taking a deep breath, he strolled toward the corner of the street, hurrying back to his car. Underneath the streetlight, though, stood three men. Levi stopped in his tracks, staring at them. He could take on two men, but three was a gamble.

The men spotted him, one tossing his cigarette to the side before they all stalked toward him.

Without hesitation, Levi morphed into his dragon form and took to the sky. He had transitioned into his dragon state in a pinch so many times that his body was accustomed to the pain which came with it, and he no longer noticed it. Flying far above the tops of the trees, Levi headed out of the suburbs and toward the country. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to escape them. It was a matter of trying to get the best advantage possible. There wasn’t much opportunity for that, though. The men were quick on his tail and were hurling fire attacks at him.

We’re still in a residential area, and they’re ballsy enough to use fire in the sky, Levi thought. Dodging each of them, he propelled himself higher—so high that the air was becoming thin and causing his breathing to shallow. He stole a glance down, seeing his chasers hovering several yards beneath him. He had to twist his body to avoid their attacks. Pushing his body harder, Levi tried to fly faster than any of them. He told himself that today wouldn’t be the day the warriors finally caught him. It couldn’t be.

Then, a searing pain came over his chest. He howled in agony, losing his focus, and was thrown off beat. Levi desperately tried to flap his wings to get back into sync with the airflow, but the pain was too much to think through. Before he realized what was happening, he was tail-spinning downward. Air rushed past him as he desperately tried to hold his chest. Someone had struck him with a fire attack; the heat from it remained, eating away at his scales and flesh.

He was hitting tree branches on his way down, one after another. The bark scraped across his wounded flesh, earning another howl from the impossibly large beast. All Levi could remember was the pain, the feeling of falling, and then complete darkness.