Both Nina and Eli jumped off the couch, watching the door as the person on the other side hit it so hard the hinges trembled. The sensual tension that had been pulling them together broke apart, and the only thing they felt was unease.
“Expecting company?” Eli asked.
Nina shook her head. “Not any company that would knock like that.”
“Maybe I should shift into dragon form,” he said nervously. “Makes it easier to dispose of intruders.”
“What if it’s just a human?” Nina whispered. “Don’t shift. Let me see who it is.”
She walked toward the door, but before she could get to it, it burst open and slammed against the wall, the brass knob creating a dent in the drywall the size of a grapefruit. She looked around for the baseball bat she kept in the living room, but before she could get to it, Eli was tackling the intruder, grappling with the tall figure until he wrestled him to the ground.
“Hey! Hey!” the man on the ground shouted. “Hey, wait a minute!”
Eli’s dark green eyes started to glow, and his hands were pinning the stranger down with some difficulty. He inhaled deeply, his eyes brightening as he scented the man.
“You’re a dragon,” he said menacingly. “Tell me why you just broke into this home. You have five seconds. Then I’ll shift and turn you to ashes.”
The man on the ground stopped struggling and glared at Eli with bright blue eyes.
“You’re not Nina Henry.”
Nina stepped forward, her hands at her heart. “I’m Nina.”
Eli shot her a look of outrage. “He might be dangerous!”
“If he wanted to hurt us, he would have shifted,” Nina said dismissively, taking another step toward him. “Or come in already in dragon form.”
The man on the ground turned his head toward her and showed her a strained smile.
“That’s true. I came in human form because I come in peace. Now,” he added pleasantly, “would you please call your dog off? I have some time sensitive information.”
“I think you should let me burn him,” Eli said fiercely.
“Go ahead,” the man said. “You’ll be getting her killed, and yourself, too.”
Eli rolled his eyes, but Nina felt her heart skip a beat at his words.
“What do you mean?”
“He’s a crackpot,” Eli said. “I see guys like this at the Council sometimes—claiming they had some vision signaling the end times, or read death in their tea leaves. What is it now? Fire? Flood? Famine?”
The man ignored Eli and looked at Nina again. “Listen, this is about you, Miss Henry. Please, I just want to warn you. I know you must feel that the winds are blowing the wrong way, at least a little bit. Something must feel off to you. There’s a reason for that. You have to let me tell you. You have to let me tell you about the throne.”
Eli was shaking his head. “Crackpot. Nina, let me get this guy out of here.”
But Nina was staring at the stranger, a worm of doubt working its way into her brain.
“The throne?”
She was remembering her recurring dream in all of its gory detail; it seemed impossible that this man knew about it, but yesterday it seemed impossible that she was in any way special. It still felt impossible that she was special.
Eli was right—he may be crazy. But there seemed to be an equal chance that he wasn’t.
“Let him up,” she decided. “I want to hear what he says.”
Eli looked at her in disbelief. “Nina—”
“Now, Eli.”
He glared at the man underneath him and stood up, not bothering to offer him a hand before he turned and strode back to the couch. The stranger didn’t seem to need it, though; he bounced to his feet energetically and brushed at his black jeans and sweater, running a hand through his honey blonde hair as he warily regarded Eli. He was much broader than the Reader, and a few inches taller, as well. A faint scar ran from his cheekbone to his jaw.
“You’re stronger than you look, little guy.”
Eli threw him a look of disdain, but said nothing.
“What do you have to tell me?” Nina asked, crossing her arms.
The man looked at her, his expression softening. “Right, sorry, Miss Henry. I’m Pryce, by the way.”
He stuck out a hand for her to shake, and she took it briefly, and an electric shock passed between them, prompting a small gasp from her as she drew her hand back. The energy jolt she’d gotten from touching him was still buzzing around her veins, and she gazed up at him with a mix of wonder and suspicion.
What was that?
If Pryce noticed, he didn’t show it. “I’ll make it quick. I know you must have already heard your prophecy, but I’m here to tell you it was incomplete.”
“Impossible,” Eli said bluntly. His nostrils were flaring. “You can’t alter a prophecy. It’s in your blood.”
“You can’t alter a prophecy,” Pryce allowed, “but you can change the way stones read a specific prophecy.”
Eli frowned. “Why would anyone want to—”
“Your prophecy,” Pryce interrupted loudly, “was missing some crucial information by the time it got to you. You’re not just powerful, Miss Henry. You’re going to be the most powerful dragon anyone has seen in a few millennia, maybe more. You’re a few short steps away from ushering dragonkind into an era of strength and glory it hasn’t seen since before our civil war. More than that, you’re going to represent a new kind of ruling body.”
Nina felt, for the second time that day, like she was being lifted out of her body to watch herself below. “What kind of ruling body?”
“A royal one,” Pryce said. “A queen, Miss Henry. And when you take your throne, the Council will be obsolete.” He paused, his brow furrowing. “Because of this, someone wants you gone.”
Nina’s mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton. “Gone?”
“Gone,” Pryce repeated. “Out of the way. Dead.”
A profound silence followed his words. Eli was the first to break it.
“Bullshit.”
He strode over to Pryce, inserting himself between the taller man and Nina. He had to look up to meet his eyes, but when he did, his voice was low and threatening. Nina took a step away from the men instinctively; their combined energy was boiling hot, and they were both so still they looked like marble sculptures of rage.
“You think you can come in here and try to scare an innocent dragon for your own amusement? Who are you, really? I can’t read your energy signatures at all.” Eli inhaled again, putting his face close to the man’s throat as if he were scenting his blood. “I can’t smell a bond on you. Why can’t I smell a bond?”
“Because I’m not bonded, jackass,” Pryce growled. “I never bought into that Greater Horde shit.”
Eli took a step away from him and looked from Nina to Pryce, a look of revulsion on his face.
“You didn’t have your emergence ceremony? You’re an Outcast. You didn’t bond with the Greater Horde. Then how did you get powerful enough to hide your energy signature? And hide so much of your energy from me?”
Pryce laughed softly and completely without humor. “I just told you all of that’s bullshit. There are other ways besides the Council’s—older ways. Better ways.”
Eli was shaking his head. He looked at Nina. “Nina, this guy’s a loon. Can’t you see that?”
I’m starting to, she thought despairingly.
She knew that people who chose not have their Emergence Ceremony and bond with the Horde missed out on a lot of things bonded dragons took for granted: fast healing, an image-based internal communication system akin to telepathy, blood that had magical properties, enabling you to do things like draw boundaries that behaved as protective fields, flight while in dragon form, and, most importantly to her, a sense of deep connection and kinship that was said to be like having the comfort of home and family within you at all times. She stared at Pryce’s rugged face, trying to understand how anyone could pass that up. Not only did he miss out on all of that, he couldn’t live among the Greater Horde or attend any gatherings, nor could he take advantage of any dragon-specific services the Council provided all over the world. He’d have to go to human hospitals, human universities, human jails—and human jails always turned out poorly for dragons. Without regular contact with dragons, however brief, your essence wilted until you were more human than dragon.
Pryce seemed to be reading every one of her thoughts in her energy.
“Miss Henry, there’s a lot you don’t know. Think about it—by the way your energy felt when I was approaching the door, it seemed like there was a lot you didn’t even know about yourself.”
Eli made a noise of disgust. “Now you’re claiming you can read energy from outside the building? No, only bonded dragons can reach that kind of power.”
Pryce whipped his gaze back to Eli. “Listen, kid, you need to pull your head out of your ass. Things are dire. Miss Henry needs to know—”
“Okay,” Eli snapped. “I’m getting this guy out of here Nina. I’m making an executive decision, as your Reader and mentor.”
He grabbed Pryce’s bicep and dragged him toward the still open door. Eli’s anger was stirring his power and feeding his strength; Pryce’s body almost left the ground from the force Eli’s hand was exerting in getting him to the door.
Nina’s emotions were at war; she knew Eli was right to be so suspicious, but Pryce seemed so genuine—and then there were the dreams, which were so unsettling that she hadn’t spoken about them with any other dragon. Being unable to make a decision was an alien feeling to her, but at that moment she could only watch as Eli thrust Pryce through the doorway. With two incredibly powerful dragons at odds in front of her, she felt out of her depth.
“Miss Henry!” Pryce shouted, holding on to the door frame with both hands. “Wait! You need to stay alive! You need to know the truth and take your birthright! If not, your parents died for nothing!”
Nina felt something crumble inside her, and suddenly her entire body felt like it was filled with butterflies.
“What?”
Eli slammed his palm into Pryce’s stomach and sent him sailing into the railing outside her apartment door. Pryce flung out his arms just in time to catch himself before he fell over and plunged twenty feet to the ground below. Nina’s legs moved her forward before her brain caught up, and she was standing next to Pryce before she knew what to say.
Eli had just readied himself to deal the taller dragon another blow, but Nina flung her hand out and stopped him. Eli stepped back, a look of surprise on his face—without realizing it, she’d lashed out with her energy and struck his own at the same time she’d raised her arm.
“What did you say about my parents?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Pryce’s stormy expression broke, relief surfacing as he realized he finally had her attention. “Your parents died trying to secure your position. They did most of the work of uncovering the real prophecy, as a matter of fact. Without them, I wouldn’t have found out half of what I know, nor would anyone else have.” He looked into her eyes imploringly. “Miss Henry, your parents were murdered because they found out they’d produced the dragon who would end this era and bring in another. They were murdered by people who didn’t want anything in our culture to change. And now those same people are coming for you.”
Nina could feel Eli’s energy spiking and morphing into anger again, but she didn’t care. She was much more focused on Pryce’s energy—he seemed to be opening himself up to be read by her in a way he hadn’t done with Eli. It felt honest, bare, raw; in the back of her mind, she could tell his energy had a different weight and taste than any other dragon she’d ever met. I believe him, she realized. There’s so much honesty in his energy, however different it is. You can’t fake that.
“Who is it?” she asked. “Who’s after me?”
“Nina, I really don’t think we should indulge him,” Eli said warningly, a hint of frustration in his voice. “I don’t think this dragon is anything but trouble. No one ever has a good reason for rejecting the Horde. Not a morally good reason, anyway.”
Pryce’s anger flared as he rounded on Eli. “Why do I have to convince you, Upper Crust? This doesn’t concern you,” he said gruffly. “I should toss you over the railing right now.”
“This does concern me,” Eli said fiercely. “I’m her Reader, which means I’m responsible for her training from now until after she’s through with her emergence ceremony. I’m Gold Level in the High Horde, the highest you can get. I’m making this decision. You’re going to leave.”
“Fuck you. What does your status have to do with what’s going on right now?” Pryce shot back. “God, you Council slugs are all the same. You think you own everyone—”
“I do not—”
Nina stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled sharply, bringing the men’s attentions back to her. She was trembling from the mixture of panic and anger mounting inside her, and when they caught sight of her turbulent expression they seemed to shrink back into themselves.
“This is about me,” she said firmly. “This is concerning my prophecy and my safety. I’m going to decide who stays and who goes, nobody else.”
She turned to Pryce. “Pryce, please stop threatening Eli. He’s only trying to make sure you’re not here to harm me. If what you say is true, why wouldn’t we suspect you? How would we know you’re not here to kill me, and you’re just using your Outcast status as a cover?”
Pryce shifted his gaze downward.
Nina turned to Eli, who was smirking. “And Eli, I appreciate your help, but this isn’t up to you. I want to find out what’s going on. I don’t think it would be a good idea to just toss Pryce out, especially since there’s a lot of truth to what he’s saying. I have been feeling different, and I have been having some terrifying and cryptic dreams.” She watched the smirk slide off Eli’s face. “And if what he’s saying about my parents is true…” she paused and held back the tears stinging her eyes. “I need to know everything. I need to.”
“I’m sorry,” Pryce said humbly. “I should have been more tactful, and I certainly didn’t think enough about how suspicious I seem myself.”
Eli’s lips pressed together in a rigid line. He sighed and turned sorrowful eyes to Nina.
“I’m sorry, too,” he said. “I still don’t trust him,” he said as he glared at Pryce, “but I respect your right to do as you please.”
Pryce stiffened. “Hardly a sincere sounding apology,” he muttered.
The peace was short lived. Eli turned to Pryce angrily, his fists bunching at his side. “What do you care?”
“I’ve been waiting for this for longer than you know,” Pryce returned. “I care about the way Miss Henry is treated, especially by Council slugs like you.”
Eli started to respond, but a high, thin whistling sound had caught all their attention. Both men looked at her, expecting her to speak again, but they looked around confusedly when they realized the whistle hadn’t come from her. Nina looked behind her into the apartment, trying to see if the reading platform had started up again for some reason. Eli looked toward the sky.
Pryce was the first to show alarm. He looked toward the skyline, searching for something none of them could see.
“Could that really be…?”
The whine got louder each moment, and Nina watched Pryce’s eyes widen with understanding.
“Down!” he screamed suddenly, flinging Eli to the ground with one hand. With the other, he pushed Nina away from the door and covered her body with his as he pushed her to the ground, too.
The second after they began falling, Nina saw a heavy silver arrow streak past, right through the spot where they’d just been standing. It was a foot long and as thick as her arm; there was a loud thunk as it embedded itself in a wall in her apartment, and then silence covered them like a sheet of ice.
Nina locked eyes with Pryce as he was still on top of her, and she was startled to see the naked fear in his eyes. He was terrified in a way that suggested he’d known her for longer than a few minutes, and the relief blossoming over his face was as palpable as the fear. Nina had no idea why he was so invested in her safety, but as she processed it, an unspoken understanding passed between them, and she knew deep down that every word he’d told her was true.
Someone’s trying to kill me.
Again, her body moved before her brain caught up, and she shoved Pryce away from her with strength she didn’t know she had.
“Wait,” she heard him say as she rose and darted into the house. “Wait! They could be loading again!”
She kept moving like she hadn’t heard him, feeling as though the arrow were pulling her forward with an invisible string. Her eyes were glued to a spot on the wall just above the couch. The arrow had imbedded itself in the drywall so that there were only four or five inches of it showing. The rest had pierced the building and created a spider web of cracks around its body. A thick, pungent black substance was oozing from the hole, smoking slightly as it dripped slowly down the wall. There was a glittering sheen to it, as though it were somehow made of scales.
“Dragon’s bane,” Eli said quietly as he moved to Nina’s side. “That’s a poison made from the only herb that can stop our bodies from healing themselves.” His voice was laced with wonder and incredulity. “Making that poison... that takes incredible skill. It takes time, it…”
Nina felt numb. That would have gone straight through me, and the dragon’s bane would have meant my body couldn’t have closed the hole. Even if I was the most powerful dragon in the world.
There was the sound of a door closing, and then Pryce appeared on her other side. He looked from Nina’s shocked face, to Eli’s, and back at the arrow embedded in the wall.
“Now do you believe me?"