Jett made a quick search of the cabins—none of the doors were locked. The units appeared hastily deserted, with clothes and personal belongings left behind, and food abandoned half-eaten on the counters.

“I don’t think they’re out on a hunt,” Ariel said.

“No,” Jett agreed.

He paused before one cabin. The door was ajar, and he heard the buzzing of flies coming from within.

“Stay here,” Jett said.

“You’re worried there’s a dead body in there, aren’t you?” Ariel said.

Jett didn’t answer. Instead, he peered inside, not really sure what to expect.

He saw cold steaks sitting on the table. They were the source of the flies.

Jett glanced at her. “It’s only more spoiled food.”

Ariel slumped in relief.

He entered completely, and Ariel followed behind him.

“It’s troubling that the pride ran off like this in the middle of a meal,” Jett said. “A lion would have to be very scared to do something like that.”

“Afraid of you, maybe?” Ariel asked. “You are a big, bad dragon after all.”

“No,” Jett said, checking the final room. “Something else spooked them.”

Finished searching the last of the cabins, he circled the perimeter and found paw prints leading away in the mud.

“The tracks head east,” he told Ariel. “Toward Blue Hurricane territory.”

“Do we follow?” she asked.

“We do,” Jett replied. “That’s where we’re headed now anyway.”

“And how far is it to Blue Hurricane?”

“It’ll be at least a day and a half,” Jett said.

“They really chased me quite a ways from their territory, didn’t they?” Ariel said. “I don’t suppose you can fly us there in dragon form, and get us there in a tenth the time?”

Jett tapped the silver ring that collared him. “Can’t transform, remember?” He produced a smartphone and began entering text.

“I’m surprised you get any reception out here,” Ariel said.

“It’s essentially a sat-phone,” Jett said.

“Oh yeah, I forgot, you’re rich,” Ariel said. “Let me guess, you’re texting Blue Hurricane.”

“No, like Starry Oak, they haven’t been answering,” he told her. “I’m texting my brother.”

“In Midnight City?” Ariel said. “I thought the subterranean city didn’t have cellphone access, what with all the layers of rock blocking it off from the surface.”

“It doesn’t,” Jett said. “I’m using an app.”

“How does that help?” Ariel said.

Jett glanced at her as he thumb-typed. “Midnight City has satellite Internet, thanks to antennae we’ve installed throughout the mountain range. Wi-Fi routers in the tunnels pipe it down into the city.” He finished his text and put the phone away. “Let’s go.”

“What did you tell your brother?” Ariel said.

“Always so many questions.” Jett glanced at her. “We have no video feeds in the Starry Oak camp, so I asked him if he could check the logs of the hidden cameras nearby and find out what chased the pride away.”

A while later he felt a buzz in his pocket and retrieved his phone.

“So, what’s the news?” Ariel asked.

“They got nothing on any of the cams,” Jett replied. “Which makes sense, I guess: the members of Starry Oak have learned where we keep our cameras over the years, and if they didn’t want to be seen when they fled, they could’ve carefully chosen their routes.”

The pair continued their march east through the woods. Jett continually scanned the trees around them, wary of ambush.

“You seem worried,” Ariel said.

“I’m more worried about you than myself,” Jett said. “If something happens, I want you to stay behind me. No harm will come to you, not while I’m at your side.”

“Aww, that’s sweet and all, but I can fend for myself, thank you very much,” Ariel said. “I’m a lioness, remember?”

She fished out some of the beef jerky he’d given her to pack, and she ate it on the go. She offered a piece to Jett.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Ate already, remember?”

“You weren’t joking about eating a cow, were you?” she said, shaking her head.

She retrieved her canteen and took a long sip of water. She also offered it to Jett, and he decided to surprise her by accepting. He took only a small sip, however.

“That’s it?” Ariel said, taking the canteen back. “Big man like you needs to keep hydrated.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t broken a sweat yet,” Jett said. “And there’s a river not far ahead.”

“You know these woods well,” Ariel commented.

“We’ve held this territory a long time,” Jett said.

Ariel nodded. “Your sister told me about all the great things you did for your people.”

“Great things?” he said. “I do my best, that’s all I can do. Whether my actions have been great, well, that will be up to history to decide. I’m nothing compared to my father. Now there’s a great man. He was the one who united the dragon tribes.”

“Your sister told me you helped,” Ariel said.

“Yes,” Jett said. “I did my part, but in the end it was his force of will that sealed the deal. His dragon is magnificent, like nothing you’ve ever seen. A huge black, streaked with gold.”

“So I’m guessing you founded Midnight after the tribes united…” Ariel said.

“That’s right,” Jett said. “But we also built satellite dens across the continent to protect us and the other shifters from the growing threat of the humans who hunted us. The unification was also meant to serve as a check against the other powerful dragon, vampire and witch forces that were emerging across the world at the time. My father abdicated shortly after the first war fought against those forces, leaving me to hold the tribes together. Navigating tribal politics wasn’t something that came easily to me. I’ve been lucky to have so many amazing advisers.”

“I didn’t know humans hunted you,” Ariel told him. “That’s why you said shifters don’t just congregate in groups for social reasons, but for protection, too.”

“That’s one of the reasons, yes,” Jett said. “They still hunt us to this day.”

Ariel seemed to consider that. “Ephephany told me the witches have some sort of agreement with you, where you give them the dead bodies of some of your dragons so that they can extract the bones they need for their magic and leave you alone. But a lot of witches are human, right? They’re greedy or something, and want more bones then you give them?”

“No, it’s not the witches who hunt us,” Jett said. “As I told you before, there are a great many things you don’t know. There have always been a group of humans dedicated to stamping out vampires, as well as shifters of all types: dragons, lions, wolves, and so forth. These humans call themselves the Orions, after the hunter from Greek mythology. The constellation Orion is their symbol. They wear it on all their gear: chest pieces, guns, swords, shields. Sometimes they don disguises in the cities, but you can always recognize them by the tattoos of the constellation they have inked inside their wrists. There are even a few witches among them.”

“What a strange world we live in.” Ariel walked in silence for a few moments. “Okay, this might sound a bit out of left field, but it’s been bugging me. When Gwendoline showed me the ancient dragons, they looked like knights with wings. Can you actually sprout wings like that while you're in human form?”

“Yes,” Jett said. “But not with this collar. Nor inside Midnight.”

He saw Ariel gazing at the tight band that enveloped his neck.

“Why do you have to wear a collar outside the city anyway?” Ariel asked.

“All dragons do, when leaving their domains,” Jett replied. “Because of a motion put forth by the witches, who exert much influence over the Council of Seven. They believed it was too dangerous to allow dragon shifters to roam free with their full powers among the humans. In the end, I voted for the motion only because it lets us more readily blend in with humankind: it’s very easy to spot a dragon when he or she transforms, after all.”

“What was that about a Council of Seven?” Ariel said.

“Remember the powerful dragon, vampire, and witch forces I told you about that were still emerging when we built Midnight?” Jett said. “Those forces eventually coalesced into the kings and queens who rule this world in secret. Seven in total, including myself. Three are dragon. Three vampire. And the seventh is a Wayfarer—the fancy name the witches use for themselves. We each rule a continent. As king of Midnight, I preside over North America. The others rule Europe, Africa, and so forth.”

“You rule all of North America?” Ariel asked. She sounded stunned.

“I rule the shifters who hide among the humans in North America, yes,” Jett said. “The satellite dens I mentioned? Those spread across the continent? Those dens answer to me. They’re responsible for presiding over each territory and maintaining order among the shifters and vampires who live among the humans in nearby cities.”

“Holy shit,” Ariel said. “And here I thought you were the king of a single city.” She shook her head. “I guess it hadn’t really clicked.”

“Does the knowledge change anything between us?” Jett asked.

She glanced at him. “Don’t be getting a big head now, your supreme highness.”

He tried to look displeased, but inside he was smiling.

“I’m trying to figure out how the Orions factor into all of this,” Ariel continued. “I’m thinking they must secretly rule a continent, too.”

“No, they’re spread throughout the domains of the Council,” Jett said. “And are enemies to us all. They hunt the shifters and vampires in the human cities under our protection. In North America, they harass my smaller dens as they discover them, and occasionally force the dragons to move. The Orions rarely attack the bigger, well-known dens like Midnight however, nor the shifters crews in the immediate vicinity, who are under our protection.”

Ariel frowned. “Are they enemies of the witches, too?”

“That’s right,” Jett said. “The Wayfarers.”

“But didn’t you just say the Orions have a few witches with them?”

“Oh they do,” Jett said. “They have witches, not Wayfarers. The Wayfarers, whose queen sits on the Council, compete with the Orions for witches. They capture those among the human population who have the spark inside them; whoever gets to them first wins their loyalty, as witches rarely switch allegiance once they begin training.”

“Do shifters other than dragons ever have the spark?” Ariel said.

“A few,” Jett said. “But if a young shifter with the spark falls into the hands of the Orions, the hunters will kill them regardless, whereas the Wayfarers are happy to accept shifter candidates. In fact, the Wayfarers demand that all of those with the spark among the shifter population be sent to their Steel Tower for training. Including dragons.”

“I wonder what the price of that training is…” Ariel said. “Nothing’s free in this world.”

“No,” Jett said. “The price is they must serve the Wayfarers in some way after they graduate. Many graduates stay with them, but some are assigned as advisers to the different vampire and dragon domains. Ephephany is the witch assigned to me, for example. But their loyalties always lie with the Steel Tower.”

“I bet some are assigned to human governments,” Ariel said.

“Not so much assigned, but witches do indeed infiltrate the different branches of human government,” Jett responded. “As do shifters and vampires.”

“Vampires.” Ariel tapped her chin. “You fight vampires, too, not just Orions. Otherwise you wouldn’t have so many vampire slaves in Midnight.”

“We have warred with the different covens of the world from time to time,” Jett said. “These are guerrilla wars, mind you, fought in the shadows. Beneath human notice.”

“I’m guessing it’s the vampires instigating the fights and not you?” Ariel said.

“That’s right,” Jett replied.

“I wonder why they would do that,” Ariel said. “It seems kind of odd that the bloodsuckers would ever hunt dragons, especially when there are so many easier targets around. Like humans.”

Jett wondered if he was telling her too much. Well, what he was about to reveal was common knowledge among shifters. She might as well hear it from him.

“Dragon blood fills them with incredible strength,” Jett said, “and for those practicing witches among the vampires, it triples their power.”

“I don’t know why you keep them as slaves then,” Ariel said. “Aren’t you worried they’ll drain a few of you and then use their boosted powers to escape?”

“No,” Jett said. “The vampires all wear collars, in case you didn’t notice. Those collars emit a Weave similar to compulsion that prevents them from attacking their dragon masters.”

“Ah, I need to start paying more attention,” Ariel said. “The only thing I really noticed on those vampires was their fangs. And the headsets.” She shook her head. “All these people hunting you. I’d hate to be a lone dragon out there in the world. Life as a shifter is more complicated than I’d ever imagined. You think the Orions had something to do with what happened back at the cabins?”

“I don’t know,” Jett said. “But it’s a good possibility.”

Her barrage of questions finally ended and Jett was able to continue the hike in peace. Not that he minded all that much. Her inquisitive nature was refreshing in a way, and her surprise or awe at some tidbit that otherwise seemed trite to him made him feel young again.

In about half an hour the pair reached a steep gully. A raging river cut its way through the gorge below, sending up a spray of water. Jett followed along the ravine edge until a path led down to the water below. He scanned the immediate area, and when he was satisfied that no ambushers were lying in wait, he took the path.

When he reached the water’s edge he knelt, prostrating himself before the life-giving liquid. He dipped his chin into the river and drank freely. His lips and tongue soon became numb from the cold, but he continued to quench his thirst for a long time.

At one point, Ariel said: “You really like that water, don’t you? I mean really, really like it.”

Jett continued drinking for at least another two minutes, and then he got up and wiped his lips contentedly.

“Hit the spot?” Ariel asked.

He swallowed back a burp. “I’ve had my fill. You might as well top up your canteen. The water’s fresh and clean.”

“Good idea.” Ariel knelt to refill her canteen, and when that was done, she stared at the water. She glanced at him sheepishly, seeming hesitant. “Ah, hell with it.” She knelt and pressed her own lips to the surface.

Jett was amused by the way she drank like a cat by repeatedly sticking her tongue into the river. His amusement faded when he realized the lioness inside her was asserting more control over her. He wondered if he’d have to chase her down again.

Thankfully, she didn’t transform.

They climbed the trail back to the top of the gully and soon were on the move again.

They followed alongside the twisting waters below, eventually reaching a rope bridge that led across the gorge.

He approached the mouth of the bridge.

“Wait, you don’t expect me to cross that rickety thing, do you?” Ariel asked. “It’s made of like three ropes.”

She was right. A single, thick rope formed the base of the bridge, while two smaller ropes higher up functioned as handrails.

“On my back,” Jett ordered. When she didn’t obey, he turned around to glance at her. “I’ll carry you across.”

“No thanks,” Ariel said. “If you lose your balance, we’ll both fall.”

“I won’t lose my balance,” he told her.

She stared at him defiantly, and then sighed. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you? And since I’m definitely not crossing that on my own...”

She abruptly leaped onto his back. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and her forearms across his chest.

“Why do I think this is a bad idea?” she said.

Jett felt a thrill pass through him at her touch, but it quickly faded as her grip roughly tightened. One of her nails was digging into his left nipple.

Gritting his teeth, Jett used his dragon powers to toughen the area, and the pain instantly vanished.

“Your chest seriously feels like it’s made of stone,” Ariel said.

“Wait until you feel my cock,” Jett said.

“Uh huh, I’m letting go now,” Ariel told him.

“Too late.” He wrapped one arm around her legs, pinning them to her body.

“Let me go!” she said, punching his shoulder. “Ouch!” He heard a growl arise from the pit of her throat.

Jett quickly stepped onto the main rope. He gripped the smaller, higher rope on the left with his free hand and proceeded forward. Far below, the water roiled past.

He had difficulty balancing with only one arm on the ropes like that, but thankfully Ariel quickly stopped fidgeting when she realized he wasn’t going to back down. Her growls had ceased, too, so he wouldn’t have to worry about her transforming. He hoped.

His left hand flared out dangerously a few times as he lost his balance and momentarily forced the ropes apart. He always regained his stability, but it couldn’t have been fun for his rider.

“Don’t look down,” he told her after one particularly harrowing flare out.

In answer, Ariel’s grip only tightened around him. He felt a sudden erection coming on, though the feeling lasted only a moment, as his concern for Ariel’s safety overrode any pleasure he might have felt.

When he was too far from the bridge mouth for her to safely let go, he twisted his head toward her.

“I’m going to release your legs now,” he said. “Don’t let go.”

“I don’t plan to!” Ariel said. “Just get us across you bastard!”

He lifted his hand away from her legs and wrapped it around the remaining rope. That was better.

He was able to proceed forward at a much more even pace, without any more flare outs.

When he stepped off the bridge onto the opposite side of the ravine, Ariel immediately leaped down.

“Well that sucked,” she said. “Next time, let me carry myself across.”

Jett shrugged. “You’re the one who leaped onto my back.”

“Yeah, but then I changed my mind,” Ariel said.

Jett merely cocked his head. “You are a strange one.”

“You should talk, dragon boy.”

Jett led the way, following the gully through the trees. The woods stopped about a pace from the gorge, forming a narrow shelf that was relatively easy to navigate save for the occasional exposed roots. Some sections of the shelf had collapsed into the ravine, and those had to be circumnavigated as well, but otherwise the two made good time.

Jett abruptly held out a hand, stopping her.

“What is it?” Ariel said.

But then she must have heard the growling coming from in front of them, because her gaze snapped forward, toward the huge grizzly that stood blocking the path. It snarled, long streams of saliva twisting from its canines and incisors.

“Stay calm,” Jett told Ariel over his shoulder. “I need you to control your beast now of all times.”

The grizzly abruptly charged.

Jett immediately placed himself between the bear and Ariel.

“Jett!” Ariel said.

The bear was on him. Jett grabbed it by the neck and hauled it upright so that it dangled before him. It clawed at his biceps and chest, and attempted to dig its teeth into his forearm, but succeeded only in tearing his clothes.

“He’s ripping you up!” Ariel said. Her voice sounded strained, as though she was barely able to contain her inner beast.

“Concentrate. If you change, you’ll only make things worse.” He glanced at her sidelong. “That’s my clothes ripping. I’ve hardened my skin. The bear can’t touch me.” He rolled up a tattered sleeve with one hand to show her.

In answer, Ariel only growled.

He turned toward her as the bear flung itself to and fro in his grip. “Ariel, concentrate!” He purposely gentled his voice. “Ariel. Please. Do this for me.”

She was crouching, and her eyes were a bright yellow, her lips curled back in a rictus to reveal teeth that seemed to be growing before his very eyes. Somehow she managed to bring herself back from the edge. Her teeth shrunk, and she sealed her lips, straightening her posture.

Jett sighed in relief. “Thank you. The last thing I needed was to deal with your lioness at the same time.”

The bear continued to struggle in his grasp. He held it firmly, letting the beast exhaust itself until eventually it simply hung there limply.

“Is it a shifter like us?” Ariel asked. Her voice still wasn’t quite back to itself, and held a gravelly edge. He knew she was still fighting back a change. It must have been unimaginably hard for her: if she loosened her hold for even a heartbeat, she would probably transform.

“No,” Jett responded. “This is an actual grizzly. A shifter bear would be much bigger, and the lions would never allow it in their territory.”

“But they allow a normal grizzly?” Ariel said.

“Of course,” Jett said. He was glad she was still talking. Words would serve to distract her inner beast, further delaying any transformation. “They hunt everything. Deer. Elk. Bear. All fair game. Why prevent food from entering?”

“Okay, but wait,” Ariel said. “If this grizzly isn’t a shifter, why did it attack?”

Jett nodded toward the trees. “Her cubs.”

Two small bears lingered behind a nearby oak tree in the woods. The cubs wrapped their tiny paws around the thick trunk and peered past the edge, mewling softly.

“Aww, they’re so cute,” Ariel said. The sight of those cubs had swept all traces of the lioness from her voice. Good.

Jett tossed the defeated bear toward the cubs. The littermates scattered into the undergrowth as the big animal landed. Clambering to her feet, the bear turned to snarl at Jett one last time.

Jett glanced at Ariel, confirming that she hadn’t transformed, then he watched the cubs excitedly return to their mom. The bear promptly led away her young. Jett kept his eyes on the retreating animals until the foliage swallowed them up entirely.

“Well that was interesting,” Jett said.

When Ariel didn’t answer, he glanced over his shoulder to look at her.

Except she wasn’t there anymore.