by Tricia Barr
Higher and higher he flew, carting the giant squid—technically an octopus, but squid somehow felt more derogatory, more fitting an enemy—along with him as it twisted, attempting to wrap itself more firmly around him. Being three times Kol’s size, he struggled with the weight, but his grip held firm. Still, he found himself again falling closer and closer to the depths with each beat of his wings.
Digging deep, his patience won out, and he managed to reach a height that would ensure instant death when he finally released the kraken. The stain that bloomed against the deep blue below and the sinking of the motionless monster was proof.
He’d barely had a moment’s breath—feeling near weightless with the kraken’s weight gone—before something appeared in the distance.
His next attacker.
Kol groaned. He thought dispatching a kraken would be the last of the tests. He’d beaten a horde of vampires, a dozen hunters, several enemy nagas and a gryphon who looked a lot like Oberon. There had even been a dark-haired mer who very nearly managed to manipulate his blood. The sim wouldn’t actually kill him that way, but he nearly failed. Nearly.
Certainly he was done by now?
He’d studied the videos, but the tests were never the same, so they didn’t help. Even if a student failed a hundred times, the program would give them a new test each attempt. It was all about skill and strength, nothing about algorithms or patterns in the system. And in all the videos, not a single student had been required to do as much in order to pass.
And yet another threat raced toward him.
Instead of racing at it, like he had the others, Kol hovered in the air and took advantage of his momentary reprieve. Catching his breath and watching the blue dot grow closer, he noticed it flew like a dragon, but he was surprised it wasn’t another invisible one.
Surely an invisible dragon would be the ultimate test. But he’d already beat one—while Myreen watched. Perhaps that had been enough?
As the dragon grew closer, the shade of royal blue seemed very familiar. His large dragon heart skitter as it neared.
“Char?” he asked when he knew without a doubt it could be no one else. No, it’s just a simulation, he thought. She’s not really here.
“Hi, Kol,” she said, almost shyly. “Miss me?” she asked, then attacked.
Throwing himself into auto pilot, he barreled and rolled through the air, snapping at claws and wings without once sinking into flesh. She did the same, clipping the tip of his tail once and slashing at his already injured wing.
But it felt different. She felt different. Like she was really here and not a part of the sim.
Kol hadn’t seen Charlotte Izabella Stern—blonde hair, brown eyes, royal blue scales—since she tested out last year and left the Dome to enlist. They’d known each other almost their entire lives, so it was a bit strange that he hadn’t thought about her much after she left. Just when Eduard passed along that greeting from her on Christmas day. It was especially weird since they’d been friends most of their lives, and were on the verge of becoming more right before she left. Well... that’s what she wanted. Kol never viewed her beyond a friend except that one stolen moment that fizzled before it was anything.
Kol rammed into her. The force knocked them both from the sky and they plummeted several feet below the surface of the water, sending millions of tiny bubbles racing to the surface. They both immediately recovered and were back in the air within a handful of seconds.
His parents would have rejoiced if he and Char had become something more. His and hers, actually. When he was ten, and she eleven, their parents had unofficially arranged them to be married when they grew up. With the curse, any attachment was bound to be one-sided eventually, and her parents knew that.
Still, arranged marriages were how the Dracul’s survived.
“You’ve improved, Kol,” she said, a little breathless.
She’s just part of the sim, he reminded himself as he used her momentary pause to swipe at the scales along her side, leaving deep red slashes. Neither of them bothered to use fire, since it was pointless, but it also meant they had to be touching in order to injure the other. Sim-Char took Kol’s closeness as an opportunity to bite down on his shoulder.
He cried out, but she held firm, gripping him with all four claws, keeping him close before releasing her jaw.
“Let’s move this to dry ground, shall we?”
Just a sim. She’s just part of the sim.
Maybe they were finally reaching the end. “Alright,” he said, using the hind leg that was free to grip her calf.
Sim-Char released all but one of her claws, keeping a firm, painful hold on his hip and they flew in an awkward, limping fashion back to the beach.
A thick forest of palm trees and ferns carpeted the tiny island, leaving only a small stretch of white sand around its borders. Just enough room for two or three rows of beach-goers if the island wasn’t deserted.
Or fictional.
Just like Char.
Planting their feet in the soft sand, Charlotte immediately shifted back to her human form, revealing her military smart-clothing that somehow made her blonde hair look whiter—and it had been quite a bit longer when he’d last seen her. Now it barely brushed against her jaw.
But her eyes looked the same. Soft brown, and... safe. Char had always been safe. Maybe it was because he loved her the way he loved his sister, Tatiana.
Despite suddenly feeling safe, Kol’s heart sped again, and he braced himself for a continuation of the fight. Who would’ve guessed the grand finale of his test would be against the sim version of a dear friend in their human form?
She laughed, her smile spreading to her eyes, and crossed her arms over her chest casually.
Kol’s eyebrows pinched. “What?” he asked, not relaxing in case it was a trick. “Aren’t you gonna fight me?”
Char shook her head again and looked down at her toes, which were partially hidden in the sand. “They know you can fight,” she said. “That’s not your final test.”
She dropped her arms and sauntered toward him. “The vampires, the hunters,” she said.
She looks just like her, Kol thought with each step. He reminded himself again that she wasn’t actually there.
“The nagas,” she continued. “Although I thought the look-alike of Oberon was a little cruel.” Her mouth twisted in disgust as she said it in a low voice. Almost like she didn’t want the teachers and his father who were watching the test to hear. “You were brilliant with that kraken—I don’t think the sim has unleashed that thing on anyone else.” She stopped when they were only a few feet apart.
“And yet, you’re my final test?” Kol scoffed, falling into the familiar banter he used to have with the real Charlotte. “Who’s afraid of a tiny dragon girl?”
She laughed again, and he found himself smiling for the first time since Kenzie had supposedly lifted the curse and he thought he could begin a life with Myreen. That had been the best and worst day of his life.
“And that mer... whew!” Sim-Char threw her hands in the air. “With that dark hair, she almost looked like...”
Actually, she had looked more like Alessandra than Myreen, but the intent was obvious.
“It’s a good thing the sim can’t actually kill you,” she added.
“It wouldn’t have mattered,” Kol said, his tone leveling while his brain calculated just what he needed to do to win. “I beat her anyway.”
“She’s gone, Kol,” Char said, at a near-whisper. “She chose to leave and... join him.”
Kol gulped. Just a sim. Just a sim. But he’d suddenly forgotten that he wasn’t supposed to miss Char. Seeing her here, he did miss her.
Char reached up—she had to reach high—to flick the lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes. In the motion, he could smell the salt mixed with the flowery scent of her skin.
He suddenly had the urge to kiss her, to wrap her in his arms and close his eyes and pretend that he was kissing Myreen. He could s
ee in her eyes that she wanted it, too.
Sim-Char wanted it.
And he remembered that he had at least a dozen eyes on him. Tests weren’t closed to other students, so it was possible that the entire school was watching this strange final test with the fake version of a person he’d long forgotten.
He wanted to disappear. He wanted to find this fake-island in the real world and wallow on it until he was old and gray. Or until everyone who was watching had forgotten all about Kol’s final test.
Of course, that was ridiculous. He wouldn't disappear because he had to find Myreen. Somehow. But the feeling of mortification was potent.
Just disappear, just disappear.
Sim-Char’s face suddenly shifted into a confused expression before she took a few steps back.
He watched her closely, waiting for whatever came next.
“Kol?” she asked, looking on either side of her and turning as if he was behind her. “Kol?” She walked past him and toward the tree line.
Kol looked down at his hands—which weren’t there. He’d done it. He’d managed to use his invisibility power in human form.
“Bravo, Malkolm!” Eduard’s voice boomed. He appeared as the sim scene pixelated back into white walls.
Kol stared at him, a little stunned at the last part of the test. But his father couldn’t see him, so he evaporated the invisibility.
When Kol was finally visible, Eduard clapped a hand on his shoulder. “I’d heard reports of your skill, but that was magnificent!” Pride rolled from his father. He looked legitimately impressed.
Kol beamed.
“You must join the military at once!”
And just like that, Kol’s mood deflated.
“Now son,” Eduard frowned. “You knew this was an eventuality. We could really use your skill.”
“We really could,” a small voice said. It was Char, looking just like she had seconds ago.
Charlotte wasn’t part of the sim.
***
He’d done it. Kol tested out of defense class—although many of the students and teachers were confused about the way his had gone. None of them had ever seen a test quite like Kol’s. Some suspected Mr. Suzuki made adjustments to the program before he resigned and left with Oberon.
Kol suspected Eduard was the actual reason for the change. After all, he had his own kitsunes at his disposal. And he’d been the one to bring Char in.
After congratulations and handshakes, Kol escaped to his room feeling very much betrayed by someone he once thought a friend. But it wasn’t like him to pout long, and at the urging of Nik and Brett, he found Char near the fountains.
Their actual reunion was a mixture of Kol shouting at her for her part in his test, and her shouting at him that he needed to grow up and if it weren’t for her, he might never have learned to use his invisible powers as a human. But mostly they were just glad to see each other. Kol left out the part about forgetting her very existence the second she left the school.
She told him about her adventures in the shifter military. And he told her about Myreen... though he left out the part about activating the curse. He wasn’t sure he wanted to rehash his stupidity.
But Char acted slightly different after hearing that. He didn’t regret it. It felt like he actually had his friend back.
“You really should consider joining,” Char said, her voice suddenly soft. “Draven is getting dangerous and we could use someone with your skills.” She stared at the ground, picking at the grass.
Kol ran both hands through his hair, gripping tightly. “I know he’s dangerous.” He heard the edge in his tone—the edge that meant he might snap any second. “Don’t you think I know? He took Myreen!”
But his anger didn’t scare Charlotte because she yanked his hands away. “Don’t do it because Eduard told you to!” she said, her voice injected with confidence and force again. “Look, I agreed to come to help you. Not because he ordered me to. I knew you had it in you and I’m sorry it played out the way it did. But we need you Kol. All of us.” She paused and blew out a breath—perhaps in an attempt to hold back the threatening tears Kol could see building in her light-brown eyes. She smiled, then shoved him lightly. “Shifterkind needs you, Malkolm Torq Dracul.”
Kol shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I have to get her back, Charlotte Izabella Stern.” He winked at her, but then fell serious. “I have to get her back. I have to find a way.”
“Then tell him! Look, I bet you can demand the world right now. You may be his son, but the general needs you!”
“What do you mean?”
Char shrugged. “Tell him you’ll join on one condition.” She paused. Probably for effect or something, but Kol only found it annoying.
“What’s my condition?” he asked, not wanting to play this game.
“Tell him you’ll enlist in his precious shifter military if he puts you on the team that’s going after Myreen.” She said it nonchalantly, but her attitude suddenly shifted into bubbling excitement that leaked out in her smile.
Kol’s eyes widened. “There’s a team going after her? To rescue her?” Hope welled beneath his ribcage. It was a dangerous kind of hope, but he was a glutton for anything that might bring Myreen back.
Even if she hated him forever.
Char brushed her fingernails against her shoulder, then blew on them. “Yep!” she said with a mock-haughty air. “And I’m leading that team.”
Chapter 4: Juliet
Tossing and turning couldn’t quite describe how Juliet spent the last few nights. She couldn't sleep. And it affected her mood immensely, leaving her unstable and prone to clumsiness. Again.
But despite her fury against her dad, her worry because of Myreen, and all the changes Lord Dracul brought to the Dome, glee still filled her heart, all because of Nik. Occasionally, she’d felt guilty for being so selfish, but more often than not, she’d hold onto that happy feeling like a buoy.
The only downside with being back together was that her mind was on overdrive, always spinning in circles. She wished she could talk to her dad about it, but Malachai was on his high horse and wouldn't budge.
She tried to confront Malachai the morning after she heard the news, but he brushed it off—as if Lord Dracul being in charge of the Dome was better for her safety. She tried again the next day. And the next. Still he ignored her prying.
So today when she’d awoken, she skipped her first class, fearing that she couldn't control her emotions well enough. Even one more little change could completely set her off—and she didn’t want to know how the new director would punish her for losing control.
But not even that little bit of rest had been enough.
Juliet's hands squeezed into fists as she stared at the closed door of her dad’s office, trying to find the nerve to knock. It wasn’t like talking to him would get her anywhere, but she didn't want to stop trying—no matter how annoying she was being.
She took a deep breath and banged on the door twice.
Malachai's deep voice mumbled, “Enter.”
Juliet took another deep breath, straightened her spine, and pulled the letter out of her back pocket. She entered his office and beelined straight to his desk where he sat with his head buried in a pile of papers. When he saw her, his head fell back, and he let out a sigh.
Juliet wanted to blow up. Sure, she’d been annoying, but she didn't think he’d be so cross at the mere sight of her.
“Nice to see you too, Dad.” She slammed the letter down on top of his pile and paced the space in front of his desk. Malachai unfolded the crumbled paper, but Juliet didn't give him a chance to get through it. There wasn’t anything there he hadn’t seen before.
“How could you be okay with all of this?” she asked, her voice rising in pitch. “How is cutting time for art and music okay? And now we have an offensive training class? Seriously, that’s a disaster waiting to happen!” She barely took a breath as she made her speech, but she’d waited so long for this moment wit
h Malachai. Her father. “We’re learning military strategies and the history of warfare! How do you expect me to be okay with the new expectations of your lame boss?”
“Juliet Quinn, watch the way you speak about General Dracul. There are eyes and ears everywhere.” He used his stern voice, but it was laced with concern.
“Oooh, I'm shaking in my boots. Why won’t you answer any of my questions? I just don't understand any of this. No one does. And you're my dad. Shouldn't you be giving me some words of encouragement or something? Instead of icing me out? I thought we were finally getting somewhere, then you go and join this bully’s lackey club.” It was borderline disrespectful, and she didn't like it, but she had to get through to him.
“Watch your tone. What I do is none of your business and I don't need your permission. And I absolutely do not have to explain myself. What I will tell you is that I have obligations to the school and a contract that I can’t just walk away from. You will no longer burden me with interrogations like this. Understood?” Malachai stood, towering over Juliet as he peered at her with hard, stubborn eyes.
“Loud and clear.” Juliet grabbed the letter and spun around. She huffed and puffed the whole walk to the door, but stopped with her hand on the knob. “You’ve lost me once over a decision like this. It looks like you're on that same path. I hope your precious leader is worth pushing me away. Again.”
She refused to look back to see the look on his face—or to let him see the look of guilt on hers. The doorknob was heavy as she slammed the door closed, the cool metal the only thing keeping her hands from overheating. She had to get control of her emotions and she had to do it fast.
Usually, she’d stop by her dad’s office to let him know when she was having a rough day. And usually he’d let her off the hook for a class or two—or the whole day. But not anymore. Not with them being on non-speaking terms. No, today she’d go AWOL, rather than seeking his permission. Although, hitting the defense room wasn't exactly hiding out. Anyone could find her there. But she needed to let the steam off before she lost control of her powers.
