by J. D. Monroe
“Maura!”
She was unfazed as they walked back down the hall toward their classrooms. “What about Thursday?”
“No firm plans yet,” she said. “Taegan’s family does a huge thing, apparently, and he said I could come if I wanted.”
“Already inviting you to family dinner, huh?” Maura said. “If he introduces you to his mother, you should probably run. Or marry him on the spot.”
She laughed, though the thought was sobering. Was he merely being nice, or was he trying to push her into something? “I’ll see how it goes.”
“If it doesn’t work out, you can come to my house. We’ve got neighbors, some of Rick’s single guys from the office, and a couple of college kids from church. You won’t be out of place,” Maura said. “And we’ll have enough food for a small army. Our family starts eating as soon as the parade starts, and we keep eating until we fall asleep or hate ourselves, whatever happens first. Just don’t spend the day alone, okay?”
“Thanks,” she said. “You’re the best.”
“I know.”
Chloe paced in her bedroom, debating between two nearly identical shirts. She’d showered, shaved, and lotioned herself to a vanilla-scented sheen. It was nerve-wracking enough to get ready for a date, but doubly so when literal magic and shapeshifting was involved. If she was going to get naked for dragon time, she still wanted to look her best, to say nothing of what might come after.
Finally, she shoved both shirts into her duffel bag, throwing in a light robe to cover up. She’d just finished zipping up the bag when her doorbell rang. Like Pavlov’s giddy dogs, she instantly smiled. Her heart fluttered as she ran downstairs and opened the door.
Taegan waited on her porch, dressed in a pair of jeans that should have been thanking the clothing gods for the privilege of being so close. He beamed at her. “Good morning.” With a warm thrill of desire, she met him for a soft kiss, tasting the hint of coffee on his lips. As he pulled away, he took the bag from her shoulder, ever the gentleman. “Are you ready?”
“I think so,” she said.
Taegan drove a modest black car, gleaming with a polished shine, but unassuming. The interior was clean, and it smelled warm and smoky. Both cupholders held a cup of coffee. He tapped one of the cups. “That’s yours. If you like caramel better, you can take the other one.”
“Thanks,” she said. Handsome and thoughtful, too. She could practically hear Maura screaming, put a ring on it!
He put her bag in the backseat with his, pulling away from her house. “Are you excited?”
“I am,” she said. She took a tentative sip of the coffee. It needed a bit more cream, but the thoughtfulness made up for it. “Kind of nervous.”
“You’ll be great. I’ll be there the whole time, just like this weekend.” The mention of this weekend sent a shiver down her spine, awakening the memory of his hands and his mouth, blazing warm. “My cousin Tellana will be there, along with a few other family members. Some of them are just going to fly and blow off some steam, but Tellana and her brother will be there to help you if you need it.”
“Oh, cool,” she said, trying to mask her surprise. She’d sort of hoped they would be alone. “Where are we going?”
“About forty minutes from here, one of the members of our community has a huge plot of forested land. Magical wards mask the view from above, so we can fly out there,” he said. “We have to keep it a secret, for obvious reasons.”
Before leaving her house on Sunday, he’d told her not to show her power or tell anyone else about it, but hadn’t told her much else. “So no one knows about you guys?”
“About us,” he amended. “That’s the rule. Here and there, some humans know, but most of those are partners. Our number one rule is takhara vhan. It means to keep the secret. People aren’t ready to know about us.” He glanced at her. “After we get you flying, I’ll teach you how to compel people.”
“What do you mean?”
“We can make humans obedient,” Taegan said. “If someone ever sees something they shouldn’t, it can get you out of a bad situation.”
Dread prickled down her spine. “Are you saying you can mind control people?”
He laughed. “It’s not mind control. Think of it as breaking down resistance.”
“That doesn’t sound much better.”
His brow furrowed as he checked his mirrors, watching traffic fly by before he merged onto the highway. Once he was cruising in the left lane, he glanced at her again. “It’s not as bad is it sounds. More like a powerful persuasion. You can’t make someone do something that goes against their morals. And you can’t make someone hurt themselves.”
Her stomach flip-flopped. “Can you do it to me?”
“Definitely not. It only works on humans,” he said, shaking his head. “And we have strict rules about using it. Most of us rarely use it because we don’t want to risk hurting anyone.”
She sighed. “There’s so much about this that I don’t know,” she said. “I wish I had known about this a long time ago.”
“Me too,” he said. “If you’re up for talking about it, do you want to tell me about your family?”
“Not much to tell,” she said. “My birth mother died in a car accident when I was three, and a friend of hers took me in. Miss Helen, although I called her Mom until…” Her throat threatened to close up. “She passed away when I was in college. She was older, so I knew I wouldn’t have her forever, but it was still too soon.”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Me too,” she said. Staring down at the coffee cup, she slowly walked her fingers around the lid, so she didn’t have to meet his eyes. “Have you ever met someone that’s always sweet and gentle? That’s how she was. She never got mad or had a mean word to say to anyone.”
“She sounds lovely,” he said.
“She was,” Chloe said. “I wish I was more like her sometimes.”
“Well, you’re you,” Taegan said. “I think you’re delightful.”
Her brow furrowed. “You think so?”
“I wouldn’t say you’re sweet but you’re fiery. Like salsa.”
She burst out laughing. “Did you compare me to salsa?”
“Is that bad?”
“Usually if you compare someone to food, it’s to something sweet, like chocolate,” she replied. “Something decadent.”
“Is that a rule?”
“More of a tradition,” she replied.
“Well, I like salsa.”
“Everyone likes salsa.”
He shrugged. “See? Why is that weird? It tastes good. So do you,” he said. “It’s fiery and hot. Like you.”
Her cheeks flushed. “You’re a dork.”
“I know,” he said. “And you’re stuck with me all day.”
And what a curse that was. She shot him a playful look. “Okay, salsa boy. What about your family?”
He was a quiet for a moment. “I grew up here in the community. Family is a weird concept for us. I have cousins and connections all over, but my true family is a little smaller. My mother lives here in Portland, but my father died about eight years ago. So, I can’t say I know exactly how you feel, but I know what it’s like to lose a parent.”
Her throat clenched. “I’m sorry about your dad.”
“Yeah,” he murmured. “My mom took it hard, obviously. It’s really only been in the last two years or so that she’s come back to herself. He was only a hundred and twenty-seven.”
“Wow,” she said. “Wait…only a hundred and twenty-seven?”
“Yeah,” he said. Then he smirked. “How old do you think I am?’
“Maybe thirty-five.”
“Sixty-one,” he said.
“You’re a senior citizen.” Her mind was spinning. This made no sense.
“I think you have to be sixty-five to qualify for discounts,” he said with a smile. “Dragons live a lot longer than humans.”
She gaped at him. “How long?”
“Four or five hundred years at least."
Her jaw dropped, and she felt like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. “Then I’m going to get really old. And everyone I know…” She groaned and covered her face. She should have known that a date with Taegan was going to result in her entire world being shaken like a Christmas snow globe.
“Whoa,” he said. “Breathe.”
“This is insane,” she whispered. “So a hundred years from now, I’ll just look like me still? How does that even work? Do people not notice that you guys don’t get older?”
“Believe it or not, that’s a discussion Izarin and Tellana are having to deal with now,” he said. “Our family has been here for close to a hundred years. Especially with them being so visible in the community, it’s got a shelf life. Either they start coming up with fake names, or we eventually have to move somewhere else.”
Her eyes were unfocused as she tried to process. “This is crazy.”
“I know it’s a lot,” he said. “I’m not sure it’s any comfort to put it this way, but the humans you know were going to age the same regardless of what you are.”
“That’s not helpful.”
He sighed. “I imagined it wouldn’t be.”
“So in thirty years, I’ll still be young, and they’ll be old, and…” she trailed off. “What do I do? In twenty years, I’m pretty sure my best friend will notice I haven’t aged a bit.”
“I really don’t know,” he said. “A lot of dragons in this world keep mostly to themselves for that reason.”
“But—”
“Chloe,” he said gently. “I know it’s a lot to take in. And I’ll help you figure things out if I can. But you don’t have to figure it all out right this second. How about we take it one thing at a time?”
She released a heavy sigh. “Hello, unexpected existential crisis.”
“Do you want me to take you home?”
Her head snapped up, and she saw his expression, furrowed with concern. She instantly felt guilty. “Oh, shit, no,” she said. “No, I’m being dramatic. I mean, finding out I might live to be five hundred is worthy of some dramatics. But no. I don’t want you to take me home.”
His shoulders slumped with relief. “Good. Can we talk about something else?”
“Yes, please,” she said. She was tempted to put him on the spot, to ask why he was still single at the ripe old age of sixty-one, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. “So doing the math, at sixty-one, you’re still basically a child.”
He laughed, a delightfully rich sound. “Not quite. Our bodies are mostly mature in our early thirties, and we’re officially considered adults at forty-nine.”
“Why?”
“Why are humans magically adults at eighteen?” he asked.
“Fair enough,” she said with a laugh. “Are you an only child?”
He nodded. “Dragons don’t tend to have a lot of children. It’s much harder for them to get pregnant than humans,” he said. He suddenly shook his head. “I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t mention pregnancy with a new girlfr—with a date—with…” He stumbled. “With you. And I’ve already made it weird enough for one day.”
Her heart thumped as he tripped over his words. Had he been about to call her his girlfriend? And what did it mean that she was sad that he hadn’t?
“It’s completely okay,” she said. “So, it was just you and your parents?”
“Oh, no,” he said with a laugh. “My dad and Izarin were very close, so I grew up with Tellana and Malek. Tellana got stuck with two older brothers.”
“Somehow, I don’t think that scares her,” Chloe said.
He sighed and shook his head. “No, it certainly does not. She is Izarin’s daughter for sure.”
She laughed. “Tell me more.”
For the rest of the drive, he patiently answered her questions about dragons. After the third time she said, I hope this isn’t weird, he gave her a free pass to ask anything as long as the conversation remained between them. She learned that the Kadirai had come from another world entirely, though Taegan had never been. He called it “the old world” like they’d simply immigrated across the ocean instead of across the universe. She also discovered that all dragons had an innate element. While both she and Taegan had an affinity for fire, as did most of Portland’s dragons, that was not the case for all dragons. Much to her delight, she learned the dragons were matriarchal and always had female leaders, and all bloodlines and titles passed along the mother’s line. It shocked her how easily Taegan accepted it.
Finally, he pulled off the highway and turned down a side road curving into a dense tunnel of trees. A few miles down the road, he turned down a private driveway, driving slowly toward a row of cars parked in the grass. A dirt path disappeared into the dark forest. Posted in the center of a path was a sign that read Private Property: No Trespassing.
Without speaking, she got out of the car. It was eerily quiet. Only the distant chirping of birds pierced the silence. As she drew a breath to ask him a question, a powerful blend of smells struck her. The intensity of it crackled into her nose, like she’d breathed in a cloud of pepper. There was smoke, and something that had the electric bite of ozone. It was far more powerful than what she’d smelled before. “Do you smell that?” she murmured.
He chuckled and sniffed the air. “That’s dragons having fun. Come on. It’s time to fly.”
When they stepped into the large clearing, Chloe froze, staring up in wonder. Two enormous winged silhouettes circled overhead, chasing each other in a graceful spiral. A sound like distant thunder accompanied each beat of their wings.
She gaped at them. “Dragons.” Seeing Taegan in the warehouse was one thing, but this was incredible. Light glittered off their scales as they dove and played. The larger one had onyx scales reflecting a slightly reddish sheen, while the other was a dark red. Her heart raced as she watched them, suddenly eager to join them.
“Told you,” Taegan said. He took her wrist in a light grip and guided her farther into the clearing. Well into the woods, a huge swath of land had been cleared of trees, leaving a leafy carpet beneath open sky. Just inside the tree line, a large, plaid blanket was spread out on the ground. Backpacks and duffel bags were strewn across it, and a big plastic cooler anchored one corner. A woman in a loose robe sat on the cooler, unwinding a long braid.
“Tellana,” Taegan greeted.
Chloe barely recognized the pretty woman in normal clothes. Her face was bare, but she still looked like a supermodel. She finished untying her braid, shaking out the loose waves. A bright smile crossed her face as she rose. “Chloe! It’s so good to see you,” she said. To her surprise, Tellana hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Taegan said you shifted. Congratulations.”
“I did,” Chloe said. “I’m not very good at it, but—”
“She did great,” Taegan interrupted, shooting her a disapproving look. “We’re going to try to get her in the air today.”
“Excellent,” Tellana said. “I can demonstrate if you want to coach her.”
“Got it,” Taegan said. He gestured to Chloe. “You can go ahead and change.”
Her heart thumped as she looked around. “Out here?”
“No one is going to gawk at you,” Taegan said. He dropped both of their bags on the blanket, kicking off his shoes.
Tellana gave her a wry look. “You’ll get used to it,” she said. “But we’ll turn around while you do it if you want.”
Once they both turned around, she quickly peeled off her loose clothes. Resisting the urge to hide in the trees, she crouched on the ground, digging her fingers into damp leaves. The smell of dragons in the air energized her. Before she had even consciously thought of it, the fire in her awakened. Claws scratched gently within her ribs, as if to remind her of the creature within.
“I’m doing it,” she announced. Tellana gave a quiet laugh. Chloe’s muscles tensed in anticipation, and she tried to channel the feeling of expanding, of becoming the
dragon. Fear stitched through her at the first painful pop, this time in her sternum as it split open.
He didn’t touch her, but she smelled Taegan’s warm, clean scent as he knelt next to her. “Remember that you’re safe. I’m right here next to you. You can do this.”
Pain washed over her as the change accelerated, taking on a mind of its own. She wasn’t coaxing the dragon out this time. It clawed its way out, desperate to be free. Her joints shifted, bones breaking and expanding. Sharp pain gripped her skull, and she knew it was almost over.
Just a little farther, she thought. You survived it once, and you can do it again.
Chloe snapped her wings free and opened her eyes. Tossing her head, she let out a triumphant roar. Taegan stood in the shadow of her wide wings, pride etched on his face. “You did it way faster that time. That was really good.”
Behind him, a sleek dragon with scales the color of spring grass shook its head. The dragon narrowed its eyes and growled. Was it a threat? Instinctively, Chloe dug her claws into the ground, ready to spring at the newcomer.
“That’s Tellana,” Taegan said, following her gaze. She relaxed. Taegan extended his arms. “This part takes a lot of strength, but it’s easy to pick up. Test your wings.”
The wings were the strangest part. Her limbs felt like her arms and legs, though her balance still remained a bit uneven. There was nothing on her body that should have corresponded to the wings, but it was instinctive, like she’d been built for it. She beat them in a heavy stroke, surprised at the wind resistance. Leaves swirled beneath her feet, kicking up a pleasant smell of damp earth and smoke.
“Good,” Taegan said. “Now, you’ll have to time a jump with a downstroke of your wings.” Behind him, Tellana circled in place. Then she launched herself from her hind legs. Pale green wings spread wide and caught the air. She continued to drive upward, wings beating in a thunderous rhythm. Then she spread them out and made a tight spiral back to the ground. “You can’t hover long. We’re much too heavy.”
It didn’t look that hard. Chloe leaned back onto her hind legs and tried to imitate Tellana’s motion. She cleared the ground, though she was shocked out how heavy her body was. Her wings scraped into the leaves instead of rising up as planned. She growled in frustration and shook herself. After four failed tries, she tucked her wings in and sighed, releasing a tiny tongue of flame.
