by Mari Mancusi
Trinity watched, along with everyone else, as two young dragons the size of small horses swooped down from the sky, weaving in and out of each other’s flight paths as if showing off for the cameras. One was pink with purple wings and the other as black as Trinity’s eyes with golden sparks that seemed to dance over the ebony scales.
Dragons. How could there possibly be dragons?
And if that wasn’t crazy enough… She did a double take. Was that really Caleb and Scarlet, riding on their freaking backs?
Guess they weren’t about to miss the party after all.
Trinity’s first thought was she must be dreaming. Because what other rational possibility could there be? Certainly not actual dragons coming in for a landing a few feet in front of her. She tried to pinch herself, to wake herself up somehow. But as Caleb and Scarlet slid off their dragons and approached the cameras, she realized this was no dream.
No. This was a real-life nightmare.
“What the hell is going on here, Caleb?” Connor demanded, stepping up to Trinity’s side as his twin strode toward them with a distinct swagger in his steps. Connor sounded angry, but Trinity could also hear the fear winding through his voice. Not surprising, she supposed. This was everything he’d been warning her against—everything she’d refused to listen to.
“Come on, Bro,” Caleb cried with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Trin could tell he was enjoying his brother’s distress a little too much. “Haven’t you ever seen a dragon before?”
Connor stared at him, apparently rendered speechless. As the moment stretched out, Trin caught Nate waving wildly at her, then gesturing to the camera. The still-rolling camera, she realized with a start. Crap. They were still live—in front of four million people, no less. If they showed any fear—if they made the world think this was anything more than a planned part of their regularly scheduled program, everything they’d been working toward all this time could end up being for nothing.
Damn you, Caleb! What are you thinking?
“Of course he’s seen dragons,” she rushed in, beaming at the cameras as she took what she hoped looked like a confident step forward. “We were just expecting you a little earlier. But hey—fashionably late dragons are fashionably late. It’s not a big thing.” She swallowed hard, stepping up to the two dragons and daring to reach out, giving each a pat on the nose, praying they wouldn’t see fit to bite her hand off for doing so. “It’s great to see you,” she told them cheerfully, as if they were long-lost friends. “Make yourselves at home.”
“Uh, we’ve got a question from the audience,” Luke broke in, in a hesitant voice. When they all turned to him questioningly, he glanced down at his laptop. “Um, Marie Krakowski in Kansas City asks, ‘We thought Emmy was the world’s last dragon. So where did these two come from?’”
It was the question of the century. Trinity held her breath, waiting for Caleb or Scarlet to answer. Her mind flashed back to Connor’s warning five months before.
It would be naive to assume she’ll always be the world’s last dragon.
Had these two dragons been cloned in the government lab? Had Scarlet and Caleb broke them out somehow? Had they been keeping them a secret this entire time? Suddenly, their frequent disappearances started to make a lot more sickening sense. What a fool she’d been, assuming they just had some kind of bad romance going on.
“Oh, Marie,” Caleb replied, turning to look right into the camera, his eyes twinkling. “Are you really asking us where baby dragons come from?” He made an exaggerated wink. Then he turned to Emmy, doing a big ta-da gesture with his hands. “Zoe and Zavier here are Emmy’s dear children, of course!”
Everyone gasped. Emmy let out a low, horrified whine. Trinity turned to look at her, wishing to God she still had the two-way psychic link they once shared so she could ask one of the million questions swirling through her brain without it being broadcast to the world.
In any case, Emmy wasn’t looking at her. She was staring straight at Scarlet. And the betrayed look in her eyes told Trinity everything she wanted to know and then some.
You promised me, Scarlet, she overheard the dragon cry. You said you’d taken care of them!
Oh God. Trinity shrank backward, fear now rioting through her insides. Emmy knew. She’d known all along.
Of course she knew, you idiot, she scolded herself. It’s not like you could just accidentally give birth and not know it.
Suddenly everything seemed to slide into a stomach-turning place. Emmy must have been pregnant when they’d freed her. That’s where she’d gone the two months before they’d brought her back home. She had to go lay her eggs. And that’s why she’d been so evasive when Trin tried to grill her about what she’d been up to during that time.
She frowned. But then what? Had Emmy asked Scarlet to raise these dragons? No. Trinity shook her head. It was clear Emmy was just as shocked to see them as everyone else.
Had she asked Scarlet to kill them?
God. If only the cameras weren’t rolling. But, Trin supposed, that was probably no coincidence. Leave it to Caleb to concoct a plan that rendered everyone helpless when he introduced the new members of the dragon race to the world. Caleb would have known his brother would flip out—maybe even try to kill the dragons on sight without bothering for explanations. But he couldn’t do anything while they were live on the Internet.
Trinity felt Emmy nudging her hard with her snout. She turned to look at the mother dragon. “You okay?” she whispered.
Emmy gave her a tormented look, her eyes wide and frightened and filled with guilt. I’m sorry, she whispered in Trinity’s mind. I’m so sorry. I should have told you. I should have—
Trinity shook her head. There would be time to talk this through later. Right now, she had to figure out how to salvage this broadcast before it went viral.
She turned, only to find that the pink dragon—Zoe, Caleb had called her—quietly approaching her mother, looking up at the larger dragon with wide, purple eyes. Despite herself, Trinity felt her heart squeeze a little as she recognized the apprehension mixed with hope written on the dragon’s face. She was reminded, suddenly, of her own mother. They’d had a…complicated…relationship to say the least. But at the end of the day…
Maybe this will be okay, she tried to tell herself. Maybe it’ll be no big deal.
But just as she’d almost managed to convince herself of this, Emmy let out a low, threatening growl, taking a quick, aggressive step toward her daughter, as if trying to scare her away. Trin watched uneasily as Zoe whimpered and retreated a few steps, the hope fading from her eyes, replaced by a horrible sadness.
Trinity turned to her dragon. If looks could kill, Zoe would currently be nothing more than a messy puddle on the floor. She bit her lower lip. “Easy, Ems,” she tried in a slow, overly calm voice. “She’s okay. She’s just saying hi. She doesn’t want to hurt you.”
The tension in the air was now so thick you could cut it with a knife. Trin glanced back at Nate, trying to push the idea of shutting down the webcast into his head. Sure, it was too late to just pretend this never happened, but maybe they could cut it off before things got more volatile. But Nate was just staring dumbstruck at the scene unfolding before him, and she couldn’t seem to get his attention.
Desperate, she turned back to Caleb. “Maybe this isn’t the best time?” she suggested, looking at him with pleading eyes. Come on, Caleb. Show some common sense for once in your life… “After all, Emmy’s just about to have her big feast. Maybe we could let her eat in peace and schedule this whole family reunion for later this afternoon?” You know, once we’re not broadcasting live to the world? she pushed.
At first Caleb looked as if he wanted to argue. Then his shoulders slumped, and he gave her an apologetic shrug. All right, he agreed. Let me just—
He broke off, his gaze darting behind her, his face draining of color. Trin turned slowly, not sure
she really wanted to know what he was looking at. For a moment, she couldn’t figure out what was going on. Then she saw it. While Zoe and Emmy had been facing off, Zavier had broken away and was now wandering dangerously close to Emmy’s mountain of meat. His mouth was open in an excited pant, and his eyes were sparking with greed.
Trinity frowned. “Caleb! Get your dragon away from—”
Zavier dove into the meat, mouth open wide, bathing himself in blood as he practically vacuumed up the food. Gristle and bone flew from his mouth as he chomped happily before letting out a loud burp that seemed to echo across the airfield.
For a moment, Emmy just watched him, a horrified look on her face as her precious meal began to disappear at an alarming rate. Then another growl wound up her throat, and steam began to shoot from her nose.
“Stop it!” Trin cried to Zavier. “Get away from Emmy’s food!” She whirled around, no longer caring about the cameras. “Caleb, call off your stupid dragon—now!”
To his credit, Caleb didn’t argue. “Come, you overgrown garbage disposal,” he scolded. “That’s your mother’s dinner. You’ll get yours later.”
But Zavier ignored him, continuing to suck up large pieces of meat and swallowing them without even bothering to chew. Caleb groaned.
“Hang on. I’ll get him out of there.”
He ran to his dragon, attempting to grab him by his saddle and drag him away from the meat. But Zavier refused to budge. And when Caleb made a second, more concentrated effort, the beast flicked his wing, shooing him away like an irritating fly. The force of the blow sent Caleb flying, and he arced several feet into the air before hitting the ground with a sickening thud.
“Caleb!” Scarlet was at his side in an instant. “Oh God, Caleb! Are you okay?”
Trin found herself running to him as well. Dropping to her knees before him, taking in his white face. His leg was twisted, definitely broken. She glanced back at the group. “Turn off the cameras and freaking help us!” she cried.
But no one was paying attention; instead, their eyes were all locked on Emmy. The dragon had reared onto her haunches, letting out a deafening roar. Trin watched; it was as if the scene were playing out in slow motion, as the dragon’s mouth creaked open and a cannonball of flames shot out, blasting Zavier full on. The raw meat sizzled and smoked under the sudden heat, but Zavier only looked up at her, his black eyes flashing something cold and hard.
The once-joyous celebration had now become a disaster film—people running, people screaming. The air was thick with smoke, making it difficult to see or breathe. Trin watched as Zavier rose to his feet, a scraggly roar rasping from his throat. A moment later, he was charging at Emmy, slashing at her with sharp claws.
Emmy leapt away, barely in time to dodge the attack, the whites in her eyes flashing and sparks dancing on her tongue. Summoning heat for round two?
“Emmy, no!” Trin cried. But even as she made the command, she wasn’t a hundred percent sure she wanted the dragon to listen. After all, Emmy had to defend herself, right? What if this creature hurt her? What if his sister joined the fray and Emmy found herself outnumbered?
The two dragons met head-on, slashing with their claws, biting with their teeth, rolling around on the ground until it was tough to determine where one ended and the other began. Trin looked at Scarlet, who looked back at her with an equal amount of horror in her eyes. “We have to do something!” she cried.
But what? They couldn’t jump into the middle of the fight. That would be suicide.
Then Trin heard it. A wailing song, both beautiful and terrible, bursting through the air. She whirled around to see Connor, standing behind her, singing at the top of his lungs. He was in full-on Hunter mode, trying to lull the beasts into submission with his song.
Emmy and Zavier both stopped in their tracks, a haze crossing over their eyes as they stared at Connor, their fight all but forgotten. Trinity watched, unable to even breathe as Zavier took a hesitant step toward the Hunter. His tongue was lolling from his mouth and his scales were wet with blood.
“No!”
Caleb shoved Trinity and Scarlet out of the way as he stumbled toward his brother. He shouldn’t have been able to stand, never mind run, but the adrenaline was coursing through him, and he seemed to feel no pain. Trinity watched helplessly as he dove for his twin, knocking him to the ground and interrupting his song. His fist rose, slamming down on Connor’s face—once, twice, three times. “Don’t you even think about singing to my dragon, you flecking bastard!” he screamed.
Trin found her voice. “Caleb, stop it! He’s just trying to calm him down!”
But Caleb didn’t stop, and Trinity wasn’t surprised. After all, the last time his brother had sung his Hunter’s song, it had ended in Fred’s murder; there was no way Caleb was going to risk this a second time with a second dragon.
“Help me!” she cried to Scarlet. “Get them off each other.” They may have not been able to stop a dragon fight—but with the brothers, they’d take their chances. Together they dove at the boys, using all their strength to try to pull them apart. Connor had regained some control, rolling on top of Caleb, so Trin worked on him first, throwing her arms around his neck and yanking as hard as she could.
“Stop it!” she begged. “You’re going to kill each other!”
She felt Connor startle at her words, reality breaking into his fury-induced haze. He started to back off, releasing Caleb, allowing her to pull him away. Unfortunately, this only gave Caleb opportunity to tackle him all over again. And worse, he’d somehow found a rock, cradling it his hand and slamming it down on Connor’s head. In an instant, Connor fell into her arms, dead weight. Trinity screamed as Caleb raised his arm for a second blow.
“Stop it, Caleb!” Scarlet cried. “That’s your brother!”
“He was trying to kill my dragon!” Caleb protested. But even as he argued, Trin could see the horror ghosting his face as he looked down at his unconscious twin. He hadn’t meant this to go so far, she realized.
Not that good intentions meant much at this point.
Caleb staggered backward, the rock falling from his hand as he collapsed into Scarlet’s arms, all the fight having drained from him. Trinity looked down at Connor, heart in her throat. His breathing was shallow, and there was a huge egg-sized lump on his forehead. Had Caleb given him a concussion?
“He needs help!” she cried. “Please!”
But there was no help. And it wasn’t like they could summon any either. All she could do was cradle him in her arms and pray that he was just knocked out and would be okay. But even as she tried to convince herself, she wasn’t sure. He looked so pale. So still. Her heart wrenched.
Connor. My sweet, brave Connor.
She thought of all the arguments they’d had over the last year, all the times he’d tried to warn her something like this could happen—that history could repeat itself. That dragons could turn wild.
He’d tried to tell her. Again and again. But she hadn’t listened. No, not only had she not listened, but she’d fought him over it as well. And now…
Connor, please! Don’t leave me.
Suddenly Trin felt someone behind her. She turned to see her father had approached. His face was grave. “Caleb and Scarlet, go round up your dragons,” he commanded. “I want them in the hangar, chained up and gagged, within the hour. Once they are secured, we will talk this over and figure out what to do.”
“But Zoe didn’t do anything!” Scarlet protested. “She shouldn’t be—”
“Do it,” her father said. “Or I will kill them both myself.”
Caleb opened his mouth as if wanting to protest, then glanced over at his unconscious brother and seemed to think the better of it. He slunk over to Zavier. The dragon gave him a bloody-mouthed smile, and Trin couldn’t help but notice how extended his belly was from his recent feast. Caleb sighed, gave the dr
agon a rueful look, then climbed on his back, and together they flew toward the hangar’s entrance. Scarlet watched them go, then turned to Trinity.
“Zavier didn’t mean it,” she insisted, her eyes filled with tears. “I’m telling you, he’s really gentle and sweet. You would like him, I swear, if you got to know him.” She paused, then cried, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this!”
“No,” Trinity agreed in a tight voice. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this at all.”
But it was. And now the entire world knew what happened when you couldn’t control your dragons.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“What the hell were you two idiots thinking?”
Trinity slammed the door to the office shut, whirling around to face Caleb and Scarlet. She looked from one to the other, trying to quell the fury that burned through her like a fire. Raking a hand through her hair, she stormed over to a chair, pulled it out, and sat down on it backward. Then she gestured for the two of them to take a seat on the nearby couch.
“I want to know everything. From the very beginning. And don’t even think of leaving anything out.”
And so they told her the tale, everything that had been going on behind her back the whole time. When they had finished, she shook her head in disbelief. “Why couldn’t you have just come to me?” Trin asked. “I mean, from the very beginning?”
She could hear the hurt creeping into her voice, despite her best efforts. But who could blame her? While sure, there was no love lost between her and Scarlet, she had thought at least Caleb was on her side. They’d been so close. And yet he hadn’t trusted her to keep this secret.
And neither had Emmy, she realized, suddenly feeling a little nauseous. What kind of person did they think she was—that they couldn’t trust her with their secrets?
“Come on, Trin,” Caleb interjected. She noticed his face was still bruised from where his brother had struck him. But his leg looked better—Zavier must have shared some of his blood to help it heal. “You know as well as I do that if we brought the dragons to you as babies, everyone would have assumed, like Emmy did, that they were hybrids and a threat to the world. Sure, you may not have gone and actually sentenced them to death, but you would have at least locked them up until you could determine the risk for sure.” He gave her a half-cocked grin. “Hell, you should be grateful we saved you the trouble!”