“Hey.” Eli approached us from behind, one arm wrapped around Adelle.
“Eli!”
We took turns in hugging him.
“Did you see Yuri?” Aiden asked.
“Yes.” He smirked. “Before my sister-in-law got hold of him.”
“Good,” Aiden said. As he cast his eyes across the cave, his face lit up. “Kailyn,” he whispered.
With the early signs of dawn showing in the sky outside the island’s boundary, the werewolves were already back in their human forms. Kailyn fought her way through the crowd and reached my father. He drew her against him and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. But Kailyn was having none of that. She gripped his hair and pulled him down to kiss him full on the mouth.
Finally, Dad…
I couldn’t stop a goofy grin splitting my face. I almost let out a laugh at the sight of Rose. Her jaw had dropped as she stared at her grandfather. She looked at me in bewilderment.
“When did this happen?” she mouthed.
I just shrugged. Then, for some reason, I looked toward Adelle. Eli was in conversation with Derek, but her gaze… it was fixed on my father and his new werewolf girlfriend. I wasn’t sure the redhead was even aware that I was watching her. It was as if she was in a daze.
“Sofia.” Derek’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “We should finish scoping out the damage around the island so that people can start getting housed… And then we’ll have to meet with those dragons.”
“Agreed,” I said, ungluing my eyes from the witch.
We knew the Vale and the witches’ mountain cabins were okay, but we still didn’t know whether the fire had reached the vampires and werewolves’ homes. We gathered together a group and set off.
We were all relieved to discover that most of the treehouses had been spared—thanks to their distance from the Port and our witches’ haste in putting out the flames. There were only three in total that had been affected: Aiden’s, Gavin and Zinnia’s, and Ashley and Landis’. We’d accept our witches’ help in rebuilding those quickly.
This lack of damage gave me reassurance that the homes of the werewolves and the vampires who’d arrived at The Shade with Mona and Kiev, northeast of the island, would also be mostly undamaged. I was wrong. Somehow the flames had spread there faster than I could have imagined and what was once a long row of townhouses was now a pile of rubble and ash.
“Well,” my father said, surveying the scene as he stood next to Kailyn, “I see this as a good opportunity to finally integrate all these vampires and werewolves into the Residences. I doubt even the humans are in fear of them anymore, as some were when they first arrived.”
“I agree,” I said. I raised an eyebrow at my husband.
“I don’t see a reason why not,” he replied.
“Then we should get started,” Ibrahim said. “We’ve a lot of construction to do. The Port is also a wreck.”
As we all began to move toward the Residences, I stopped in my tracks, gripping Derek by the hand.
“We’ll join you all later,” I said. “Derek and I have to meet with the dragons, and also check on something else.”
“Dragons?” Everyone who’d been paralyzed whirled around in shock.
“Yes,” Derek said. “They’re still on the island.” He proceeded to briefly explain what had happened. Once he’d finished and everyone moved away, he turned to me and asked, “Check on what else exactly?”
“Quick, come with me.” Pulling him along behind me, I sped up into a sprint. It didn’t take long for him to catch on to where I was headed and soon, he was leading the way.
Turning the final corner, we both let out sighs of relief.
Our lighthouse. Our sanctuary. Our sacred space. It stood among the rocks, as tall as it ever had.
“I’m not sure what I’d do if this was ever destroyed,” I said, twining my fingers with Derek’s. “I’m starting to think of it as the only constant thing about The Shade.” I shuddered, recalling the trauma I’d experienced only a few hours ago of believing my father to be dead.
Derek shook his head. “I disagree. We are constants.”
“But our lives, even as supernaturals… they are so fragile.”
“Yet we survive.”
I looked Derek straight in the eye. “But this isn’t the kind of survival that I want for us, Derek. Not for our people, or our family. Recently, we’ve been living on the edge of our seats, in tension and fear… hell, this isn’t a life I’d wish upon anyone.”
My husband gathered me closer to him. His gaze intensified as he said, “It won’t always be like this, Sofia. I promise.”
I didn’t know how he could promise such a thing, but my heart lightened at his words.
Derek Novak never had been one to make loose promises.
Chapter 39: Rose
Caleb and I decided to stay for a while longer greeting people in the caves before heading to meet with the dragons early. I felt nervous about testing their patience for too much longer. The last thing everyone’s wrecked nerves needed was another dragon scare.
But as we made our way toward the exit, I bumped into my aunt and uncle, who were walking hand in hand. I’d seen them at the ceremony some hours earlier, of course, but nobody had been in any state to talk much. Now, Vivienne took the opportunity to pull me aside.
“You tricked me, Rose.” She looked down at me sternly. “You do realize that if you hadn’t turned into Dragon Woman and saved the backsides of everyone on this island, I would be furious with you right now.” Slowly, her expression softened and a smile formed on her lips. “You’re like sand through my fingers, you are. Trying to keep tabs on a ghoul would be easier.”
“Well… it’s hardly my fault that I have Novak genes.”
“I suppose not,” she said. Her expression tightened again. “You really make me worry about your future niece or nephew.” She looked toward Xavier. “I’m having second thoughts about Leo.”
“Second thoughts?” I asked.
Xavier smirked. “Your aunt finally caved in to Leo as a name about half an hour ago.”
“Oh, come on, Viv,” I said. “A name’s not going to make a bit of difference. He or she is going to be a whirlwind. You’d be better off just embracing it.”
“That’s what I told Vivienne,” Xavier said.
She bit her lip. “I guess you’re right.”
“So,” I said, “speaking of whirlwinds, Caleb and I are off to meet with the dragons.”
“Just the two of you?” Xavier asked. “I’ll accompany you.”
“I think the fewer people present, the better,” I said. “But thanks for the offer.”
Neither of them looked comfortable about letting us go alone, but at least by now, they understood the way I appeared to have with the dragons—even though I still didn’t fully understand it myself.
We parted ways from them. Caleb and I dropped down from the rocks onto the sand. We’d barely made it ten feet when I caught sight of a shirtless young man with tousled blond hair. It was Micah. He was standing on the beach some distance away, his feet submerged in the water. By his side was a blonde girl… Kira.
I stopped in my tracks and looked up at Caleb. “You can hear what they’re saying?” Of course he could. We were more than close enough.
Caleb frowned at me. “I could,” he replied. “But I’m focusing on other sounds right now.”
“Well, could you focus on their conversation for just a moment and tell me what’s going on?”
Caleb looked at me in half amusement, half disapproval. “No, Rose. I will not eavesdrop on Micah’s conversation.”
I rolled my eyes, feigning disparagement. “Well, you can wait here with your dignity then.”
I left Caleb’s side, moving from boulder to boulder until there were no more I could hide behind. But I was just about close enough. I peeked round the side, straining to listen in. I felt guilty for doing this, but I knew how much—and for how long—Micah had been pining for
this girl. This was a conversation that I just didn’t have the self-control to walk away from—even at the expense of making the dragons wait a few minutes longer.
By now, Micah could have heard me approach if he’d been tuned in. But I doubted that he’d have focus for anything right now other than the girl in front of him.
“Looks like we’ll all be moving into the trees,” Kira said.
“Yes,” Micah replied. “It will certainly be different.” I could detect tightness in his voice even as he tried to play it cool.
“I’m guessing that my sister is going to finally abandon me and move in with Aiden,” she said with a chuckle. “It’s about time Kailyn found herself another man.”
“Oh, I’m so happy for her.”
“Yeah,” she said. “She’s really fallen hard for him. I haven’t seen her so besotted with anyone since Hendrick. I should be feeling more excited for her… I suppose I’m just not used to the idea of living alone.”
Get in there, wolf boy.
There was a pause. I held my breath.
“I’m used to it,” Micah replied, his voice sounding more uneven by the syllable. “I like my own space. But if you feel your treehouse is too big for you, you’re always welcome to be my housemate.”
Boom.
Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked up at Micah. She gave him a coy smile. “Thanks, Micah. I might take you up on that offer.”
“In fact”—Micah cleared his throat—“I’d very much like you to be my housemate.”
Even from this distance, I could make out Kira blushing. She was so obviously attracted to him. I didn’t understand why Micah had waited so long to just ask her out. Boys.
He slowly reached for her hands, cupping them in his, as he took a step closer toward her and gazed down into her eyes. His voice dropped so quiet that I almost didn’t hear him say:
“I’d also very much like to tell you, Kira… that I’m in love with you.”
I could almost feel Micah’s nerves electrifying the atmosphere. Despite my confidence in what I thought I saw in Kira, even I found myself digging my fingers into the sand as we waited for her response.
“I wish you’d told me sooner, Micah,” she began in a small voice.
My stomach plummeted.
“Because there I was all this time,” she continued, “thinking that you didn’t love me… the way I love you.”
Cheers and wolf-whistles erupted in my head. Micah closed the distance between them and, running his hands through Kira’s hair, claimed her lips. They kissed chastely at first, then with abandon.
I shot a look back at Caleb and gave him a big thumbs up. He shook his head in rebuke, even as his chest vibrated from laughing.
Now I had no more excuses to be here. Remaining ducked below the boulders, I made my way back to Caleb.
“Shall we proceed?” he said, rolling his eyes.
“Yes,” I said, looping my arm through his. “Let’s.”
Chapter 40: Rose
I didn’t let myself get distracted again. Even when we passed Griffin with Becky, we continued walking. They appeared to be too wrapped up in each other anyway to notice us.
Gavin and Zinnia had considered Griffin too newly turned and unstable in his abilities to fight, so they’d insisted that he stayed in the mountains with the humans. Even though Griffin and Becky had just spent many hours together in the Black Heights, they couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. I still felt nothing but thrilled for him—it certainly helped to ease the guilt I felt whenever he looked my way.
Arriving outside the entrance to the Black Heights, I felt my palms begin to sweat. I moved to push open the door, but Caleb held me back—apparently sensing my discomfort. He looked down at me with concern.
“Do you want to take a moment?” he asked.
It was uncanny how he seemed to know me better than I knew myself sometimes.
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Yeah.”
I turned to face the clearing that had served as our battleground only hours ago. The dead witches and vampires had been scraped off the ground and disposed of—I didn’t know where. But the signs of the mighty struggle still remained etched on the charred grass.
I began to replay the last conversation I’d had with the fire breathers. Instead of stealing me away, they’d agreed to consider remaining on this island and finding mates from the human girls who lived here. But the more I thought about our discussion, the more I realized how many holes there were in my representation to my father of how “settled” things were with the dragons.
What exactly did they even mean by “needing females”? Were they looking for partners—lovers—or just… baby machines? I’d assumed at the time they’d meant the former—that they’d romance and fall in love with a girl. But I had no idea how these bizarre creatures’ minds worked. Consensual to them could hold an entirely different meaning to us.
My gut clenched. I should have used my brain before offering up the island’s entire population of single women.
And once the dragons had made their choices, would they take the girls back to their realm forever?
What was stopping them from stealing away all the girls and then swiping me as well? Were these noble creatures, or were they brutes? Given my recent escapades with Caleb, I didn’t exactly have a pleasant taste left over in my mouth when it came to the dealings of various types of supernaturals.
I realized I was ignoring Caleb’s advice to not dwell on what-ifs, but right now, I couldn’t help myself.
Doubt upon doubt assailed my mind, until I reached the point of being overwhelmed.
Caleb had meant for me to take a moment to gather my calm before stepping inside. I’d just gone and triggered the beginnings of a nervous breakdown.
But it was clear that waiting any longer before stepping inside would only make things worse. So I stopped pacing up and down and moved toward the door.
Caleb gripped the back of my shoulder blades, digging his fingers into my tense muscles. “Take a deep breath, Maiden of Fire.”
Although he’d called me it in jest, somehow that name combined with the release of tension in my muscles made my breathing steadier, my thoughts a little less frenzied.
I caught his hand and held it tight as we walked through the entrance. We moved quickly to the chamber where I’d left them all. I was relieved when we heard deep voices echoing down the corridor toward us—at least they hadn’t left to wander around some other part of the island and their voices didn’t sound angry. Still, my hand was shaking as I pushed open the door to their room.
When we stepped inside, a hushed silence fell about the chamber as all eyes fixed on Caleb and me.
“I’m sorry for the wait,” I said, looking from one to the other and doing my best to feign confidence. Even though I’d seen them all together before in their humanoid forms on guiding them in here, it was still a shock to the system to be suddenly subjected to a whole room full of these fierce, disquietingly powerful men.
I was amazed by how unfazed Caleb was by them. I didn’t detect even the slightest quickening in his breathing, though he kept a strong hold on me as we walked into the center of the room. Caleb had been through so much in his life, I supposed he was fearless in the face of most things.
Jeriad stepped to the front of the crowd and towered over me. I held his aquamarine gaze as steadily as I could.
“We’ve decided we want this island’s human females.”
My heart hammered against my chest. “I-I’m glad you were able to come to a decision,” I said. “I do have some questions for you. Shall we take a seat?” I gestured toward the benches lining the edges of the room.
Caleb and I waited for the dragons to sit down first. Then, seeing that they’d left a space for us a few feet away from Jeriad, we sat next to him.
I wet my lower lip, trying to figure out the most diplomatic way to phrase my first question. “Jeriad, what do you mean exactly by wanting The Shade’s human f
emales?”
His dark eyebrows furrowed. “Did I not tell you already?”
“You indicated that your species need females to help you procreate.” I gave him a small, nervous smile. “But I mean, a lot of things happen between a male and female’s first meeting and having a child… right?”
I watched him closely, gauging his reaction. The blood drained from my face as his eyes narrowed on me.
“What’s the purpose of that question?” he asked.
“I want to understand how you dragons work. Here on Earth, there are certain procedures for these things, while certain behaviors are considered unacceptable.”
Jeriad exchanged glances with his comrades. Then, to my surprise, they all burst out chuckling. Their laughter was deep—almost melodious—and seemed to well up from the very pits of their stomachs.
Jeriad faced me once again. “Tell me, maiden, what your… procedures are. I think we’d all take delight in hearing them.”
Taken aback, I began stumbling for words. “Well, our procedures are usually like this. A man and woman meet. They’re either attracted to each other, or they aren’t. Only if both feel attraction do they keep seeing each other. After some time, they either fall deeply in love, or they don’t. Only if both feel love for one another do they consider spending the rest of their lives together—which will often result in having children.”
I paused.
Jeriad raised a brow. “That’s it?”
“Mm.” I nodded. “Pretty much.”
Another wave of chuckling made its way round the chamber.
“You humans are backward creatures, aren’t you?” Jeriad smirked.
I widened my eyes at him. “Excuse me?”
Jeriad stood up and closed the distance between him and me. He placed his hands on his knees as he bent down until his face was inches away from mine. “Let’s put it this way, princess,” he said softly, “if there’s anything we dragons need to be taught while here on Earth, it’s not the artistry of romance.”
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