by Karin Shah
“I’m a chimera.” Though Roan had told her it would happen, the news was still a lot to absorb. It was like something out of a children’s fantasy novel. Sofia spilt a glance between Lu, Thalia, and Anjali, then focused on Roan. “Did you know this was going to hurt so much? I thought I was dying. Some warning might have been nice.”
Roan shook his head, his expression weighty with apology. “I would never have risked pregnancy, if I’d known.”
Her heart twisted at his words. He didn’t want their baby?
They’d talked about children. Had he changed his mind? Her chest throbbed, but rage overwhelmed the pain. “I’m sorry?”
Before she could tear into him, he entered the room and knelt beside the bed, grabbing her hand.
“You were in so much pain until Anjali got here to help.” He bit his lip, a fang visible. “I believed you were dying too. I would never have put you through that without talking about it first.”
She sighed with relief, and thumped him on the arm to relieve the residual adrenaline stinging in her joints. “Don’t scare me like that.” She blew out a sigh and wound her free hand in the bed sheets. “I thought you didn’t want our baby.”
His smile was so bright it was almost as dazzling as the sunlight lancing through the window. “No way! I’m crazy happy.” He rubbed her hand in both of his as if it were a genie’s magic lamp. “And now that you’re a chimera, you can shift too.”
Though, he’d mentioned it would happen, she hadn’t given the possibility a thought since then. Excitement filtered through her. Roan’s dragon was magnificent and imposing. Seeing his brother fly had been awe-inspiring.
He stood and moved back to where he could stand and Anjali replaced him at Sofia’s bedside.
Ugh! Sofia hadn’t even thanked the woman. “I’m sorry! You came all this way for me? Thank you.”
Anjali smiled and what had been a sweet face transformed into blindly beautiful. “No mention. You’re one of us now. Besides, it’s not like I had to fly here. Ky has a friend who’s half-demon. He can phase us places. It’s like teleporting.”
The news that demons existed washed away the wave of warmth that had flowed over Sofia at being claimed by Anjali. “Demons?” She looked around.
“He left, but there’s no reason to worry. They’re not exactly like Biblical demons. I’ll explain later.” Anjali exited the bedroom, but stopped at the doorway. “Your transition is over. You shouldn’t feel any more pain. Shifting will take care of any lingering soreness.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Maybe you would like to try flying—as a dragon, I mean?”
She left the words hanging in the air as she went to the outer door and left the RV.
Fly? As a dragon? Anjali had said it so casually. Like, maybe you’d like to drink some tea?
Roan grinned. “Crazy right?”
Sofia nodded. “Crazy-awesome.”
He thumped a palm on the soffit. “Meet us outside.”
Everyone left to allow Sofia to clean up and dress. Twenty minutes later, she descended the steps of the RV to find a large group waiting for her in the winter sunlight.
His brothers were there, but each one had a woman with him. Their mates most likely. The women were as strikingly different as the brothers were similar. None of them were overweight, however. She eyed her body, self-conscious for a heartbeat.
Roan came forward and reached for her hand, clasping it in his large grip, love shining on his face, and the feeling dissipated.
Roan thought she was beautiful, and she refused to give an inch more headspace to the shallow jerks who’d judged her by artificial air-brushed model standards. She exercised and ate right. According to her doctor she was healthy, anybody who disparaged her for thirty extra pounds could take a flying leap.
Roan towed her into the group and after a quick round of introductions, Sofia bobbed her shoulders. “We’re really going to fly in broad daylight?”
Ky stepped away from his blond, German-born mate, CJ. “We usually don’t do this, but Thalia has agreed to mask us from sight and radar for an hour.”
The brunette stepped forward and wagged her head. “And not a second longer, Ky! I’m not kidding. Even with Spirit’s help”— she indicated the small basenji familiar sitting beside her— “I’ll be tapped out and you’ll be visible after that.”
Sofia surveyed the campground. “What about the cast? Aren’t they coming back today?”
Lu grinned. “I told them they’d been given another day off. They were happy to whoop it up for another twenty-four hours. I’ll help Thalia keep watch while you fly.” She groaned. “Damn, it’s hard to keep a straight face, when I say that. Plus, I’m super jealous.”
Sofia hugged the fire eater. “Thanks.”
Lu reddened a bit under her tattoos. “I’m just glad to see Roan happy.” She bent her red head to whisper in Sofia’s ear. “And have you seen his brothers? If I wasn’t a little afraid, I’d be tempted to switch teams. And their girlfriends, talk about eye candy.” She wiggled her eyebrows and Sofia buried a giggle. Lu never changed.
Ky directed the group into clear spaces and one by one they flashed into their dragon forms, each, except for the twins, a different color base with that iridescent sheen; Ky, ebony black, Roan bronze, Ty and Con, purple, Ethan, green, and Jake blue. Their mates were the same, but lighter, CJ silver, Anjali pale blue, Ethan’s mate, Devon light green, Con’s mate Embry and Ty’s mate Zara, lavender. Finally, it was her turn.
Roan lifted a wing. “Since it’s your first time. You’ll need to undress. I’ll shield you.” He opened the wing fully, screening her. She saw light through the fine membrane, but nothing else.
It felt weird to take her clothes off outside, but she’d get used to it. As soon as she’d shed her T-shirt, underclothes, and sweatpants, Roan said, “Now, reach for your dragon. Do you feel her?”
She focused. Both her other sides were eager for freedom and she acknowledged her lion for a moment, Your turn will come, then concentrated on her dragon. She nodded. “I’m with her.”
“Now, imagine you can feel wings and a tail, feel the ground under your talons.”
Sofia dug her toes into the grass-covered gravel and did as he asked. A spilt second later, she stared down at champagne scales.
She’d done it. Triumph and relief made her spread her wings. The chill air stroked along the surfaces like a caress. She hadn’t had time to consider what being a dragon would be like, but now she embraced the instinctual simplicity of her dragon mind. There was peace in the flattened emotions of the creature. Unlike yesterday, her dragon no longer felt like a separate entity, they were one, with her rational mind guiding her instincts.
She scented the air and studied the world around her. Her dragon appraised odors that her human side could never detect, and its keen vision was like seeing everything in ultra-high definition. There were other aptitudes as well. She felt a pull toward Roan’s trailer. Treasure. Her dragon labeled the tug.
Roan sidled beside her and nuzzled his head against her neck.
Mate. She twined her neck with his, pumping her wings fully, feeling the air resistance.
Despite the fact that she didn’t have wings in the form she’d had since birth, every new limb felt like it had always been part of her. It was no more difficult to move her wings and tail as to position her arms and legs.
Roan seemed to understand that. He nudged her with his muzzle and moved back to give her more room. Their connection hummed with excitement and elation.
He was as eager as she was.
“Let’s fly!” Ky said.
~ ~ ~
Had she ever felt as much unfettered joy as she did when they took to the air? She didn’t think she even had a reference. Nothing came close.
For a second at the sta
rt, her human mind impinged, quailing at the height as the ground dropped away, but a laugh erased the fear.
She was a dragon, designed for the air. Any notion of falling was ridiculous.
The brothers and their mates fanned out, each pair hanging close together. The dragons’ hides gleamed jewel-like in the sun, but Thalia would ensure no one in the cities below could see them. The witch was amazing. Later, Sofia hoped she would learn the other woman’s story.
Ky led the way and they darted with dazzling speed past farms, fields, and towns, quickly gaining the freedom of the open sea.
Roan circled around her. This was his first time really flying, as well, and she could see the exhilaration in his large draconian eyes and feel it through their mating connection.
She’d never even dared imagine she would find a love like she shared with Roan. By itself it was enough, the shapeshifting and mate connection were extra gifts.
For the millionth time since they’d come together, she considered how fortunate she was. Many people went their whole lives without finding even a fraction of this affection and acceptance.
Ky dipped down and dragged his forelimb in the ocean, spraying CJ.
She trumpeted in delight, rotating onto her back to splash him with her sliver tail, her spiked back laced with white, scintillating patterns from the rolling waves, her lighter underside almost blinding in the sun.
The idea was contagious and soon the entire cadre of dragons were diving and splashing, sending plumes of water at each other. Spray sparkled like diamonds in the air.
Sofia wasn’t immune. She arched into the water. It was late January. The water would have been bone-chilling in her human form, but her dragon found it refreshing. She tore into the air again, water sheeting off her sides, the sun heating her as fast as she dried.
~ ~ ~
Nearly too happy to breathe, Roan circumnavigated Sofia, as if he were the earth and she the sun. She ripped from the water and soared toward the blazing blue sky, her champagne-colored scales glittering in the sunlight. Watching her delight in the liberty of the open air thrilled him as much as experiencing it himself.
Pregnant.
He almost shivered with joy. He was going to be a father. He’d been so alone for so long, not for the first time he was almost afraid to embrace this new reality for fear he would awaken and find he’d been dreaming. It was too fantastic, in the oldest sense of the word.
Following her lead, he plunged into the salty brine and rocketed back into the sky, shaking off the worry along with the cool water cascading off his scales.
He had full control of his triple nature. His brothers were back in his life. He had a woman he loved, who loved him in return. And not just any woman. Sofia. Beautiful, honest, compassionate, bright. He’d need a lifetime to discover all her facets.
All too soon, their time was up. Ky signaled for them to return. The flight back to land was so quick and low, when Roan looked behind, he spotted dolphins frolicking in their wake.
Over land, his worries returned. They hadn’t surmounted all their hurdles. What would Señora Flores think of their relationship? Sofia loved her aunt. He couldn’t bear for his and Sofia’s relationship to strain her connection to her only kin.
He didn’t have long to worry because when they dropped down to land, someone was waiting for them in the space where they’d abandoned their clothes—a small figure in a long skirt, hunched over a cane, and she stared directly at them.
A dragon-sized lump filled Roan’s throat. She could obviously see them. Had Thalia’s magic failed? Regardless, it was time to pay the piper.
Thalia came up behind Señora Flores. The witch was pale and her voice sounded weaker than normal. “Don’t fret about being in dragon form. She walked right through my barrier.” She went to a bundle of clothes and started tossing the piles to each dragon. “I think she’s also a witch.”
Roan’s gaze melded with Sofia’s.
He could feel her surprise through their link. This is news to me too, she said.
All the piles of clothes seemed to have reached their proper owner, except for the twins who switched.
His brothers and their mates shifted in a series of flashes, somehow ending their shifts fully dressed, until only he and Sofia were left. He was reluctant to shift to human form and be naked in front of Señora Flores.
He held up a wing for Sofia as he had earlier and she shifted and pulled on her clothes, calling out from behind the barrier. “Tia! What are you doing here?”
The old woman shrugged. “Guy came racing back into the carnival, packed his things, and drove out as if the hounds of hell were on his heels. I came to see why.”
Now clothed, Sofia moved around Roan’s wing and blocked him with her body, so he could change as well. He’d never dressed so fast.
In his haste, he’d forgotten to resume his partially shifted state. Señora Flores scanned him like a horse she was planning to buy. “I see you’ve solved your problem. I take it you’re leaving us, as well.”
Roan shut his open mouth with an audible click. “You knew what I was?” Anger and disbelief jostled, two fighters bursting through the same door at the same time, but he shoved the emotions back. Whatever the reason, Señora Flores had given him a place when he had none.
She shook her gray curls. “Not exactly, but I’m not estupido. The extent and precision of your so-called body mods seemed to suggest something supernatural, but you didn’t seem aware of that option, and without some idea of how you got that way”—she spread her leathery palms—“curse, spell, potion, shift gone wrong, I couldn’t help you anyway.”
Roan nodded. If she’d broached the subject, he would have thought the old woman was insane. She really hadn’t been in a position to say anything.
With that subject put to rest, he reached for Sofia’s hand. “Sofia and I are together.” He took a gulp of air. “We’d like your blessing to be married.”
Sofia raised a dark eyebrow and pursed her lips. “We would?”
His error slammed over him and his face burned.
Damn. He was an idiot. He should have asked her first in private. He was making a complete hash of this.
His palms dampened. What if she didn’t want to marry? He licked his lips, unsure of his next move, but her dimple flashed and he felt her pleasure through their bond. She was pulling his leg.
He felt the blood retreat from his face.
Still, though she teased, he’d be a fool not to take the hint. She deserved the whole nine yards.
He turned to her and brought out the ring he’d tucked back in his pocket earlier, going down on one knee. “Sofia, we’re mates and that’s deeper than any human custom, but I still want to show the world we’re together. We can replace this ring with another of your choosing later, but I hope you’ll wear it for now. Will you marry me?”
She tugged him to his feet and took his left hand, raising it to kiss his ring finger. “Are you kidding? You bet I’m putting a ring on this.” Her human side might be joking, but a tiny thread of her dragon peeked through her tone.
A throat cleared, and they glanced back at Señora Flores. She waited for their attention to focus on her. Her withered mouth pressed into a line for a second, her hands braced on her hips. “I guess I knew this was coming as well.” Then she ginned and held up her arms. “M’ijo, m’ija, you have my blessing.”
A cheer tore from Roan’s throat. He kissed Sofia. The meeting of her soft form against his harder one sent sparks through him.
Señora Flores clapped her hands together once, breaking the embrace. “There’s time enough for that later. For now we have to brainstorm ways to find a new investor.”
Ky stepped forward. “I can help with that. Although . . .” He considered Roan. “That trunk you have must be worth billions.
Maybe you?”
A bubble of elation filled Roan. His brother was right. He was no longer poor. “Señora Flores, I have a proposition for you.”
The old woman placed a hand on his arm. “Por favor,” her interruption chilled him for a second, but she squeezed his forearm. “Call me Tia.”
Epilogue
Sofia swept a critical glance across the main ring. A warm hand encompassed her shoulder. She didn’t have to look to know it was Roan.
He curved down and kissed her temple. “Everything to your liking, boss?”
For a minute, she couldn’t find words. “How could it not be? This is Madison Square Garden.”
The last couple weeks had been a whirlwind of activity. The influx of cash her new partner had poured in transformed the outfit from a small, minimally profitable carnival into a theatrical tour de force.
When the lights went down, their performers would dazzle the crowd with feats of flexibility, skill, and daring with perfectly synchronized music and pyrotechnics. They’d even been able to hire new people to add to the extravaganza. And at the end, they would tell the story of Beauty and the Beast with Roan as the prince. Only Lu and the family knew, of course, that Roan’s transformations were all him.
And Ky hadn’t even needed to pull strings to get them the honor of performing in this, New York City’s prime arena. The owner had taken her granddaughter to see their show and when the band scheduled for this week had had to cancel because of the flu, she’d asked them to fill the group’s slot.
After the show, Sofia waited for Roan to finish showering in their plush hotel room. They’d been staying in Ky’s enormous penthouse during their run, tonight, however was their last night in New York before they started a Las Vegas residency in a Mythic, Inc., owned property. Roan had convinced her to splurge on a suite at a luxury hotel.