“I’m sorry, James. I don’t have a choice.”

  Those were the words Zoey uttered when she stopped by Monday morning. Evidently, something had come up at work that they needed her for.

  “It’s not a big deal, Zoey,” I replied. “It happens.”

  “I feel like I’m leaving you exposed.”

  “The only thing that is vulnerable is my mouth,” I replied. “Even Sam has been getting really, really good at barriers. And there’s no reason to suspect that Arjun is anything besides what he claims to be.”

  “No, there isn’t. But that’s not what you prepare for. And I’m leaving you when you need me.”

  “What do they even need you for today?” Sam asked. “I thought you said they had stopped giving you work.”

  “You know how all of last week I was talking shit about how amazing I was doing on all of the tests, beating my own records and outcompeting people with natural advantages that should’ve bested me?”

  “Yes,” all of us replied.

  “Well, they found that strange. There was only one explanation that fit in their minds.”

  “That the dragon you had very publicly matched with used his innate magic to empower you?” Beth asked. “You know, just like how he’d done with his witch-wife and mortal-mate, too?”

  “Er, no,” Zoey replied, grimacing. “Actually, they didn’t have an explanation for those behaviors. They’re still pretty convinced that you’re biding your time and waiting to take over like the dragons of old. They don’t think your empowerment was benevolent, if that makes sense. They also don’t think it works that fast — at least, they think physical changes take decades.”

  “Well, what’s the deal, then?” I asked.

  “They think I’m on some kind of performance-enhancing substance. Which, I mean, I am. It’s just that the drug in me is you. I tried to tell them that you were more impactful than they thought. They dismissed that idea and are convinced, in line with what I previously said, that you’re dosing me with something experimental because, I don’t know, you want to eventually make an army of werewolves or something. They take paranoia to the nth degree. See something they don’t immediately understand and assume that it’s working against them.”

  “But, what does that mean?” Sam asked.

  “I have to go in and do a bunch more blood work and have a lot more thorough magical physical.”

  “Didn’t you just have that all done?” Beth asked.

  “A cursory one, yeah. Wasn’t checking for external compounds, though, and the doctor’s exam was really quick, because I said I was feeling the best I had in years and didn’t have any concerns. The physician that day gave me a look of disbelief and mumbled that they’d see in the tests but took me at my word. And then they saw in the tests, and now they don’t believe it. Because I was too good.”

  “And it’s today?” I asked. “No rescheduling?”

  “James, the whole point of a drugs test is that it’s inconvenient and sudden. Doesn’t really do its job if you’re allowed an extra week to wean whatever you’ve taken out of your system or take a masking agent or flee the country.”

  “But it’s today?” Sam asked.

  “Yeah. I have to report at 9 AM. But, uh, I have other reasons for wanting to go, too.”

  “Oh?”

  Zoey swallowed and took a deep breath, trying to settle herself. I could see that her eyes were wet, which was exceptionally uncharacteristic for the unreasonable strong wolf. She projected her calm, stoic exterior even when she wasn’t well. Now, though, she felt hurt through the bond, like she had failed both me and herself, which didn’t make any sense.

  When she opened her mouth again, it was clear that her attempt to steel herself hadn’t succeeded. “Is there any way I could talk with just James on this?” she asked Beth and Sam. “I don’t want to keep it from you, but, at least today, they’re just fears. I’m not certain about anything, but I’m scared.”

  “Of course,” Sam replied without hesitation. She got up and hugged Zoey, “You don’t have to ask for time alone with him, especially for something that’s clearly this important to you. I just want you to know that you can share anything with us and that we’ll support you because you’re in our family, okay? Whenever you’re ready to. If that’s never, that’s okay, too.”

  Beth was right behind Sam, wrapping her arms around the statuesque blonde just a moment later.

  “Thanks, you two. I’ll— we’ll see, okay?” Zoey said.

  Sam nodded, and Beth added, “We’ll go and pick up something to cook for lunch with Arjun, okay? James can tell us when we’re needed back, or if you need more time.”

  Zoey simply nodded and then waited for my other two mates to leave the apartment.

  “Could we sit on the couch, J? Can you hold me?” she asked.

  “Whatever you need, Zo,” I replied, standing and leaving the kitchen where we had assembled to sit on the couch. She was right behind me, and she sat so that her torso fell across my lap, her head resting on the pillow against the armrest.

  It took her almost five minutes before she said anything else.

  “I want to go because I want to talk with the doctor more deeply about things I’ve noticed with my body. I had an appointment with my regular GP in a couple weeks, but I don’t know if I can wait any longer.”

  “What’s wrong, Zoey?”

  “I think I’m too old, James,” she replied, sounding heartbroken.

  “What?”

  “I don’t think I can have your children anymore. I think I’m too old. I haven’t had my period in the last two months, and I’ve tried a dozen pregnancy tests. They all showed the same frustrating negative. It’s not like I was exactly regular in the last few years, but I never missed two in a row, not without anything, like now.”

  “Have you had any of the other symptoms?” I asked.

  “It’s hard to tell, James. Hot flashes, trouble sleeping, joint pain, irritability? Yeah, I’ve had all of them for at least a year before you showed up. But I haven’t had them in two months. I think that’s because of your magic covering them up. So I want to talk to the doctor and see what’s going on.”

  “Is there anything magical that can be done?”

  “If it was a problem from the start, like a natural hormone imbalance or an injury, probably. From just age? Nope. That’s one of the few things magic can’t fight. There are a handful of temporamancers in the world who can alter the flow, slowing it down for themselves or speeding it up for an opponent, but the flow is only one direction. Healing can restore me to perfect health, but if perfect health means not working because of age, that’s just the best you can do. And you’re already doing exactly that on steroids. Hah. Steroids. You’re doing it so much already that they think I’m on actual drugs.”

  “Is there a reason it’s a problem if you are on drugs?” I asked. “It’s not like you’re in a competition that’s trying to keep a level playing field, right?”

  “Yeah. No, the issue would be that I didn’t disclose it and didn’t have one of their doctors oversee it. They want to know what I’m on and why they didn’t get to be the decision maker.”

  “That makes more sense.”

  “I appreciate the distraction, but, James, I might not be able to have your heir. I really expected a stronger response from you about that.”

  “You weren’t even sure if you wanted a child, Zoey.”

  “I’m pretty sure now,” she said under her breath.

  “It’s not like I’m happy about it,” I started. “I’m not going to say that it’s actually a good thing or that I’m pleased to hear it. But, if you go and talk to your doctor and it turns out that your fears are true, you know I still love you, right? It doesn’t matter to me if you can’t have a child with me.”

  “Because you have two other mates who can,” Zoey replied glumly, before flinching. “Eugh, okay, no, that’s not right. I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not going to lie and say that isn’t a thought that’s crossed my mind. Not for me, though. I’m a little terrified of the idea of bringing a child into the world right now. No, that thought crossed my mind because it means you’ll still have the ability to be a mother, even if your body can’t. I know it’s not the same. I’m not saying it is.”

  “I know,” Zoey replied resolutely. “I just feel like I promised you something and then broke that oath.”

  “I feel like I should find a way to fix it. Magic exists, you know? It shouldn’t be a problem. If I can create a hurricane here with a snap of my fingers, I should be able to fix this, too. But I’ve dragged my feet in learning how to use my abilities and haven’t capitalized on the assets at my disposal. Not fully, anyway.”

  “You went from being unaware magic existed to the most potent evoker in the western hemisphere in two months, James. No one’s blaming you.”

  “Yeah? And what’s all that destructive force good for? My good little werewolf pup is distraught and hurting inside, and I can do nothing to comfort her. She doesn’t ever show me this side of herself, and now, when she does, I can’t even help.” Half of that thought came from my dragon. He had no idea how to handle this. He knew how to hunt things, how to conjure firestorms and lightning bolts, how to conquer and dominate. Consoling a heartbroken mate wasn’t in his wheelhouse. I could feel him, emotionally wrapping himself around Zoey’s wolf. It was all he knew he could offer.

  “Talking with you helps. Knowing Beth and Sam are around helps. I’m jealous of them, James. I feel like I’ve been on a rollercoaster these past two months. I feel like this had to happen to balance the scales. I finally found I had a mate, and he’s someone I can trust, my brother’s best friend. But it was a month too late. A month, James. Beth and Sam are going to get you forever, and I missed what I wanted by a month. I’ve finally got you, just in time to lose you.”

  “Not forever,” I replied solemnly.

  “No. Not forever. Just in comparison. Fuck, am I being really selfish? Overreacting to something I didn’t think was ever going to happen anyway three months ago? Kicking them out to have a pity party with you alone?”

  “No. No, I think you’re reacting just about the right amount. I just wish I could help.”

  She tried to put on a brave face. “I might be wrong.”

  “I’ll love you either way, Zoey.” I stroked the side of her face as I spoke, trying to convey how I felt, staring into the depths of the almost colorless, terrified eyes looking back up at me. “Please let me know what you need from me. From us.”

  “More time,” she replied. “With you here, now. With you years ago. With you everywhere.”

  In response to the urge to reply with, “Well, you know how to get a little more,” I bit my tongue. That wasn’t fair. Especially not now.

  We sat in silence for another half hour, my finger swirling lazily in her hair. “I have to go,” she whispered, but she made no move to get up. Five minutes later, she repeated herself but continued lingering.

  “Zo,” I whispered.

  “I know,” she replied. “But it’s hard to walk away. It’s hard to walk away from the best thing that’s happened to me. It’s harder when, right now, I just have doubts, too. When I get there, and I talk to the doctor, it’ll be real.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “Yes. No. I don’t know, James. You can’t. And you have the meeting that I was supposed to be here for, so even if you were allowed to come with me, you couldn’t.”

  “Say the word.”

  “No,” she said, finally showing some of the strength I had come to take for granted from her. “You need to be here. You can’t change anything. Just, can I sleep here tonight?”

  “Zoey, this is your home. You don’t have to ask. I always want you here. Sam and Beth do, too.”

  “I know. I needed to hear it. I do need to go, though.”

  “I can come with you. Even to just sit outside if that’s all I’m allowed.”

  “No, James. You need to learn from the old dragon, and I need to get my world broken. I’m just feeling small and vulnerable right now; not something I’m exactly used to.”

  “Queen Bitch Back In Action does fit you a lot better.”

  She smiled forlornly. “So, for the second time this year, I’ll come back to you, and you’ll put the pieces of me back together.”

  “I hate that it feels like an apt description, and I hate that I can’t do better. More gently, more permanently.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” she said as she finally did get up, though she kept her hand clutching one of mine. I kissed her several times as she put her jacket on, swapping hands so that we never broke contact, and then once more at the door before she finally departed. She would probably be late, but she didn’t care, nor did I. The worst they could do was fire her.

  Alright, I guess the worst they could do was press some kind of charge for dereliction of duty, or something like that, but that didn’t seem reasonable.

  The whole interaction with her this morning made me rethink the surprise I had for her for Christmas. Her talk months ago about how her wolf viewed the world made me think it would be fine now that she had a mate. If she was still feeling vulnerable and weak, though, I wasn’t sure.

  It was too late to cancel, though. And it would be horribly cruel for all three of us.

  Thankfully, Sam and Beth returned to me before I could get stuck in my head any more than I already was. Beth marched into the room, set her bag on the counter, and hugged me hard. She wrapped her tiny arms around me and squeezed.

  Sam followed her, setting her purchases down and hugging both of us.

  “What’s this about?” I asked.

  “You felt so defeated talking to Zoey,” Sam replied. “I don’t know what the specifics were and I don’t want you to share them if she’s not ready yet, but it’s clear that both of you needed that. You’re the only one here, though, so we’re hugging you. Zoey will get hers when she gets back.”

  “I’m not sure she’ll want them. She might. She might be too upset to appreciate them.”

  “She’s upset about the appointment, then?” Beth asked.

  “I plead the fifth. Now, what did you get?”

  “Stuff for soup and salad. Bread. Pickles, since Arjun seemed to actually eat those. And two steaks for Zoey’s dinner. Frying the wings was easy enough, and we’ve got the oil now, so we’re going to try to country fry one of them. The other’s a backup, in case we mess up or she doesn’t actually want it breaded and fried.”

  Before she was even finished with her explanation, Sam had started spreading things out on the counter where she would need them, telekinetically moving things when they would’ve otherwise been out of her reach.

  “Do you need any help?” I asked.

  “Not yet,” Sam answered. “In fact, why don’t you go shower and try to reset mentally before Arjun gets here? Zenya texted me and said she was coming back shortly with the things she needed to notarize whatever contract you end up signing.”

  As Beth took my hand and started to walk toward the hallway, Sam smiled and continued, “And she asked if, since I was out and getting ingredients, if it wasn’t a bother, could I get stuff to make the poppy rolls again. I told her I’d love to make her a special birthday meal if she had any other requests and that the rolls were definitely a part of my plan already.”

  “So, you’ll be baking?”

  “After Arjun’s lunch is ready. I don’t have a good idea conceptually of how to magically cook them, like frying things with the oil, so I can’t really multitask them with another dish. I need the stove for the soup and the oven for the bread right now, and I’m not sold on the idea of experimenting while handling another dragon’s food.”

  “Fair,” I responded as Beth grew impatient and began tugging me firmly toward the shower. She smirked giddily as we got in — since she could crank the heat as high as she wanted. It felt relaxing on my scales, though I did feel a little guilty about getting to enjoy a shower with my lover while Zoey had to go have her hopes dashed against the rocks of reality.

  “Enough,” Beth whispered.

  “Yeah, that’s probably sensible. Whole point of this was to get me out of that mindset for the meeting,” I sighed. “Do you miss cooking now that it’s become Sam’s thing?”

  Beth shook her head, spraying some of the near-boiling water. “Not really. I liked doing it for you, but I liked having Cynthia teach me, you know? I appreciated that experience. Cynthia’s not here, and we’re not making anything new, so I’m not missing out. And I much prefer Sam’s infused food when we eat.”

  “Yeah. It’s kind of amazing.”

  Beth stuck her hands up, letting the water from the showerhead splash around her. “She’s just amazing straight up, not just kind of. There are days I wish I could steal your mana and learn how to do things with it like she can. I’m not complaining, though. I stuck my hand in what was essentially a floating fryer on Saturday, and it felt like the water does now. It’s not the same, but it’s amazing in its own way.”

  “As long as it isn’t bothering you.”

  “James, magic’s real. Cool, I can’t use any personally, but I don’t have to use it myself to get the benefits. I don’t do laundry. I don’t have to worry about washing the sheets after I drip you out of me on them. I don’t have to worry about a hole in my socks. I don’t have to worry about where my next meal is coming from or how long I can stay here. If the power went out, you could conjure a light for us — or just run a current into the system yourself if we needed electricity for something.

  “I don’t have any burdens anymore, James. I can do whatever I want. I’m working with Rosa to help kids like me. I think I want to go to school again. I’m going to take a class in the spring just to dip my toes in and see if I can do it again. I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to even imagine what I would want, okay? So the idea that I can sit here, in a hot shower that we can let run for hours without worrying about the water bill, in your arms because I love you and not for anything less pleasant, and want something, is really nice. No, I can’t do magic myself. It’s something that’s in my face because you’re a literal mythical wonder and can conjure anything you want to, and Sam can make food better and snap her fingers and change her makeup and can take the heat out of my anger and turn the depths of my sadness into a shallow pool and Zoey can turn into a giant, snow-white dire wolf, and Cynthia can sense emotions, and Zenya doesn’t need to sleep or eat or rest. You’re all characters straight out of a fairy tale. You’re all amazing. And, somehow, someway, all of you are here for me, so I don’t need to do it myself.

  “I’m living in a fantasy world, James. But I’m the human in it. So, yeah, I can sit here and go, ‘magic’s fucking cool; wish I had some,’ if I wanted to. At the end of the day, I somehow ended up here. Magic would be cool, but what I’ve somehow gotten is better than I deserve. And I swear to god, you’re not going to argue with me about that, okay? You’re not going to diminish yourself and how amazing you are or how everything I have can be traced to you by suggesting that anything I’ve ever done made me worthy of all of this. End of discussion.”

  I opened my mouth, and she continued, “No. No. Stop. You’re not going to say that I deserve it because you love me, and that makes it all even or something like that. I love you, I really do, but you were protecting me before that. You had already changed my life.”

  “Then I’ll just say that I feel similarly, you know?” She looked at me pointedly, so I elaborated, “Look, at the same time as your life changed, mine did too. I wasn’t this before. And now I’m a dragon, and I have you and Sam and Zoey. I don’t know what I did to deserve it. I had that dream where I agreed to do something with an entity I didn’t understand. But that was after the ball was rolling. I don’t know. Some days, I think it gave me things I couldn’t dream of having normally so that when it made its offer, I would have more to lose.”

  Beth shook her head, spraying drips of nearly-boiling water. “As if, James. If it had told you it needed someone to defend the world from something horrible and that afterward, even though you had done an objectively great thing and prevented a terrible outcome, people would hate you and curse your name, you’d still take it. Because it needed to be done, and you were capable of it.”

  “I’m not that noble,” I protested.

  “Good,” she smiled predatorily. “Keep that energy. You’re going to negotiate with a dragon and give him information he has no right to know simply because he’s the only one who can draw boundaries between what’s normal and what’s unique to you. You don’t need it to be fair to him. Get your answers, give him as little as possible, and make him agree that nothing can be shared. Sam and I are going to be there. I wish Zoey were here, even if I understand why she can’t be, because, bless her heart, Sam isn’t good about withholding information or giving just enough so that there would be doubt around what you said. No idea how she made it through your childhood without spilling the big magic secret. Zoey could at least help you know which topics were off limits, and I could help you craft your words to get what you wanted.”

  I laughed. Beth had somehow gotten me to argue that I wasn’t as good as she thought I was, not because I actually wasn’t but because she needed me to feel that way, at least for the next few hours. I hadn’t realized how she was nudging the conversation until I saw her smile when we had gotten where she wanted to be.

  “I can try.”

  “Good. Zenya’s back and is setting up in the dining room. What are you going to wear?”

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  “What are you going to wear that will keep you in control, James? Your normal around-the-house clothes say, ‘I can be walked all over,’ at least until you go to the gym — Zoey’s mentioned how people stop and watch, which I’d like to see at least once — but the suit is too much for a meeting in your own dining room. So, what do you have to wear that says, ‘I’m reasonable, but don’t fuck with me.”

  I shrugged. She sighed and rolled her eyes, wrapping the towel around me and tugging me to my bedroom, where she went through the closet she and Sam had cultivated for me in the past few months. She ended up selecting the most expensive pair of pants I owned — they appeared like a pair of dyed grey jeans, but they were made from Arachne silk instead of cotton. A black button-up shirt was added, with the sleeves rolled up carefully and with several too few buttons done for my preferences.

  I felt like I looked like a prick, which only made Beth nod as she felt the thought in my head. “Good. You can be, today. You’re here. Through no fault of yours, he’s in a position where you can capitalize. Go get your information. Be, maybe not ruthless, but take advantage of your advantages, James.”

  I stepped out of my bedroom and walked to the dining room.

  Where Sam was still cooking and Zenya was moving papers on the table. And no one else was.

  Beth broke out giggling behind me. “You thought he was here already, didn’t you? As if Sam and I wouldn’t have warned you about that.”

  “I do feel a little silly,” I admitted. “I just, your talk got me ready. So I was ready.”

  “Good. Sit. Talk with Zenya. Figure out what she’s ready for and what you want.”

  I did. I looked over the drafts Zenya had ready and the unfilled versions we could finalize after talking with Arjun. I discussed lowering the percentages she thought were fair in order to add a non-disclosure clause to the agreement, something she didn’t feel was precisely necessary since, in her words, “Who could Arjun tell that could capitalize on whatever information he learned today?” I shrugged, saying I just wanted her to be aware of the possibility. The money was secondary to the information, and keeping what I had to share mostly secure was worth relinquishing the payment entirely if that was what it took.

  Our plans were tossed out the window when Arjun arrived because, rather than just the pairing of him and the legal advisor that I was expecting, there was a woman I hadn’t met with them. She looked very similar to Antonella, except with silvery, grey scales with white highlighting. The little nubs where her draconic horns should’ve been were darker, deepening to a slate, but even then, they were metallic and reflective.

  “Ah, James, I know you had a topic in mind for today, but I’ve had a circumstance develop that I need to discuss with you first,” Arjun stated as he came inside.

  “Did you want to sit down before we got into talking?” I asked.

  “In due time. First, let me introduce you to my daughter, Asmara.” That explained why there was a kobold in my kitchen. Explained why her eyes matched Arjun’s, too. I didn’t understand why she smelled so nervous. It couldn’t be just meeting me, could it?

  She curtsied, bowing her head deeply. “It’s an honor to meet you, James, sir.”

  “The pleasure is mine,” I replied, trying to figure out what was going on. Beth’s pep talk about getting what I wanted without conceding anything faded rapidly as I tried to figure out why Arjun had brought his daughter to me. She only lifted her head after I finished speaking, smiling modestly, though she was even more nervous now.

  “Perhaps we should sit,” Arjun stated, clearly just as uncertain of himself as I was.

  Arjun and his advisor joined Zenya and I at the table. Sam was still playing in the kitchen, and I could tell that it was just to keep herself busy rather than there anything more to be done. Beth sat beside me, and then, as though she were waiting for everyone else to take their place, Asmara sat beside Arjun.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “So,” I said, without anything to follow it.

  “So,” Arjun repeated. “I know you intended to discuss draconic physiology, development, and history, in exchange for my hotel development in Hawai’i. I believe I have to request an alteration to our deal, and I’m aware of how late it is to do that, but I was not aware of the circumstances before this morning. Not fully aware, at least. If you’re willing to hear me out, I’m willing to be far more open with my holdings in the Western Hemisphere. We can discuss joint ownership of other locations in the Pacific if you desire.”

  “Why would I want to tie myself to ventures where I had no part in the foundational decisions?” I asked.

  “I believe that, if you hear my request and agree to it, joint ownership will be something beneficial for everyone involved. If you only wish to take your share of the profit, so be it; that would be all you need to do. If you desire more involvement, I’m open to it.”

  “That’s the truth,” Beth whispered in my mind. “Or at least as he believes it.”

  “I guess the next step is to ask what you’re requesting, then.”

  “Indeed,” Arjun said. He glanced at his daughter, who remained stoic, a slight smile on her face, completely unchanging despite Arjun’s uncertainty. “I’m requesting that you take my daughter’s hand in marriage.”

  “I beg your pardon,” I replied immediately. “Run that by me again. You’re requesting what, now?”

  “I’m requesting that you take my daughter’s hand in marriage.”

  “Alright, I’m—” I sputtered, trying to form words. “With all due respect, acknowledging that you’re from a different world from me in three different ways — magically, geographically, and temporally — we don’t really do that kind of thing anymore. At least, I’m not used to that kind of arrangement, and I don’t think I would be comfortable pursuing it. Why are you requesting this?”

  Arjun smelled nervous. Asmara smelled nervous, too, though she actually seemed to be calming as I pushed back. I smelled nervous to myself. The dragon took a second appraising glance at her and found the prospect interesting, though he was confused as to why Arjun would want to give her away.

  “Well,” Arjun started, “it’s her idea. Which is why I was only made aware of it today.”

  Everyone in the room turned to look at the kobold sitting at my table. “We’ve never met before, have we?” I asked.

  “No, James, sir, we have not.”

  “And yet, you wish to tie yourself to me for life?”

  “Yes, James, sir.”

  “You know I have three other, well, I wouldn’t use the term ‘wives’ now because legally they aren’t, though functionally they are, right?”

  “I know that you have three mates, yes,” she answered. “I was informed of how you prevented the Lady Elizabeth from laboring for another dragon and the confrontation that ensued. It was a good thing.”

  I felt Beth both swoon and snicker at being referred to as Lady Elizabeth.

  “And me functionally having three wives already, two of whom have known me for functionally my entire life, isn’t a problem for you?”

  “You are a dragon, James, sir. It is to be expected that you would have multiple partners. That you keep them close and cherish them is admirable and suggests there would be a potential life worth envying at your side for me, as well.”

  “You don’t even know me. It could all have been an act. You’ve never met me and heard a single side of one interaction to make your decision,” I answered, still baffled.

  “It is possible. I am familiar with the prejudices of others against dragons and, from my father, know how they sometimes have kernels of truth. I think I am not wrong, though. Your three partners sit here as you prepare to negotiate with my father. They are here, listening to you discuss the world and your place in it. No, I think your behavior Friday was the true you. I think I would have nothing to fear and everything to gain were you to take my hand.”

  “But, why?” I asked, ignoring the misconception that Zenya was one of my wives for the more critical concern. “Why would you not just contemplate, not just be open to the idea of, but actually desire marrying someone you haven’t ever met before, moving about as far away from your home as you could and leaving everything you’ve known behind?”

  “You’re a dragon,” she replied, as though that explained things. “One whose Seat seems to leave him unfettered access to the world.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “James, sir, I am a kobold. My father is a dragon. But his seat does not permit him free access to the magical world. We are exiled from that realm. He, as a shapeshifter, can mingle undetected in the mundane world if he desires to. I, unfortunately, cannot.”

  Sam gasped. “So, you’re completely isolated.”

  Asmara nodded. “As Lady Samantha has identified, I am not allowed to mingle with my peers as a kobold, but I am also not capable of entering the mundane world due to my physiology.”

  “Wait,” Beth said. “Aren’t the dragons the only ones not allowed to be involved with the magical world? Why can’t you?”

  “Because of who my father is and how close my connection is to him. You are right, of course: I could renounce my family to join the world that made me give them up. I have been hesitant to do that.”

  “Can you explain, very, very simply for me, how I solve that issue?” I asked.

  “You are not restricted here by Queen Aisling for reasons we do not understand. Should I come to exist in your household, I believe I would no longer be restricted from discovering who I am and what I am capable of. True, though, I would be able to do that by abandoning my family. With you, however, as a dragon, I could not be denied correspondence with my father. I could not be refused the occasional visit.

  “You are, indeed, in another country, on another continent, halfway around the world from where my father resides. And yet, with you, I can see the world I was born into and yet denied membership of, and I would be closer to my family than I would have been if I had moved down the road where I live now after renouncing my relationship.”

  “What do you mean, ‘discovering who you are’?” I asked.

  “James,” Arjun interjected, “she has not been involved with the magical world except by the little bits I’ve demonstrated for my own convenience at home. Getting her to a trial to identify her innate talents and then to a teacher after that would’ve meant forcibly separating her from my house. She’s been denied entry into that world because of her proximity to me, and I haven’t pushed her away. I have failed her, though she will likely say otherwise, by not encouraging her to spread her wings and chase her dreams.”

  “So, you mean she has no idea what she can do with magic, if anything at all,” I concluded.

  “I can cook, clean, sew, and play the piano,” Asmara defended herself.

  “Sam’s there, cooking magically. I’d encourage you to wait to taste what she makes before suggesting you can cook. Cleaning and sewing, well, almost everything we own now is self-cleaning and self-repairing. The enchantments weren’t even expensive. And, I don’t own a piano, unfortunately.”

  “Oh,” Asmara responded, utterly crestfallen. “I thought, perhaps, with how father described the incident on Friday, that you could use a wife who handled the household. I can do that. I cannot do the enchanting, or cooking with the arcane as Lady Samantha does. I thought that by offering myself, I could dip my toes into the world of magic without abandoning my father.”

  “I specifically don’t want that,” I replied firmly. “Not as a part of an arrangement or an agreement — not as an obligation. If someone wanted to do that, genuinely wanted to keep the house, that would be different.”

  “I do!” Asmara insisted.

  “Hard to trust that now when you came out a minute ago and told me it was in exchange for keeping your feet in both worlds. And, honestly, that’s irrelevant right now. I’m saying no; thank you for the offer, but I’m definitely not available as a mail-order husband. We’ve only just met, and for practicality’s sake, I have three other burgeoning relationships to manage that I didn’t have six months ago. I’m still learning how to be a dragon, let alone how to be a dragon mated to one woman, let alone a dragon mated to three. I already don’t really know how to provide for a family the size of which I already have, so adding more, especially for such a transactional reason, isn’t something I desire to do.”

  “That’s reasonable,” Asmara said, though there wasn’t any hiding her defeated demeanor.

  “I would, however, be open to something less committal,” I continued. “Because, for transparency’s sake, I wouldn’t mind having your father owe me. I wouldn’t mind having him unwilling to work against my interests, at least in part because he knew you were here, in my care. I wouldn’t mind having him feel like he needed to keep the secrets I had to share with him in order to get the information I desired about what I actually am. And, slightly less cynically, I’m certainly sympathetic to feeling like an outsider in the magical world.”

  “What are you saying?” Arjun asked.

  “Why did you need marriage?” I asked. “Is there a political reason she needs to be reasonably permanently tied to me? Is that the only way she would be able to move here? Who would need to approve her travel and pass it by the seats?”

  “No,” Arjun replied, glancing at his daughter. “She believed that the arrangement would be beneficial to both of you. Marriage wasn’t needed, but it would explain why she was moving here. You and I would need to approve it. She’s in my administrative catchment area because of her isolation and could be directly moved to yours, so only you, me, and Aisling would need to approve it.”

  “That makes it simple. Wonderful. I’m sympathetic to her position; that much should be obvious from how I got here, but directly to marriage is a step too far. So, I’m willing to offer to sponsor her. Have her move here, live here, learn things about the world.”

  Asmara furrowed her brow, the little horn nubs on her head wiggling slightly as she did. “So, what, I get the benefit of being in both worlds, and you get nothing?”

  “Girl, he is the benefit,” Beth replied sternly.

  “What?” Asmara replied.

  I shook my head. “You get to get something you deserve to have experienced already without making commitments for our entire lives.”

  “You don’t think I’m worth taking as a wife,” she replied meekly.

  “I don’t know you,” I said calmly, even though I wanted to scream it. “I just met you. I have three wives. I’m in the same position you are in, having been completely excluded from the magical world for my entire life, barring the last two months. I don’t know you. I don’t know what you want from life. I don’t know what I want from life. I don’t know if we’d work. I don’t think I can responsibly add another lover to my life when I have three that I’m very satisfied with, and the reason for your desire is to use the relationship as a means to an end. You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’m like behind closed doors. You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

  “James,” Arjun interrupted. “What, then, are you asking for in exchange?”

  “Your silence. That when we talk about the nature of being a dragon in a world that seems to hate their existence, you keep the information I share with you to yourself. When I ask questions, when I share some of my limited experiences, I will necessarily have to share information that I’d rather not.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I already asked you if dragons had greater intuition regarding emotions. Given that your answer was no, there should’ve been a red flag in your mind. Some curiosity about why I was asking that question. I’ve called my wives my mates. Perhaps, where you’re from, that is reasonable. Granted, one of them is a werewolf, so it more readily applies there, but Beth is just a mundane human. Sam’s a sorceress. Mate has a meaning to us that might not apply to others.”

  “You realize I don’t interact with magically inclined society except for the other dragons, yes?” Arjun asked. “There is no one with whom I would share your secrets.”

  “Perhaps. That’s an argument I thought about. I’d feel better if you didn’t want to share them because putting me at risk might jeopardize your daughter. Making our interests align there makes it easier to believe you won’t share what I say, not just don’t have many opportunities.”

  “Reasonable,” Arjun replied. He glanced at Asmara again, who was emitting a blend of hopeful, embarrassed, and dejected. My assumption was that some part of her expected to get a powerful husband today, and that being rejected, even though it wasn’t something she wanted directly, hurt. She was still potentially getting what she wanted, mostly anyway, and potentially so was I. “If we agree in principle, that I get my hotel in exchange for some money and this discussion, and then Asmara will come and live with you and reap the benefits that entitles her to as long as I hold your curiosities in confidence, can we move on to lunch and that discussion?”

  “That would be ideal,” I exhaled.

  Sam and Beth jumped to work, getting the food that they had kept just ready for us. Zenya, Arjun, and I sat quietly and patiently as Sam and Beth made their final preparations and moved things along for the table. Arjun’s legal advisor and Asmara, on the other hand, watched in open fascination as Sam moved plates with nothing more than the magical projections of her mind. Sam placed the soup in the center of the table and served everyone, all without touching the pot, a single bowl, the ladle, or any of the spoons with her hands.

  As they both sat down, Beth whispered into my mind, “If I knew they were going to watch like that, I would’ve started tossing the bowls from the cupboard for Sam to catch. Make a real spectacle out of it.”

  I had to chuckle as I held my soup spoon, pausing with it held an inch from my mouth so that I wouldn’t choke before I ate any. The room was otherwise silent, as even those not surprised by the open display of magic were too captivated by the tastes from Sam’s hard work to say anything more for several minutes.

  Arjun eventually broke the silence when he asked, “Was the food for us especially? It was definitely not required to sway me into being your ally, James, though I’m certainly not complaining about the luxury. I haven’t practiced doing it for myself and very rarely get to dine on mana-infused dishes these days. Not many people are willing to waste the mana purely for taste.”

  “Waste?” I asked.

  “Well, it’s not particularly efficient, and once it’s in the food, it’s not like it can be used for something else productive, at least until you absorb it. Since you’re getting less than you put in, though over time instead of immediately, yes, most people find it wasteful if they have no talent for it, or an occasional decadent indulgence if they do.”

  Sam glanced at me, suddenly questioning something she hadn’t considered at any point before.

  “Efficient?” I asked.

  Arjun looked back and forth between me and the food, and then at Sam, and then back at me. “Well, I don’t have much patience for it personally, but this tastes like dragon mana to me. Dragon mana simply improves the natural flavoring in the dishes, so you still need a competent cook, but it does a good amount of the work once you’re at a certain level of proficiency. Human mana ends up tasting like whatever they sourced it from — so, usually nothing, depending on where they live. Sometimes unpleasant, if they’ve dwelled too long in a large city. Fey mana induces a specific flavor that corresponds with their grotto, earthy or of the sea or spicy or what have you.

  “So, it tastes like dragon mana. Especially with her handling the pots and pans and plates and cutlery telekinetically, she’d need another source of energy, so that makes sense. But all of the transfer methods from you to her are rather lacking in efficiency. You put a gallon in; she takes a pint out.”

  He took another bite of his salad and then glanced back at us in realization. “This is one of those things you want me to keep to myself, isn’t it.”

  “Yes,” both Sam and I answered in unison.

  Sam was completely flabbergasted as she thought about what had been said, prompting her to ask, “Wait, if he charges one of the crystals for me, that’s not efficient?”

  “I don’t know the numbers, but it’s not great,” Arjun replied. “Half, maybe, if you’ve got one of the newer synthetic ones with calibrated lattices.”

  Sam looked to me. “But you charged all of those crystals, the ones for me and Mom and Marjorie, like, instantly. And you seemed to refine the crystals, too.”

  “We’re good with mana, dragons. It’s inefficient for us, dear, but still likely the best option for you, no disrespect, of course.” He tapped his face with a napkin, but something besides Sam’s previous comment gave away that there was even more to our shock. “It’s not the best option, then? Interesting. Can you explain?”

  “I’m not just a dragon.”

  “Oh? That would explain how you’re not offspring of ours, at least.”

  “There’s something else. I don’t know what it is. Aisling doesn’t, either, and the scholar I’m working with here, Antonin, doesn’t have any ideas. I’ve spoken with it, once, in a dream. It wasn’t exactly clear, though.”

  “A dream? Did you make any deals with it? Promises for more power?”

  I swallowed. “Yes, I did make a deal with it, but, no, not promises for power. It showed me the galaxy, with stars being snuffed out, and then, I think, suggested that with my help, Earth could be saved. But it made it look like it was going to be hard and that there was a chance I’d fail. Made it seem like it was gambling. Taking a final chance to tie itself to me because it would lose, otherwise. It was hard to understand.”

  “No suggestions of wealth, power, women, influence, immortality?”

  “Not any clear ones, as far as I could tell. Made it seem like it was just as likely I’d die horribly and be left with nothing.”

  “Interesting,” Arjun mused. “The mana, then?”

  “Sam and I seem to share a mana pool,” I answered. “Zoey, the werewolf, too, though she naturally has much less of a use for it. Presumably Beth, too, but she isn’t able to sense it.”

  Arjun nodded. “Explains why it tastes like dragon mana, even if she’s the one using it. Now, go on, ask your questions.”

  I explained exactly how I could sense emotions to Arjun — how specific, reliable, and intuitive it was for me. He suggested it might be some kind of emotional resonance that I was casting natively, but Sam interrupted, explaining that was where her natural talents actually resided and that whatever I had, it was nothing like her conjuring. That led to a discussion of what she meant by “natural talents,” and how she had figured out that, unlike almost every other magic user besides dragons, her magical manipulation was limited exclusively by her imagination. Arjun thought quietly for several minutes about that before responding.

  “It’s like you’ve made her into a dragon,” he whispered quietly.

  “Excuse me?” Zenya replied, which surprised me because she said it, not that she felt it. All of us seemed shocked.

  “She can conjure anything, effortlessly converting the mana to her desires, yes? No years of practice, no rigorous study of diagrams and rituals, no formulaic recreation of prior spells, and no limitation to school of magic. Just intent and energy. It flows from her and lets her accomplish what she wants. It works with her, instead of merely being a tool. She has access to a rapidly replenishing, gargantuan mana pool that benefits that which it flows through. In terms of being a spellcaster, she has been transformed from a witch into something closer to a dragon.”

  All of us stared at Sam in silence for several moments. She was blushing hard, and I could sense that she was overcome emotionally. She wasn’t thinking of the consequences of Arjun’s words, though; she was simply fixated on the idea that I had made her like me.

  “What about Beth or Zoey?” I asked when Sam started to realize that everyone was looking at her. “Do you think that this change applies to them as well?”

  Arjun shrugged. “Maybe. Probably not. Samantha already had some intuition with casting. It’s possible that the werewolf could learn to cast as she has, but Beth, unfortunately, doesn’t have the ability to cast at all. I could very well be wrong — I’m no scholar, and magical fundamentals aren’t a dragon’s realm of expertise, given that what we cannot do intuitively, we overcome with brute force — but I would wager that Beth has access to the mana pool but no way to utilize it.”

  Beth smiled. She wasn’t bothered. She had made that clear earlier.

  I followed his comments up with a quick question regarding schools of magic — why everyone else was only dominant in a single school while dragons seemed to be good at everything regarding any use of mana. The answer was simple. Humans (and demi-humans and fey and magically inclined weres and so on) used mana. Dragons were mana. It was the difference between a man strapping plastic fins to his feet and a snorkel to his head to swim and a shark.

  That raised an apparent contradiction to me, so I asked why, then, did dragons seem to not be skilled in enchanting or in runework, and even the healing arts, if they were so innately tied to magic. Arjun only laughed in response.

  “Why would we bother, James? What would the point be? What is there to enchant? When I was a boy, you’d enchant a cannon to shoot further and more precisely. Why would a dragon do that? We can breathe fire and conjure meteors. Nowadays, you enchant your bedding to clean itself and your fancy dress to mend itself and your walls and floors to regulate their temperature. A dragon can just clean and mend his garments when they need it at will and could heat or cool his domicile however he felt in the moment. There’s no incentive to learn how to enchant because enchanting is a way for those without the talent in that field to get the benefit anyway. And, healing, what is the point? Bring someone to the brink of death and a handful of spittle rehabilitates them better than any healing magic could — at the very least, less expensively and likely faster. No, the answer to why there are magical fields in which dragons seem to not excel in is simply that we are so naturally gifted that there is no reason to practice them. Our talents make spending time there, unless it brings one pleasure, a waste of time and effort.”

  Then I asked if dragons actually even needed to take care of themselves — if they needed to eat, sleep, exercise, brush their teeth — or if our natural magic took care of it.

  “It’s up for debate,” Arjun replied initially. “Physically, probably not. Most dragons, and you particularly, being raised as a mundane human, still should. It’s not great for your mental health.”

  “Doesn’t the magic help with that?”

  “The magic helps with trauma. With injuries, physical, mental or emotional, chronic or acute, life-threatening or minor. There is a difference between a mental strain, emotional baggage, and poor lifestyle choices. Overlap, for sure, but the magic won’t be as effective at healing you when you’re only hurting from laziness. You don’t physically need to sleep, but your mind will need breaks. You don’t physically need to eat, but your mind finds comfort and familiarity in the pattern and socialization that comes with it.”

  “What about my partners? Do they need to eat?”

  “Probably not, at least physically, as long as they are routinely coupling with you,” he said plainly. “I’d say four days is safe. If they go no more than four days without you, they probably don’t require food. But, the body will adapt, so unless you’re sure that won’t ever happen, they should likely keep eating. It would be hard if, after, let’s say, twenty years, you are needed in different places, and one of your mates suddenly has to relearn how to eat.”

  “Speaking of coupling,” I transitioned, moving toward the next question I had, specifically regarding the bite. It seemed the safest of the inherently bedroom topics, at least to start with, and since it was the one that Antonin knew nothing about while actually being potentially significant, I wanted information about it. Arjun nodded as I formed my question, explaining that, just as Antonin had outlined months ago, a dragon’s bite had two very distinct types of venom. The difference in his explanation gave me some reassurances and some concerns.

  He explained that the venom was actually a singular liquid that the dragon would “charge” (How? He shrugged. He had the conclusions, not the mechanisms) when we intended it to be toxic. He was much less able to offer details about the differences, merely that the one made for incredibly enjoyable times with partners, while the other made quick work of opponents. He was quite adamant that the bite was important for draconic reproduction but didn’t exactly know how. Given that he was male and hadn’t had a draconic mate in centuries, it wasn’t high on his list of historical memories to catalog.

  That’s when I asked about the shared orgasms if someone was in proximity with me either when I shifted or when I came myself. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. It wasn’t something he had ever heard of.

  Which felt strange to me, given that it also wasn’t tied to the bond. Sam had experienced one that first night, and Zoey and Mallory both had one after that when they taught me how to shift. Mallory had every time we’d been flying since. She mentioned that it was really nice when Sophie was out of town, which made me feel strange about the whole interaction, but Sophie had given me her blessing, I suppose. I had fully anticipated hearing that it was a part of the dragon third of me because the only thing that had occurred that was obviously not from that was the bond.

  Which I knew wasn’t from the dragon. And Arjun had drawn a line to something obvious I should’ve figured out already: that somehow, I had altered Sam beyond what I had anticipated. She was, at least in regards to spellcasting, draconic.

  It raised the question of what else had happened. How else had whatever lived inside me altered us? Beth’s shielding, Sam’s spellcasting, Zoey’s seemingly reversed athletic progression — there was a reason for it, wasn’t there? It was challenging to imagine that there wasn’t a reason. The entity had picked me for a reason, right? It was hard to imagine that wasn’t accurate. It had goals, surely. A motivation. A reason for putting me here. I didn’t know it, and I couldn’t understand it, but there had to be something there.

  In the meantime, I asked a simple question, one that I had thought of while meeting with the other dragons for the first time.

  “Why are you all so small?” I asked, trying to ensure my voice displayed curiosity rather than contempt. “I was already a little taller than average to begin with, but the first time I shifted into part of my draconic form, I grew like six inches. Were the other dragons slight, too?”

  “No,” Arjun replied. “It’s a coincidence that those of us who remain are of smaller stature. Eleanor isn’t exactly as small as us. You do have to remember, though, James, that, in general, people were smaller back when I was born. My human form was a little taller than average when and where I was born. Some have suggested that our being smaller contributed to our demeanors, which contributed to our survival. I don’t buy it. I wasn’t a large dragon in 1900 but I could’ve decimated anyone but a dozen non-dragons with my evocation, had I the desire to do so. I don’t think it holds up.”

  His talk of times long before I was born made me curious, and I wondered if we could transition to the other topic of the day. I couldn’t come up with any further questions — and I wished that Zenya and I had brainstormed and then kept a notepad handy for the discussion.

  “Do you think you could explain what happened to leave the world with so few dragons?” I asked, still trying to figure out why I even existed.

  “I could. Samantha, dear, before I begin, could I trouble you for a cup of tea? I know it’s not as much of a thing over here, but—”

  “No, James likes tea, though he usually has his cold. We have some around; let me see. Yeah, here, Earl Grey, black, English breakfast, Yorkshire, and James’ powdered peach mango green tea mix.”

  “The Yorkshire, please.”

  Sam set about boiling a kettle of water for Arjun. At first, Arjun was disappointed that, since it was claimed I enjoyed tea, that we didn’t have an electric kettle. The complaint died before he voiced it when Sam boiled the water in front of him at the table simply with magic. He did request milk to be added to the tea after she poured it, which wasn’t a totally foreign concept to me, but it wasn’t something I typically did, either. Caught her off guard, at least.

  After he took a sip and sighed, complimenting Sam on her preparation and thanking her for her hospitality, Arjun began to tell a story. A story of a world where magic was hoarded, even amongst those familiar with it. A world where the populations were split into three distinct groups: those who didn’t know magic existed and were left ignorant of the real powers that be, those who did know magic existed but all that did was let them see who was exploiting them, and the handful of people at the top with access to resources.

  He described this as the world he was born into. He made it sound as though he was, depending on which frame of reference you looked from, either in the second group or in the third. Naturally, as a dragon, he was immensely capable in his own right. He had access to gratuitous quantities of mana and could do anything his imagination allowed him to conceptualize. That clearly put him in the third category, right?

  Of course, the world then wasn’t the world now. There were dragons. Not as plentiful as humans or weres, but several hundred at least. Perhaps a thousand, though he wasn’t aware of the actual number at the time. That did mean that he wasn’t unique. And, despite dragons breeding true fairly inconsistently, he wasn’t the first draconic offspring for his father. He wasn’t even regionally important where he was born. His father was there, and he had two older dragon brothers, in addition to a plethora of other family. Despite being a dragon, he was the least ambitious, least driven member of his immediate family. That led to him getting fewer opportunities to gain from his father’s existing empire than everyone else (because his brothers would simply do a better job) and, therefore, only compounded, leaving him more and more disinterested in working with the magical world.

  He wasn’t really in the second category, and he knew that. But he wasn’t really in the third category, either. The seats at the table in the third category were claimed before he was born, and he wasn’t interested in playing the games necessary to either take one or make a new one. He wasn’t hungry enough to do what it would take to get benefits that he only saw as curses. One of his sisters was used as payment for a slight against someone in Southern India. In the 1700s, his eldest brother was murdered. The only reaction anyone in his family had was to invite him back to their yearly assembly to fill the space.

  Arjun declined. He had made his choice. Distancing himself from them had left him without the great opulence and indulgence, but it had also left him without the headaches of interacting with that world; instead, he only had to handle things that were truly his and his alone. He made sure that everyone at the table understood that he was aware that he was privileged, it would be asinine to deny that, but that it was on a different magnitude of what he saw his siblings engage with. They owned provinces. He owned a four-boat strong river shipping company. He was comfortable in precisely the way wealthy people looking down on the working class would claim in order to minimize their own affluence. He knew that today, but at the time, he only saw what he had and what other dragons had, and the discrepancy there was quite significant.

  As time went on, things changed. The Europeans arrived en masse in Southern Asia. The world got smaller. More and more of the upper echelon of the magical realm ended up being pushed into the lower stratums. Arjun’s little river company got bought by a rival. He wasn’t bothered by it specifically, just by the general idea that his little company was something worth having, something worth fighting for. When an archwizard desired his insignificant single-river operation, it was clear that there was some kind of consolidation of power at the top. The true big dogs, the ones that used to control a principality in Europe or a province in Southern Asia, used their power, influence, and wealth to fight, manipulate, or purchase their way to more power. Everyone, it seemed, was scrambling to hold what they had or to take what they could as their original assets were taken from them.

  Arjun didn’t care. He was isolated enough at that time that when he was propositioned, he accepted. Some mundane money in exchange for his local reputation didn’t matter much when he could leave. He spent time in Britain. He saw how the mundane development of industry was a thin veneer of a placating force for the population. The improvement of the daily life of the average person meant that they missed how those with power used it to consolidate more. The wars in Europe between forces continued escalating in scope and destructive force, and regularly spilled out across the world to the areas they touched.

  There was a brief period of pause in the conflict, but only because those with power exerted it elsewhere in the world. They stopped their conflicts to dominate elsewhere for some years.

  The great wars happened. Not just a conflict between great powers of the world, as had happened routinely throughout history, but one that involved every great power and all of their holdings throughout the entire planet. And then, not even a complete generation later, it happened again.

  Dragons were at the forefront of both conflicts, and the vast majority of the ones beforehand. Arjun had no excuses. He explained that our nature — that our very being, the mana that made us who we were, grew and developed as we acquired more and more, making us more powerful as we got what we wanted, was a dangerous, runaway train car. We were, on a societal level, a menace, a nuclear reactor with no control devices. A dragon that was the most powerful thing in their region would slowly squeeze the life out of everyone else until they controlled every facet of existence.

  And regions had, recently, stopped existing. For the elite, there was only one region: the entire world.

  The seats, at least the ones who weren’t dragons, and the lingering rest of the old powers bound together. Dragons, it was decided, were too dangerous. They had to be removed.

  The cold war, Arjun claimed, wasn’t a war. It was a farce. It was an escalation of non-tensions so that pieces could be moved on the board, and the dragons with their remaining allies after the two great wars, could be removed from the playing board. The small, relatively, proxy conflicts that broke out were carefully planned to suck in draconic resources and lives.

  It was a worldwide revolution held under the guise of a great power standoff. When the dragons were conclusively deposed, the Soviet Union was allowed to crumble.

  Arjun estimated that, when I was born, there were perhaps fifteen dragons remaining. There were only the five I had met by the end of the millennium. Arjun, Eleanor, and Clement had been permitted to continue existing because, for one reason or another, they had all independently removed themselves from the dangerous political game centuries before the revolution was deemed necessary. Adriana and Juliana had been too young to ever be indoctrinated in the patterns. Their parents hadn’t been the worst offenders. At the dawn of the new millennium, they were each called to meet with their Seats. They were explained that they were to be effectively isolated — though, again, all of them already had been for decades. It was merely formally established now.

  Arjun, it seemed to him in retrospect, had been permitted to continue existing because he had two greedy elder brothers five hundred years ago.

  He did continue to explain that he didn’t have a great idea of the specifics. Just that, over the last sixty-five years, he would suddenly find some of his acquaintances caught up in a bit of trouble one month, and then they’d disappear the next. He didn’t get involved. He kept his head down. Until the meeting, he had no idea what was going on. As far as he was informed, from incomplete accounts after the fact, there had been dragons on both sides, some pushing for the removal of their effective hegemony over the world and those working to sustain it at all costs. He didn’t know the details. He didn’t want to know. He had lived this long by keeping his head down and out of whatever the current mess was.

  That was, of course, until I showed up. I was a mess he couldn’t hide from. I was a chicken who had no egg.

  It was possible that there were other dragons still surviving in hiding and that I had a draconic parent. Given the discussion of my third part, it seemed unlikely. In Arjun’s opinion, there was something else out there that had a vested interest in dragons continuing to exist on Earth. He came to the same conclusion I had: that I was a tool, a card played in a game we didn’t yet understand and couldn’t yet see. The only way to get answers was to wait for my turn to come around.