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Aidan quickly turns back to the keyboard, punching in a set of keys with haste. He gives me an address for someplace in Sacramento, California, and the sudden emergence of recognition pulses my eardrums.
Shit.
I can’t be seen there.
“Are you sure?” I ask Aidan for confirmation with a frown.
He nods as he turns back to me. “Sacramento—”
“Yeah, I heard that,” I say bluntly, my chest filling with alarm as I weigh my options.
I can’t be seen there. Neither can I allow the existence of the dragons to be revealed to the humans. It’s too risky. An oversight was made by the Council and the alpha of the Aurora Dragons.
But one I’m not willing to accept.
“Do me a favor…” I begin as I take a step closer to the screen, narrowing my eyes at the images of the woman in pajamas rolling around the room in a swivel chair. I grunt disdainfully, shaking my head. “Ensure that no one knows I’ve left the island.”
“Aragon, what—”
I turn my narrowed eyes on my best friend, causing him to gulp and press his lips into a firm line. The fear that flashes in his eyes tells me that he’s going to heed my order. I have nothing to worry about.
“When I return, you will not breathe a word of this to anyone,” I warn him sternly. “Not even the alpha.”
Aidan nods. “You have my word, Aragon. But what are you planning on doing?”
“Damage control,” I reveal with my hand on the door handle. “Which side is clear?”
A moment passes before Aidan tells me that the island's south side is clear. I leave the surveillance room, determination spurring my every step as I march toward the south of the island. Crossing the Aurora Mountain, I hike up to the top and invoke my dragon.
My wings spread out behind me, my feet becoming webbed while my arms distended. Joints crackling as they become larger, ruby scales erupt on my forearms just as my fingers turn to sharp claws. As soon as I’m in full dragon form, I flap my wings to propel myself forward and soar toward the clouds.
I’m careful not to make a sound until I’m safely beyond the invisible dome sheltering the hemisphere of the island. Even going through it serves as a reminder that we’ve worked hard to keep ourselves hidden from the humans.
The protective layer surrounding the island makes our location invisible. With the help of advanced technology that isn’t available to humans, we’ve been hidden for centuries.
I shake my dragon head when I glide over the clouds, leaving the island behind me. If I could, I would leave the island for good—leave them to their own devices that could possibly lead to their demise. It makes no sense that the council would be foolish enough to reveal our existence.
Unless old age is catching up with them.
My dragon bleats a wheeze, sending out a scornful puff of smoke. The whole thing is absurd, and my brother Draco is too busy basking in the glory of finding his fated mate and producing the first child the clan has seen in almost a millennia. With the wedding on the horizon, he couldn’t care much if dragons and humans decided to coexist in the world.
Except, the world as they know it isn’t as simple as they think. I’ve been there recently, spending years traveling. All I found was pain and suffering. At the forefront of all their endeavors is exposing the secrets of their protectors and masking it as blasphemy.
Humans will do that to us when they find out that we exist. They’ll expose our location and send their cults to destroy us—all in the name of what they call liberation.
Freeing themselves from their tortuous minds, they’d spread lies and keep themselves prisoners to the illusion of their lives. After all, they have an expiration date. They have to make their measly, useless lives count for something. The destruction of their planet is on their agenda, and they don’t even realize it.
The thought of having to mate with one of those creatures appalls me. Even in my dragon form, its usually steely stomach twists in disgust. As I fly over Seattle, my only saving grace is the memories of the only thing that made my immortal existence worth a semblance of good.
“Delilah…”
My inner dragon voice chimes her name as I pass over the city and head toward California. Seattle was where I’d met her and built my dreams based on that single meeting.
White picket fences and giggling kids…
It was all a fantasy that crumbled when she learned what I was. Though she wasn’t human, she couldn’t see a future with me. Crushing my dreams and hopes and sending me back to the island with my tail between my legs.
Now I have to deal with this mess. Circling the lab building, I finally touch the ground and shift into human form, simultaneously shedding my invisibility. I find the room, kicking in the door and expecting a startled cry from the dark-haired woman.
