An actual butler showed me to the study. He bowed and walked briskly back the way he came, leaving me alone in front of the door. I knocked timidly. Before I could rap a second time, the door swung open. I almost rapped my knuckles on Cassidy’s chest, but stopped myself in time. Feebly, I turned my upraised hand into a fingertip wave.
“Umm, hi.” I felt my cheeks warm. “Cassidy, right?”
He flashed a nervous smile. “Yes.” He paused and bowed his head, then looked back up at me with a slightly steadier smile. “Most people just call me Cass.”
“Sia. Hi.” I already said that.
“Hi.” He stepped back out of the doorframe and gestured for me to enter. I stepped in and my breath caught.
“I want to move in here,” I sighed. The small room’s walls were covered in rich mahogany bookshelves, every one of them absolutely, decadently full of worn leather spines. Here and there, I could spot something that might have been new, but most of them by far looked like they were full of some deeply arcane and wondrous material. My inner cynic told me they were probably law books or tax codes, but I squashed that voice flat and basked in the rich smell of old paper and leather.
Cass beamed. “Most of them are from my family’s collection. I’m slowly amassing my own stash, but my parents have been generous enough to spot me a few volumes.”
“A few volumes,” I chuckled as I scanned the shelves. A History of Draconic Rule of Northern Ireland, 1000 B.C. To 835 A.D. Libris Draconis. Herbes which Givve the Dragons Vigor. The Canterbury Tales. I tapped the last with a timid finger. “This isn’t, like, an original copy or anything, is it?”
He peered over my shoulder. I didn’t even hear him approach. His proximity was electric. His breath on my cheek sent my heart racing.
“No, not an original. But an early edition, yes.” He realized how close he was to me at the same moment I realized I’d been holding my breath. He stepped back with a shy smile. “Feel free to take a look.”
“I couldn’t.”
“Please. Books were made to be held.” He stepped forward again and reached past me to take the volume off the shelf. His arm brushed mine, sending tingles through my entire body. I turned to face him as he drew back. He gazed into my eyes as he pressed the precious leather-bound relic into my trembling hands. “Don’t be afraid. It’s just a book.”
It wasn’t the book that was making me tremble.
I carefully carried the book to a mahogany bookstand in the center of the sitting area. My breath caught as it creaked open, revealing honest-to-god gold leaf and carefully illuminated art. The text was printed by a press. A hand-powered press. This was something crafted, something people had put effort and time and sweat and tears into. I’d only seen anything like it in school trips to the museum. My hands jolted away from it. I was not worthy to be touching this.
As if he could sense my thoughts (for all I knew, maybe he could,) Cass turned a page for me. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Hand painted through the entire volume. I can’t imagine how long it must have taken them. The devotion.” He sighed wistfully. “To be able to dedicate your life to crafting treasures like this. It’s romantic.” His cheeks flushed, and he looked away. “I mean…”
“You’re right,” I said softly, eyes fixed on the page. “I love books in all their forms, but this… this is something really magical.”
“I’m glad I could share it with you.” His smile was back, eager and endearing.
My heart was pounding again. “Me too.”
Wait a minute. What about Galen? I scolded myself. Let’s not get greedy. Then I remembered what Galen told me about the Shadow Queen and the four dragons and felt myself blushing deeply.
“Are you all right?” he asked, concern crossing his face.
“Fine.” My voice was tight, my pitch a little higher than I would have liked. “So, um, dragons. I should know more about them. Since you think I am one. And stuff.” Smooth, Sia. Inwardly, I smacked myself.
“Of course. Right.” Cass gestured toward a blue velvet-covered armchair. We sat down, facing each other. “Where would you like to begin?”
My mind was a perfect blank. “I don’t even know. I’m a little overwhelmed, to be honest.” If I kept blushing, it was going to stick.
Cass folded his hands in his lap. “Okay, we’ll start at the beginning then.”
“Sounds good.” I leaned forward in my chair eagerly. This seemed to startle him a bit. His eyes grew large, and color rose to his cheeks again. He covered for it with a little cough.
“The earliest records tell of a great dragon, called the Eldest Dragon. She was the mother to the first of each of the four bloodlines. The water dragon was her first daughter, the fire the second, the earth the third, and the ethereal was the youngest.” He paused. “Dragon heredity is matrilineal. No one has really been able to explain why she had four different types of children. It hasn’t happened since.” He shrugged. “But magic is a strange thing. Anyway, no one’s sure who the father was. This is history edging on mythology. Some scholars say they were conceived by magic. Others think it was one or more of the first humans, and that’s why we have human and half forms instead of just dragon forms. I lean that way myself.” He frowned. “Some heretics say it was the Great Serpent. They aren’t very popular.”
“I could see why.” I’d always loved reading Greek mythology. It was strange hearing something mythological that applied to me. “What about the shadow dragons?”
Cassidy beamed at me like I was a prize pupil. “Good question. The Eldest Dragon was the first shadow dragon. For a long time, she was the only shadow dragon.” The smile faded, turning awkward and shy. “Then, she, um…”
I took a deep breath. “Galen told me about the whole Shadow Queen ritual…thing. I can kind of guess.”
He looked relieved. “Yes. She took four mates from her descendants, and bore the second shadow dragon. She passed the knowledge of the ritual down to her, and the line grew. As shadow dragons hold the essence of the four other bloodlines, as well as being the direct incarnation of the Eldest Dragon, they were seen as the rulers of dragonkind. They were rare, and precious.”
I shifted in my seat. “I’ve never thought of myself as either.”
Cass fixed me with a steady gaze. “You were mistaken.”
Seriously, the blushing needed to stop.
“It was my job to keep an eye on you, to make sure you were the one we were after.” He swallowed hard, then his eyes widened again. “God, that sounds stalkerish.”
I felt my eyes widen a bit, too. “Yeah, a little.” My stomach flipped. Exactly how was he watching me? Was I alone with a creep? I searched my danger sense and felt nervousness. Nervousness and desire. Whoa.
He continued, speaking a little faster. “What I meant to say was, in my observations, you were… you seemed…” He stammered a bit, then closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. “I thought you seemed like a really good person. You’re always kind to everyone, you and your friend Missi are always laughing and bright, you have a strong work ethic, and you seem devoted to your friends at McKinnett. It made me…” He looked down for a moment, then looked back at me. “I wanted to be one of those friends. It seemed like a good thing to be.”
I swallowed hard. His intensity was intimidating. I could feel the desire pouring off him, but it had a purity to it that kept me from running for the door. My heart hammered in my chest. I let out the breath I’d been holding.
“Wow.” Really, Sia? That’s the best you can do?
He looked away again, composing himself. “I’m sorry. I…”
“No.” He looked back at me, worry crinkling his brow. “I mean, don’t be sorry. I…” Words. C’mon, help me out. “I’m really flattered. Thank you.”
He smiled feebly. I gave him my best reassuring smile. He perked up a little.
“Well…” he began. Then, the door opened.
“Hey nerd, we’re back!” Aric popped his head in the door and took us both in. He smirked. “Am I interrupting something?”
“I was telling Arysia…”
“Sia, please,” I interrupted.
Cass flashed me a smile then continued. “Sia, about dragon history.”
“Boooring. When you want to know about the cool shit, let me know, okay?” Aric winked at me, then ducked back out, slamming the door behind him.
Cass and I sat in silence for a long moment, staring at the door.
“What a dick,” I muttered.
Cass sputtered. I glanced at him, worried that I’d insulted his friend. Then I realized he was trying not to laugh.
“He…has his uses,” he managed at last. “So, what else did you want to know?”
Back to business. I looked down at myself, then back at him. “So, how do I turn into a dragon?”
Cass stood up and stretched his hands out in front of himself. “It’s a matter of reaching inside yourself and grasping at your inner essence.”
I snorted. “Really? Is that all?”
He frowned. “Okay, I admit that wasn’t the most helpful explanation.” His brow furrowed as he searched for answers. “Man, this is hard. I’ve been doing it since I can remember. We start learning to shift at about age…five…” His voice tapered off. His eyes were full of guilt. “Sorry.”
I shrugged. “You’re too young for it to have been your fault. You’re what, two or three years older than me?”
“Two.” One of the corners of his mouth turned up. “I still feel bad that you missed out on all of the training that we’ve had. You should have been part of dragon society.”
“Too late for that now,” I said. “Now, grabbing my essence and pulling…” I actually slapped my forehead on that one. “That sounds terrible”
Cass laughed, then slapped a hand over his mouth. “Wow. Um, okay, I won’t use that again.” He cleared his throat. “When you use your gifts, what do you feel?”
I thought about it. “It feels like a little knot inside my chest. I feel it tighten when I hide, or when there’s danger nearby. When people are feeling strong emotions, they radiate from there.”
Cass smiled. “That’s what I’m talking about. You need to grab onto that and open it up.”
“Open it up?” I closed my eyes and felt for it, but couldn’t find it. I wasn’t feeling threatened enough. “How the hell do I do that?”
Cass opened his mouth, but the door opened again. This time, Chase poked his head through the door.
“Sorry to interrupt, but we need you now, Cass. Ms. Bellmont, you should wait here. There’s trouble at McKinnett’s, and we need to go…”
“I’m coming with you.” I took a few steps toward the door.
“We need you safe, Ms. Bellmont.” Chase looked stern.
“Fuck that, pal. That’s my family over there.” I glared at him. “You can’t keep me here.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“Then let’s stop standing here and arguing and get over there before someone I love gets hurt, ‘k?” I shoved past him and headed for the door. Aric was slouched by the front door. He straightened up, a wicked grin crossing his face as I stormed up, trailing Chase and Cass behind me. Aric moved to bar the door. I snarled at him.
“Ease down, yer majesty. I just wanted everyone to catch up.” He stepped out of the way and let me out. “Besides, you don’t have a ride.”
Our eyes met, his amused, mine distinctly not. There must have been something in my gaze that unsettled him, because he took a step back and glanced at Chase.
“Bro, you’d better get behind the wheel before her majesty eats our faces.”
Chase growled as the valet pulled the black SUV up to the front of the mansion. “Fine. Everyone in.”