CHAPTER ONE
RILEY
My little garden grew beautifully. Squash and zucchini, corn, and tomatoes, all in neat, orderly rows. I hummed as I weeded, soaking up the summer sunshine that was a source of energy to me, like the plants.Maybe I’m turning into a pumpkin. I certainly feel like one.I rubbed my growing stomach fondly.
Once again, I cursed the laws that forbade an Unseen creature from studying our genetic heritages. I should’ve known why the sun gave me energy. All of the Sárkány knew it, but nobody knew why—it wasn’t the same in Galdiart, the homeland of my people. I held out hope that one of the Sárkány we brought through the portal to live on Earth might end up being one of their famed scientists.
The dragons I’d begun to help save the year before had once been a thriving and proud people, even more advanced than we were on Earth. But their civil war had destroyed all of that, leaving them a shell of who they once were, without enough people to keep their civilization going. Much knowledge was lost or burned, and there weren’t enough people to carry the tomes of information to the small village they’d gathered in.
We’d promised to destroy the last remaining portal once all the dragons were through, but I found myself second-guessing that decision. We could send expeditions into Galdiart. There was so much information to be had. I groaned and sat up, rubbing my lower back.
“Are you okay?” Anthony sat in a lawn chair beside the garden, the sunlight bringing out caramel highlights in his dark hair, reading a book on programming. He was searching for a way to combine human technology with magic. “Are you sure you won’t let me help you weed?”
“No, but thank you. I enjoy the sunshine and having my hands in the dirt. It’s weird, I never had any desire to do such a thing before we went through the portals and my dormant Sárkány side was awoken, but now I love it. I feel connected to the Earth.”
“In all the years I watched you and learned about you, I never noticed you spending any amount of time outside,” he replied, face pensive.
I gave him a sharp look. “Don’t say it like that. I know younow, I love you, and I’m so happy to be your wife. But that was creepy.”
The months after we returned from Bolivia were, in some ways, a nightmare. I’d grown to care for Elias and Anthony, to love them. But the shock of losing Michael was raw after watching his persona burn. And once I’d had time to really think and contemplate how everything had happened, the pain of Elias’s betrayal cut me deep.
Anthony’s role in the whole ordeal didn’t bother me quite as much, since he didn’t integrate himself into my life with lies, but him watching me for so long before I knew him was still an intrusion into my privacy.
Even months later, the betrayal and lying was still a major wedge in our relationship. I sighed and attacked the sparse weeds with renewed vigor. Elias, though I’d married him and loved him, wasn’t my favorite person at the moment. He’d taken to traveling with the Sárkány, throwing his energy into helping them come through the portal and integrate.
After so many years apart, we told my sons the truth as soon as we could find a private room to sit down and talk to them. We made it a family conversation, knowing they’d need all of us in the coming years. We didn’t know how they would progress as they aged, whether their Sárkány or Supay lineage would dominate or somehow meld into some new species. As adults, we had decided to resolve our issues so we would all be available to support the children.
In the early days, I couldn’t let my guard down enough to let Elias or Anthony close. Axoular, who was also in an overwhelming situation, became my companion. The kids had continued their studies with their Aunt Tammy and weren’t around as much as I would’ve liked.
Axoular filled a need, giving me a purpose. I’d taught him the basic history of Earth. We’d driven to the home I’d shared with Michael, about a half an hour away, and I’d taught him to use technology that he'd encounter in his everyday life in our society. He’d mastered the television, and I’d gotten him his own cell phone. We had plans to go get my laptop as well.
I’d put Danyelus on the scent of solar power over the winter, and he'd been obsessed until he completed the setup for the manor. It had previously been run on generators and gasoline, but they’d had to be sparing. Most of the lighting came from the sun, and they’d lived without television or internet access. I wasn’t about to live that way—I needed my TV fix.
“When will Elias be home?” I asked tentatively, without looking up. He’d run off on another trip to Bolivia a few days before, after we’d had a pretty nasty fight.
“I talked to him this morning. He’ll be back tomorrow.”
Guilt, my constant companion. I sighed and allowed the emotion to overwhelm me again. Guilt that my children were only just beginning to know me. It didn’t matter to me that I couldn’t have done anything sooner to reconnect with them.
Guilt that Axoular was miserable. Minda, his long-time girlfriend, took off soon after reaching Earth. I taught her a little about technology and she took to it. She’d loved figuring out how electronics worked and stayed holed up in my old home for days at a time tinkering. Eventually, she turned up at the manor, took the starter kit we offered every Sárkány, consisting of a new ID, ten thousand dollars, and a cell phone, and took off. We’d texted a few times, but she seemed to want nothing to do with any of us.
Guilt that I couldn’t get past Elias’s betrayal. I’d managed to forgive Anthony, though it was still a touchy subject. I just couldn’t quite forgive Elias for ingratiating himself into my life without telling me my children were safe.
And worst of all, guilt about what sort of world I’d be bringing my little one into. I rubbed my belly. If he—I was convinced he was a boy—was a Shapeshifter, what would the other Unseen think of him? How would they treat him? What if he needed some sort of special treatment only Shapeshifter children required? If Peter really was his father, we might have problems.
“I think your weeds are gone. You’re pulling up vegetable roots now.” Anthony’s voice broke through my thoughts again and I jerked my hand back. He was right; I held tiny carrots in my hand.
After shoving them back into the dirt in hopes of having them grow again, I stretched and got to my feet. Anthony jumped up to grab me, pulling me up so it wasn’t so difficult to rise. At eight months pregnant, my stomach was enormous and cumbersome. When I found out I was pregnant, I’d hoped my newfound powers would help me thrive through the nine months, but no such luck. I’d been miserable since about week four, unlike with my other boys.
Anthony hugged me, putting one hand on the back of my head in comfort. The baby kicked hard enough for him to feel it as he pressed himself to my front. He laughed and drew back, bending to talk directly to my stomach. “Don’t worry, little one. There are plenty of hugs waiting for you when you come out.”
He kissed my stomach before taking my hand and tugging me toward the house. “It’s lunchtime, and Axoular made your favorite.”
Mmmm. Mini pizza bagels.I’d been craving them. “Great.”
Axoular had fit right in at the manor. He got along well with everyone but spent most of his time by my side. He’d been teaching me about our heritage, and I’d continued to teach him about Earth.
Anthony and Elias became fast friends with Axoular. They shared many interests, namely the continuation of our combined races and my well-being. If I allowed myself to think about it, I knew I was attracted to Axoular, but I wasn’t sure about the can of worms that would open.
