“Exactly,” said Ceri. “My father’s family treated us kindly, particularly my Aunt Chloe, who was the closest thing I had to a mother. But I spent most of my life feeling like I was different. Feeling like I had to pretend to be someone else.”
She left out the part about who she had pretended to be while trying to please her father. She didn’t want Leo to know.
In fact, she had said far too much already. The truth of Queen Yuling’s departure was a closely guarded secret, although there were, of course, a number of rumors floating around. He wasn’t the first person she’d told the truth, but look at how that had turned out for her.
The people she trusted had betrayed her. She had sworn she’d be more careful about trusting, and now here she was, pouring her heart out to a stranger because he was good looking and had offered her tea?
“This was a mistake,” she said, standing suddenly. “I’m sorry.”
“What? Ceri, what’s wrong?”
“I shouldn’t have come here. I shouldn’t have said any of that.”
She took off down the steps.
“Ceri, wait,” said Leo. “You won’t be able to see in the dark. I’ll take you back if you want.”
He was right that Ceri wouldn’t be able to see in the woods, but she wouldn’t need to.
In the space of a heartbeat, she transformed into a dragon.
“Mes Dieux,” said Leo. “Ceri—”
She turned towards him. She was much larger than him now, her pale skin now pearly white scales which glittered in the light of the crescent moon. She spread her grand wings and took flight.
Ceri rose quickly, the bare hilltop observatory and the looming dark forest shrinking beneath her as she soared towards the cloudless sky. The sky had darkened during their hike to near pitch, the first twinkling stars appearing.
Here, above the trees, she could see clearly.
Ceri looked down at the speck that was Leo still frozen on the stairs below. He had done nothing wrong. Was this kindness, leaving him like this? After she had promised to help him?
All because what—she’d let herself get too comfortable for a moment? And now she was going to punish him for it?
It was that same selfishness of hers again. He had shared with her something vulnerable about himself, and she had, unprompted, turned the conversation back to her, revealingmore than she’d ever intended to. And then she got upset about it and allowed him to think it was his fault.
What the hell was wrong with her?
She dove, feeling the rush of air over her wings. She could not resist turning one flip—it helped her slow down, on top of looking really cool—before she touched back down and transformed back, her clothes transforming down to size with her. (It had been kind of him not to laugh at a dragon wearing a Winwold College uniform.)
“You did nothing,” she said, speaking to him as if nothing had happened. His mouth gaped open at her, but she ignored it. “I just said too much. I don’t know how to do this.”
“Do what?” He was shaking. Ceri realized he hadn’t seen a dragon before.
Great. She’d scared him half to death twice in one day.
“I don’t know. Whatever this is. Have friends. Be normal. I don’t know how to do it.”
“Friends,” said Leo with half a smile.
She didn’t know if she could be his friend. She didn’t know if she could be anybody’s friend, but maybe, if she wanted to truly start over and try to be a better person, she could try. It would be simpler than being…more than friends, at least. Maybe if she could think of him as merely a friend, those pesky thoughts she’d been having since they met would go away.
Leo had continued to speak during her realization. “You don’t have to be normal. Gods know I’m not. I think you’re—”
He stopped himself. She wished he hadn’t. She wanted to know what he thought of her: did he see the new Ceri or the old?
“You’re doing just fine,” he said, sighing and looking away. “Come on. Let’s go up. It’s going to be a beautiful night for research.”
Ceri followed him as he led her into the observatory, trying to be content with her new nothing-more-than-a-friendcompanion. There were a handful of people inside taking turns through a large central telescope. Leo waved hello to a couple that he knew without stopping. He led Ceri up a flight of stairs and out onto a balcony with wide, sweeping views of the mountains and the valley beyond. The ‘lectric lights of the college were tiny sparks in the distance.
