“Pull over here.” Logan pointed to a dirt road somewhere in the middle of Fresno. “I want this quick, Sloane. You shift, we get the scales, and you’re human again. Understand?” He pinned me with his green-eyedgaze.
I wanted to make a snarky comment about not understanding his simple English, but thought better of it. He was stressed and I didn’t want to add tothat.
“Gotit.”
He nodded, rubbing his hands on his jeans in a rare nervous gesture. I leaned forward, placing my left hand on hisshoulder.
“I’ve got this now, remember?” I shoved the purple crystal staff in his face. “I can shoot purple lightning from it, and probably take off someone’slimb.”
Keegan chuckled. “Or just make them keel over holding theirnuts.”
Truth.
I hadn’t done human trials yet, but if the scorch marks on the tree trunks were anything to go by, I could do some damage if needbe.
Keegan pulled up to an old dilapidated barn on some dusty farmland. “This is it. Danny’s uncle owns the farm. Thinks we’re doing a cool nude photo shoot. Won’t botherus.”
Nude! Well, technically I would be disrobing, so whatever got us some alonetime.
“Danny’s from Fresno?” I chuckled. Someone cool and hip like him? I thought for sure he was from New York City orLA.
Keegan nodded. “Yes, but he’d never admit it toyou.”
“I like him,” I pressed, hoping we could start some kind of conversation about this packrule.
“Let’s get out,” Keegan said, and unlocked thedoors.
Conversationfail.
Eva, Danny and Dominic pulled in behind us, and got out aswell.
“I’ll spell the barn as best I can,” Evadeclared.
Keegan nodded, pulling his beloved shotgun from the car and motioning to thedoor.
Danny looked out onto the land with a small smile. I wondered if he had fond childhood memories here. Seemed like hedid.
“I had my first kiss to Timothy Sanders in this barn,” Danny musedaloud.
Keegan growled but turned it into a cough, only forcing Danny to raise one eyebrow andsmile.
These two needed to get back together, and get it overwith.
“Let’s do this and get out of here,” Loganbarked.
That thrust Keegan into action. Eva was walking around the barn throwing her hands up, coating the night sky with long wisps of yellow magic. Keegan unlatched the barn doors and motioned Dominic, Logan, and I inside as Danny and Eva announced they would watch theperimeter.
I took a deep breath. Why was I nervous?Because changing into my dragon basically texted the druids mylocation.
“Hey, how do the druids know whenever a dragon shifts? I mean, how is that possible? Magic?” Maybe they’d done some gnarly spell over our race longago.
Logan looked tense as Keegan flipped on an old rusty light in the barn; it cast dark shadows across my mate’sface.
“When Ardan killed the first dragon and absorbed its power, it mixed with his own, and he manifested the gift,” Logan said tersely. “Because all druids take power from him, they all have thegift.”
Gross. It’s like they were all a little bit dragon because they walked around with deceased dragon magic inside of them.Bastards.
The barn door shut behind me and Dominic faced it, guns out and aimed at anyone who dared walkthrough.
