Caliban had only recently purchased the phone and appeared to be acclimating to it through full-time immersion. He was always on it, reading articles, watching short videos, and scrolling throughsocial media—whatever that was supposed to be. He absorbed information at an alarming rate and occasionally supplied me with facts I hadn’t requested, facts which usually dealt with human celebrities. I had yet to identify theirstrategic value.
I had purchased myself a phone as well, and I still resented how useful it was. Questions that once required weeks of research now resolved themselves in seconds. It was annoyingly inconvenient.
Then, Caliban read in his even tone: “Cristóbal Caballero. Historian. Known forRecopilación de Linajes de Dragones Notables de este Milenio. A detailed record of dragon bloodlines. Nearly all copies were destroyed. One lost in a printing house fire. Two seized during political unrest in Europe. One vanished in America during a moral panic.”
My chest tightened. “How do you know that?”
Caliban lifted the phone. “I Googled it.”
“You Googled it.”
“Yes.”
“You searched for a dragon compendium on a human search engine?”
“Yes.”
I would need to revisit several strongly held opinions. I had no words.
He continued. “It appears one copy survived. It is held by a public institution.”
My heart pounded with the force of the revelation. “Where?”
Caliban turned the screen so I could see.
Tarrytown Public Library. Rare Books Room. Special Collections.
Artemis Ripley, Head Librarian.
Ahumanpublic library. My father would have said that was an invitation to catastrophe.
There it was. My answer. My direction. My next step.
Caliban frowned at his screen. “Huh.”
“What,” I said.
“Justin Timberlake is canceling his world tour.”
I blinked. “Is that relevant?”
“No,” he said. “But humans are reacting strongly. I’m attempting to understand morale.”
I moved to the door without commenting on that.
Caliban followed. “Be careful of the weather. There’s a lot of lightning tonight.”
“I will be.”
“No, you won’t,” he said. “You never are.”
He was correct. I resented that.
My irritation only fueled the energy surging through me. As soon as I stepped out onto the terrace, I shifted. My body strengthened into its true form, wings opening with clean force. The fall wind hit my scales, and the cold gave me clarity.
I launched myself into the air.
Ahead, the human world waited. My father would have hated me going there.
