“I understand.” I nodded at her, hoping she could hear the sincerity in my voice.
Dan wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I’ll stay here with her.”
Aurelia took hold of my hand and held her other one out for Cody to take. He stepped forward cautiously. As soon as he slipped his hand into hers, she teleported us to the mountain clearing. Darkness surrounded me. I felt like my body was being stretched out and squeezed together at the same time.
As soon as daylight hit me, I pinched my eyes shut. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and I fought the urge to throw up.
The wind rustled through the trees, but there were no birdsongs, no critters skittering through the undergrowth. I wondered if it was because we had arrived so suddenly or because of the taint of Draconian. Would his vileness forever corrupt this area?
“He’s not here, Dacia.” Cody’s voice was soft. His hands skimmed my arms.
As soon as I opened my eyes, my gaze was drawn to the spot where I’d killed Draconian. I saw him, sitting against the tree, blood spilling from his lips, staining his beard, fear on his face when he realized he was going to die. I looked down at my palms expecting to see them covered in gore.
“Dacia,” Aurelia said.
I didn’t acknowledge her, I kept replaying Draconian’s death, feeling his blood coat my hands, watching the life slip from his body, seeing the light in his eyes dim.
“Dacia.” Aurelia’s voice was urgent.
Cody stepped in front of me and lifted my chin so I was looking at him. “They’re here.”
I pressed my eyes shut and drew some strength from him. Then I turned around. My heart raced, and my legs weakened, but I fought to keep my face from showing the terror that threatened to consume me.
The dragons formed an imposing line next to Aurelia. All of them were in human form. A massive black man stood on Aurelia’s right. He towered over her. Long cornrows ran down his back, and his bronze eyes bored into mine.
I staggered back, and Cody braced me. “Malus Tribulus.” His name was little more than a whisper, but he heard it and nodded.
Extending his hand, he said, “Call me Malcolm.” His voice was low and resonant and brought with it flashes of his dragon.
Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand in his, feeling dwarfed by his size and strength. “Thank you for volunteering.”
“After the terror I imparted on you and your friends”—he lowered his head, and the beads in his hair clanked together—“it was the least I could do.”
A blue-haired guy stepped forward and pulled me against him. He breathed in deeply and moaned.
I tensed, jerking back, trying to free myself from his embrace. He held on longer than was called for, patting my back when he finally let go.
“Call him Val,” Malcolm said.
Val dropped his chin to his chest. “I wanted to tell her my name.” He grabbed my hand with one of his and rubbed his other one down my arm. “Call me Val.” A bright smile engulfed his face.
“Okay.” I stepped away from him and tried to return his smile. “Thank you.”
Next in line was an albino lady with lavender eyes and white close-cropped hair. She smiled at Cody before nodding at me. “Names, as you know, have power.” Her voice was soft and lyrical. “While I’m here, please call me Arianna.”
“Thank you for helping my friends.”
She bobbed her head. “Thank you for freeing us.”
A dark-skinned man with crimson hair nodded. “Russ’ll do.”
“Thank you.” I shook his hand and moved onto the next.
He glowered at me. His black hair was streaked with purple. My heart felt like it slammed to a stop. This dragon was the one I wanted here the least. Even though he’d never attacked me, this was the dragon I still had nightmares about.
“I don’t care what you call me, but if you say my true name out loud again ever, you’ll regret it.” He stepped close to me and breathed in deeply, closing his eyes. “I can smell your fear.” He stepped back, smirking at me. “You’d do well to remember it in my presence.”
“Why—” my voice shook “— why are you here?”
“I’ll not owe a human.” He spat at my feet and turned away.
“Cash.” Aurelia growled. Her features shimmered, and her teeth lengthened into fangs.
He backed away from her, but his amethyst eyes narrowed on me. I shuddered and turned toward the last dragon. He was an enormous man. His long brown hair was braided and fell to the middle of his back.
I had no idea who he was until he bowed and said, “Trickster, I am indebted to you.”
“Tai—” I stopped before saying his full name.
“Tye’s good.” He bowed again and stepped back.
“The dragons here”—Aurelia waved her arm at them—“will be enrolled in your classes. They will be your constant companions.”
I tugged my hand through my hair. “Is all this necessary?”
“Yes,” Tye said. In dragon form, his voice had been sibilant, but as a human, it was commanding. “We can’t let you fall to d—”
“Tye.” A golden haze shimmered around Aurelia, spinning like a vortex, lifting leaves and debris from the ground. She emerged from the miasma fully transformed. The rubble settled around her, and she prowled forward.
Cody’s hand tightened on mine.
“Enough.” Aurelia’s tail swished through the air, and she pawed at the dirt. Deep claw marks gouged the ground.
Arianna stepped between Tye and Aurelia. “She deserves the truth.”
“She does.” Aurelia lowered her head. “For now, it has been forbidden.” Her crest flattened, and she morphed into a human again.
The other dragons grumbled, until Malcolm finally said, “We’ll agree to keep her in the dark unless it puts us in danger.”
Aurelia tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned to me. “There are four other dragons here. They will keep an eye on you and your friends but have chosen to remain unseen.”
All the dragons I’d faced flashed through my mind. There had been fifteen under Draconian’s control and
