I know.

These vampires aren’t innocents. They kidnap and torture children. And then they turn those children over to pirates when they’re done with them. Look at them.

She gazed across the garage. The children were still tucked inside the truck, way on the other side. She couldn’t even see them from here. For the first time, their magic was calming down. The Dragon Born were the mages’ and fairies’ boogie man too. If they’d heard Yarran’s revelation, they wouldn’t have been so calm. They’d have been downright terrified.

Even if they had heard, I couldn’t do it, she told her dragon.

I know. But you do need to take care of the vampires. They’re mercenaries of a different kind than you, Sera. They have no honor. Or compassion. If you let them go, they’ll sell your secret to the highest bidder. And if you turn them in, they’ll sell your secret to the Magic Council in exchange for their freedom.

Nodding numbly, Sera tightened her grip on her sword. Then she turned back to the vampires.

The ghost knows too, her dragon told her later as she cleaned the vampire blood from her sword.

Sera glanced at Yarran. He was floating back toward the truck, humming and muttering nonsensical limericks. Yarran had the attention span of a sieve. He’d probably—hopefully—already forgotten that she was Dragon Born. And she had no idea how to kill a ghost anyway.

That just left Naomi. Her friend. Or was she even her friend anymore? Sweat and blood lathered Sera’s sword hand. Her grip was precarious at best—her resolve even less secure.

“I knew you were different,” Naomi said, watching Sera approach. “You and Alex.”

Alex. Her life was on the line too. And Riley. And anyone else the Magic Council would try to hurt to get to her.

“But I never imagined this,” Naomi continued. “So this is why you were hiding your magic for all these years.”

Sera didn’t want to kill Naomi. She wasn’t even sure she could end her friend.

Naomi looked at Sera’s sword. “Sera, you don’t actually think I’m going to turn you in, do you?” Her voice was dry, free of all fairy magic. Free of tricks or pretense.

“I considered the possibility.”

“I’m your friend.”

“The Magic Council doesn’t care about friendship,” replied Sera. “They care about their rules. And according to those rules, I am an abomination. The sentence for my existence is death. The sentence for helping me or hiding the truth about me is death.”

“No.” Even as the single word echoed through the garage, Naomi lowered her voice to a whisper and added, “There will be no death because I’m not saying anything. The Magic Council won’t find out.” Her magic rang true. It sang of friendship. Of solidarity.

“I don’t know what to say,” Sera said, choking back a tear.

“In this case, it’s best to say nothing,” Naomi nodded toward the truck, where Yarran was amusing the children by twirling in aerial loops. “Well, except…”

“Yes?”

Naomi wrapped her arm around Sera and turned them both so their backs were to the truck. “Does Kai know?”

“No,” Sera said. “And it needs to stay that way. He’s on the Magic Council.”

“Sera, the man isn’t stupid. And not only is he not stupid, I bet he’s much more familiar with the Dragon Born signs—whatever those are—than most mages. He must have figured it out by now. Or he will soon.”

“Maybe. Or maybe not. It’s too risky.”

She’d admitted to him that she had a secret. But that could be anything. Surely, he wouldn’t suspect something as big as her being Dragon Born. What would he do if he found out? Flashes of Kai turning on her—attacking her—pulsed through her head, and she shuddered.

That was all Alden. His manipulations. None of it was real, her dragon told her.

I know. But I can’t tell him. Just because Alden was showing me my biggest fears doesn’t mean they aren’t true. What if Kai reacts the same way? He’s been told from birth that the Dragon Born are monsters. He’s only known me for a few months. Why would he make an exception?

Her dragon snorted. Kai Drachenburg has many endearing qualities, not the least of which is his capacity to be a stubborn ass. He has his own mind about everything, Sera. He doesn’t take anything at face value, no matter who said it. And he doesn’t care about stupid rules. Just look at how the man parks.

Sera snorted too, which drew a concerned look from Naomi.

“Sorry,” Sera told her. “Just discussing things.”

“With…yourself?”

“Kind of. It’s complicated. I’ll tell you later.” She looked pointedly at the truck. “Somewhere less exposed. Now, how about we get those children reunited with their families?”

* * *

Sera drove the truck to Mayhem while Naomi rode in the back with the children. The ghost stayed in the back too, which gave Sera a few minutes of quiet. Or at least a few minutes of listening to her dragon tell her that she should fess up with Kai. She was of the opinion that all dragons were trustworthy. Go figure.

After arriving at Mayhem, Naomi brought the children inside to sort out how to get them all home to their families. Sera was bloody, dirty, and tired. Between her interrupted dinner and all the magic she’d used that night, she’d need to sleep for at least ten hours to recover. So she stumbled home, ate a few crackers, and fell into bed with her dirty clothes still on.