sometimes being prepared can hurt
you.”
“When can it?” Owen asked.
“When it scares you so much
you can’t function.”
“This is going to be that scary?’ I
hoped she was talking big picture
and not the current situation.
“Maybe.” Hugh and Violet said
simultaneously.
I leaned back against the rail
again. “Fantastic.”
“Nice sarcasm.” Hugh smirked.
Violet smiled at me. “You and
Hugh give each other such a hard
time because you’re meant to be
friends. It’s perfect.”
“I have another random
question.” Why not try for one
more?
“What is it?” Hugh asked.
“Where’s Roland? He isn’t in this
realm. Does that mean he’s back in
the normal world?”
“The normal world?” Violet
crossed her arms.
“You know what I mean.”
“We don’t know.” Hugh returned
to the wheel relieving Owen. I
guess he was sick of the
conversation.
Owen joined me by the railing.
“Then why did you tell us that you
persuaded him to stay back?”
“We did, but he wasn’t where
we left him.”
“Why not?”
“If we knew we might have a
clue where he is…” So much for
Hugh exiting the conversation.
“He went missing?”
Violet nodded.
“How long has it been?” I
needed to gauge a timeline.
“Not long. It hasn’t been long
since we met you.”
“It feels like forever.” It did. I
could barely remember my life
before returning to New Orleans.
Was that a side effect of the
change? The more they told me,
the more questions I had.
“Where would he go?” That was
the next logical one to ask.
“If we knew, we’d find him.”
“He doesn’t want to help me.”
That had to be part of the reason
they didn’t bring him.
“He thinks he’s helping you.”
“Letting me change isn’t helping
me. If he thinks it is, he’s crazy.” I
let out a deep breath.
“He’s not crazy. He’s desperate.
If you end up destroying his maker’s
essence… well, he loses the
strongest personal connection he
has.”
“But even if I have it, I’m not
her. We’re not connected.”
“Are you going to deny the
effect he has on you? The way he
calms you down?” Hugh turned to
look at me.
“No, I’m not denying that, but I
am denying that our connection is
anything close to what he had with
his maker.”
“How would you know?’ Hugh
turned back around.
The boat started to heave up
and down. “I guess I don’t.” I
looked out at the suddenly choppy
water.
“What was that?” Something
flew by the boat. I braced myself on
the railing and noticed two figures
flying off in the distance.
“The Dragos have arrived,”
Violet said in a sing-song voice.
Maybe she enjoyed the Dragos as
much as they enjoyed her.
“Already?” I gripped the railing
even tighter.
“Sometimes they get impatient.”
Hugh turned off the boat.
“Great.” I took a few deep
breaths. I wasn’t sure what to
expect from the Dragos, but that
probably was a good thing. I was
learning paranormal creatures were
never what you expected.
The silhouettes from the
distance moved closer until they
were right above us.
I held my breath as two men
with long, powerful, leathery wings
lined with spikes landed on the
deck in front of us. The tan skin of
their bare torsos was covered in an
intricate pattern of tattoos. They
were both wearing black pants and
black boots.
Owen moved to my side.
“Why hello there,” The first one
grinned at me. His wings were lined
with bright blue that matched his
intense blue eyes. His black hair
was cut short. While I stared, he
retracted his wings. His bright eyes
faded into a lighter shade of blue.
“Hello Troy, how nice of you to
drop in.” Violet held out her hand to
him.
“Don’t act surprised. We’ve had
plans for a while.” He took her hand
and pulled her in so her body was
flush against his. “And when will
you learn to stop trying to shake my
hand?”
“When will you learn that I
prefer a more formal greeting?”
Violet’s voice was lighter, flirtier
than usual. It made me
uncomfortable, in the same way I
couldn’t stand watching my brother
all lovey-dovey with a girlfriend. I
wasn’t sure why I even cared.
He stepped away and looked at
me. “And who is this beauty?”
Owen stiffened at my side.
Violet smiled. “This is Daisy.
Daisy, this is Troy, and that one,”
she gestured to the other winged
creature. “That one is Wyatt.” His
wings had been lined in bright
green that matched his eyes. When
his wings retracted his eyes were a
lighter shade too. Unlike Troy, he
wore his equally dark hair longer.
“That one?” He put a hand to his
chest. “Is that how you speak of me
now?”
“I am merely introducing you.”
Troy laughed. “Oh ex-lover
spats. Aren’t they a blast to
witness?”
“Ex-lovers?” I asked with
surprise. I’d have thought Violet
had been intimate with Troy, not
Wyatt.
“Don’t listen to him, Daisy.
Troy’s only trying to rile me up.”
Violet rolled her eyes. “He’ll fail.”
Wyatt strode over to me and
held out his hand. “Daisy, nice
name. Why are you half-Allure?” He
went straight to the point.
I didn’t mind. “Uh, that’s a long
story.”
He ran a hand through his black
hair. “We have time. I’m guessing it
has to do with why you need a ride
to Mount Majest?”
“Yes.”
“Wait. A ride?” Owen frowned
“Why would Daisy need a ride?”
Troy rolled his shoulders back.
The action accentuated the muscles
in his strong arms. “Because
climbing that mountain is
impossible. You have to fly.”
“I can fly. Daisy is covered.”
Owen took my hand.
“Oh my.” Troy’s lips twisted into
a smile. “Are you one of those
birds?”
“I’m a Pteron.” Owen gritted his
teeth.
“Listen, sweetheart, you can
ditch the bird now. We’re here.”
Troy flashed his smile at me.
I wasn’t sure if he was joking or
not, but I wasn’t going to wait
before setting him straight. “Owen
and I are together.”
“Together?” Troy looked at
Violet. “Has someone told her she
can’t actually be with anyone
anymore?”
“Yes. That’s why we’re going to
see the Elders.”
“Wait.” Wyatt looked between
Owen and me. “No way, Violet. You
aren’t stupid enough to get the poor
girl’s hopes up.”
“There is a chance. They may
stop the change,” Violet quickly
replied.
Wyatt shook his head.
“Delusional.” He turned to me. “You
will be an Allure. Don’t let her fool
you.”
“I’m not giving up.” I crossed my
arms.
He rolled his eyes. “You’re all
delusional.”
I walked over to the railing.
There was nowhere else to go, but
I couldn’t look at anyone. I couldn’t
handle anyone else telling me I was
doomed—or that everything would
be okay. Things were what they
were, but I wasn’t ready to face the
music.
18
OWEN
The Dragos had to go. I could get
Daisy to the Elders on my own.
They were arrogant fools upsetting
Daisy while at least one of them
was simultaneously hitting on her.
Neither was okay. “Daisy and I can
take care of the rest on our own.”
Violet shook her head. “You’re
not going to get an audience
without me.”
“I’ll fly you both again then. I
managed it fine last time.”
“Daisy doesn’t need a pet.” Troy
put an arm around Violet. She
shrugged him off.
“I never said anything about
bringing Glendale.”
“Hey,” The cat yelled. “I’m not a
pet.”
“I wasn’t talking about
Glendale,” Troy ran a hand through
his jet black hair. “I was talking
about the bird.”
“You little shit.” I lunged for
him, feeling the transformation
before I was even consciously
aware. My fist made contact with
his face.
“Stop!” Violet yelled.
I ignored her. He wasn’t getting
away with disrespecting me and my
relationship with Daisy. I jumped on
top of him, only to be immediately
thrown off.
I looked up from where I’d been
thrown on the deck to see Troy
transformed. His wings flew out
behind him, sharp spikes lining each
one. He let out a large breath of
smoke.
He smiled, crossed his arms,
and retracted his wings as though
we hadn’t just been in a fight. He
wiped blood off his face.
“Impressive. You fight well for a
bird.”
I forced myself to transform
back to my human form. I needed
to stay calm. “Watch it.”
“I’m complimenting you. I
thought you were all city boys who
couldn’t defend yourselves. Maybe I
was wrong.”
“You were very wrong.” I
scowled. My dislike for Hugh was
nothing compared to the way I felt
about Troy.
“Enough of this testosterone
fest.” Violet stepped between us.
“Let’s focus on what’s important.”
I nodded. “Stopping the
change.” Taking care of Daisy was
the priority.
“The quickest route from here
into Energo is through the tunnel
gate.” Hugh crossed his arms. For
his part he’d been quiet since the
Dragos arrived. “I know none of you
flying folks are going to like that
though.”
“We can stomach it if we move
quickly.” Wyatt frowned.
“What is the tunnel gate, and
why are you two even coming?”
The sooner we got rid of the
Dragos, the better.
“Mount Majest is heavily
guarded. Dragos have unlimited
access due to a treaty,” Violet
explained.
“A treaty?” Daisy asked.
“We have some rather useful
abilities.” Troy grinned. “I’ll have to
show you some time.”
The guy never learned. I had to
fight down a growl. My Pteron side
was fighting to come out again, and
it was much more primal and
uncontrollable than usual.
“Are we ready to do this?” Hugh
pointed up toward the sky.
“Wait, we’re stopping here?”
Daisy narrowed her eyes. “I thought
we had a ways to go.”
“Flying will be way faster than
the boat, and we have enough
wings now.”
“Perfect.” Daisy grabbed hold of
my hand. “Let’s go.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me
to fly you?” Troy grinned. “I promise
I am faster.”
“Absolutely.” She straightened
her shoulders.
I pulled Daisy against me. She
was amazing. Completely and
utterly amazing.
“We’re going northwest. Follow
my lead because we have to be
careful where we land.”
“Got it.” I was anxious to get
moving. I wrapped my arms around
Daisy.
I waited for the Dragos to take
off—Troy took Violet and Glendale,
and Wyatt took Hugh.
As soon as they were in the air,
I followed closely. We were finally
getting to our goal, and I didn’t
want to waste a minute.
The flight was ten minutes, and
I enjoyed every moment of having
Daisy in my arms again. The last
flight had been taxing, but this one
was easy, and it helped put me at
ease. The most surefire way to
steady myself and stay calm was to
fly. Add Daisy to the mix, and it was
pure perfection.
I followed behind the Dragos
and started my descent as soon as I
saw them descend. I wasn’t keen
on anything involving tunnels, but I
wouldn’t be the only one
uncomfortable in the confined
space. They’d want to move
through as quickly as I did.
We continued our descent
through the clouds until finally the
ground became visible. All I could
see were ruins of old stone homes.
Interesting spot to choose to land.
I landed on an old stone road,
careful to make sure Daisy didn’t
feel any of the impact.
She looked around her. “Where
are we? Was this once a city?”
By the multitude of crumbing
rubble and the wide streets, I
guessed this had once been a
thriving city, but it was abandoned
now.
“We are not here to sight see,"
Hugh snapped.
“I was just asking a question.”
Daisy bit her lip. “Something major
happened here. I can feel it.”