Chapter 1

Bailey

The massive green dragon lay on its side with its tongue lolling from its mouth, having expelled its final breath moments before. A puddle of blood pooled under its chest. I’d hardly had to try when I killed it despite the fact it likely weighed twenty times as much as me.

The beast and two of its buddies had been chasing down a group of kids, hoping to snack on them. Their prey looked like preteen orphans who’d formed a gang—not all that uncommon after more than six years of living with dragons in our world.

So many people had died in that time.

According to very rough estimates, the Earth had lost at least half its population. Of course, an official census was impossible, but many of us suspected the percentage was far greater than that. Lack of modern medicine, clean water, law and order, changed landscapes, and numerous other factors steadily eroded mankind.

My friends and I had intervened in this latest attack, using magically enhanced bullets and arrows we’d acquired from sorcerers to shoot at our targets and bring them to the ground, but my part in the fight had ended too soon for my liking. The dragon I’d attacked hadn’t even recovered from its fall before I stuck a sword in its heart. Any true slayer wanted a bit of a challenge before the battle ended.

At least the kids we’d saved had the sense to run away the moment we intervened.

I glanced over at one of my hunting partners, Rayna. “Any trouble with yours?”

“Nope.” She blew a lock of her long, coppery brown hair from her face. She’d put it in a tight braid, but her wavy strands often came loose while fighting. “It’s annoyingly disappointing.”

“It seems like only the weakest and dumbest members of the Shadowan hang around here anymore.”

She nodded with resignation in her hazel eyes.

We were currently on a hunt in south Oklahoma City. As slayers, Rayna and I had to fight at least once a week to quell our dragon-killing urges, but even that pushed our limits if we spent a lot of time around our innate enemies. Considering I was mated to the pendragon of the Taugud—a shifter clan—and lived in his castle with him and our son, I tried not to wait that long.

Rayna lived away from the fortress but still ran into enough dragon shifters while residing in their territory that she needed to play it safe, too. No matter how hard we fought it, our hard-wired instincts would win if we weren’t careful despite the fact the Taugud could take on human form. We had to stay on our allies’ good side with a much larger war looming against a powerful force to the West.

She wiped her sword clean and slid it into the scabbard strapped to her belt. “It is getting annoying. We haven’t had a decent fight in over a month, and our prey used to be tougher when we first started hunting here. These days, they don’t even hurt me before I finish them.”

“Yeah,” I said, humor and sarcasm lacing my voice. “It’s terribly frustrating when you walk away from a battle without a scratch.”

She grinned. “Right?”

Grunting and cursing came from about a hundred feet away, where Conrad still fought to finish his dragon. He wanted to be a slayer like me and Rayna. He’d been gifted with immunity to flames almost six years ago and used that advantage to fight our fiery-mouthed foes. I suspected he’d eaten a coupleof hundred dragon hearts over that period, hoping to make the transition as we did. It was part of the initiation process for those of us born with the gene and who accepted our duty. Conrad’s distasteful diet had made him stronger and faster, so I supposed he was on to something, but I was glad I only had to eat the heart once to become a full slayer. He was attempting it the hard way as a regular human.

Also, unlike us, he took his time with his prey and killed them slowly with sword strikes and verbal mockery. I’d begun to feel sorry for whichever dragon he targeted since it would die a slow and ignoble death. Conrad really enjoyed the job for someone not born into it.

“Man, eweee! Do you Shadowan ever clean your asses after you shit?” Conrad wrinkled his nose and sliced the green beast’s snout. “Seriously, ya’ll stink. You might breathe fire, but a little water can be your friend, ya hear me?”

I hadn’t noticed a difference in their scent. Slayers had heightened senses, so I could smell one if it got near me, but most pure dragons had the same odor as a reptile, as far as I could tell. Shifters were another story. Their odor tended to have a trace of musk regardless of their form.

“Do you know what he’s talking about?” I asked Rayna.

She shook her head. “Nope. I’ve never been bothered by their scent, but breath, on the other hand…”

“Oh, yeah. Pure dragons are the worst,” I agreed. They ate raw meat all the time as part of their diet and never cleaned their teeth, unlike shifters, so one had to gird themselves whenever the beasts opened their mouths. Not even their flames killed whatever germs lurked in their saliva.

Maybe that’s what Conrad meant, come to think of it.

“Just kill the damn thing already,” I said.

It had taken us hours to find a group of dragons to kill. The roving guards had gotten smart and begun avoiding us, so we had to go deeper into Shadowan territory near an apartment complex to find a cluster foolish enough to attack. Or rather, ones who flew close enough to the ground to hit with our projectiles. Twice, we’d gone to hunt Bogaran instead since they were easier to find, but that meant hours of travel to cross the state and reach Arkansas. It had to be an overnight trip. I hated being away from Aidan and our son, Orion, for that long.

Speaking of which…

“Come on, Conrad.” I put my hands on my hips. “I’ve got plans and don’t want to be late, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

He grumbled about how I shouldn’t rush perfection. Then he kicked the dragon in its damaged snout and thrust his sword into its chest while it roared in pain. In seconds, the beast sank to the ground as life left its eyes. Damn, he had good aim.

After pulling his sword free, Conrad glared at me. “Happy?”

“I would be if we could leave now.”

He snorted. “Just a few more minutes, and I’ll be done. Chill, girl.”

Wanting to hurry things along, Rayna and I helped him push the dragon’s body to its side. He used a short blade to cut through the soft underbelly and then ripped it open. Blood and guts came pouring onto the pavement. Those of us with sense leaped back to avoid getting our boots dirty, but Conrad didn’t hesitate to thrust his arm inside. Once he’d grabbed the heart, he used his other hand to cut it loose from the chest cavity. The large, squishy organ was about the size of his head.

“Hmm, dinner,” he said, taking a big bite from the top as blood leaked down his hand and arm. It smeared all around his mouth as he chewed.

The twenty-five-year-old man remained impeccably clean most of the time except when fighting dragons. Now, he looked like he could have auditioned for a part in a zombie movie—if anyone still filmed those. I nearly hurled. Rayna coughed and turned away.

He ignored us and continued consuming his “treat.” My memory of eating a dragon heart six years ago resurfaced, and I recalled it didn’t taste too horrible despite my reluctance. The closest comparison might have been chicken giblets after being cooked in a soup—with disturbingly red broth. None of that made a difference as I watched the seeping blood drip to the ground from Conrad’s grip. It was enough to ruin one’s appetite, and I never wanted to eat one again.

“Oh, damn.” Conrad stumbled, half the heart still in his hand. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

His dark skin had taken on an ashen pallor, and his brown eyes turned unfocused. Could the dragon have been ill and passed the disease along? I wasn’t sure if that was possible, especially not that fast.

“What do you mean?” I asked, concern bringing me a few steps closer.

“I feel dizzy.”

Dizzy? Light-headed? Hmm.

A light bulb went off in my head, and I snapped my fingers at Rayna. “Think this is it?”

She spun around to study Conrad, whose knees had begun to wobble. The heart fell from his loosened grip, plopping to the ground with a wet thunk . He sank to his knees and bowed his head. More memories surfaced of how I’d felt the night I’d made my full transition to a slayer. It looked a lot like he did now.

“Yeah, almost definitely.” She threw her hair back behind her shoulder. “Good thing, too, because I didn’t think I could take him eating any more dragon hearts.”

On that, she and I could agree.

“We gotta get him out of here fast then,” I said, urgency in my voice.

Rayna gave a shrill whistle and then furrowed her brows, a sign of her using her telepathic ability. She was likely letting her horse, Onyx, know to come quickly. The whistle just helped him narrow down our location. We’d left the animal hours ago while hunting, and he knew to stay a safe distance away under cover. Usually, the stallion found a nice, shady spot to munch on grass.

Conrad rubbed his head. “Why does it hurt so much?”

The pain was setting in, which meant he would be in full-blown agony before long. One didn’t get to be a slayer without making serious sacrifices every step of the way. If we wanted to be immortal, heal quickly, and gain super strength, our bodies had to transform on a cellular level. All the advantages Conrad had gained so far were what anyone born with the gene would have had before the transition. It took the rite of passage to complete the changes and give him full power.

“That’s just the beginning, my friend,” I said, kneeling to put an arm around him. “It’s gonna get a whole lot worse over the next two days.”

He let me pull him up, wincing. “Shit. I forgot how bad it was for you. Must have blanked out about it, but it’s comin’ back to me now. This is gonna fuckin’ suck big time.”

Conrad had watched my transition, staying in the room almost the entire time as my most loyal friend. From what I understood, I screamed in pain a lot, convulsed, went through a stage of being too hot and then too cold. Thankfully, I didn’t remember much of it, but everyone told me what they’d seen, and it sounded awful. It wasn’t something I’d wish on anyone, especially such a close and loyal friend, but it was what he’d spent years working to make happen. I had to respect that.

“I tried warning you, so don’t say I didn’t.”

“Yeah, yeah. I still think it’ll be worth it once it’s over.”

Rayna had retrieved her horse and brought Onyx toward us. The black stallion was a beautiful baroque Friesian with a long, lustrous mane and tail. He also had feather hair on his lower legs, covering his hooves. I never tired of looking at him, and he loved attention.

Conrad gritted his teeth. “I’m gonna have to ride that horse, aren’t I? The same one you used to pull that trick on me a few months ago?”

He’d be lucky if he had thirty minutes before the pain became unbearable. We were about five or six miles from the border with the Taugud, where it would be safer for him to transition. Walking wasn’t an option. I doubted he’d be able to stand much longer, even with me holding him, which was why Rayna hadn’t wasted any time retrieving her horse. She’d also been through the same process and knew what to expect.

“You’ll pretty much lose control of your body soon,” I said, guiding him to the other slayer. “The pain will feel like being burned alive, except it will last a whole lot longer and won’t have the good grace to kill you.”

“Thanks for that comforting description,” he grumbled.

I smiled wide enough to show teeth. “You hate it when I sugarcoat things, so why bother?”

“Damn, psycho women.”

Rayna and I worked together to boost Conrad onto the horse. It wasn’t that he felt heavy with our superior strength, but rather that he’d become limp and awkward. I feared we’d have to tie him onto the stallion like the time I’d gotten my revenge on him in Tennessee. He’d been asleep for that, but I swore that this time, it was even harder to get him settled as he began to tremble with pain.

“I’ll ride with him and hold him,” Rayna said, mounting the horse behind Conrad. She looked down at me. “Will you be okay?”

“Of course. Don’t worry about me. Take him to the safe house right past the border, and the lady there will help. Oh, and if you see Esphyr, let her know I’ll be along shortly.”

I’d made a few allies before leaving for North Carolina. Thankfully, they welcomed me back after five years away with no problem. Sometimes, I needed a place to store stuff or recover from injuries after a battle. A few people around the city were happy to help whenever I needed it, and I’d introduced Rayna to most of them, so she’d have support during those times she hunted without me.

Conrad arched his back and groaned. “Damn, this sucks.”

It was too bad I couldn’t stay with him during the transition, but I no longer had that luxury as a pendragon’s mate. Duty called. “I’ll get word to Rosalie so she can come be with you.”

His girlfriend would be a better source of comfort anyway.

“Why can’t I just go home?” he asked, misery in his brown gaze.

“Sorry.” I shook my head. “You’re barely gonna make it across the border before it gets so bad you’ll be out of your mind and praying for deliverance. Every movement and touch against your skin will feel like agony. Trust me that you need to get to the nearest safe place.”

Most of my memories of the transformation process were hazy, but a few key things stood out from that time—pain being chief among them. I didn’t envy Conrad that experience, but at least he’d finally get his wish and be stronger for it. We had a war to fight. He’d become an essential asset as a full slayer and feel a hundred percent better afterward. There was a significant difference between fighting dragons before and after the process, especially with a slayer’s rapid healing abilities. It took a hell of a lot of damage for us to die.

“Take care,” Rayna said with a wave, then nudged her horse into a smooth lope.

I watched them go while Conrad begged her to slow down, moaning in pain. She’d have to weave through wrecked city streets, roving gangs, and who knew what other obstacles to get him across the border fast. He’d have to tough it out until then.

I took off at a jog, following in the same direction. They left my sight moments after I started, but I didn’t worry. There wasn’t a green dragon in the sky. We’d been seeing fewer and fewer Shadowan in recent weeks, likely because they put more of their forces at the Thamaran border to the west. Or rather, the Kandoran border since their evil army had taken over without making it official. The urine markers hadn’t been updated by any clan on that side for at least a few years. Shifters told me that since I wasn’t about to sniff around and check.

Avoiding the main streets, I ran through neighborhoods. Some had burned down at some point, but others remained standing. None of them looked like anyone had maintained them in a long time. It didn’t mean people didn’t continue to live inside, though. They knew better than to advertise signs of habitation that would trigger the pure dragons to investigate further, so they let the outside become overgrown, littered with trash, and dilapidated.

Garbage and the noxious odors of overflowing sewage were major problems outside of Norman. Humans beyond the town’s limits hadn’t organized in any meaningful way beyond maybe protecting each other in certain neighborhoods, so the living conditions continued to worsen. I’d heard the city planners hoped to expand and include more places for clean-up, running water, and electricity wherever enough humans agreed to cooperate.

I’d run about a mile when I spotted three men sitting on a porch with pistols and rifles in their hands. They tensed when they first saw me but didn’t stand or lift their weapons. I didn’t change my pace, choosing instead to meet their gazes and wave.

“Slayer,” one of them called as I passed, a grin splitting his face. “Keep up the good work!”

Word had gotten around that I was back, and they knew how to recognize me with my black camrium uniform—along with Conrad and Rayna, who wore the same. Our specialized clothing was fireproofand bulletproof and didn’t tear easily due to the strong leather-like material and magical properties imbued into it. No one with any sense messed with us. They knew we wouldn’t hurt them unless provoked, and we only came out to kill dragons. Nobody minded that. Only the occasional idiot with a chip on their shoulder considered challenging us, but that rarely happened anymore.

I considered passing them without replying, but I felt obligated to say something.“Have you heard what’s coming?”

The man who’d spoken to me grimaced. “There’s been rumors.”

“It’s gonna be bad,” I said, a warning in my voice. “We’re gearing up for battle and can use all the help we can get, so if you feel up for it, talk to someone on the shifter side about joining us—or just make sure you get underground during the war to stay safe. We hope to win, but it’s gonna take a while with the army coming our way. Stock up on all the supplies you can.”

The three men glanced at each other with wary expressions before the same one replied, “We appreciate you tellin’ us. We might think about joinin’, but no promises.”

“It’s fine, whatever you decide, but could you pass the word along?” I asked.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “We can do that.”

The Norman city council had been distributing flyers around the Oklahoma City area over the past few weeks to get the news out, along with Hank—the radio guy—doing the same. We were trying to prepare everyone the best we could and recruit anyone willing to fight. Some people were too tired from years of barely surviving to care about the big picture anymore. It was simply one more problem in a long list of many.

We’d all been through a lot since the dragons arrived, and many didn’t have much left to give. I tried not to judge despite lacking that choice myself. Like it or not, I had to face the enemies coming. Every slayer in the area would feel compelled to do so.