Chapter 11

Eli

Aldryn was able to focus his efforts on driving, and I could sense that his dragon was not near the surface. In fact, he seemed to be resting or perhaps sleeping, much like what my own wolf did when I wasn't in need of a shift. I was glad for it. I wasn't sure I was in the right headspace to talk down a dragon from shifting.

Half my mind was still lost in the events of last night, while the other half was trying to figure out our next steps for this quest.

I began running through possible places that we could contact for information. While I was in school, I had met many people who were curious about history, but only one was what I would consider obsessive about history, especially shifter history. He knew all the ways in which shifters had fudged human history in order to keep ourselves hidden. He had more information in his brain than what could be found in books. I never asked why. Maybe it was time I did.

I sent him a text to see if maybe he would call me back. I tried to keep it casual. I didn't wish to alarm him in any way. If Aldryn's parents had thought it best to keep him and his brothers a secret, going so far as to split them up, then I didn't wish to jeopardize their safety by raising any alarms. Especially when we didn't know what we were dealing with.

While I waited for a reply, I watched Aldryn from the corner of my eye. He had been jealous of the waiter, that much I knew. I had never seen Aldryn jealous before, had never seen anyone jealous over me. Was it because of what happened last night? I didn't really want to tell Aldryn that that had been the only experience I had, but he had to know, right? Considering he was my absolute best friend in the world—my only friend really—I should've been able to talk about this, but the words did not come easily.

I was about to open my mouth to ask, to broach the subject, when my phone rang. He looked at me with a raised brow.

"It's Leonard, the historian I went to college with. I reached out to him for information," I explained.

"Awesome. Do you want me to pull over so you can talk?"

"No, this should be fine, I think. Hi, Leonard," I answered.

"Eli, how have you been?" His voice was deep and resonant, the sort of voice that made people sit up and listen to what he had to say, just as I remembered. He was always the friendly sort. His laugh was hearty when he told stories.

"Good," I said. "Just… you know, good." Off to a great start.

"Did you finally get out of that awful pack you live in?" I snuck a glance at Aldryn, and he raised a brow in question. Thanks to shifter hearing, speakerphone wasn't necessary for conversations to be heard by anyone in the car.

"Sort of. I mean, I still live there. I'm currently on a road trip right now." I couldn't look at Aldryn. My face would show too much. Already my cheeks grew heated.

"Road trip? That's awesome. So about the question you texted me. It intrigued me. You didn't seem like the history buff."

"I'm not, not really, but I have a situation here where some history might be relevant." And necessary. Aldryn and I really needed to understand what we were walking into. We had left for this journey with one goal in mind: find his brothers. But what next?

"What do you need to know? I'm curious how dragon folklore could help."

"Um, well at the risk of sounding crazy, do... do you know of any history or legends regarding dragons?"

He was quiet for a moment, and I thought that maybe he hung up on me or the connection severed. Then he answered.

"Dragons, like... like as shifters? Where the person's animal is a dragon, not wolves or bears. You're talking about those kinds of dragons?"

"Yes," I said.

"Oh, yeah. I know their history. They're real, man. Call me crazy if you want. There's some out there. Legend says that there are only three left. But they are out there."

Oh, I knew that. Leonard wasn't crazy, and I might've been one of the only people who could confirm. That was odd to think.

I snuck a glance at Aldryn. I put Leonard on speakerphone. Aldryn could hear him without it, but it was better with. "Tell us everything you know," I said.

"There's not a whole ton," he said. "Legend has it that dragon shifters used to be plentiful, just as many of them as there are of us shifters. But then their numbers started to dwindle. Humans hunted them a lot more than they did us. Then there were very few. The prophecy was that three dragons would be laid to a fated pairing. An alpha crystal dragon and omega topaz dragon. Their three eggs would be emerald, sapphire, and amethyst."

So far, it was on par with what we knew and what colors Aldryn associated with his brothers. The bit about his parents was interesting.

Aldryn's brow furrowed, but he kept a close eye on the road. His hand was wrapped tightly around the steering wheel.

"There were those that didn't want there to be any dragons, and so, they were hunted because of this prophecy. Other shifters felt that if the dragons came back in higher numbers, they would try to take over."

"Take over what?"

Leonard snorted. "Who the hell knows. Power-hungry people do stupid shit. I think the dragons just wanted to live normal lives; it was other shifters that went after them. Anyway, no one has seen or heard from any dragons for almost fifty years. I mean, there've been rumors of some, but even those rumors have died down in the last twenty-five years or so."

Gee, I wonder why.

"Why are you asking about this?" Leonard asked.

"No reason," I said. I pivoted with a question of my own. "Did dragons have any special powers different than what other shifters would have?"

Leonard whistled. "I mean, besides the fact that they were dragons and they could fly, nothing too crazy. They have fated mates just like us. They don't shift until they turned twenty-five. They can mind-speak with their mates."

I glanced at Aldryn. His hand jerked, and the car swerved a little.

"Just their mates?" I squeaked

"Mates and close family, I think. All of this is me piecing together stories I've heard and read over the years. There is contradictory information out there that I've had to wade through. They might be able to mind-speak with close friends too, maybe. But probably just mates and family," Leonard said. "Which is cool as hell. I mean, could you imagine being able to talk to your mate in your shifted form? That would be awesome."

This was… a lot to take in. I knew I would have questions, but I didn't know where to start. "This has been amazing, Leonard. Can I call you back with more questions?"

"Sure, anytime, man. Just know that people get a little nervous when you start talking dragon, so whatever you know, keep it on the DL."

"I can promise that I'll keep the information to myself. Thanks, Leonard, I appreciate it."

I hung up the phone.

There was no avoiding conversation now. We had a lot to talk about.