Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Keegan was on the ground.

A young dragon shifter in baggy street clothes leaned over him. Tears streaked the shifter's pretty face, and he held a stake in one shaking hand.

He looked desperate, terrified in a way Keegan could not explain—when really, it should have been Keegan who was terrified.

Keegan couldn't get up from the ground. His chest felt heavy with inexplicable weight. His whole body burned as if he was on fire. He said something to the shifter, but he couldn't hear his own words.

He imagined that he was pleading for his life.

The shifter's lips were moving, but Keegan couldn't make out what he was saying either.

Then the shifter raised the stake and plunged it into Keegan's heart.

That was how that vision ended.

Every single time.

The stake would bury itself in his chest and Keegan would snap back to reality.

And every time, Keegan felt a little more pissed off at being shown a vision of his death.

This was his gift—or curse.

He could see the future. Every possible version of it, spread out before him like a complex network of threads, each one a possible path, a possible choice. Sometimes many threads led to the same conclusion. Other times they diverged and split up. Some threads were thick and strong, while others were thin and fragile, like spider silk.

When he had a vision, all the potential paths that led to it would light up like he was being guided by his very own psychic GPS.

All his visions worked like that.

Except for the one that showed him his ultimate demise.

It was the very first vision he had ever seen, and it lit up every single thread in the network.

Whatever path you choose, it seemed to say, this is where you'll end up.

It was ridiculous. The future wasn't written in stone. No one knew that better than Keegan.

And yet.

This one vision seemed stubbornly inevitable.

"You all right?" His best friend, Mordyn, asked.

"I'm fine," Keegan replied automatically, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Mordyn didn't look convinced. They were at the club, which was busy as usual for a Friday night. The air was filled with music, laughter and the hum of conversation. The smell of blood, sweat, and alcohol was thick and familiar.

"You were staring into space," Mordyn said. "You've been doing that a lot lately. More than usually."

Keegan wanted to wave his friend off, but Mordyn was right. He'd been acting like a fledgling, distracted by the onslaught of visions he couldn't control. "I don't know what's going on," he admitted. "There's this one vision I can't shake, and it's been dropping by uninvited."

He picked up his wine glass which was still half-full of blood and took a sip. Mage blood tonight. Maybe he should cut back on it. The stuff always seemed to make his visions more vivid.

"What kind of vision?" Mordyn asked. "Anything I need to worry about?"

Keegan shrugged. "I don't know. I've been seeing this one for…" He made a show of counting on his fingers. "Almost eighty years."

Mordyn arched an eyebrow at him. "Are you being serious?"

Keegan put on a fake smile. "It's like an old friend by now."

"You should take better care in choosing your friends."

Keegan shot Mordyn a look. "Obviously." He took another sip of his blood. "But I've been doing fine ignoring this vision for the past couple of decades so I don't think there's anything for you to worry about."

"It's become more frequent, though?" Mordyn eyed him closely. "You don't think that means anything?"

"Who's the expert here?" Keegan asked. "You or me?"

Mordyn held up his hands. "Fine, fine. Have it your way." He looked at the dancefloor where a pair of female dragons were dancing, their bodies moving together seductively. A few weeks ago, Mordyn would likely have tried to join them. Now, though, he had reunited with his mate.

"How are things going with you and Apollo?" Keegan asked.

Mordyn glanced at him. "He's working late tonight. As always." Mordyn grinned. "Do you think I'd waste my time with you if my mate was available?"

"Mh…" Keegan felt himself smile back at his friend. "You're in all of my futures, so yes."

"Damn. I'm not getting rid of you, huh?"

"Nope." Keegan lifted his glass once more and emptied it. "Any special plans for the weekend?"

"Apollo doesn't know it yet, but we're going to watch the Solstice fireworks. The rest of his team is coming too."

Keegan had almost forgotten about the celebrations going on in town that weekend. He'd barely left the club recently. Too busy trying to figure out why he kept seeing himself die.

"You should come," Mordyn said, as if catching on to his thoughts. "You spend too much time at your computer."

"I'll think about it."

"It might do you some good."

"I don't know." Keegan was about to get up and order himself a refill when his vision went dark for the shortest of moments. He saw himself at the fireworks, the cheers of the crowd in his ears as the sky lit up.

He blinked hard, coming back to the present.

"Something wrong?" Mordyn asked.

Keegan rubbed his temples. He hadn't had intrusive visions like that in years. Aside from that one fatal vision, anyway. "It's nothing," Keegan said. "Tell me about the fireworks."

"What's there to tell? They'll be loud and colorful, I guess. The theme this year is 'fire and ice' to celebrate our country's new union with the ice kingdom."

Another vision. This one showing him ordering food for Apollo and his teammates.

There was an odd certainty to the vision, as if it was decided that he was going.

He looked up to realize that Mordyn was still talking and he'd missed half of what the other vampire was saying. Something about a parade.

"I'll come," Keegan decided.

He didn't know why his powers were trying to nudge him in this direction, but usually it was for the best when he listened.

"Great." Mordyn clapped him on the shoulder. "It'll be fun, you'll see."

Keegan didn't think it would be fun exactly, but it would be something.

Something would happen tomorrow.

He had to find out what.