“How can I be happy?” she demanded, turning to him and meeting his eyes with her own. She realized her hands were shaking and shoved them under her thighs. “I’ve lost everything I ever had. My only family is MIA and I’m trapped in a freaking shopping mall with the children of the corn. Trust me, no amount of pineapple and feta cheese pizza is going to make this any better.”
“Even if it came from Deluca’s?”
She involuntarily glanced over at the pizza sitting on the tray. “Did it come from Deluca’s?”
“Sadly, no.” Caleb shrugged. “I was just curious if it would have made a difference.”
She groaned, grabbing a pillow and shoving it into his face. “You’re so not helping.”
“Oh really?” He tapped the side of his head, his eyebrows quirking. “Mind reader, remember? I know for a fact that I’m helping. Helping a lot, actually. You don’t want to admit it, I know. But that doesn’t make it untrue.”
Her face flushed. Rising to her feet, she stalked over to the other side of the room. “That’s so unfair,” she growled.
He laughed. “I know, I know. I’m sorry.” He pranced over and grabbed her hands in his. “But you’ve got to try to relax, princess. You’re going to drive yourself to an early grave. Which, I might selfishly mention, would be catastrophic for the rest of us sorry humans. After all, you’re—”
“The Fire Kissed,” she finished for him in her best over-the-top fantasy-film voice. “The one who will save our world.” She yanked her hands away. “Seriously, if you start telling me there’s one ring to rule them all or that the force will be with me always, I’m going to smack you upside the head.”
“Please,” he scoffed. “You don’t need the force or some silly ring—not when you have a dragon by your side.”
She groaned loudly, pressing a hand to the wall and leaning against it. “I’m going insane. That’s the only explanation for any of this. I’m going insane and the men in white coats will be showing up at any moment to tell me this has all been a psychotic delusion. They’ll take me away and lock me up, and I’ll be free to drool in the corner of my padded cell for the rest of my life without a care in the world.”
“But then you’d never see me again,” Caleb reminded her with a wink.
“Really? Can I get that in writing?”
He gave her a mock offended look, then grabbed her arm, dragging her back over to the bed. He sat her down, taking her hands in his own. She tried not to notice the way her skin warmed under his touch—or the shivers that tripped up her spine as his eyes turned serious.
“Look, I get it, okay?” he said. “I understand how hard it must be for you to be here. And the Dracken can come off as pretty radical—”
“Radical?” Trinity repeated. “Come on, Caleb. If you looked up ‘evil cult out to destroy the world’ in the dictionary, you’d find these guys’ pictures.”
He shook his head vehemently. “You’re getting the wrong idea. I’m telling you. Darius and Mara and the rest of them aren’t like that at all. They’re good people. They believe in what they’re fighting for. They’re trying to save the world. And you’re so important to that mission. Everything they’ve worked for their whole lives rests on you—and their ability to keep you safe. Imagine yourself in their shoes. You’d want to keep you under lock and key too, wouldn’t you?”
Trinity bit her lower lip, hating the fact he was making so much sense. She turned to face the wall, feeling his stare burning at her back but refusing to meet his eyes. For a moment he was silent. Then he spoke.
“I was homeless,” he stated flatly, “living on the streets of Strata-D, probably only a few demerits away from a lifetime in the mines. Everyone had dismissed me, the no-good shadow of my hero brother.” He sighed, remembering. “But then Darius came. He plucked me from the streets and offered me hope. Recognized my gift and gave me a job. He told me I could be great if only someone would give me a chance.” His voice cracked. “And then he gave me that chance. So here I am, working every day to prove he wasn’t wrong about me.”
His words were so earnest, so proud. But Trinity could hear the doubt threaded just below the surface. As if he himself wondered if he was worthy of the chance he’d been given.
“He can save you too, Trin,” Caleb said softly. “If only you’ll let him.”
A silence fell over the room as she struggled for a clever reply. But her mind had gone completely blank. The silence stretched, awkward and long. Finally, Caleb let out a long, deep sigh.
“Look,” he said, “do you want to get out of here for a bit?”
She turned, her eyes widening. “Can we?”
“Well, not like you’re probably thinking,” he admitted. “I mean, your physical body has to stay here in the mall. Darius would kill me if I put you at risk. But we could go to the Nether.”
“The Nether?” she repeated doubtfully. “You mean the place with the dragons?”
Caleb nodded. “It’s a place beyond time and space,” he replied, “ruled by the collective unconsciousness of dragons. Before they’re born and after they die, they exist here, in this Nether space. Those with the gift have the ability to travel there, channeling our energies through special gems.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out two glittering rubies, and grinned. “It’s like this big, amazing playground—and it can become anything you make of it.”
“Will Emmy be there?” she asked, intrigued despite herself.
“Absolutely. And my dragon too.”
“You have your own dragon?” The thought had never occurred to her. But she supposed it made sense. “Is it an evil mutant one out to destroy the world?”
Caleb laughed and shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint, but we don’t clone mutants anymore. Our technology is a bit more advanced than yours. My dragon was made from a pure strand of DNA from one of Emmy’s true children. Darius gifted her to me after I passed my Guardian trials. Wait until you see her, Trin. She’s so beautiful—sparkling teal scales, huge golden eyes, a wingspan that could block out the sun.” He smiled dreamily. “First time I laid eyes on her, I fell in love.”
“Cool. What’s her name?”
His smile faltered. “Um…what?”
“Her name?” Trinity repeated. “Your dragon, I mean. Does she have a name?” She glanced over at Caleb curiously, surprised to see he’d gone bright red.
“Oh. Um, yeah. Sure she does. Her name is…Fred.”
Trinity burst out laughing. “Fred?” she repeated incredulously. “Your beautiful, majestic, not to mention female dragon is named Fred?”
“Hey! You’re the one who called your dragon Emmy,” Caleb protested, his face now a peculiar shade of purple. “That’s not exactly High Goth’Or the Great and Terrible either!”
“Okay, okay!” She held up her hands in innocence. “Fred it is. Fred the dragon.” A snort escaped her, despite her best efforts.
“Are you going to laugh at my poor dragon all day or would you actually like to meet her?”
She forced herself to sober. “Explain how this works again?”
“The how is irrelevant,” he assured her. “I mean, you don’t need to know how one of your cars works in order to drive it, right?” He reached out, taking her hands in his, pressing the ruby gems between their palms. “All you have to do is enjoy the ride.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The thunder came first. Then a sharp wind, scraping her face and stealing her breath. Her eyes flew open, a screech of surprise tumbling from her lips, as the world shot back into focus.
She was flying—or riding at least—on the back of a mighty dragon.
“Oh my God!” she cried, throwing herself against the creature’s back, terror surging through her. Her arms flailed, seeking handholds around the dragon’s thick neck as her thighs squeezed its midsection, desperate to hang on.