If I thought strolling through the little town of Vernon's Glade was a shock after spending a month or so locked away in a dragon's mountaintop castle, then entering the city of Vidalia is like being struck by lightning.

Buildings of stucco and gabled roofs line avenues of cobblestone bustling with foot traffic and the occasional buggy. Pedestrians stroll down sidewalks shaded from the afternoon sun by crimson, teal, and marigold canopies. Grocers call out as shoppers search for last-minute additions to their dinners and a textile merchant sells scarves with promises that winter will strike soon.

It's hard to remember so much life existed beyond the walls that have confined me. Life that is ignorant of the threat that looms over our entire realm.

There are dragons—the Waterhearts—that are hungry for gold and jewels. If they have to destroy whole towns to get their due, then they will do what's necessary to strike fear into human hearts. The question is, how long until their leader Irving's patience runs out? For all we know, the only thing keeping him at bay are the injuries my dragon gave him.

I turn to face my darling Fireheart. His clan of dragons—or really dragoniths, a species of people capable of shifting between human and dragon forms—are imprisoned by Irving or already dead.

I grab his hand, squeezing his extra warm palm tight as he takes in the enormity of what is a fairly small city within the human world. He blinks as if struck by a dazzling light, and his chest heaves as the wave of newness crashes against him.

"Let's find an inn," I say, craning my neck to spot a telltale sign hanging above the twisting roadways. "It will be easier to take care of things without this damned pack on my back, and you can get a proper breather."

"I can carry it for you."

His voice is soft, dulled by the rumbles, shouts, and clatter of the city. I look into his red eyes, his face hidden by the curtain of his dark auburn hair as he hunches over.

I give him a pinched smile, my heart breaking for this man, with so much power and fire inside him, being rendered small and uncertain by the foreign and bustling world around him.

I really wish I didn't have to break him down further.

"I've made it this far, Cephias. Plus, Dr. Lara will hunt me down for giving you something like this to carry."

His sigh contains a growl of frustration and I run my hand up and down the firm muscle of his tensed arm.

"It's more important that you rest your shoulder. This bag I can carry, but there will be a time down the road when I will not be strong enough to shoulder the burden. We're going to need you in top condition when that time comes."

My hand is no longer on his arm. It has moved to his back, just below the deep wound that Irving left. In human form, it looks like a vicious injury that will someday be a gnarled scar. But as a dragon, the extent of the damage is far more visible. Irving nearly tore Cephias's wing from his shoulder. Lara stitched it all up, but warned that if he transformed while still healing, he may undo all the work she put in to repair his wing.

Cephias's hand has also found my back, but his sits far lower. His calloused fingers dig beneath the pack that the people of Vernon's Glade prepared for us and presses into the space just above my tailbone.

Without conscious thought, we've pulled ourselves back into the peaceful world that only exists between the two of us. It protects us from all that threaten to tear us asunder and quiets the noise telling us to give up.

I glance over his lips, parted slightly as his hot breath washes over my face. Sweat and dirt mar my face. Yet in his warm gaze, I feel beautiful all the same.

"Aye, the inn's by the station. Get there instead of taking up the road!"

A rough jostle of a passerby's elbow shatters our quiet.

My dragon snarls and I can hear the undertones that are more animalistic than human within his growl. So I grab his hand and squeeze it until my knuckles go white.

"Thank you, kind sir!" I call out in a voice dripping with feigned cheerfulness. "That's exactly where we needed to go!"

The old codger makes some sort of dismissive hand signal that is accompanied by grumblings bemoaning the degeneracy of youth.

"Okay, let's get you to that inn before you forget how important it is to keep your beastly side under control."

"He was rude to you. We would never be so harsh over something so trivial."

I knew when he said "we" he meant his clan. I sighed at the hill I needed to climb with educating Cephias about the human world.

"There are only twenty-one of you. You know each other like family because you are family. But here in this city alone, the population is likely well over twenty thousand. You'll find it is easier to dehumanize someone when you know nothing other than what you experience upon meeting. To him, we were nothing more than a rock in the middle of the road."

"And you think we can be allies," he scoffs, more to himself than to me.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," I say, taking his hand and guiding him down the street. "Come on, let's get out of this rabble."

I follow the sound of steam hissing in the distance. The closer we draw to the glass and iron train station, the clearer the calls of the conductors become. The chug of the engine and the thump-thump of the metal beast on the tracks reverberate against our skin.

I pause, and a visible shiver shakes my entire frame. Yet it's not from the crashing noise surrounding us. It's something else. Something intangible. Something that pulls at a single hair on the back of my neck as if a tiny spark has struck me.

"You alright?" Cephias encircles me and pulls me close. He grunts as a distracted family dragging their suitcases to the station bumps into his shoulder. I need to get him to safety.

"Nothing. Just...I think it's kind of like what you were talking about on our way here. That feeling that someone is watching us."

Our trek through the once bandit-riddled woods between Vidalia and Vernon's Glade was rather uneventful. We made a promise to eliminate any of the bandits still hanging around, as if Cephias hadn't actually torched their leader, Dread. However, it seemed they were dead, in Lara and Eleanor's hospital, or long gone because the sight of Cephias's dragon form was a horrifying sight.

Though we didn't run into anyone on our way here, my companion still paused occasionally to look out over the woods. Every time there was nothing there, but he was certain he heard, maybe even felt, something.

"Perhaps it is the same person or creature that I sensed in the woods." His grip around me tightens, and his neck cranes in a vain attempt to identify an unknown entity in the swarm rushing past us.

"Maybe. Or maybe it's nothing. Either way, we won't accomplish anything out here. We need to get to the quiet of an inn. I think I finally see one a block or so away from the station."

We head to the nearest inn, which has a price to match its proximity to the rail station. Vidalia is one of the bigger cities in the kingdom of Davesh and its proximity to a vast lake brings in wealthy tourists. We could continue our search deeper into the belly of the city, but given our exhaustion and the anxiety practically sparking along Cephias's skin, I'm not sure we can manage it.

At least, winter is approaching, and fewer tourists are in town. Prices are down and rooms are available, and it's even a nice enough inn to have private toilets and washrooms. It does take a significant amount out of our purse, but perhaps it will be worth it.

I shiver at the thought of what our situation would be if the kind people hadn't gifted us some of the money they hid from the bandits. I may have spent a few days sleeping in a dungeon, but that still wouldn't prepare me for a night in a dank alleyway, and I'm not sure Cephias could keep himself from transforming in such a setting.

"Praise the gods," I say as I unload our bag onto our mattress. "I'll be grateful once we exchange all these goods for far lighter coin."

Vernon's Glade also sent a few wares to sell to the merchant's guild at a reduced price to incentivize them to come back to their town. I pull out the dish set for two from Bertie, a shawl woven from the wool gathered from the town's sheep, and a finely crafted dagger with an ornate hilt from the blacksmith.

In fact, I actually have two daggers, but one is a gift from the town for me to keep. I touch the hilt, lost beneath the volume of my skirt, the blade secure in the scabbard strapped to my thigh.

"You should rest," says Cephias, standing stiff and at attention by the window overlooking the street.

"I will rest once everything is taken care of."

Though my voice is confident in that decision, my heart yearns to follow Cephias's orders. Of course, I'd like to fill the tub and soak before curling up next to Cephias in a warm bed. However, the moment I grant myself any comfort, I will become more and more unlikely to attend to the important errands I needed to run around town.

"It shouldn't take me very long. Look."

I walk over to the large window he is guarding and point out the cylindrical glass cap running the length of the train station.

"We're only a couple of blocks from everything we need. I can go to the train station and purchase tickets for the first train to Ullander tomorrow morning. They'll also be able to tell me where the guild is, which will certainly be near the station as well. Once I inform them about Vernon's Glade and sell off these goods, I'll have money to buy food from the grocer right over there."

I direct his attention to a stall almost out of view from our vantage point.

"You said 'I' an awful lot. You do intend to take me, right?"

"No, not in the slightest," I say, smiling up at his disapproving glare. "I love you, Cephias, which is why I want the best for you. And the best for you is staying away from the mass of people and all the noise while I take care of these very simple errands."

I then turn back to the window. "I don't know where the guild is, but you will probably be able to follow my every move from up here. If that is any comfort."

I look back up at him to see if he found my compromise reasonable, but I'm surprised to see his gaze neither frustrated nor obliging. Instead, the bright red has shifted to the deep dark crimson that causes my whole body to tingle with anticipation.

It's the look of hunger and desire. I fear he may derail my plans after all.

"Cephias..."

"Let me marvel, a bit longer," he says, dragging his hand down my cheek. "I've not yet accustomed myself to hearing those words from your lips."

My whole body warms to the blissful purr in his voice. I lean into his touch, savoring the small taste of what I can enjoy once I am back in the room.

"I will say it as much as you want tonight. I'll say it until you beg me to stop. But for now, I must go. Time is of the essence, and I don't want to delay getting you back to your people."

That reminder douses the fire in his eyes, and his hand drops with the sullen slouch of his shoulders.

"You should go, Taliyah, before I change my mind."

"I'll be right back. Promise."

I plant a quick kiss on his cheek and dart over to the side of the bed to shove the goods into a small sack. Hefting the strap onto my tired shoulder, I leave the room without looking back at my handsome dragon.

Once out on the street, it doesn't take long for the prickling feeling to crawl back onto my skin. At least this time, I'm certain the uneasiness is because someone really is watching me. I even look up at the window he's watching me from and give a wave before heading to the station.

As expected, I'm able to purchase two coach tickets for the morning and get directions to the guild.

"Tal...ah!"

My ears perk up as I make my way to the guild just a block away. Something that almost sounded like my name rises over the heads of all those rushing from their work to get home in time for dinner. I ignore it. There are many names that sound like mine.

Navigating the Merchant's Guild is a far more complicated task. First, I come across an entrance that's just meant for guild members. Then, I find a window along the backside of the building that has a small line of people that look like hard laborers rather than wealthy local merchants or travel weary traders. Unfortunately, after waiting for nearly half an hour, I find out the window is for disputes over sales.

However, the woman at the counter at least has the decency to call a representative of the guild master once she saw the goods I had from Vernon's Glade. As I wait for this person to come out to talk with me, I am left alone and tired on the street corner.

I try to find the hotel window to offer another reassuring wave, but then I hear the voice again. This time louder and clearer, and somehow familiar.

"...cess...liyah!"

It's not possible. Surely that person isn't calling out for me.

I look through the crowd, trying to spot who is shouting above the din. I need to prove the caller is looking elsewhere and that my frazzled nerves are just conjuring up ghosts that aren't there.

"Ms. Taliyah."

This time there's no denying the address is directed at me. In fact, it comes from just over my shoulder. I bounce with surprise and spin around to find a man with a top hat and monocle looking at me with elegant perplexity.

"Are you okay? You are Ms. Taliyah, correct?"

"Yes, sorry. It's been a long day walking from Vernon's Glade. Are you a representative of the guild?"

"Yes, my name is Jacques Franz. Please follow me to one of our lounges. There we can discuss the status of our neighbor."

The kindly man ushers me back toward the guild, but I still cast a wary gaze over my shoulder. No specters greet me and I shake myself out before stepping into the well-furnished rooms of the expansive guild.

I detail the events at Vernon's Glade and how the bandits enraged the fallen dragon after they came to collect its hide. He is surprised but also intrigued by this information. I have to take some time to assure him I saw the dragon leave the town with my own eyes.

I leave the details about my royal blood and Cephias's dual nature out of my retelling. The merchants will pick up the true tale from the townsfolk and the rumor will begin a whisper campaign that will form the foundation for a future alliance between humans and dragoniths.

However, saving Cephias's people is the priority and a more direct approach to the truth will only impede that.

I then show Mr. Franz the goods I brought from town, proving bandits hadn't assaulted me along the way. He recognizes the craftspeople's signatures, authenticating them as Vernon's Glade wares. He's still hesitant about sending traders that way, but will commission a few to investigate and report back.

I then sell the goods, and leave knowing we've at least partially repaid our debt to Vernon's Glade. Now we can focus on reaching Kaledio to find the Fireheart caravan that may have evaded Irving's attack.

I turn my sights on the grocer back toward the hotel, eager to buy us dinner and spend a restful night in my dragon's arms.

"Princess Taliyah!"

I freeze. Every good thought in my head evaporating as my hand reaches into the small slit in my skirt that gives me access to my concealed dagger.

"Thank the gods. It is you, isn't it?"

I turn with hesitation, my eyes wide as I search for the voice I now recognize.

And there he is, Sir Bartholomew Sheridan. Tall and thick, like a tree trunk, and just as sturdy. He's a mass of muscle from a life of training in the royal army. He's one knight that swore fealty to me as a personal guard.

And he undoubtedly came to take me home.