Prologue – Cyrus
“Disgusting,” his father whispered. Cyrus stood before him, his transformation finally complete, except that it seemed the transformation conjured up such an intense loathing in his father, that he backed away, hand covering his mouth.
What’s wrong with me?he thought. He couldn’t respond, not while his father remained human. He turned around and faced the large mirror, seeing for himself what his father hated so much.
He stepped closer. His legs felt… strange. Larger than any other dragon he knew. His head looked… wrong. As for what should have been wings on his back, there was nothing but a kind of tangled, sinewy mess.
No…he thought.
“Transform back, now!” his father barked. Cringing, Cyrus obeyed.
“Father, I…”
“Silence.” His father paced up and back in a rage as Cyrus watched, not daring to interrupt. Then the pacing stopped. Those cold blue eyes stared at him. “This is how it will be. You will not show this form to anyone. You will not speak of it. I will not mention it. We willneverspeak of this shame.”
The words were blows to Cyrus’ young heart. He trembled, barely fighting back tears because his father would see them as nothing but weakness, nothing but disgusting, just like the form he transformed into.
Disgusting,his father had said.
Those words haunted him long after that first transformation, following him with every subsequent one, clinging like an oily darkness, refusing to leave him.
Disgusting.
Chapter One – Sasha
Sasha knew she shouldn’t. People advised her to be careful, to do anythingexceptthe thing she was now planning to do. However, times were hard, money was scarce, and sometimes lack of money led a woman to do some desperate things.
She stared at the entrance, with all its scratches and damaged metal exterior, took a deep breath, and knocked. Almost instantly, a slit in the door opened, and baleful eyes, illuminated by a dull red light, glared at her.
The man behind the door said nothing, so Sasha cleared her throat and, glancing at the scrunched up paper in her hand, said, “Dragons live where the sun never sets.”
The eyes continued to glare in their ominous way, but the slit slammed shut. For a second, she wondered if she’d been had and the password had been a dirty fake–and then the door creaked open.
“In,” said the man. She smiled, nodded, and made her way inside the premises, which was located on the outskirts of the city on private land. Built-up bunkers had transformed the building into a hidden club and arena that she knew was there only because of her friend Bradley, who had also fallen on hard times and who the last time she’d seen him was shooting up for pleasure, a zombie of his former self.
Sometimes that happened. People she respected slipped through the cracks of society and got lost in the dark nooks and crannies of the underground. And now she’d just walked her way into the darkest place of all, a place that crawled with supernatural activity, a place someone like her, a human, had no business being in unless they were prepared to risk their life.
A vampire stared at her, nostrils twitching, as she passed it. She knew it to be a vampire because of the long fangs protruding from its upper lip and the pallid face with red-rimmed eyes. Vampires in movies were pretty. These? Not so much. They had a kind of dilapidated, rotten appearance to them, like they were freshly dead, pumped up with formaldehyde, and placed in a coffin on display for relatives. She slunk past another group of supernaturals, making her way to the betting booths.
The woman there glanced up with a bored expression. The bored expression faded a little when she registered Sasha’s appearance.
“Oh, hello, there,” the woman purred. “We don’t often get humans down here. What a welcome sight you are.” Her eyes flashed a strange blue, and a chill of pleasure slid down Sasha’s spine. She took a quick breath.Stay in control.
“Succubus, right?”
“You know your supernaturals it seems,” the succubus said with a grin. She traced a light finger down Sasha’s arm, stirring the little hairs, using her magic just a little.
“Yeah, I’ve studied you guys. It’s a fascinating world.” She politely withdrew from the succubus. “A dangerous one, too.”
“That it is. I’m Amara, by the way.”
“Sasha.” They shook hands. Someone bumped into Sasha from behind, and Amara glared daggers.
“So, what’s it for you? I assume you’re here to bet, not to fight.” When Sasha nodded, Amara continued. “Werewolves? Vamps? Necromancers? Dragons, big cats, fae–we’ve got them all.”
“I’ll bet on everything I can, but I’ll watch the dragons.”
“Ha.” Sasha pursed her lips. “One in each?”