Smoke curled from my lips. My breath came in short, sharp gasps as I stared at my claws again. The world around me smelled of fire and ash making me wonder how I had reduced the woods to this state.
As I stared at the destruction I've caused, I slowly returned to my normal human form. Naked. I stumbled backward, my heart pounding against my ribs.
The whole Ashen Hollow would be able to see the smoke by now. I wouldn't be surprised if they were not already here.
Without needing to be told, I knew it was me.
I had done this. When I opened my eyes a few minutes ago, I was a total beast. A fire-breathing monster. A dragon.
A wave of nausea rolled through me as I remembered what my body looked like. My body felt strange, unfamiliar, like I wasn't fully inside it.
My skin burned, tingling in ways it never had before. Was it the change? I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to wake up.
This had to be a dream.
I heard boots crunching on fallen leaves as voices rang out into the air. And they were coming this way.
My eyes snapped open and I wanted to run. But then I picked up the sound of a car engine in the distance. My ears suddenly sharp heard the crunch of tires against gravel.
Then, headlights cut through the gloom, lighting up the area around me. Who could it be? I panicked transfixed like a deer caught in the headlight.
The car skidded to a stop. The driver's side door swung open, and my dad jumped out, his expression tight. My mom followed, her eyes wild as they darted between me and the blackened trees.
"Get in," my dad ordered.
I stared at them, my body rigid. "What—?"
"Now, Nova." His voice left no room for argument.
My legs moved before my brain could process what was happening. I was totally with them about us not having time.
I could tell that those coming were close and the last thing I needed was to be caught naked in a partially burnt down forest.
I forced myself into the backseat, my hands trembling as I tried to gather the tattered pieces of my sanity.
My mom tossed a bundle of clothes at me. "Put those on," she said, eyes fixed straight ahead. She hardly even looked at me.
I barely noticed the rough fabric in my hands before my dad threw the car into drive. The tires spun against the dirt, kicking up dust as we sped off.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, I spoke up.
"Where are we going?" My voice came out raw, barely a whisper.
My dad didn't glance back. "To school." He deadpanned. I blinked for a moment, trying to digest what he just said.
I almost laughed. "School? Are you kidding me?"
How could he be taking me to school after what just happened? I know nobody saw me and I lived to far from there to be accused of being the arsonist, yet.
"Act normal," my mom said softly. "Please."
I clenched my fists. "Normal? You want me to go to school like I didn't just—just—" I gestured helplessly to the disaster I had left behind. "What the hell am I?"
Silence. I knew what I was. I just couldn't bring myself to repeat it out loud. How could what existed only in the pages of a fantasy book be real?
Then my dad sighed. "You know what you are now."
I sucked in a sharp breath, my chest tightening. "You knew."
Neither of them answered. Of course they did. They had always known. They just decided to lie to me and make me stupid.
I felt something crack inside me. "You both knew. All these years, the dreams, the fire—I asked you, I begged you to tell me why I felt like I was losing my mind! And you lied."
"To protect you," my mom said, her voice breaking.
"To control me," I shot back. "You didn't want me to know."
"You weren't ready," my dad said.
What sort of stupid excuse was that? Did me burning down the woods make ready?
I let out a bitter laugh. "And now I am?"
My dad's hands gripped the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles white. "You have no choice now. You're shifting. That means the others will come looking for you."
A chill crawled down my spine. "Others?"
But my dad didn't explain any further.
I clenched my jaw, swallowing my anger. It wouldn't change anything. They wouldn't tell me the full truth—not yet.
Not until I was "ready."
The rest of the drive was silent, tension thick in the air as I pulled on the clothes my mom tossed at me.
By the time we reached the school, my hands were still shaking. I barely waited for the car to stop before pushing the door open and grabbing my school bag which they also thought to bring along. My parents didn't try to stop me.
I slammed the door behind me and walked toward the entrance, my shoulders tight with frustration and anger.
Act normal.
How the hell was I supposed to do that when my life right now is anything but normal?
The moment I stepped inside, the hushed whispers hit me.
"Did you hear about the fire last night?"
"I heard half the woods are gone."
"They say it started out of nowhere—"
I kept walking, ignoring the way people's eyes flicked to me as I passed. As they always did when I passed.
They don't know it was me. They are just staring at the weird girl.
I forced myself to breathe. One step. Then another. Just make it to the locker.
I reached it, yanking it open with more force than necessary. My hands trembled as I grabbed my books, my body still uneasy with the aftershocks of whatever the hell had happened to me.
I needed space. Time to think. I needed—
"Rough night?"
I froze.
The voice came from just behind me, smooth and taunting. I knew it before I even turned around.
Lucian.
He leaned against the locker next to mine, arms crossed, watching me with that lazy, knowing smirk.
"Go away," I muttered, slamming my locker shut.
"Sure," he said easily. "I understand you're still edgy after your first shift, but I just couldn't resist watching the misery on your face."
My breath hitched.
I turned to him slowly, pulse hammering. "What?"
Lucian raised an eyebrow, his smirk deepening.
"What?" he said, voice laced with amusement. "You're not the only dragon."