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I found her courage admirable. I turned to Brett and Mason.
“Alright, well, we should go with her to make sure she’s safe,” I said.
Mason nodded in agreement. “If Ilvar has already gone to begin his plan, then it’s unlikely there are too many dragons in the village. We should be able to arrive there undetected, and we can hide nearby while Kadie sneaks into Ilvar’s home. If there is any trouble, we should be able to deal with it. Kadie, if you find yourself in trouble, then just call out to us and we’ll come and rescue you.”
Kadie nodded. “I can lead you to a safe place where you can hide,” she said.
With that, the plan was formed. We continued talking, working out the details. Kadie seemed more relaxed than she had before now that she had something else to focus on, but I knew in the backs of our minds, we were still thinking about this vision she had confessed to us. Was it possible that the thing I had been searching for all along was right in front of me? Was this place where I belonged, part of a triad that would be bonded to this girl? I had always prided myself on being a solo act. I had left independently and always told father that I never needed anyone else, but perhaps I had been lying to myself all this time.
Perhaps I was the fraud.
We waited until night fell before we left. None of us mentioned what Kadie had told us. We all had enough awareness to understand that she found it difficult. As soonas the dark shroud spread across the night, we shifted and took flight. It was a majestic sight to see us four dragons rising through the air, our colorful scales shimmering under the starlight. Our wings stretched out and our tails curled like whips as we followed Kadie back to her home, back to this forbidden part of the world where we had always been warned against entering. We were venturing into the heart of our enemy.
*
We set down in a thicket of trees. The leaves rustled as our mighty wings beat against them, but we landed softly, shifting into humans just as our feet met the ground. We did not wish to send great tremors in case the enemy was on alert and sensed our arrival. The area was dark. The trees shielded us from the outside world. The air was sweet with the scent of fruit, and a stream babbled nearby. I winced and stretched my back to brace against the pain of the wings retracting into my body. It always amazed me how this human form could contain something so vast, but the truth of it was a mystery left to the magic of our ancestry.
“You three stay here. I won’t be long,” Kadie whispered.
“Are you sure you don’t want any of us to go with you?” Brett asked.
Kadie shook her head once, and only once. “If anyone else sees you, it will only arouse suspicion. I know where I’m going. I know how to remain hidden, and if I’m caught then, at least, I can say that I just had to go away for a while to clear my head,” she said. I hoped that, if she was captured, they would believe her lies, although I feared they would be able to smell us on her. We wished her well as she disappeared into the thicket, the soft sound of her breathing soon vanishing from our senses.
“So, if anything happens to her, we’re totally going to destroy these other dragons, right?” I asked.
“Hell yeah,” Brett and Mason said in unison.
I sighed as I walked over to the stream. I bent down and reached in, feeling the cool water rushing around my fingers. I cupped my hands and slaked my thirst. When I rose, I wiped the errant drops from my chin.
“I hate this, having to wait, not knowing what’s happening,” I said.
“Now you know what it was like for Zeke,” Brett said. I glared at him.
“Is this really the time for that?” Mason asked, shaking his head. Brett looked a little admonished. He had clearly spoken without thinking, but it didn’t make his words sting any less.
“I know I made mistakes. You don’t have to rub it in,” I said ruefully.
“Sorry, it’s just, you know, low hanging fruit,” Brett said. As he did so, he looked up at a tree and noticed a cluster of berries. He plucked some from the branch and tossed them to Mason and me. I sniffed them. They seemed fine. They were plump and juicy, and when I bit into one, flavor swam over my tongue. Brett paced around, while Mason sat on the moss. I tilted my neck back and looked up at the stars. A few moments passed. Things seemed to be going well since we hadn’t heard any cry of surprise or pain from Kadie.
“So, are we going to talk about her vision then?” I asked eventually. The question had been burning in my mind and I thought either Mason or Brett would have brought it up before me, but I wasn’t willing to ignore it.
“It’s just a vision,” Mason said.
“A vision is never just a vision,” Brett replied.
“So, what does it mean then? Are we supposed to just accept our fate?” I asked.
“I thought you were planning on leaving?” Mason asked.
“Again?” Brett snapped.
I sighed and put my hands behind my head, lying on the ground. “It was only a thought. I haven’t made any firm decisions yet. It’s kind of hard to plan for the future when we don’t know if there’s a future to plan for.”
“Well, if you look at the history of our people there are plenty of instances where female dragons have taken multiple male partners. I know if we were humans, they would be quite disgusted, but we are not human,” Mason said.
“But this isn’t just any three men we’re talking about. It’s us,” Brett said, and I knew that he was more wary of entering into this kind of pact with me in particular.
“Well, let’s get the obvious out of the way, we’re all attracted to Kadie, right?” I asked. It took a few moments, but eventually Mason and Brett murmured their agreement. “At least we’ve got that straight.”
