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“I think she might have just been kind when she said it was the three of us. When we were alone I… tried to get too close to her. She recoiled from me. I’m not sure that I’m actually a part of this vision,” Brett said.
I scowled towards him. “I don’t think she’s saying this just to be kind. She has no reason to lie about it. She was probably scared because she worried her vision must be coming true. I mean, think about it, it must be pretty daunting for her. Not only has she left the only home she’s ever known, but suddenly she finds herself in the company of three men who she has had visions about. I’m sure a part of her wants to trust in the vision, but it’s still pretty scary.”
“You make a good point. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Ilvar, but if we do have a future after this then I could think of many worse things than spending it with Kadie,” Mason said.
“And what about the two of us?” I asked.
Silence descended upon us as we thought about the situation. We had been friends for a long time. Brett and I were like brothers. We knew each other in so many different ways, and we were each aware of our flaws. I had turned away from them though. I had been disloyal. Were they even still my friends?
“I suppose it would not be completely unpalatable,” Brett said eventually. “If the only way to be with Kadie is to share her then it would be better to have her than not, and I know that we each have something different to offer. I can’t help but think back to Tammy,” he looked directly at me as he said this. “Perhaps if we had been more open to this possibility things could have been different. She could have indulged her adventurous spirit with you, and still could have spent time with me. I was so filled with jealousy then that I would never have agreed to it though.”
“And now you’re over that?” I asked lightheartedly. Mason rolled his eyes.
“I’m just… more open to the possibility,” Brett said. I guess that was progress, and if he was going to be the bigger man then I couldn’t be squeamish either.
“I suppose, when I think about it, there has always been something missing in my romances. Whether it was Tammy, or the human women I’ve met, it’s never felt quite right. I always thought it was something wrong with them, that I just hadn’t met the right person yet, but maybe it’s because I was always meant to be in a relationship like this,” I said.
“We have always been close, closer than most friends,” Mason said. We fell silent again. Part of me thought it should have required more discussion than that, or that we should have spent more time thinking about it. But perhaps, when you know that something is right; it doesn’t require much in the way ofconvincing. You just have to let yourself trust in the process and know that everything is going to work out for the best.
“So, we’re saying that we’re all okay with this?” I asked. Mason and Brett nodded. The only thing to do after this was to wait for Kadie to return and tell her the good news, if indeed it was welcome. We still couldn’t be sure what she wanted, or whether we would even be able to live this kind of life.
Ilvar certainly had other plans for us.
Chapter Twenty
Kadie
I left Mason, Brett, and Buck in the thicket, praying that no other dragon would discover them. I feared that a battle would ensue, and the forest would be consumed by fire and the blazing rage that had burned within our hearts for generations. It was so hard to think about the three of them as the enemy, though. They had been kind to me and had shown me compassion and understanding when they could have easily turned me away. Perhaps there had been an inkling in them in the beginning that I was someone to be trusted, that we could be more together…
We hadn’t spoken any further about my vision. I was grateful for this. My mind was still reeling, especially by the fact that none of them had recoiled at the idea. In fact, they seemed open to it, but could this really happen? Three men, three lovers, three mates… the thought excited me and scared me at the same time. I had no idea how I was supposed to cope.
Instead, I focused on the task at hand. The world might depend on my actions here, tonight. I slunk through the forest, darting quickly between the shadows. My footsteps were light, and I kept my ears strained and my eyes peeled for anyone who might be prowling the perimeter of our territory. It all seemed quiet though, and I believed that Ilvar had indeed taken many dragons with him. The last thing I wanted was to arrive back there and see his sneering face staring at me. I shuddered at the thought and braced myself.
Our settlement came into view. Low fires burned. Moonlight spilled over the buildings. It looked even more impressive now that I could compare it to the ruins I hadbeen living in recently. This place was built upon the earth, brazen and unafraid, displaying itself for anyone to see. The other dragons hid in the bowels of the ground, seeking to keep themselves away from the prying eyes of humans, hoping that dragons could be consigned to myths and the fables that human adults told their children without ever realizing there was truth woven into these tales.
I slowed my pace as I approached. I noticed shadowy figures moving around. The village wasn’t completely empty. Ilvar must have only taken the most powerful. He left some behind to protect home, and to prepare for the grand ascension, as he liked to call it. It still sickened me to think that he was willing to sacrifice an entire planet for his own ends, and that so many others were willing to go along with it.
I kept low and rushed to the side of a building. I pressed myself up against it. My heart thudded against my chest and sweat glistened on my forehead. I breathed slowly and deep, trying to calm myself. I kept telling myself that I belonged here, but I knew it wasn’t that simple any longer. I was a traitor, as ugly as that word seemed.
I peeked around the corner, training my eyes on Ilvar’s home. I couldn’t resist the urge to look at my own home though, and I ended up thinking about father. Was he distraught? Had he searched for me? Had my absence made him reconsider Ilvar’s plan, or had it pushed him even deeper into this fanaticism? There was no time for a reunion tonight. Perhaps one day soon, when this was all over, I could sit down and speak to him about everything that had occurred. Maybe then he would be able to understand me, and he would know why I had to betray our thunder.
I steeled my resolve and crept towards Ilvar’s house. I twitched and looked around furtively, half expecting a cry ofalarm to rise. There was nothing though, just a sleepy silence, as though this night was no different to any others.
I opened Ilvar’s door and slipped through the crack, closing it behind me. I strained my eyes, waiting for them to adjust. The house was darker than outside. Moonlight slanted in through the windows, but the moon was just a crescent tonight, so it did not offer much help. I stepped forward and stubbed my toe against something hard. I bit my lip to suffocate my cry of frustration, and clamped my eyes shut, squeezing the painful tears away. I knew, if I made any noise, the other dragons might be on me in a flash. Mason, Brett, and Buck would certainly help me if I cried out to them, but I didn’t want to cause a conflict if not necessary. If Ilvar should learn what we were doing, then he might be able to prepare for us, but most of all, I just didn’t want anyone to get hurt. This was such an awful situation and I wished that Ilvar had never been filled with such dark ambition.
I knew he kept candles nearby. He said he liked working by candlelight as it gave him the feeling that he was a great thinker, like the writers and philosophers and inventors of old. Did I dare light one though? It proved to be impossible to discern anything in the darkness. I rummaged through sheaves of paper and brought them close to my eyes, but I could not tell the markings. Even our superior senses were not flawless. I couldn’t very well take everything out of Ilvar’s building either, and I certainly wasn’t going to risk visiting here again. This was my one chance, and I had to make it count.
I managed to get some candles and matches. I brought the flame to the wick, and it caught alight. I winced as it flared brightly, wishing that there was some way to dim the flame. I held the candle in its holder and turned my body aside, blocking the light from seeping out of the window. I hoped that, by now, most of the dragons were asleep, or that they weren’t going to be watching Ilvar’s house too closely.
I went to his main desk and looked through the papers I had just rummaged through, although this time, with the added benefit that I could actually see what he had written. There was nothing about the plan though, just essays and missives about our great role in the cosmos, about our manifest destiny of greatness. He wrote pages and pages flaunting our greatness and speaking about how we had been punishing ourselves by stymying ourselves on earth. He claimed that we should have spread our wings a long time ago and kept the humans under control, because we were the superior species, and we should have taken this planet as our own. Instead, we handed it to the humans and they ruined it.
I pushed all of these aside, for they did not give me any insight into what he had planned. I was looking for a map or some drawing, anything to show me where he was heading. I placed the candle down, needing both my hands. My head was bowed. I pulled out the drawers, sending sheets of paper flying out as my desperation grew ever more fervent. This was my one chance to save the world. Was I really going to fail like this? Was I going to throw everything away?
Had Ilvar already won?
In my haste, I did not notice the footsteps approaching the door. I didn’t hear the handle turn either, or the hinges creak. But I did hear his voice.
“Kadie,” he gasped.
