It’s almost enough to distract me, but I can’t keep my mind off of what I did to get us safe from the vampires. And what I might have gone on to do, if Collin hadn’t stopped me.
“You’re even stronger than I thought you were,” he replies, frowning slightly.
“Yeah. That seems to be the opinion of the night.” I take a breath. “I think I’m ready to hear about who my dad is now.”
A familiar thrum of anxiety zings into my chest, but I stare it down and it withers. At this point, I’m getting more than used to wrestling with uncomfortable feelings, and I can’t afford to be a child. Not about this.
Collin studies my face for a moment, before he gives a measured nod. “All right. You remember when you first found me in that room in the house on Lake Street? As you exited under the threshold of the door, there were some runes.”
“The ones with the fierce protective magic. Sure, Iremember. They scared the hell out of me, but then nothing happened.”
“Something did happen. The magic disarmed itself. And that magic wasn’t just fierce, it was impenetrable. It was designed so only one type of paranormal could remove the watch.”
“What kind of paranormal?”
“The only kind with aninnateability to generate fire.” He locks eyes with me. “It was created specifically for dragons.”
It feels like a shot of caffeine gets launched through my veins. My eyes widen.
Collin continues. “There’s more. You were able to start that car, then later set the Molotov ablaze—and that’s in addition to what you just did in Hunter’s Point. And you did all of those things with only a strong desire to make them happen. No preparation ahead of time, nothing arcane manipulated in the outside world.”
“Which means I wasn’t actually using any mana to cast aspell—it came from some intrinsic power I have.” I lock eyes with him. “Because you think my father… was a dragon.”
He nods.
Dragons are the OG weapons of mass destruction. According to the little Mom told me, nothing can hurt them, nothing can stop them, and their predatory hunger makes incubi look like picky toddlers. If they hadn’t all ascended to the higher planes millennia ago, Earth would apparently be nothing more than a smoking husk. The Dragon King himself—hardly what you’d call a softie—forbade them from coming back, because we’re just so gosh darn fragile in comparison.
But if Collin’s right, it looks like someone might not have played by the rules.
“I see.” I turn away and roughly rake my fingers through my hair as I absorb the bombshell. “So, what you’re saying is I’m not just the son of one legendary monster—I’m literally the child oftwoof them!”
“Maybe so. But that doesn’t have to makeyoua monster, Alvin.”
I shake my head, frustrated. “Hard flaming evidence to the contrary…” I glare up at the ceiling. “That creature I became—is that, like, my ‘true form’? Am I actually some kind of freaky sex demon/dragon kaiju? Because tearing through that neighborhood felt like just the beginning. What I really wanted to do was burn down the entire world!”
Collin squeezes my hands. “Thisis your true form. Right here. A sweet, gentle lad who’d do anything to help others, to be someone good.” He bites his lower lip. “What happened back at the church—I’m not sure what that was. There are no accounts of dragons transforming from human form into anything but giant serpents.”
“So, I’m just my own special little scary snowflake, then.” I purse my lips. “Is there any way for you to… teach me to control it somehow?”
“Can you feel your power now?”
For years, I’ve been looking for my own mana—the internal reservoir of wildcard magic that human wizards and paranormals use to cast spells. Collin knows I’ve never been able to find it. It’s one of the things that Ihoped Ms. Stryker, therealMs. Stryker, could teach me how to do.
“No. Like always, when I look inside, I get nothing but a big fat zero. No mana, no anything. But you were able to help me access my power before, and if we’re going to save those kids, I’m going to need everything I’ve got.”
Collin sighs. “I’m not sure how much of that was me, to be fair. Like, I gave you some guidance, but in each of those cases, I think what really mattered was that your life was in danger.”
“So… what? I need to be completely freaked out to be able to use it? Well, in case you haven’t noticed, that’s not exactly hard for me. If that’s all it takes, I won’t have any trouble stepping up.”
Collin’s lips twitch with amusement. “That’s not it. Yeah, your emotions contribute, but I believe it was the actualcircumstancesthat gave you access. I also haven’t been able to sense any magic in you, even with us in sync, which points to only one thing: someone has bound your power. Probably a long time ago, when you were a baby. And whoever it was, it looks like they want you to live, so they created a small loophole.”
Someone put some kind of magical block on me when I was a baby? The thought is so strange, I just goggle at Collin for a long moment. All my life, I’ve thought I was weak. But what if I haven’t been?
“So, who do you think did this? Was it Mom?” She’s never been willing to help me find the mana inside me. She always wanted me to feed on humans like she does and just use my innate incubus abilities instead. But what if she set me up for failure right from the beginning…
He shakes his head. “Your mother is dangerous, and I’m certain she knows more about casting spells than she lets on, but you need to be stronger than the person you bind. I don’t think she’d have the power.”
Um, Collin told me that a freaking Queen of Hell in a major religious text was based on my mom’s legend. Exactly how strong am I supposed to be?
