Never fear.
Something else.
A feeling I hadn’t touched in years.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
The dragon dipped his massive head in the barest gesture—almost like a nod.
He didn’t move closer, didn’t threaten, didn’t roar or posture. He simply sat there, enormous and ancient, watching me with that molten eye that reflected the firelight like gold poured into stone.
And for the first time since I fled into the woods—
since the monster,
since the blood,
since the darkness boiled inside me like poison—
I wasn’t shaking.
I wasn’t drowning.
I felt… safe.
And I didn’t understand why.
I lay back down on the rug, watching the fire. I could feel the dragon’s gaze on me. Warmth soothed my every core.
“I wonder if anyone is looking for me right now,” I said aloud.
The dragon huffed.
It almost sounded like a laugh. Like he was sayingof course they are.
“You don’t know. Maybe when they do come, it will be to take me away. Lock me in Chaos Ward or something.”
Because I remembered clear as day.
Dev had seen me.
He watched me use my powers.
How long would it take for the Institute to hunt me down?
“Dr Marr’s going to come for me.” I swallowed. “He’s going to be mad.”
A light growl followed my claim.
“I did something .. bad. Fuck.” I ran my hands through my hair.
I threw my hands down in disgust. “Have you ever wished you could be literally anyone else?” I said aloud. “Like anyone. Hell, I would pick some homeless street kid at this rate. No, instead I get to be… me. Persephone Quinn. The embarrassment of her family. The abomination. The hated one. And my parents? Paragons of virtue. Sitting up there on the Council next to Adele Lightwood and Cressida White, lording their perfection over us like we are – what? Less? Because of some stupid test.”
The dragon’s head tilted, slow and deliberate, like he was listening to every word.
I didn’t know why I was saying all this. Maybe it was something about him that felt safe. Like he could keep my secrets.
“I never would have caused a problem, you know. If they had just let me go. Let me be me. I would have gone and found a spot in the world that was mine, and I would have been so much happier. Everyone would have.”
