Page 13

“You look amazing,” he says. “I’ve never seen a more beautiful dragon.”

“Neither have I,” Legend says.

He takes out his phone and shows me a mirror. My purple scales are deep as night and they shimmer. It’s otherworldly, lights flickering across my skin like magic. My face is kinda cute, I suppose. I have tiny, blunt purple horns and a mischievous-looking snout. My eyes are baby blue with vertical pupils, just like in the middle school bathroom. My wings are the best part. They’re awesome. They’re twice the length of my body, effortless power obvious even while they’re resting. I can’t wait to try them out.

“Not all dragons are huge and fearsome,” Legend says. “Your dragon form matches your personality.”

“You’re a lover, not a fighter,” Day says, winking.

I guess so. I’m cheering up already. It’s silly to sulk about my appearance when I’m going to live for hundreds of years.

“You’re still stronger than any human in existence,” Legend says. “Arm wrestle?”

He grabs my paw and tries to push against me. I push back. His arm flies downward comically fast. It’s like arm-wrestling a two-year old.

“Fuck,” I murmur. “Dragon me is strong.”

“Thought you’d like that,” he says.

“And I’ll be able to fly?”

“Of course,” Day says. “But not yet. You’ll have to learn.”

“We’ll teach you,” Legend says.

“Thank you both,” I say. “Thank you for everything.”

The enormity of this moment is finally hitting. Who cares if I’m purple? I’m a fucking dragon, and that’s fucking badass. My eyes feel funny, like I’m tearing up. Nothing comes out.

“Can’t cry in this form,” Day says, patting my flank. “Sorry, baby dragon.”

“Just imagine tears of gratitude,” I say. “Can I see you guys shift now?”

I get overexcited and clap my paws together. It throws off my balance. I almost land flat on my face. After tutting at my dopiness, Legend shifts. He’s much faster than my amateurish attempt. One moment he’s human, next he’s a massive dragon three times my size. His scales are sleek dark gray with deep blue and silver accents. His claws are terrifying, short swords sprouting from the tips of his fingers. He doesn’t have horns but he has serrated battle spikes protruding from his sides, unlike me. Those things could tear through a bus. Definitely a fighter dragon. He comes over and dips his head down to me, butting against me like he’s an overgrown pet cat. I nuzzle his snout, feeling a warm sense of homecoming. He wraps his tail around me. It must be twenty feet long. I curl up in it, content and safe. Then it’s Day’s turn. His green-scaled dragon form is a little shorter than Legend’s, but he’s built like a tank. He has big claws (good for breaking and entering), pointed horns and sturdy-looking battle spikes in his sides. There’s even a club at the end of his tail for blunt force attacks. But right now he looks peaceful and weirdly lovable. He butts noses with me, blowing smoke into my face with a grin on his long dragon snout.

“Welcome home, baby dragon,” he says.

Chapter 4

Ican’t fly yet, but that doesn’t deter Day and Legend. Under cover of darkness, they strap me into a harness which they attach to their bodies with long reins. Then we all leap off the top of my building. My stomach dips with fear. But my dragon heart soars. I’m actually flying. Stars sparkle above us. The whole city stretches out beneath us. Thousands of tiny little lights, each representing a human with no idea what’s going on above their heads. Until a few days ago, I was one of them. My big dragons are strong and steady, each flap of their wings propelling us several yards forward. I’ve never been an adrenaline junkie, but this is fucking unreal. I flap my wings gingerly, starting to get the hang of it. I’m sobbing happy tears when we land and shift to human form.

The experiment worked beyond all expectations. I can shift whenever I want now. But Day and Legend keep fucking me anyway. And we keep hanging out. What are we to each other? Bros with benefits? Boyfriends? I’m scared to ask in case I ruin it. All I know is, I want to spend every waking moment with them. Every sleeping moment, too. It’s joyful waking up smushed between my big dragons. They make me breakfast smoothies and threaten me with a personal training plan to maximize my health. I make them grilled cheese sandwiches. They grumble about the calories but eat them anyway. Both of them have fancy apartments that they show me around, hoards of gold and jewels tucked away in secret rooms. It makes my Pokemon card collection seem smalltime. They reassure me, telling me I have plenty of time to build my hoard.

My life has never been better. I relish my first shift after work, heading for the west corner of the park to stretch out to my dragon form and let out a roar of fire. My dragon side is growing stronger, finally taking up the space he deserves. When I see something pretty or precious, I feel his desire to collect, to hoard. When I fly, I feel so alive. I lived a half life for so long. I always felt like there was a part of me tucked away, hidden and shameful. Now I feel complete. The only way is up.

A few days later, my boss yells at me over nothing. I’m usually able to swallow it without losing my temper. But today, anger flares. It’s harder to repress my emotions now that I’ve finally let them out. As heat rises in my chest, I panic. What if my eyes are changing? What if he can see my dragon?

“I have to go,” I mutter, rushing to the bathroom.

I look in the mirror. There’s nothing to see. My eyes are human. No scales on my skin. I managed to quench it in time. I take deep breaths, feeling overheated. That was fucking close.

When I get to the park later, I can’t shift. Fuck. I’ve done it again. Suppressed my dragon side and gotten stuck. I call Legend in pitiful mood. He orders me to come right over to his place, all calm and reassuring. He and Day are both waiting for me. I slip into their comforting embraces.

“So what happened, bro?” Day says, between nibbling on a raw carrot. “Got in your head again?”

I nod miserably. “Almost lost my temper at work. Got scared. You know what happened next.”

“I think baby dragon needs another show,” Legend says.