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I raised a hand. “It’s alright. Commissioner, please leave the stage. For your own safety.”

“Mr. Vex, this man is clearly unstable⁠—”

I shared a slight smile. “We’re acquainted, and this is what I’m here for. Please step back, we’ve got this.”

The commissioner nodded and backed off the opposite end of the stage.

“Wait, we have this?” Zee echoed.

“Guys, I think it’s best if I talk with him, one on one.”

Zee scowled. “Uh, how about, no?”

“It’s alright,” I told him with a sinister smile. “He can’t hurt me or anyone anymore.”

Victor knew what came next, and with a squeeze of Zee’s shoulder, he steered him toward the edge of the stage, but didn’t leave.

Spotlights burned down. Faces in the crowd all blurred into the background.

“You have them all fooled, but not me. I knew what you were from the very beginning. You’re a monster.”

He wasn’t wrong. I was all those things.

“You lost, Gideon.” I eyed the gun in his hand. His aim was the only steady part of him. “Put the gun down.”

“You lie, and you cheat. I outbid you. That hotel is mine! This victory is mine! I was going to save all you fools from yourselves!”

I raised both hands, holding them out. “I don’t know how you escaped the SSD or what you think you’re going to accomplish, but you need to lower that gun. You’re just making it worse for yourself.”

“I came to this world, I built an empire, and you got in my way. It’s not over, Mr. Vex. I have connections. You think I’m going to be stuck in this human suit forever? No, this is just a temporary state. I’m working on a way to stop you, stop you all. Hero?” He laughed. “This man is no hero, he’s no man, he’s not one of you.” Gideon waved the gun at the audience, eliciting a series of frightened gasps. “He’s a bloodthirsty killer!”

“Hey.” I snapped. “Point the gun at me, Gideon. I’m the one you want.” I spread my arms, making myself an easy target.

Zee poofed to my side and growled at Cain. “Is this the part where you get your evil monologue on? Because honestly, nobody got time for dat.”

Gideon’s aim swung toward Zee. He tugged the trigger, the gun barked.

No! I dodged into the path of the bullet.

The round punched me in the shoulder, almost jerking me off my feet. I staggered and fought the burn. I could take a bullet to the chest, but Zee couldn’t.

Zee’s growl had his wings sparking. The stage lights sizzled, growing brighter.

“Oh, you dead now, bitch!”

Victor dashed around the back of the stage, avoiding the spotlights. Zee sprang into the air.

They were going to engage. Gideon would shoot.

No, nobody threatened the people I loved.

I dropped my glamor in less than a second. All my enormous dragon self exploded onto the stage, filling the space from floor to ceiling.

Gideon’s face was the picture of surprise. Even now, he’d thought I’d hide.

He raised the gun up… and up. Higher and higher, until it pointed at my snout. “It doesn’t matter what you do, or how many names you get, you’ll always be a killer! Just like me!”

I opened my jaws and snapped my teeth shut around the irritating man. He was kinda crunchy, a bit gristly, and horribly sour. One gulp, and he was gone. It’s a whole lot easier eating people when you’re the size of a house. A whole lot less messy too.