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“Now.”

I rear up and see two Humans, their mouths dropping open at my appearance. One is half hanging out of the car with a gun.Sucks to be you, Human.

I hear a screeching of tires behind the first vehicle and the boom of a crash. I feel a grin twist my lips and release the dragon fire stored in my chest.

The Human gets a shot off before it hits the hood and sprays up over the glass, quickly melting through to the sounds of panicked screaming. It spreads wildly, nipping the Human’s arm and voraciously spreading at the contact. The vehicle careens to the side, striking a building at full speed, and the flaming male is thrown into the bricks as we speed away.

“Mal, are you ok?” Now her voice is filled with tension, fear for me overriding her calm. I would be baffled, but all I feel inside is a sweet victory.

As the car crash disappears around a tire screeching corner I roar out in warning to anyone within earshot as we speed past buildings. These people aremine. I don’t try to filter through all of that in my elation. I just bask in finally,finally, having something to fight for. Tochooseto fight for.

“Mal! Come here!” Beatrice yells out over the wind. Like a simpering fool, I hurry back to the window and press my face through. It’s a tight fit. I can’t contain my grin.

She double-takes at my sudden appearance, removing her eyes from the road long enough that Mike squeaks and clutches his backpack to his chest. She grins at me and taps her head against mine with a “Great job, Mal!”

My shoulder twinges in pain as I press against the glass, and my tail sways wildly behind me in pleasure. It’s nice to actually be appreciated.

“Is no one concerned with the death and mayhem we just left behind?” Mike’s voice is tight and high as he asks.

“No,” Beatrice and I reply simultaneously, and my grin spreads wider.

“Okay then,” his voice becomes small and meek.

“It’s a hard adjustment, I know,” Beatrice explains gently as she speeds through back streets and alleys with the confidence of a race car driver instead of a simple fear-ridden female. “But if it wasn’t them, it would have beenus. I’m sorry.”

Her shoulders drop, and tension fills her face as she considers her words. The heavy, sharp scent of guilt and sorrow begins to waft off her skin.

Before I can comment, the twinge in my shoulder becomes a quick lance of pain.

I pull my head back to eye it and find a hole slowly forming, the scales around it beginning to react as if burned away. I guess the Human didn’t miss with his weapon after all.

The burning sensation spreads in a broader circle to continue eating my scales. Whatever this is, it isn’t a bullet. That would have bounced off harmlessly. What was in that gun?

“Mal? You ok?” Beatrice’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror, and she misses that the light before her turns red. However, Mike doesn’t, and his frightened squeal brings her attention back to the road.

Feeling lucky I didn’t just become a splatter on pavement, I say, “I’m good. Where are we going?”

“Uptown. All the richie-riches have that enclosed parking shit. We need to get rid of the truck closer to the mansion in case anyone pieces together who you are. If they haven’t already.”

Huh.

As we continue speeding along, I reassess the female in front of me with a frown. We get uptown, and she slows to the exact speed limit, never wavering and stopping at each red light completely.

We draw a lot of attention as we make our way. A Human truck belching smog with Humans inside and a dragonkin in the back? Tongues will wag, that’s for sure. She’s making our presence a display for everyone to witness.

The pain has spread to my chest, and I lie back and breathe through it, waiting for us to reach a stop to ask for assistance. I don’t have very long to wait.

Shade covers me as we enter a car park and make several tight left-hand turns. She parks between two large vehicles, hiding the truck from ready view, and hops out with the keys jangling in her hands.

“We’re gonna’ have to walk, Mike,” her accent is strong as she leans over the truck bed to look at me. “Shit! Mal, why didn’t you say something?!”

It hurts enough that I don’t even snarl at her sharp voice. I continue to breathe evenly and open my eyes to squint at her. I close my eyes again and tune out both voices as Mike panics.

The tailgate drops, and I stretch my legs out fully for the first time in what feels like hours. The bed rocks asBeatrice climbs in with me, trying not to touch me, but with my bulk, there’s no point.

I hear her murmuring to me and my name several times before her hands rest on my abdomen. It would please me if I wasn’t trying my best not to writhe in agony.

It’s everywhere across my chest and inside my skin, eating me away with a cold burn that turns frighteningly numb after every layer it consumes.