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I sucked my lower lip between my teeth. “Are you a…” Was it rude to ask if someone was also a demon in disguise? What a strange world I found myself in, trying to figure out etiquette for literal beasts.

“What?” Kol asked.

“A dragon,” I said, the word tasting unfamiliar. “Like...your brother?”

“We are identical twins. It would be kind of strange if I wasn’t also a dragon—some would say the more magnificent of the two, but I will leave you to be the judge of that when you see me take my true form.”

I instantly felt proprietary toward Nyx at those words, then realized how absurd that was. Yes, I had thought his dragon form quite magnificent in the moments I was able to set aside my crippling fear. But I should hardly care which was the more magnificent beast between the brothers. I had no loyalty to either.

Even as I thought it, that invisible thread I had always felt reached out to the outside world and latched onto something. And now, I knew it connected me to him. To Nyx. As if that proprietary thought had tugged it to touch base with him.

My dragon. The most magnificent.

By the Goddess! What was I thinking?

And it was with that thought I remembered Nyx’s ability to know my thoughts. I prayed to the Goddess that only worked when he was close by. I did not want him thinking I felt any claim on him.

I put my face in my hands.

“Oh, sunshine. I know it’s got to be so hard to have your entire world ripped apart like this. I’m sorry,” Kol said softly, misinterpreting my reason for hiding my face. But I was happy he didn’t know my thoughts like his brother, and I was not about to correct him.

He gently pried my hands away, taking them in his. “I’m not trying to make it harder on you or convince you of anything. This has all got to be a huge shock.”

“Why do you call me that?” I asked, realizing I had already accepted another pet name that had no logical reason.

He beamed. “Because it’s you. You’re a ray of sunshine. Your golden hair shines as bright as your soul…and you’re little.” He patted me on the head.

I brushed his hand away in mock annoyance. “Compared to you and your brother, maybe, but that doesn’t make me little. That makes me normal.”

“Fair point. Dragons are pretty big, and our fae forms reflect that.”

A thought struck me. “Will I…change into something?”

Kol smirked. “Like what?”

I rolled my eyes; he knew what I was asking.

He laughed in response. “No, you will not change. You won’t grow wings or anything else. That is why ryders ride, because they cannot fly with us.”

That made sense…if anything could in this bizarre world.

“Do you want me to go on?” he asked, searching my face.

“Please.”

“It’s a special bond we have with our ryder. When our magic is first awakened, we become aware of something out there we are drawn to. It’s hard to describe.”

“Like a part of you is reaching out for something?”

“Yes! You felt it?”

I regretted the admission, but it was too late to take back. "Maybe. I don’t know. I always felt like there was more out there calling to me. I just thought it was because we were isolated, and I yearned to know what was on the outside of our compound. But leaving wasn’t an option, so I shut it down.”

“Interesting.” He studied me, and I didn’t like it.

“Go on,” I urged, trying to get the attention off me.

“It happens differently for every pair, as the Goddess wills it. But somewhere between our innate magic first awakening around the age of two and maturing into adulthood, when our origin powers awaken, we get the call. The magic we share begins to awaken between us, and the pull gets stronger and stronger until getting to the other person is a need. It’s impossible to resist the call.” His eyes brightened as he spoke.