Page 30 of So I Dared a Dragon (The Mating Game #6)
thirty
. . .
Calista
“I want to say this feels like old times, but that means something completely different to you now,” Bibi said as one of the makeup artists worked on her brows.
The entire Mating Game crew had come to Vegas to support Bibi while she recovered from her injuries from our desert showdown with the Montana pack. Not that she actually rested while she healed. This was Bibi we were talking about. She held production meetings from the bed in her penthouse suite and spent much of her free rehabilitation time in the hotel spa.
Which was where we got ready for our triple date. Bibi and Hugo would be joining us tonight, along with Luca and Darcy, who were becoming smitten with each other.
“I agree. It feels like it used to when we’d get ready to go out for the night.” I practically purred as the hairstylist ran her fingers through my hair carefully to avoid my horns and break up my curls. My body was still so sensitive after my shift, which Aarix took full advantage of. “Which I missed so much. I’m still wrapping my head around the rest of it.”
“Can you tell the viewers what changed for you since you became a dragon?” Marissa asked.
“Let me try to put it into words.” I closed my eyes, letting the commotion around me fall away. “I have a lot more scales now. When they first appeared, they felt like something that was on my body, but now they feel like a part of it. And horns.”
“You can get rings for them like Aarix has,” Bibi suggested.
“I’m much stronger, but I go through energy faster. And I feel things…there’s no way to compare it. There’s so much energy all around us, especially because we’re in Vegas. The euphoria and the desperation are intense. Your energy is a color.”
“Oh, what color is mine?” Bibi asked.
“Glitter, obviously.” I laughed. “You’ve always had a purple hue, even before you came Bibi. Or maybe I’m remembering things through a dragon lens.”
“That’s fascinating,” Tina said.
“Since I know the rest of you are gonna ask—Tina, you’re blue; Marissa, yours is orange; Hannah, you’re yellow; and Darcy, you’re green.”
“We’re like our own little rainbow bunch,” Bibi said. “I love that. Can you see your own?”
“No, I wish, but Aarix says I’m a mix between red and violet. According to him, the colors change and sometimes one is stronger than the other.”
“That must be so magical.” Hannah sighed. “Do you see them too, Darcy?”
“I’m sure Lars has made you see stars a time or two.” Darcy grinned. “Yes, I see the same colors and can confirm that Calista is red and purple.”
Marissa leaned forward, making the orange swirl. “We’ve had everyone sequestered inside the Alta Vista since we’ve arrived in Vegas, but tonight we’re headed out, and there will be no escaping the paparazzi, especially since they know about your shift. They’ve already posted pictures, supposedly of the battle in the desert. We’re tracking the source of their photos to see if they’re real or deep fakes—but they have enough details to make us think they’re the real deal.”
“We want to do a press conference before we head out, control the narrative, and make sure no one can catch us off guard,” Tina added. “The guys will be there too.”
“What Tina didn’t say is the forums are going bananas over those pictures.” Hannah held up the tablet in her lap. The forums had a cool feature where you could always see the latest post up at the top, and it was pulsing like a heartbeat with all the changes. “Some of the regulars, who are usually spot on with their info, are sharing information about the Rocky Mountain thunder. It’s convincing enough for media outlets to quote them. Problem is, we’ve forwarded everything to Wendy and Laura so they can fact check their little hearts out, and they can’t find anything to back up these claims.”
A growl resonated from deep inside me. “Can I see them?”
The production team shared surprised expressions, their colors swirling together like a dizzying, psychedelic rainbow. Hannah handed me the tablet.
The screen was tinged with darkness in the corners. I tried to swipe it away. The text on the screen bounced with my efforts, but those corners didn’t budge.
I shared the screen with Darcy. “Can you see it?”
She furrowed her brow at the screen. Same, girl, same. This gift of supercharged sight took some getting used to. “There are black splotches moving across the screen.”
“That’s impossible,” Bibi huffed. “ The Mating Game’s technology is all top of the line.”
“It’s energy,” I said as I took the tablet back, watching with wonder as the black splotches covered certain parts of the text. “Sweet moon, I think this is what was happening with everything at the library and the museum. The energy is literally rearranging itself before my eyes.”
“How fascinating!” Marissa exclaimed. “Is the information still there?”
“Yeah. Clicking on one of the threads made it easier to read.” The post claimed that the dragons had been erased from existence, after a disagreement…oh. “This says that the dragons angered the Shifter King. Wasn’t that Lars’ brother?”
“Yes, and he’s one of the ones who came back to try to stop Lars from claiming me.” Hannah pursed her lips together. “Along with the dire wolves…wait, this ties in with Montana’s claim.”
“It could be the Montana pack spreading these stories. I wouldn’t put anything past them after they ambushed you in the desert.” Tina shook her head.
“It would be helpful if we could establish any contact with them since that encounter.” Bibi sighed. “Not that I’m surprised they’re not taking my phone calls—”
“You did exactly what they trained you to do,” I reminded her. “You fought off a vicious attack and made them sorry they woke up that morning. Don’t you dare feel guilty about it.”
But no amount of makeup or spectacular lashes could hide the pain in Bibi’s eyes. It tasted like too much salt.
I couldn’t believe I could actually taste it. Whoa. These new dragon powers were intense.
“Chaos is Montana’s default, and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if we had a not-so-chance encounter with them again before we left Vegas.” I put down the tablet. The Rocky Mountain thunder’s past wasn’t nearly as important right now as their future. “What’s our game plan if they strike again?”
“Our entire security team is here, working with our local contacts,” Bibi said.
The same security team that had missed everything leading to the last attack. So I needed to rephrase the question. “But what will we do if we come face-to-face with them?”
“Why would they attack again?” Darcy asked. “Their mission was to keep you safe. They didn’t—you’re totally better off without them, but they failed. So the better question might be, what would they want now?”
My vision blurred and I closed my eyes to see if I could clear it. As cool as it was to see and taste energy, my brain had yet to catch up to the changes.
The vision became somewhat clearer. No, louder.
“If the Rocky Mountain dragons are freed, it will change everything.” I paused for a moment and drank in the quizzical looks. “That didn’t sound as profound out loud as the vision in my head. Let me try again. A secret went into that mountain with those dragons.”
“Any intel on what kind of secret?” Tina cocked a brow.
I shook my head. “I’m not sure I’m right—”
“Someone is trying their damnedest to keep information from you,” Darcy said. “I’m not familiar with all these new dragon feelings, either. But I feel it deep in my soul that you’re the key to freeing those dragons, and all the ancient beasts and relics that have been thrown at this production so far don’t even have prayer of stopping your power.”
“That means Calista is a target,” Bibi said.
“Same shit, different shifter.” I laughed, but being the odd one out, the one who could fuck everything up for everyone, was far too familiar. I would’ve loved to leave that with my old identity. “I’ve been a target my entire life. Even when I wanted to go to art school and I was told that Montana wolves were too practical for that. So yeah, now the clock is ticking and there’s more at stake. We need a plan. First, let’s make a list of all the things that have been erased—if we put those together, we might have a clue of what’s to come.”
“Texting Wendy and Laura right now.” Tina didn’t even look up from her phone.
“And we need to find out why the Montana wolves didn’t offer Darcy their protection.” I looked over at my friend. I loved that instead of shrinking from my claim, she straightened her spine, like she was ready for the challenge. “Or did she slip through the cracks all those years ago? The Night God knew who she was, and he was willing to drain her to keep this secret safe from the rest of the world.”
There was a knock at the door, and one of the show’s production assistants waved. “The vans are ready whenever you are.”
Fire brewed deep in my belly. More visions were flashing in my head like billboards along the Strip. I couldn’t tell if they were memories or warnings.
“This date is a statement.” I rose from my chair, shaking out my amazing hair. I looked fucking amazing. My gold dress hugged my curves, and the scales on my chest glittered like armor. I took Bibi’s and Darcy’s hands. “It’s time to show them exactly who we are.”