Page 172 of Scars Like Wings

“Well, you were robbed of your chance, darling. Sorry about that.” Talli’s smile crinkled the corners of her eyes.

Maisie tilted her head. “How doyouknow so much about this? I mean, I have only known I was a fitch for a few months. But I have been reading up on this, and I never saw anything about dragons. Fuck, I didn’t even know they existed until Byrd literally turned into one tonight.”

“Honestly, same. I have never heard anything about dragons before this. I thought dragons were just in fairytales.” Simone agreed.

“That is because history is written by the victor. But to answer your question about how I know so much, I have been a fitch working with dragon-shifters since I was born over one-hundred-forty years ago?—”

Everyone’s jaws, except for Everett’s, dropped.

“Fitches can live for a very long time and not even look it.” Talli winked.

“How has no one ever heard of dragons before, though? Like, unicorns are creatures of fairy tales, but everyone knowsunicorn-shifters and uni-taurs exist. Why have dragons been scrubbed away from existence?” Simone asked.

“Excuse me? You knowwhatexists?” Teddy asked incredulously.

“I’ll tell you about it later, babe.” Ever smiled.

“Allow me to answer all of your questions. Well, most of them. Sorry, Thompson.” Coral orange magic encircled the dagger, and it went flying to the guest room to be tucked out of sight. I was able to relax fully into the couch cushions then. Talli continued. “Now, Maisie and Teddy, stay close to me. This spell takes quite a bit of magic, so your presence will be appreciated, too, for support.”

Talli kneeled above my back with Maisie and Teddy on either side. Talli used her magic materials to prep my back. Whatever she put on there was tingling in how cold and hot it was. It relaxed me, though.

Finally, Talli began:

“To answer your questions, we have to talk about history.Ancienthistory. Dragonborn were among the first shifters who ever existed. Before civilization, they existed all over the world among the first fae, vampire, werewolves, and other creatures. Those first creatures came to be called the Ancients. As humanity came to be, they started to be worshiped as deities. Their existence spans across cultures, which is how there are stories of dragons in each culture. However, as with many things in history, people wanted power. The only way they saw to have it was by stealing it by any means necessary. Thus, the most powerful witches among the humans gathered and created hunters.

“Hunters are superpowered humans. Their skin is tougher, they are stronger than most humans are capable of, their senses more powerful, they live longer and stay in their prime for longer, they are immune to most of the abilities thataffect humans normally like compulsion from vampires and certain spells from witches. Being a hunter is passed down the generations, and they hunt in families. They naturally know their way around a weapon and have a drive to kill certain supernaturals. They know how to sense them and track them. It’s one of their many powers.

“Originally, the witch creators designed them to fight dragon-shifters, but they developed abilities to hunt other supernaturals as they became a danger to humans or got too close to power. There are hunter families that exist now that hunt only dragonborn, specific supernaturals, or all supernaturals in general. They have an instinctive drive to do it, but they also can do it for power like their ancestors or for money. It’s insanely lucrative, and there are families that are the wealthiest in existence because of this. They are the only beings that are naturally capable of withstanding an attack from a dragon-shifter—or, anything for that matter. They know the weapons that can kill them and are able to wield them with an efficiency that comes second nature to them.”

I shivered, unable to unsee Zaria’s movements with her blade and the thirst for blood in her contact-laden eyes. So, Zaria was a huntress. My tail and wings twitched with nerves.

Talli lifted her hands off my back. “I’m so sorry, love. Did I hurt you?”

“No. Keep going please. What happened after the hunters were made?”

“The first hunters quickly decimated the dragonborn race. The dragons tried to defend themselves, but it became a numbers game. The witches could create more hunters from humans faster than a dragon-shifter could birth another and raise it to be strong enough to defend itself. It was almost a complete genocide. But the dragonborn had an alliance of theirown. They were not the only ones being attacked forwhatthey were.

“The dragon-shifters and witch-fae were both getting attacked by witches and those who wanted power, so they created a bond to link them together. They would protect each other with their magic: dragon-shifters in the physical sense and fitches by concealing them for protection.

“Dragon-shifters are born human, but once they reach puberty, they change into their full form and maintain partial forms from then on. This is fine if they live in enchantments with their own kind and often is the reason why they do. But if they do want to blend in outside of these places, fitches have to use magic to make them human. That’s why your mom found me before she moved to Blackbell, Byrdie.

“Dragon-shifters and fitches are all drawn together. There’s always a connection, like a symbiotic relationship, even if they don’t know why at first or know about each other’s existence.”

“Why wasn’t there anything about this in the Archive?” Maisie asked.

“Dragonborn are private and rare, even more than unicorns. They have survived this long. Those who know about them are intrinsically connected to them, even if they do not know it. Guardian shifters like griffons, gargoyles, and the like are drawn to them because they feel a need to protect them and the treasures they may have. Dragon-shifters are intelligent and great with money so they hoard knowledge and money. Yes, Byrdie-Bee, that is partly why you are as smart as you are and a prodigy at some things, but most of that is because of your mom being who she is.” Talli winked toward me. “But the only written text that you will find about dragonborn are in their own personal libraries and within enchantments. Honestly, the Pierce family grimoire is the closest I’ve ever come to any written dragonborn record in my lifetime.”

Everett leaned forward. “Most dragon shifters also don’t keep written records because they are able to pass anything important down to their offspring. That is what happened to you the night your mom died and tonight, kiddo.”

“Yeah, but that only happens when they—we—die, right? What about when we are alive? Why didn’t Mom and Pops ever tell me any of this about dragonborn, our history, and about hunters? I mean, I grew up knowing about dragons, obviously, but I never knew any of this. I didn’t even know about the grimoire even though I remember seeing it as a kid, because Mom never talked about it. I didn’t even know that hunters were a thing until they killed Mom. Why not tell me?” I asked the question that had been weighing on my mind since my memories had returned.

“No one can speak for your mother and exactly why she did what she did when she was alive,” Talli answered. “I can tell you that I used to not understand it, either. But once I had my girls, I understood it. I wouldn’t do the same thing, but I understood. There’s nothing a parent, especially a mother, wouldn’t do to keep their children safe, happy, and healthy for as long as possible. Sometimes, that means not telling them the bad things because you don’t want to pop the bubble too soon, even if it is something theyshouldknow. You just want to shield them from the world as long as possible and push away everything else.”

“Talli is right. I think your mother wanted you to enjoy the good of being a dragon for as long as possible, kiddo,” Everett said. “She was robbed of it when she was a kid. She never talked about it, but she did talk about how she wanted you to have what she didn’t: the security that comes with not knowing the evil in the world just yet. Can’t say I blame her after everything.”

“Dragon-shifters are incredibly protective over their young. They will do whatever it takes to keep them alive. Even if itmeans they might not achieve full happiness like the children always wanted.”

I locked eyes with Talli. She had stopped applying the medicine to my back and leg. Now, she was drawing motions with her hands just above me. Her eyes looked sad and full of remorse.

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