Page 73 of A Dagger of Twisted Starlight

I rested my head on his shoulder and said, “Remember when we were kids, when we’d get lost in the neighborhood and feel like the entire world was a playground?”

“I do,” he said.

“When did that playground turn into a gauntlet?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe it never was a playground. It was all lies.”

“Maybe…”

“Thank you, though. For sticking through this with me. For always being there for me. You’ve helped me keep going; you always had. It was your optimism that did it for me. You never let the gauntlet take that from you. You always thought something better was coming, even when there’s no way to see past the shitstorm.”

“It’s the only way to do it. And it’s true. When has there ever been a permanent rainstorm? The sun always finds a way to come through.”

Cassius nodded his head. I lifted mine. The bent, thick limbs of the nearby Joshua trees appeared to be dancing even though there was no melody in the air. I kicked at a rock by myfeet. “You and Xavier seem like a really great match,” Cassius said after a short while. “That makes me happy. Which is difficult to do considering the circumstances.”

“He makes me happy,” I said. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips. “I didn’t think I’d find someone who got me to open up and trust again, to be honest. I wasn’t even looking for it.”

“That’s when it tends to happen, huh?”

“Seriously.”

Cassius leaned back, hands on the stone steps. The desert air was cool now that the sun wasn’t baking the beige rocks and packed dirt. “You deserve it. And you two make the cutest fucking couple. I knew it was going to happen, especially without how bumbly and awkward you were when you first met him. I could tell the butterflies kicked up. And the way he looked at you that first day only confirmed it for me.”

“Really? Why didn’t you say anything?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t want to ruin anything. I felt like I was watching one of those nature documentaries, where they just observe the rare mating rituals of the animals through binoculars.” He chuckled. “Not that I want to see you mating, obviously,” he quickly amended.

My cheeks heated as the scalding hot memory of Xavier taking my virginity rushed back to me. We’d had sex quite a few more times since then, and each time was somehow better than the last. It felt like I’d discovered an entirely new continent, with something fun and new around every corner. A new sensation, a new position, a new sound, new scent, new words. I never wanted the discovery to end.

“Just make sure I’m your best man at the wedding,” Cassius said.

“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves there.” Although, if I were being truthful, it definitely was something that had crossed through my daydreams, especially lately. But there were way more things to worry about than wedding bells and first songs.

Mainly the end of the world as we knew it.

Cassius gave a stretch and a yawn. It was getting late. The yawn spread to me. We had a long couple of days ahead, so it was best we got some rest.

Plus, I was excited to climb into bed and cuddle with my golden dragon.

“Let’s call it a night,” I said. Cassius nodded and stood. I held his elbow, looking into my best friend’s pained eyes. “It’s going to be okay. Somehow, someway, it’ll turn out okay.”

“I hope so,” he said. He looked back out to the horizon. I could see the tension and fear coiled in his shoulders, wrapping around him like a deadly python.

“Wait… What is that?” Cassius asked, suddenly sounding concerned.

“What?”

“That,” he said, pointing up at the sky. I followed his gaze. At first, I didn’t see anything but a star-blotted black sky. But then, movement caught my eye. Two—no, three… four—dark shadows were cutting through the night sky. Moving incredibly fast.

Too fast.

“Holy shit.” My legs almost gave out from underneath me. A deafening roar split through the air. “Dragons.”

These weren’t regular dragons, though. I could see their inky-black scales, could see tendrils of something hangingoff their wings and jaws. They had bright red eyes that glowed menacingly against the midnight curtain behind them.

Shades mixed with dragons.

Nightmares in physical form.

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