Page 5 of Zachary

Automatically, I stand to go turn the lights on—and freeze. Light switches are an old habit, from when my magic was mostly bound, from when I’d been trained not to rely on it. Sitting down again, I use magic to flip the light switch. I could avoid the light switch altogether and use my magic to light the room, but that would be unnecessary. What’s the point of living in this new world if I’m not willing to be part of it?

Which brings me right back to the reason for Garrett’s impromptu visit: my failure. I haven’t even been here for a full week, and already I’ve failed at this task Brandt set me. The only thing he’s asked of me, other than my oath not to harm his people and allies, back when I was still considered an enemy prisoner. Since then, he’s homed me, fed, clothed, comforted. Taught. Helped me to continue when I was convinced I couldn’t. I vowed that I would spend my life atoning for the destruction I was, even unknowingly, part of, but Brandt never asked it of me. He asked me what I wanted and how he could help me get it, butthis, representing him here in Hortplatz—this is the only thing he’s ever asked me to do.

And the people here hate me so much, they want me to leave.

Garrett didn’t say that, of course. He was very gentle, very diplomatic. Suggested that perhaps I was finding it a challenge to acclimate to the colder weather. Said that people had noticed I was a little down-spirited… that maybe I wasn’t used to associating only with demons? And if that was the case, nobody would be offended if I preferred to ask for a replacement.

It was no surprise that people have noticed my mood—though I wince to think how rude I’ve been, inflicting it on them—but the hint that I might be speciesist, that shocked me to my core. Iwasraised that way. Raised to believe in a class system among elves that simply does not exist in reality, and then, when the need to migrate to Earth became critical, taught that Earth species were subordinate. I’ve worked hard, so hard to overcome those teachings, and I genuinely don’t believe them anymore. How can I, when I’ve seen and worked firsthand with other species who are far more intelligent and talented and capable than I am? More learned, certainly.

Not that it would be hard to be more learned than I am. I barely know the basic facts of my own people, much less the complex languages and histories of others and concepts of engineering and mathematics.

I remember those moments in Brandt’s office after he said he wanted me to identify and catalogue the contents of the cave.

“Me? That’s impossible.”

For once, the flash of his smile does nothing to soothe me. “There are few things that are truly impossible. This isn’t one of them.”

“But I’m theworstchoice! What about Fabian? This is his area of expertise.”

The room is quiet. Nobody’s ever heard me argue with Brandt before. It’s never happened before.

Brandt doesn’t seem to care—or notice. He shrugs. “Fabian will consult, of course, but this will be a long process, and he can’t be away from his regular duties to the living archive for such an extended period. He also tells me he’d miss Rhys too much.”

“He gets lonely without me,” Fabian explains. “There won’t be anyone to listen to him explain all his TV shows. Plus, I need regular sex or my brain gets itchy.”

“As long as it’s not anything else that’s itchy,” Wil murmurs, and Fabian rolls his eyes.

“That’s a human thing, Wil. Dragons can’t catch STIs.”

I make a mental note to look up what an STI is—humans are the species I have the fewest interactions with—but keep my attention on Brandt. He can’t really mean to have me do this. “Someone else, then. Anyone else.”

“I think you’re the best choice.”

My head shakes wildly, and I struggle to keep from trembling. “How can I be? How could I catalogue the contents of a dragon vault when I’m so ignorant of dragon history and culture?”

“You’re not ignorant,” Steffen begins angrily, and some of my frustration and fear lessens. My brother is defending me—even if it is against myself.

“Steffen’s right,” Brandt interrupts. “You are not ignorant, Ronan. Not every dragon knows every thing about dragonkind, and the fact that you know less is because your birthright was stolen from you. That’s exactly why I think this will be good for you. The control of discovery will be in your hands—you’ll be the first person in thousands of years to lay eyes and hands on whatever is found. You’ll photograph, record details, and then, with the assistance of Fabian and thearchive, you’ll identify. But we don’t expect everything inside to be of dragon origin. The dragon who designed the cave was a great lover of Earth. She may have used it to collect objects from the native species, in which case, you’ll be coordinating with the hellhound in charge of the project to bring in species historians and experts.” He meets my gaze steadily. “This is a learning opportunity for you, Ronan. The chance to fill all the gaps you believe you have.”

I stare back at him, panic a sick weight in my stomach. For all the logic in his explanation, I still know this is a mistake. Me, acting as representative for all dragons? The first dragon this village will come to know? How can I represent a species I sometimes don’t truly feel I’ve earned the right to be part of?

And what if someone asks me a question about dragons or dragon history that I can’t answer?

“Please, Ronan.”

I swallow hard, unwilling to refuse Brandt. “Of course.”

Bitterly, I wonder if Brandt would still have been so sure of sending me here if he’d known how badly I’d ruin things before the cave has even been opened.

The cave isn’t open yet.

Like a blow, the reminder knocks the self-pity from me. That’s right. Cam, the sweet incubus who was so excited to meet dragons, is still working on the mechanical puzzle that acts as a lock… and door. It was impressive to see, even if at the time I was both sick from teleporting and intimidated by the dragon who designed it. I could never do anything as amazing as that.

But it’s still closed. Which means I have time to fix things. Ineedto fix them. Even aside from my assurance to Garrett that I’ve been distracted by problems from home and definitelydowant to be here. That I’m looking forward to learning all I can about demons and their culture and will make certain I make amends with everyone who might think otherwise. I can’t let thisfailure reflect poorly on my species—on Brandt. On my brother, who’s had so many of his own hurdles to overcome and still manages to function within the community.

So… the first thing I need to do is make sure everybody knows I’m not speciesist. Then I can work on building up goodwill. By the time Cam has the door open, people will behappyto have me here.

I just don’t know how to do that.

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