Morgan hated the words even as they left her mouth, but she just couldn’t do it again. It was too painful.

  Diesel looked defeated, but he nodded slowly. “I understand. I’ll be keeping watch.”

  She turned away so he didn’t have to see the tears that were falling down her cheeks. It felt like her heart was walking away from her, but it was better than watching it explode again.

  Right?

  He walked over and opened the door slightly, then looked over his shoulder at her.

  “I’ve lived a lot of years, Morgan. And one thing I’ve learned is that you can never really plan for everything.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “No one is truly safe from anything—whether it be bad luck, fate, or coincidence. But that just makes the moments we have with our loved ones even more precious, even more important.”

  Morgan looked away as he continued.

  “We can’t control the future. All we can really do is cherish our loved ones and hope the dark day that eventually comes for us all takes its time getting here. And in the meantime, make the most of those happy days with the ones that matter most. Those are what make life worth living.”

  Then, with one last look, he was gone, leaving her confused and torn up and alone.

  This is safer, right?

  If so, why did it feel like her heart was already broken?

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she wiped away a tear and pulled it out, answering the call.

  “Hello?”

  It was Grace’s teacher at school. “Hi, Ms. Seward? Grace didn’t make it to class this morning, and I wanted to let you know.”

  What?

  “Okay, thank you,” she said, ending the call. As she lowered her phone, fear and panic surged in her veins, and her phone buzzed again.

  It was a text from Stacy Nelson, the woman who had driven Grace to school.

  The Crater dragon’s mouthpiece wants to see you, the text read.

  Morgan feverishly typed in a response. Where is Grace?

  Be at the park in 10 minutes or face the Crater dragon’s wrath.

  What was going on? Were the Nelsons part of the cult? She hadn’t thought so. They always seemed so normal.

  Unsure of what else to do, Morgan threw open the door and ran down the stairs, through the store, and outside.

  “Diesel! Please help!” She hated to call for him, but regardless of her issues, she couldn’t do this alone.

  For a second, she thought he wasn’t coming. Then the ground rumbled, and he popped out of the earth in front of her.

  Holy what? How did he do that?

  But there was no time to think about it as he folded his arms and narrowed his eyes at her. “I thought you didn’t want to see me.”

  “I know, but… this is about Grace.”

  His eyes went wide as she explained what had happened.

  When she was done, he was deadly serious and calm. “Okay, I have an idea. We’ll get her back.”

  18

  Morgan tapped her finger against the steering wheel, trepidation sitting in the bottom of her stomach like a rock as she drove to the city park.

  She still wasn’t completely sure about this whole idea, but if Diesel said it would work, then it should work. After all, she trusted him completely.

  It was the unpredictability of the world and reality she didn’t trust.

  But all of that didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was getting to Grace and making sure that she was safe and sound.

  When she arrived at the city park in the center of town, she parked and got out of her car, looking around.

  Above her, dreary gray clouds floated, matching the whole mood of the day. The park itself was lined with tall trees and long, open patches of grass. Almost everywhere she looked, there stood cultists in groups, all wearing their unsettling uniforms in brown and blue.

  In front of the largest gathering, Grace spotted a huge sign that read, Welcome Back, Crater Dragon!

  How had an ancient town legend about a dragon and some buried treasure become conflated into this? As she looked closer at the groups, she was even more unsettled to see that a few of them were friends or acquaintances she knew.

  Harsh, suspicious gazes followed her across the park as she walked toward the largest group of people, where she assumed Grace was being held. When she got there, the people parted, and Morgan’s eyes went wide as she tried to stay calm.

  Grace was huddled against one of the poles holding up the banner, clutching her backpack tightly.

  “Your daughter. As promised,” one of the bigger cultists said, motioning with a hand.

  “Come here, sweetheart. It’s okay,” Morgan said, and Grace got up immediately and ran over, hugging her tight.

  Morgan held her daughter, then glared at the man. “What the hell did you take Grace for? She isn’t a part of this.”

  The man didn’t answer her question. Instead, he just frowned. “The mouthpiece for the Crater dragon will see you soon,” he said, then turned away, and most of the crowd seemed to focus away from them. Though, some still sent hateful glances their way every now and then.

  “What’s going to happen?” Grace asked, scared as she looked up at Morgan.

  Morgan knelt down. “It’s gonna be okay.” She took a deep breath, then turned her mind toward Diesel and felt her heart calm slightly.

  If what he said was true—and she had no reason to doubt Diesel at this point—then apparently, he’d be able to follow the sound of her and Grace’s heartbeats.

  The ground rumbled. Then suddenly, dirt exploded everywhere as Diesel emerged from the ground in front of them, grabbing one of the cultists with one hand and sending him flying.

  Suddenly, it was chaos as the cultists heard the noise and turned, their eyes zeroing in on them. One of them ran at him, and he dodged, then punched the guy, sending him careening backward as well.

  Two more appeared out of the crowd, but he grabbed their heads and rammed them together, a loud crack resounding through the park.

  But there were too many, and they were starting to surround them. Diesel backed up, holding his arms out in front of them.

  “Get back. I’ll shift and we’ll get out of here,” he growled, his voice dark and serious.

  The cultists were about to encroach even closer when a masculine shout echoed across the park.

  “Stop!”

  Morgan, Diesel, and Grace turned in the direction of the voice, watching as the crowd parted to make way for some figure.

  The person was wearing dark, odd-looking brown robes. But even more bizarre was the fact that he was wearing what looked like a dragon mask. It was the more expensive kind that covered the head completely, made of vinyl and painted brown with red eyes. The kind one might find at a sketchy Halloween store.

  As the figure approached, Diesel stepped even closer to Grace and Morgan protectively.

  “I expected nothing less from my old foe,” a man’s voice said. Why was it familiar?

  The figure said nothing as he came to a stop. Then, slowly, he reached up and pulled the mask down from his head.

  Morgan’s jaw dropped.

  It was Clark.

  “What the hell, Clark? This is all your doing?” she asked angrily.

  Clark just smirked at her and cocked an eyebrow, then began to walk around the edge of the circle. “Correct.”

  Diesel seemed similarly confused. “What are you? The speaker or the Crater dragon?”

  Clark laughed and shook his head. “I thought that would be obvious by now. I’m both, of course.” He held up a hand, and before their eyes, his fingers shifted into large, sharp claws and brown scales. Then he coolly released the transformation and tucked his hand back into his robes.

  “I’ve been ‘speaking for the dragon’ for many years now. Always a different mask or a different persona.” He shrugged. “You’d be surprised what people will believe when you show them a little dragon treasure and promise them more. Humans are so fucking easy to manipulate.”

  “But why kidnap Grace? She didn’t do anything to you,” Morgan said.

  Clark pursed his lips. “You’ll have to forgive me. I was never going to hurt your daughter. I just wanted her here because I knew you would come. Much less messy that way.”

  “Why Morgan? Why now?” Diesel asked warily.

  “Because after a thousand years, I can feel the strength you took from me returning,” Clark explained, clasping his hands behind his back as he circled them. “And not only that, but I’ve found a mate, and she’s the lucky lady.”

  He pointed directly at Morgan, and she frowned.

  What the heck?

  Had all those years of rejections not been enough? He really needed another?

  “Please, get real. What about all those women you were courting?” she asked.

  Clark cocked an eyebrow. “What women? Have you met them before?”

  She paused. “No.”

  “Exactly. It was always you. I was always scouting you out, you alone, to see if you were my mate. After all, it’s been a thousand years. And now that my dragon is nearly back at full power, I want a mate to go with.” When he glanced at her again, his expression was completely unlike the Clark she’d met back at the store. Cold. Decisive.

  “Not a chance,” she retorted.

  Clark laughed charmingly, his gray-blue eyes mischievous. “Feisty. I like that.”

  “She’s my mate, and if you so much as come near her, I’ll rip you apart,” Diesel growled.

  “Ooh, scary,” he chided. “You basilisks are always so uncivilized. You don’t even understand the subtleties of mating,” Clark replied sardonically.

  “Oh yeah? I think you’re about to meet the subtleties of my fist.”

  Clark rolled his eyes. “Please, you aren’t even fully mated. You just think she’s your mate.” He took a step toward them, eyes narrowing. “When I reclaim this crater as my own and the treasure I’ve buried deep beneath this land is mine again, no one will be able to stop me.”

  Diesel shook his head. “I will. I beat you once. I can do it again.”

  “We’ll see about that. Either way, it’s about time to show everyone what they came here to see.”

  Then, to Morgan’s utter surprise, his human shape began to change right in front of them. His black and silver hair grew longer, shaggier, and at the same time, he grew a few inches in height and at least fifty pounds of pure muscle until he was as tall and bulky as Diesel.

  The blue in his eyes changed as well, now a sparkling grayish-silver that contrasted with the white streaks through his hair and his full beard, which had gotten longer and more rugged-looking as well.

  Morgan’s jaw dropped. Was this even the same person? Gone was the handsome, relatable, average-looking man she had known for many years living in Heller’s Rest.

  Now he was something else entirely. Tall, muscled, and exuding dominance as he folded his arms and faced off with Diesel, his features more that of a bodybuilder in his early to midforties than that of the charming town rake he’d been.

  “Ah, it feels good to be back at full power and in my true form.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, technically, my true human form. My dragon form is much more… intimidating. And now it’s time for my return and my revenge. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this,” Clark said, eyes narrowing in anger at Diesel.

  Morgan just gaped. How had a town rumor about dragons and gold come to this? A man that could change shape and proclaimed to be the actual Crater dragon everyone spoke of?

  Diesel cracked his knuckles. “I’m happy to go any day, but not here. These people don’t deserve this.”

  Clark sighed, looking bored. “In truth, I don’t give a flying fuck about any of these people. They’re humans. Expendable.” His gaze softened. “But I would hate to get off on the wrong foot with my future mate. That would make it difficult to win her over, though nothing will stop me from taking what’s mine.”

  Then he winked at her, and Morgan scowled. Misguided or not, there was no way that he would ever win her, no matter how hard he tried, because Diesel already had her heart. Whether he knew it or not.

  A cool breeze blew through the park, punctuating the silence as the crowd watched the showdown between Diesel and Clark with avid interest.

  Finally, Clark rolled a shoulder back, then began to change again. This time, he transformed, growing upward and outward and expanding as his skin turned to scales.

  Just when Morgan thought he was done, he kept going, up and up and up. He had to have been at least several stories tall. Maybe even the same size as Diesel’s basilisk.

  And just as mean-looking. Clark in dragon form had dark, stone-colored gray and brown scales and huge wings that fanned out for a second, then were pulled back in close.

  He had four huge legs, each of them punctuated at the end with humongous claws, and the lighter, sand-colored scales along his stomach ran all the way up to his head. Multiple horns poked up and forward from the top of his head, and in the center, two granite-gray eyes stared down at them with disdain.

  Once he was at full height, the crowd seemed to finally come to their senses because a single shout echoed, followed by several more in a stampede as everyone immediately began to run for their lives.

  One or two people started to bow tentatively, as if that would somehow curry favor with the gigantic monster. But when the dragon shifted his weight, the ground thudded heavily, and they picked up and ran as well.

  If the situation weren’t so serious, Morgan would have found it amusing that these blowhards were abandoning ship now after all their talk.

  She looked to Diesel to see his reaction, but he just stared up, serious and unfazed by the huge creature in front of him.

  “Meet me outside the Crater, or I’ll start leveling the buildings in the town. Just for fun,” Clark called down in a deep voice that shook the ground.

  Then he unfurled his humongous wings and took off from the ground, flying away from the center of the Crater and over the short mountains that lined the back, presumably to the place where he intended to fight Diesel. And once he was out of sight, Morgan looked around, realizing with a start that the park was completely empty except for them.

  In the distance, a faint siren went off, probably the town freaking out that a giant, mythical beast was flying around.

  Without a word, Diesel turned and grabbed Morgan by the hand, pulling her back toward her car. When they got there, he held open the door for her.

  “Get in. Get out of here. It’s not safe,” he said, looking between her and Grace.

  Morgan nodded slowly, then turned and helped Grace get into the car. Once Grace was in, Morgan turned back around to face him. “Will you be okay?”

  Diesel paused. “I’ve fought him before, but he’s had a long time to regain his strength.” His eyebrows turned downward in consternation. “The other basilisks are coming, but I don’t know how soon they’ll be here.”

  A ripple of pain went through Morgan, the thought of losing him more agonizing than ever. Even more so than it had been earlier. He would win, right?

  He would come back to her after, right?

  Almost sensing her distress, he reached out and pulled her into his arms, holding her close.

  “Remember, I love you. So, so much,” he said, pulling back and running his thumb down her cheek. “Now go.”

  “Please be safe,” she pleaded as she got into her car and put her key in the ignition.

  One side of his mouth turned up in a smile. Then he disappeared beneath the ground, and she supposed he was doing his moving-through-the-ground-at-crazy-speed thing she’d only just barely learned he could do.

  Basilisks were such curious monsters.

  “All right, let’s go,” she said as they pulled out of the parking lot.

  In the corner of the rearview mirror, she saw Grace frown. “Are we leaving Diesel behind?”

  Morgan bit her lip, unsure of what to say. “No, he’ll catch up later.”

  The answer seemed to satisfy Grace for the moment.

  As she headed toward the exit of the Crater, Morgan couldn’t help but notice the tons of cars and even people moving along the side of the road in an attempt to get away.

  Even more serious, it seemed like a harsh wind had picked up, and it was blowing so hard that some of the trees seemed to be nearly sideways.

  The closer they got to the entrance of town—and safely far away from the impending fighting—the harder Morgan hesitated.

  “We’re not running, are we?” Grace piped up from the back seat, readjusting her glasses.

  Morgan frowned. “Of course we are. It’s what Diesel wanted us to do.”

  “Can’t we help him? We can’t just leave him behind.”

  She sighed. “We would only really get in the way.”

  “There has to be something we can do. He’s part of our family.” Grace urged.

  Morgan considered it for a second, then sighed and shook her head. Diesel was family, but she also needed to do what was best for them. For all of them.

  She gripped the steering wheel and looked over her shoulder in the direction both Diesel and Clark had gone.

  The only man she truly felt alive with was going to risk his life for them. For this town.

  It only made her love him more.

  She sighed and thought hard as the last turnoff approached before the road stretched out into open highway.

  She would do the right thing regardless of the risks.

  19

  In no time at all, Diesel emerged from the ground outside the Crater, glad the road Morgan would be taking to get both her and Grace to safety was on the other side.

  Above him, the infamous Crater dragon paced ominously, his huge tail swishing as he crushed stray boulders and shrubs beneath his talons.

  It made sense the second he’d appeared in the park, wearing the guise of the “spokesperson for the dragon,” why Diesel hadn’t liked Clark from the first time he’d seen him in Morgan’s store. But it also made more sense now that he hadn’t sensed he was a dragon either.