Thess reappears, pulling on a dress, her bare feet sinking into the mud. The entire human fort stinks of crowding and waste, but from our conversations with Thess, I was told to expect this. The humans do not actually live in the filth, but it is difficult to control without the technology they used to have. For now, there are clean-up efforts and the dragons that live here take turns flying out entire trucks full of trash so the people do not have to live next to it.

People are emerging from their homes to look at us—human children of all sizes peer out from doorways, and adults eye us with mistrust. The busy fort has stopped to gawk at us, but Thess ignores it. Her smile is broad and welcoming. “Come with me. We’ll introduce you to Samir and Jonah first.”

“First?” Dottie asks as we follow behind Thess. “We meeting everyone in this damn fort?”

“Of course not,” Dakota says, her laugh a little too bright. “But we are going to trade, aren’t we? And I’d like to see if there’s anything we could learn from their gardens. Did you see them when we flew overhead? They were full, and it being practically winter. Someone here has a green thumb.”

Thess turns, walking backwards so she can address our group. “You can see whoever you like, or no one at all. This trip was for you. No one is expecting anything. We are just happy to make new friends.”

“The words ‘fort’ and ‘happy’ aren’t two I normally put together,” Aggie says, but her voice is cheerful. She pats her strange fake mane (white today) and beams at me. “Ain’t that right, Big Meat?”

I do not understand the question, but I know we are not telling the truth because Dottie needs to see the healer. “Murr happy Dakota,” I say, and hope that explains everything.

“Good man,” Aggie says, and that’s the end of it.

We follow Thess as she leads our group through the fort. I have counted at least four dragons, three of them with a mated scent upon them. Only Thess does not have the mate scent, and I wonder if she has spoken of this with her healer, or if he knows her feelings. The female drakoni warrior stops in front of a large rectangle of dark red metal and raps on what must be a door.

“A shipping container. Very nice.”

“Hot in the summer,” Thess agrees. “But this time of year, it works very well for Samir and…” She pauses, her eyes widening as she looks over at Dakota. “…his projects,” she finishes with a strangled sound.

There’s an awkward moment of silence.

“Does his son live here, too?” Rabbit asks.

“He does.”

We continue to wait by the door, and I can pick up the sound of shuffling feet on metal. After a long moment, it opens and a young male stands in the doorway of the home. He turns his head in our direction but doesn’t meet anyone’s gaze. “Hello?”

“It is me, Thess,” the female drakoni says. “I have brought friends as I said.”

He smiles and takes a step back. As he does, I see he has a long white stick in his hand. “Come in. Dad was waiting, but someone in the kitchens cut their hand. He’ll be back soon. Want me to put on tea?”

“Tea would be lovely,” Thess says, and steps into the darkness.

Dakota glances at me, her hand sweaty in mine, and follows after. I refuse to release her and go inside with her, even though it feels like a tight fit. No wonder she loves her bookstore. This container makes me ache to shift to my battle-form and stretch my wings for a time.

My eyes adjust to the interior darkness and it is neat and tidy. There is a table with a chair and a multitude of human things on a rolling cart next to it. Farther in, where the boy is heading, there is a long, plush chair, a big metal thing that smells of ash, and two narrow beds against the back wall that stack atop one another.

The humans shuffle in the darkness, making worried sounds and taking tiny steps.

“Just a moment,” the boy says, and grabs a long stick. He pushes it up against the roof of the container, and then sunlight pours in. “Better?”

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OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 90

DAKOTA

If I’m judging people off the cleverness of their homes, Jonah and his absent dad get a pass from me. The shipping container with its fitted sunroof is clever. The interior feels weighty and solid, and it’s clean and tidy inside, if a bit stuffy. There’s an old rug on the floor and the bunkbeds are made. It all looks cozy and homey, probably even more so than the bookstore.

Jonah sits down in a chair at the small, square table, and waits patiently. He’s a handsome boy with golden skin and dark hair, tall for his age, and has the rounded cheeks of someone who hasn’t grown into their facial structure yet. His eyes are beautiful and dark, set under thick brows that furrow as he turns towards our direction and waits for someone to say something.

“You must be Jonah,” I say, breaking the silence. “My name is Dakota, and Thess told us all about you. I’ve brought my daughter, Rabbit, with me.”

“Hi,” Rabbit says, sounding youthful and shy, and Jonah’s head immediately turns in her direction, a smile creasing his face.

“And my husband, Murr,” I continue. I rest my hands on Rabbit’s shoulders, holding her close because it’s a tight fit inside the shipping container and I don’t want to touch someone else’s stuff without permission. “Murr is drakoni, like Thess. And two friends of mine, Dottie and Aggie.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Dottie says.

“Nice digs,” Aggie adds.

Jonah continues to frown at all of us. “…Hi?”

Thess winds her way forward, moving through the group of us squeezed in amidst the furniture. “These are friends of mine that live outside the fort,” she says. “They wanted to meet you.”

His expression remains suspicious. “Why?”

Why indeed? Do we bring up the dog if Aggie decides that she wants to keep all the puppies after all? It’d get his hopes up over nothing. We focused so much on what to tell Dottie about this visit that I forgot to plan on what we’d say to Jonah. I tense, and Murr slides his arm around my waist, reminding me that he’s right next to me, and that everything is fine.

“Well,” Aggie says, speaking up to fill the silence. She shoots all of us a look that says not to interrupt as she steps forward, moving slowly toward Jonah. “I got me a dog that needs some serious training. Thess here says you’re the dog expert, so I wanted to get some advice from you.”

Jonah’s face lights up. He turns from my daughter to focus entirely on Aggie. “You have a dog? Is it here?”

“No, she’s a bad traveler,” Aggie explains hastily. She leans on her cane, taking another step forward, closer to Jonah at the table. “You mind if I sit down, young man? I’m old as fuck and my back ain’t what it used to be.”

He gestures at his home. “Of course. Everyone please make yourselves comfortable.”

Dottie moves to sit next to Aggie, and that leaves one more chair at the small table. Jonah pulls it out, and Rabbit sits down next to him, my daughter looking bashful. She can’t stop smiling, though. Of course she can’t—Jonah is about her age and cute as could be. I find it adorable.

I remain where I am, leaning against Murr as Jonah moves around in his tiny “kitchen,” setting an old percolating coffee pot on a burner. He throws a small log into the belly of the stove, which looks like something out of Little House on the Prairie. It’s like a cross between a cooking stove and a wood-burning stove and I’m fascinated by it. Hell, I want one.

“Tell me about your dog,” Jonah says, using a long-handled stick to stoke the coals in the belly of the oven. He holds his palm to the warmth to test it, then shuts the tiny door to the stove.