1
Johanna paced around her coffee table, glancing once again at the ornate blue and silver envelope she’d received as part of a mysterious packet that had shown up on her front door.
Puggles, her adopted pug mix, followed her in a circle, snorting as he went, thinking this must be some fun game.
But what she’d read on the pages contained inside… it couldn’t be real.
No way.
She picked up the cover letter in thick paper with fine print on it that read “Congratulations! You are a beacon!” in bold at the top, scanning down the paragraphs that seemed to be talking utter nonsense.
Yet it was all written so directly, so plainly, it was hard to ignore.
“Did you hear that, Puggles? I’m a fairy, it seems,” Jo said to Puggles, who was taking a break and sitting back on his haunches.
His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he looked up at her blankly.
Jo, still trying to grasp the situation, continued to read to her dog. If for no other reason than to try to make sense of everything.
“Well, technically a ‘beacon,’ according to this. But the person who sent this… whoever this ‘Ian, Light Fairy’ is, says I’m in need of protection and am being assigned a bodyguard.”
She looked at the single Polaroid sitting next to the packet on the table. Even a few feet away, she could see piercing blue-teal eyes staring up at her from the photo. Eyes that seemed to be following her as she paced around the table, though it was probably just her mind playing tricks on her.
She had half a mind to throw the whole thing in the trash. She wasn’t in the mood for scams. Especially ones that didn’t even try to be believable.
But against her better judgment, she picked up the photo to take a better look at it.
The man was more than handsome. He was gorgeous, with a perfect jaw that couldn’t be marred by his haphazardly shaven beard. High cheekbones, thick brows in a scowl, and full lips that were turned down in displeasure. But the harsh expression only seemed to make his unexplainable attractiveness even more stark, more supernatural.
She glanced back at the pamphlet.
“Attached is a photo of your assigned dragon protector during this transitional period,” she read aloud, scanning down the page. “If you do not have further need of his services after the appointed time period, you will be eligible for reassignment to another guard until your safety is assured.”
Was this some crazy ad for a male revue or something?
But as she looked over the paperwork again, there was no advertisement. No location for anything listed. And the only phone number was hidden in a small corner and noted, “In case of emergency only.”
The man’s frown seemed to deepen on the picture in her hand, and Jo dropped the papers on the counter, picking up a half-finished glass of wine and taking a sip.
Ever since the packet had arrived, she hadn’t gotten any work done on her cake project for tomorrow.
“I’m not a magical being living in a world with wolves and dragons and faeries. I’m just a baker who bakes. Isn’t that right, Puggles?” Johanna said, thinking out loud. Puggles, bored now that Jo wasn’t pacing, was eagerly sniffing something in the kitchen by himself.
Feeling her senses relax, Jo sat on her couch and pulled out her laptop. Next to her, she jotted ideas on a sketchpad for a unicorn cake she’d probably make tomorrow while her video editing program loaded.
In a world where online content was limitless, she had to keep working just to make a living.
And in reality, Jo loved her work. Loved being able to work from home, making people happy with her videos and recipes.
But even as she tried to focus on the task at hand, her thoughts continued to drift to words that were sticking to her mind like superglue.
There couldn’t possibly be anything true about it, could there?
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, making Jo nearly jump out of her seat. Puggles, more cuddle bug than guard dog, just looked at the door, confused.
Get it together, Jo. It’s probably just those icing packets you ordered, silly, Jo thought to herself, getting up and moving to the door.
But before she looked through the peephole, the image of the man in the picture flashed through her mind like lightning.
What if he really was coming to her, for whatever reason?
And what would she do if he did?
2
Stupid, stupid fae.
Stupid humans.
Stupid me for ending up in this position.
Dallin fumed as he ate the sidewalk with long strides, heading toward his mission.
And the only way he’d ever be free again.
After a lifetime of planning revenge, he’d gone and had a change of heart at the last minute. But all thanks to the actions of the only people he considered friends and a very nosy woman who seemed obsessed with dragons, he’d gone from being free of all responsibility to being chained like a dog here in the human world.
He was a dragon. A dragon hybrid, for that matter. One of the most powerful, feared beings in existence with the ability to control everyone and everything around him if he wanted to.
So what the hell was he doing here, going off to guard a human woman like he didn’t have anything better to do than sit on his ass?
Dallin huffed, glancing at the quiet suburb around him where he’d been dropped off like so much baggage.
Simple but clean townhomes greeted him on both sides, and the late afternoon sun beamed down on him. Up ahead, a woman walking a stroller looked up at him, then immediately crossed the street, moving at an awkwardly quick pace to avoid him.
At least people were still scared of him. That was good.
He’d already seen Johanna’s picture, taken from a website or something so he’d know what she looked like.
She was certainly pretty. Gorgeous even, if he was honest.
But he had much bigger and important things to do than play at being personal security.
Like finding Ultraviolet and talking some sense into his longtime ally and friend. Like continuing his search for dragons oppressed by generations of fae tyranny.
Like getting this damn chain, which harnessed and limited his powers, off his wrist.
Dallin made a turn, heading into a quiet corner of the neighborhood.
At least so far, the fae princes he was reluctantly working with were making good on their promises to help his dragon brethren. And from the initial reports he’d received, Dallin had every reason to believe the too-moral, too-nice warriors were already making much bigger strides to free dragons than he’d made so far in his own lifetime.
Really, they were doing a great job. He just hated to admit that any fairy could possibly keep a promise like that.
And it still rankled since he wanted to be the one doing it.
Granted, his plan had been to destroy everyone and anyone in his way to accomplish it, but that was neither here nor there now.
Dallin could feel the bump of his phone in his pocket, and he considered calling his only contact—Ian, a light fairy he’d befriended and nearly murdered and then saved while still on his quest for vengeance—one more time before he reached Johanna’s address. But Dallin had been given strict instructions that he had one shot at protecting a beacon. Only one. And if he messed it up, there would be “consequences.”
He shrugged. How bad could it possibly be compared to the torture he’d gone through to become what he was now?