Lanna sighed as she crouched down and pulled open her drawer. Early this morning, she had gone to the outskirts of town and collected her knapsack. She always hid it away from where she stayed just in case she got caught in a jam and had to leave suddenly. But this departure was planned and it weighed heavily on her heart. She dug around in the drawer for a few essentials. Most of the clothing had been a gift from Heather – hand-me-downs from her youth – and Lanna had no intention of taking any of them. She wouldn’t impose any further on the generosity of the Halliwins. But the few garments that had been hers before got stuffed into the knapsack.

When she reached the bottom of the drawer, she sighed and pulled free the last thing that belonged to her. The dress was little more than a long slip with strings at the waist and over-the-shoulder straps. It was the shade of lightly tanned leather and the only one of her possessions that was as old as her cloak. When Aja had first shed her dragonskin and Lanna had taken her first steps, she had been wearing the dress. It was a precautionary measure that the shift granted and the only article of clothing that would not be left behind if she shifted while wearing it. She would need it tonight.

She shook it out and held it up against her body. She had not worn it once since she had integrated into human society. Despite that being over twenty years ago, the dress looked long enough to fit her perfectly.

She supposed she should not be surprised it had grown with her, the same way her cloak had, but she had not looked at it in so long that she hadn’t noticed before now. With a sigh, she shrugged her cloak off of her shoulders and laid it across her cot before pulling the dress over her head and squirming into it. It fell midway down her calves and was soft and warm against her skin, but despite the physical comfort, it made her want to cry.

As she pulled her cloak back on, she felt Aja stir. It had been almost two weeks since that night at the library. It had been a sharp eye-opener for them both and since then, Aja had retreated a lot and given up on pushing for them to make friends. Aja’s loneliness had grown worse ever since, but neither of them pushed the issue. They had no other choice but to endure it and Lanna wasn’t ready to admit that she was lonely too. She wished things could be different. She had genuinely started to like Tobin and Lescelli, but she was running out of time and they would only see a monster when that time finally ran out. Even if they didn’t, they would be unable to protect her from the rest of their world. It was their safety as much as her own that had her pushing everyone away.

Tobin had come by the bakery twice since that night, once with Lescelli in tow, and both times, Lanna had slipped into the back and refused a conversation until Heather or Carter had sent them away.

Heather had noticed her mood change nearly instantly, but Lanna had refused to relent to any of their probings. It had only been a few days after that she had finally admitted to them that she wouldn’t be around much longer.

Heather had fought her on it for days while Lanna had taken it upon herself to personally find and train two replacements so that the Halliwins would still have the help they needed. The two didn’t quite have the same work ethic Lanna did, but then again, she didn’t expect them to have draconic strength, endurance, or heat resistance, but they would do the job well enough. And with two of them, it meant that Carter and Heather didn’t have to feel quite so guilty about scheduling all the hours they required. They wouldn’t be overworking any one employee. Not that Lanna had minded all the work they had given her. She’d loved her job and her time with the Halliwins, but that was coming to an end now.

She had asked around the docks about ships going northeast. If she couldn’t charter a ship directly home, she could at least try to get as close as possible. But she was still short the fee and had no more time to make up the difference. She had tried to barter her way on with labour, and that had made no difference.

But not many ships headed that way this time of the season due to the oceanic weather changes and this might be her last chance until the next year, and she couldn’t hold out that long even if she wanted to. So she was resorting to the most dangerous but likely only option available to her. If Lanna couldn’t talk or buy her way aboard, then perhaps Aja could sneak aboard in the belly of the ship. She was small enough that if she was quiet, they wouldn’t suspect much, and they’d get some free pest-control out of it. Most ships tended to have rats and Aja would need to eat.

It was nerve-wracking, but they had no other choice.

As she stood up and swung the sack over her shoulder, another wave of misery washed over her. It was strong enough to make Lanna’s vision cloud over and she stumbled before perching on the cot to recover.

A vision rose in her mind as she sat down and she knew it was a projection from Aja, because it had the little dragon curled up happily in Ben’s lap with his fingers dancing over her scales while the entire family sat around a fireplace. It nearly fractured her heart to watch. Aja adored Ben and had desperately wanted out to play with him since the very beginning. They could never realize that dream, but leaving made it real for the dragon. “I’m sorry, Aja,” Lanna whispered. “I want it too. Things’ll be better when we get home; we’ll make a better life, a permanent one, okay?” There was no other option, but Lanna knew that the bakery had come to feel like home for them both and nothing would change the fact that leaving was breaking their shared heart.

It took a moment, but Aja finally settled back down and Lanna stood back up. Now came the hard part.

They all knew she was leaving, so she wasn’t surprised to find Carter, Heather, and Ben all standing there when she left her room.

As soon as she glanced at them, Ben came running up to her and flung his arms around her. “Lanna! Please don’t leave!” he begged. “I don’t want you to go.”

Lanna gritted her teeth and placed a hand on the boy’s head. She gently pulled him off of her legs so that she could crouch down and meet his gaze. “I’m sorry, Ben, but I have to go now.”

Ben shook his head and flung his arms around her neck instead. “No. You don’t have to. You want to. You could stay if you wanted to. Why don’t you want to stay? I thought you liked me, I thought you were going to be my sister.”

Lanna wrapped her arms around the boy and squeezed him back. “Oh, Ben. I do like you. I like you a lot. But you don’t need a big sister. You’re going to be the big brother soon and you’re going to do a wonderful job. I know it’s hard, but just because I have to leave doesn’t mean I haven’t loved every minute I got to spend with you.”

Ben whimpered, but he didn’t say anything, so Lanna gave him one final squeeze. “Be good, okay?” She stood up and hardened her heart against the small boy’s sniffling.

But her resolve nearly cracked when she noticed his mother staring at her intently. As worried as she was about anyone finding out about her real identity, Heather had been nothing but accepting. Lanna missed the comforts and love offered by both her parents so much and the small bit of that connection that she’d gotten from Heather had been so wonderful. Her lip quivered and her eyes began to sting as she closed the distance between them. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Heather shook her head and pulled Lanna into an embrace. “Don’t be sorry,” Heather murmured. Her fingers tangled in Lanna’s hair. “Don’t apologize, stay,” she urged. “I don’t understand, Lanna, I thought you were happy.”

“I can’t stay. I wish I could, but I can’t.”

“So you’ve said, but we’re not kicking you out, Lanna. You still haven’t told us why you have to go. What changed?”

Lanna shook her head and she pulled away long enough to wipe at her tears. “Nothing has changed,” she admitted. “It’s just time.”

“That’s not a reason,” Heather protested.

Before Lanna could find the words to argue, Carter cleared his throat. “Heather, the girl warned you right from the start that she wasn’t likely to stay. All things considered, I think Lanna has gone above and beyond about leaving; don’t pester her about her reasons.”

Lanna forced a smile but it wobbled as she met Carter’s gaze. He nodded at her, but she could see the sorrow sparkling in his gaze. He wouldn’t keep her or question her, but he would miss her, and she would miss him – miss them all – terribly.

Heather grabbed her hand and gave her fingers a squeeze, and when Lanna glanced back at her, Heather’s gaze was filled with desperation. “I know you warned us from the start, but…I truly thought you were happy here. Please, Lanna, just be honest with us. You don’t have to go, we can fix whatever is wrong. Is it finances, because we can find it in the budget to-”

Lanna shook her head to stop that line of topic. “You have already paid me more than fair, this has nothing to do with money.”

“What then? Whatever it is, we can work it out. I’ve only ever wanted this to be a home for you. Was it…was it Tobin? I thought you two were friends but you’ve been pushing him away too…did he try something? Or is there…a baby? You know you’re safe here.”

Again, Lanna shook her head. “I am not being scared off. It has nothing to do with Tobin or anyone else. I have to go, Heather. My family is gone now and I appreciate so much that you both opened your home to me. It means the world to me and I wish I could stay, but I can’t. I have a hole in my heart and I have to fill it. I have to go home, find the place my family is from. I need to know. And that requires crossing the sea.”

Heather’s face scrunched in on herself and Lanna braced for more begging, but instead, Heather pulled her back into an embrace. “Okay,” she caved. “Okay…just…promise me that you’ll be safe?”

Lanna nodded. “I will.”

“I hope you find what you’re looking for, Lanna. And if it winds up not being what you need, you know our home is always open to you. I know this is what you’ve scrimped for and that getting back could be a challenge, but if you’re going north…I have an old friend who happens to be a captain of a shipping vessel and he mostly travels between the northern islands. You find Edmond Irthski and you tell him that I said to bring you home. He’ll take you on as temporary labour and won’t charge you, okay?”

Lanna buried her face in the side of Heather’s neck and bit her lip to stave off sniffles. These people were so kind and she hated leaving them. She knew if she could have stayed, she probably would have. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“Oooh, you’re too sweet. Go,” Heather urged as she released her from her embrace. Her tone was warm and she was smiling through tears as she made a shooing motion. “Before I change my mind. We’re really going to miss you.”

Lanna’s set her jaw and wiped at her tears. “I’m going to miss you all too,” she admitted honestly. And she was. She couldn’t stay, but the Halliwins were the closest thing she had to a family now. She stepped away from Heather and adjusted her pack on her shoulder. “Thank you, for everything,” she reiterated.

It hurt to turn away from them and even more to walk through the back door – knowing it was for the last time – but it was for the best. Staying would only put Aja, herself, and all of them in danger. She only hoped they would forget about her and move on with their own lives; and with the new baby due soon enough, Lanna imagined that they would be kept busy enough. She just hoped the two new workers didn’t flake out.

It was easier to keep walking and not look back, so Lanna kept her gaze ahead as she made her way down to the docks. The sun was already nearly set, and it cast long shadows over the path as she walked. That would make for an ideal cover.

When she finally reached her destination, Lanna stared down the row of large ships and barges. The one she wanted was halfway down the row. It was leaving tonight and there were still crewmembers scurrying around loading up cargo.

It made Lanna’s heart begin to drum rapidly in her chest. She turned away from the ships and stepped behind the small shack the served as the harbour master’s office. It was boarded up for the night now and cast in deep shadows. Once she was tucked out of sight, Lanna leaned her head against the wall and she took a deep breath. Was she really doing this? For years she had been so cautious around people and she never would have entertained the idea of shifting when there were people within miles of her, and now she was not only planning to shift with people in shouting range, but it was Aja who was going to be hunkering down on a boat with nowhere to run.

Are we really this desperate?

She felt Aja stir in her chest. It was sweet that the dragon was trying to reassure her, but Aja’s fears radiated through the blanket of calm that she was trying to project. She was frightened too.

But they did not have many alternate options, so Lanna took a breath and steeled herself. “Alright, Aja, let’s do this,” she whispered as she shrugged her knapsack off her shoulders and set it down. She took another breath and closed her eyes.

With all their rampant emotions, the shift came quickly and easily, and Aja shook herself. Her night vision kicked in as soon as she opened her eyes and she shuddered. She wanted to flee, but now was not the time to be frightened. Lanna had done so much to protect them both over the years and now she was depending on her for the next leg of their journey. She leaned forward and closed her jaws around the straps of their knapsack. Lanna always carried one just small enough for Aja to carry too in case of an emergency. It was a little heavy, but she could manage.

Aja had to crane her neck awkwardly to keep it from dragging on the ground, but she kept her motions slow and her footsteps as silent as possible as she crept from beneath the shadow of the hut and darted behind some boxes, then into the shadows of the first boat. Her heart was hammering in her chest, but so far it was going well.

As she continued forward, Aja had to hunker down in the darkness as several approaching footsteps shook the boards of the dock. Her heart raced as the steps grew closer and a new scent washed over her. One that made her talons curl into the wood and her hackles raise. Fire sparked in her chest and small puffs of smoke wafted from her nostrils. This was bad. Maybe it would not notice her.

But that was a false hope and she knew it even before the dog began barking. The guttural sound froze Aja where she was, her terror too thick to function. She couldn’t see the beast, but she could smell it clearly. Its master shouted at it, but the creature only continued to snarl. Then another dog began to bark too and then a third, and suddenly Aja could not breathe. One dog was bad enough, but she did not have the breath to keep multiple at bay. They were bigger and faster than she was. She began to slowly back up as quietly as she could, but the canines only grew more frenzied.

“The mutts are going nuts,” a gruff voice growled.

There was a sinister chuckle that rose over the cacophony of barking. “They smell something alright.”

Aja’s sharp hearing heard a metallic click and then there were paws thudding on the wood while one of the voices called out. “Get it, boy.”

Finally, her fight or flight kicked in and Aja spun, spreading her wings as she did. As she rose into the air, the knapsack she had been carrying fell from her jaws and off the deck into the water. But she had no time to worry about that as she flapped her wings furiously and zipped from the cover of the barrels she had been behind. She couldn’t stay airborne for long or they would see her clearly, so she dove for the roof of the hut and hunkered down to catch her breath. She didn’t know where to go. She couldn’t get on the ship or they would come after her and if she flew over the town towards the forest…Aja kneaded at the roof. She didn’t want to go to the forest. It was harder to fly safely there and the dogs would still chase her, they would always chase her.

“Did you see that? Was that one?”

“Only one thing would rile the dogs up like that.”

“Just a baby though if it is. Not much good to us.”

Three separate voices, and each one made Aja grow tenser. They knew she was there. The dogs were barking and scratching at the walls of the hut now. Aja whimpered. There was an urging pressure in her chest. Lanna wanted back out. It would be the easier solution. Lanna would appear like any other person on the street and many people knew her. Aja could fly down into the shadows a little ways away and shift. She wanted to. Lanna was so much calmer and always knew what to do, but she knew that she couldn’t do that. Their dragon scent was too faint on Lanna to be noticed, even by dogs unless they got right up on her, but the scent lingered. If they swapped now, the dogs would chase Lanna instead, and she could not fly or breathe flame to ward them off. Aja was on her own. But she could not stay here for long.

“I’d say a baby is plenty useful. Easier to transport, and they grow up.”

“They also cry.” They were still talking, but this voice sent a deeper line of unease down Aja’s spine. “Where there’s a baby, there’s an adult not far away. Catch the little one and the parent is sure to come after it.”

The dogs had not forgotten about her, but their masters seemed distracted enough that Aja kept her head down and crawled to the far side of the roof. Taking off would spur the hounds to follow her, but she couldn’t stay up on the roof and wait for them to climb up after her or get set up to ensnare her, so she took a breath and jumped into the air.

Her wings caught her and she began flying as fast as she could manage. Perhaps if she could make it to the center of town, she could lose them among the rooftops. There were enough sounds and smells even at night that could hopefully disorient the dogs long enough for her to slip away and allow Lanna to take over. But she needed a headstart and as soon as she took off, the canines began to chase her from the ground.

She could hear the humans shouting after them, but it only prompted Aja to work her wings harder. It was a clear night, but perhaps if she could get up high enough, they would have a hard time tracking her.

But as she climbed higher, a new problem presented itself. As the sun had set, a thick cloud cover had begun to roll in from the ocean and the winds were picking up. The early winds of a storm were no problem for her people, but Aja’s wings were still too small to weather heavier gusts.

They pulled at her sails and caught her awkwardly so that she was sent tumbling back through the sky. Aja huffed in frustration, but the wisps of smoke were stolen away by the winds. Below her, the hounds had not given up and her tailspin had lost her a lot of height.

A sharp crack cut through the air and Aja flinched. They were shooting at her. They had missed, but the humans were armed and at least one had a gun. Her heart hammered in her chest as she urged herself forward. The winds were not as strong down lower, but it made her an easier target to be struck from the sky. She didn’t know what to do, she didn’t have the endurance for a frantic flight against rough weather.

She had reached the township now and dove through the alleyways between the buildings. None of the obstacles seemed to be slowing down her pursuers though, and when she approached a dead end, she was forced to climb back into the air above the rooftops.

At least the alleyways had offered a bit of cover, and the next shot taken hit home. A scream of agony echoed from Aja’s parted jaws as the bolt of a crossbow punctured through her wing. It had caught her on the downstroke and the bolt pierced through her wing twice, trapping it in a curled position.

Red danced in her vision as she dropped through the air like a stone and crashed onto a rooftop. She whimpered through gritted teeth and hauled herself back to her feet. She couldn’t fly like this. What was worse was her plan was dust. They could not shift with a serious injury and by the look of her wing, it would be a while before Lanna could take over.

Aja whimpered at the blinding pain that licked up the punctured membrane and spilled through the rest of her quaking body. She needed a way off the roof, but there was nowhere to go. She could try jumping between the rooftops, but it was going to hurt and the distance between them made her want to curl up and accept her fate.

“I can’t believe you hit it, that was an exceptional shot!”

“We’re just exceptionally lucky that your shot didn’t attract any attention! Using a gun in the middle of town, do you want to attract prying eyes?”

Voices drifted up from the street below and Aja tensed. Her vision was foggy and she was swaying on her feet. She just wanted to lie down and lick her wounds, but they would find her eventually.

“Did you see where it fell?”

“Somewhere on one of these two rooftops.”

“There’s three of us, we can split up and search both.”

“Are you sure it didn’t fly away?”

“Nah, that wing is useless now. It can’t fly. But just because it’s a baby doesn’t mean it doesn’t breathe fire, so be cautious when you corner it. Jenf, Baord, you both take that roof, I’ll check this one.”

Aja grimaced. She clenched her maw so that she wouldn’t cry out as she forced her wing to fold to her body as best she could. She would have to deal with the arrow soon, but she needed to get off this roof. She was a sitting target up here with nowhere to hide and it filled her with terror.

Her legs shook with every step she took and her vision swam with pulsing red and black dots. Every lurch forward shot more jolts of pain up her wing. But she could feel Lanna deep in her core urging her forward, so she pressed on.

But by the time she made it to the edge of the roof, she was panting and woozy, and doubting her ability to make the leap she needed to. The gap looked far wider now that she was closer. Though Lanna was still urging her, Aja was swaying on her feet. She shook her head and crouched to leap. But the wind picked up and pulled her off balance. She swayed and slipped with a muffled yelp. She crashed to the rooftop and then tumbled off the side. Her claws scrabbled at the shingles, but found no purchase.

Aja’s good wing flapped frantically, but without its partner, she couldn’t get aloft and plummeted towards the cobblestone road below. There were several barrels directly below the roof and her back struck them before bouncing off, but it didn’t matter because as soon as her head struck the wooden rim, darkness rushed Aja’s vision and she blacked out.