Page 52 of Radiant Shadows

I racked my brain for a reason why I wouldn’t be. But another message pinged before I could respond.

Arya: “In English, Ashlyn said you were acting like you were upset.”

Ah, I should’ve suspected the phoenix would go blabbing about my strange behavior over Gatsby.

Me: “It’s nothing. Gatsby is drama.”

Arya: “Like Gatsby, the character? Or is an assignment giving you drama? Because I can help with that (study buddy) *winky face* *kissy face*”

I laughed. I wasn’t one to use emojis, but they did have a nice way of conveying context and tone that typed words didn’t have alone.

The inference in her message had me getting hard, and I couldn’t help but think of our romp in the snow.

Me: “How about another flight instead?”

My tablet rang with Arthur calling again right as Arya’s last ping came through.

Arya: “Deal *blushing smile*”

I hastily answered the call before my face was ready, and I knew I had an uncharacteristically, almost goofy smile on it.

So I said the first thing that came to mind, as if that would cover my dreamy look. “Did my insult of a great American literary character prompt an immediate call to set me straight? Or are you also of the opinion that Gatsby is maddening?”

Arthur’s face flashed brief confusion, then shifted into an expression I wasn’t used to seeing. It almost looked like concern.

“Is everything alright, Tobias?” he asked.

“Everything’s fine,” I replied quickly, plastering on my mask immediately. “I’m fine.”

Arthur’s eyes narrowed. “Meet me in three hours. At thetree.”

No obscure restaurant in Chicago. No teacher’s or director’s office. I knew exactly where Arthur was talking about. It meant we were meeting alone.

“Three hours.” I nodded, my stomach knotting. If we were meeting alone, something must be wrong, but I didn’t think I was in trouble.

Maybe Arthurknewsomething. Perhaps a certain something I’d made a point to keep secret from him about a certain siren girl.

I ended the call and shoved the tablet into my bag before rushing out the door. Three hours meant I had to leave right then. The flight was a long one.

***

Shifting and flying was different this time than it had been with Arya. There would be no shifting mid-flight, no daredevil anticsto impress, no exhilarating kisses or gigantic hearts melted into the ice and snow.

Instead, I pumped my wings hard over Lake Michigan, the Dome far behind me as the fire churned within. At least flying this time cleared my head. I was able to sink into the dragon part of my brain, avoiding all the complications behind and in front of me.

It felt good, flying for so long. I might’ve enjoyed it if the human side of me didn’t insist on reminding me who I was meeting.

I circled, then landed in the familiar spot in the middle of Hiawatha National Forest—right by thetree. It was a dead northern hardwood, a massive one that, despite the paleness and lack of greenery, remained standing like a skeleton amid the living.

I only waited a few moments, still in dragon form and wearing my usual dark gray scales, when the silhouette of my father descended through the canopy. With jet-black scales and hulking size, Arthur was even more intimidating in shifted form, but he began his transformation the instant his claws touched ground.

I followed suit, hoping our meeting would be quick since deep snow covered every inch of the ground, and I hadn’t had the forethought to wear my smart suit.

Neither had Arthur, and being naked in the freezing woods with my father was its own version of hell.

“How are things?” Arthur asked, standing stiff with his arms behind his back. He didn’t look the slightest bit chilled, and it took all of my willpower to keep my eyes focused on his face.

“Things are fine,” I said, resisting the urge to lift an eyebrow and comment that this wasn’t the sort of conversation that needed the secrecy of a three-hour flight to the middle of a forest.

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