Reign Fall by Michelle Rowen

shouldn’t have said that before about demon hunters. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
    “What happened to being honest?”
    “Sometimes too much honestly can be overwhelming.” He held a hand out to me. “Lesson over. I’ll take you back to the gateway now.”
     
    I took his hand and he helped me to my feet. Back in human form for less than two minutes, and the majority of my Darkling bravery had already vanished. I felt very normal and self-conscious again. “How did I do, coach?”
    His serious expression faded a little. “I think you did great. Your father will be pleased.” I hadn’t confessed anything about Melinda. He was right about too much honesty being overwhelming—that could be the tipping point. She’d quit her own lessons and was no longer a threat in any way. Mentioning her would cause problems I didn’t want to deal with. She could continue to keep her secret, and she seemed to be doing better with it with every day that passed.
    But I knew somebody else with a different secret who wasn’t dealing quite so well.
    “What do you know about dragons?” I asked. “Or, more specifically, the offspring of a dragon and a human?”
    “No such thing as a half-dragon. Usually it’ll be full human.”
    “What if it isn’t?”
    “Then it’s full dragon, but that’s very rare.” He eyed me. “Why? You know somebody like that?”
    I nodded. “I don’t think he knows it yet. His mother’s been keeping the truth from him for some reason. But lately he’s been having some problems. And he’s been having visions of the future.”
    “So he’s a dragon oracle.”
    “Yeah, I think so. His mother is one, too.”
    He considered this. “Has he shifted form yet for the first time?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “If you’re friends with him, you’d probably know. When a dragon shifts, it’s not as easy as getting the right shirt to wear when your wings appear. It’s bigger than that. And the fire-breathing myths...they’re all true.”
    I shuddered at the thought. That sort of thing would be very noticeable in Erin Heights—like front page of the newspaper noticeable. It wasn’t a big town. “You’ve seen one before?”
    “Not personally. But there are books about dragons in the library.” His brows knit together.
    “Do you want me to do anything about this?”
    I wished he could help, but I didn’t think he could. Especially not if he was stuck here with only rare permission from my father to visit. “No, it’s okay. I’ll handle it. But thanks for the offer.”
    “Who is it?” he asked after a moment.
    “Chris.”
    His expression hardened. “Your ex?”
    “We were never really going out seriously. And after what happened at Winter Formal, I wouldn’t consider it again.”
    “Someone else I had the urge to kill,” he said darkly. He’d been there after I kicked Chris’s butt, but he knew why I had to do it. To protect myself.
     
    “That makes two of us.” I chewed my bottom lip. “He felt really guilty about what he did. He was drunk. Said it was the first time he’d ever tried anything like that—which isn’t a great excuse, I know. I’m not saying I forgive him, or anything, but he’s in a really bad place right now. He’s confused, scared...and going crazy, I think.” Michael’s expression was fierce for another moment at the mention of Chris before easing off a little. “Yeah, he’ll be confused until his first shift. When the visions begin, they’re too much for a normal human brain to process. The shift will help with that.” He grabbed my hand and squeezed it, making my breath catch. “Stay away from him, Princess. He’ll be dangerous now.
    He already is dangerous, if you ask me.”
    I looked up at Michael, again remembering the dream I’d had. I’d never felt so scared in my life than when I’d seen the black wings stretch out behind him, and I immediately thought of Chris’s sketch. But it hadn’t really been Michael—it was just a dream.
    It