We had a spider-thing in a crystal cage. I still wasn’t sure what to call it—spy, familiar, surveillance tick—but after it scuttled out of my wall and tried to whisper at my soul we’d worked fast to lock it down.

  Apparently, it was isolated now—cut off from its master, severed from the network it had been relaying to and banished to my pantry closet like a cursed lunchbox. But that was the thing. It had a master. And that’s what scared all of us more than the thing itself.

  Elly wanted to track down the source and burn it with righteous elf vengeance. Lily thought we should bait it into sending reinforcements so she could make an example. But Euryale? Euryale wanted advice, and the others had agreed it wasn’t the worst idea.

  “You don’t survive this long without knowing when to ask for help,” she’d said that morning, adjusting her shades like a mafia consigliere. “And we have someone local. Someone older than all of us. If anyone can give us perspective on who’s watching you—and why—it’s Jade.”

  “Doesn’t that mean she’s… kind of a big deal?” I’d asked, not loving the idea of putting myself on even more supernatural radar.

  “She’s a dragon, Daniel. They’re all a big deal.” Euryale had smiled, sharp as ever.

  “A dragon.” I’d not believed it then, and wouldn’t until I saw it.

  “But Jade’s local. Quiet. She stays out of politics, which makes her rare. And when she speaks, people listen.”

  Which was how I found myself putting on my least-wrinkled shirt and letting Euryale drag me to a travel agency like I was shopping for vacation packages instead of life insurance.

  Euryale insisted on escorting me, though I wasn’t exactly in the mood for a chaperone. Still, given the last few days—spies, cryptic warnings, and the growing sense that my life was spiraling into some kind of supernatural soap opera—I figured I could use the backup.

  The travel agency was tucked between a bakery and a nail salon, its glass front plastered with faded posters of tropical getaways and snowy Nordic cruises. It looked normal. Boring, even. Which, of course, meant it was anything but.

  The moment we stepped inside, I felt it.

  The air was thick—not in the humid way of an overworked heater, but dense, like stepping into a space that didn’t quite belong in this world. A low hum pressed at my ears, subtle but insistent, like something was whispering just outside the range of human hearing.

  At the reception desk, a young woman lounged in a plush chair, sipping from a boba tea. She looked human, but too human—her skin porcelain smooth, her eyes too sharp, her stillness unnatural. When she blinked, it was slow, deliberate, like it was a choice rather than a reflex.

  “Appointment?” she asked, barely glancing up.

  Euryale flashed a sharp smile. “Tell Jade she has visitors.”

  The woman—definitely not a woman, now that I was paying attention—tilted her head, considering, then tapped something on her desk. “She knows.”

  The doors behind her clicked open on their own.

  I exchanged a glance with Euryale. She just arched a brow, motioning for me to move first. Right. Into the dragon’s den. Literally.

  Jade sat behind an ornate wooden desk, carved with symbols I didn’t recognize but somehow understood. The entire office was a study in contradictions—warm golden lighting but deep, rich shadows pooling at the edges of the room. The scent of old incense lingered, mixed with something sharper, something alive.

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  She looked… normal. Mostly.

  A woman in her late thirties, maybe early forties, with sleek black hair coiled into an intricate knot. Her face was striking, with high cheekbones and dark, knowing eyes that pinned me in place the moment I entered. She wore a silk blouse in deep jade green, and when she moved, I caught the glint of gold at her throat, something that looked too much like a scale to be jewelry.

  “Daniel,” she said smoothly, as if we were old acquaintances. Her voice was rich, velvety, with just the faintest hint of amusement. “I was wondering when you’d find your way to me.”

  Euryale took a seat without waiting for permission, her confidence unshaken. I, on the other hand, hesitated for a second too long before lowering myself into the chair opposite Jade’s desk.

  “So,” I started, folding my hands together so she wouldn’t see the way they wanted to fidget. “I hear you know things.”

  Jade smiled, slow and knowing. “I know many things. The question is, what are you willing to know?”

  Her gaze flicked to Euryale, then back to me, something assessing in her expression. “You’ve caused quite the stir, boy. Ripples are spreading. The wrong people are taking notice.”

  I exhaled sharply. “Yeah, I figured. Hence, the visit.”

  Jade leaned forward slightly, resting her chin on one hand. “You have two choices. Hide or step into the light.”

  I frowned. “That’s not much of a choice.”

  “Oh, but it is.” She smiled, sharp and knowing. “If you stay in the shadows, you remain a mystery. Dangerous. Unpredictable. But if you let the right people see you, if you let the community know you exist, then you are an asset. And assets are protected.”

  “That sounds an awful lot like politics.”

  “It is politics,” she said, tilting her head. “Supernatural politics. Far messier, and far deadlier.”

  Euryale crossed her legs, looking amused. “And you’d suggest which route, oh wise and powerful one?”

  Jade’s eyes gleamed. “Visibility may be his best defense. But it is also his greatest risk.”

  I swallowed. “And if I step into the light?”

  Jade exhaled through her nose, something flickering behind her gaze—something old, something hungry.

  “Then the true players will come,” she murmured. “And they will decide if you are worth keeping alive.”

  "So, you're saying I should have a coming-out party?"

  Jade just smiled.

  I crossed my arms. "Listen, I’ve seen enough anime to know that when a mysterious mentor-type suggests a grand debut, it usually involves either a tournament arc or a boss battle."

  Jade leaned back, her expression settling into something like amusement. With an elegant flick of her wrist, she plucked a glossy travel brochure from a stack on her desk and slid it toward me.

  "Of course, if you decide that all of this is a bit too much…" she said, voice silk-wrapped steel, "I can offer you an escape. A lovely little vacation, far, far away from all your troubles."

  I stared at the brochure. 'Tropical Retreats & Hidden Paradises.' Palm trees. Crystal-clear water. A tiny little island where no one could find me.

  Euryale snorted. "Running away with your tail between your legs, huh?"

  Jade's lips curled in an enigmatic smile. "Everyone needs options."

  "Not really my style…” I exhaled, shaking my head. “This body wasn’t made for beaches. I burn."

  "Mm. Pity." She reached into a drawer and pulled out a sleek, gold-embossed coupon. “Here. A parting gift. A discount, should you change your mind.”

  I rolled my eyes but reached for it anyway. The second my fingers brushed the slip of paper, her hand clamped over mine.

  Her fingers were longer now, the skin darker, patterned like scales. The tips ended in talon-like claws, pressing just hard enough against my skin to remind me how easily they could pierce flesh.

  I froze.

  Her face hadn’t changed—yet—but when she blinked, her pupils narrowed into slits, a second, translucent eyelid flicking across them in a way that was unmistakably inhuman. And then she smiled.

  It was too wide. Too sharp. Too hungry.

  "Do you know what you are, boy?" she murmured, her voice softer now, as if she were speaking to herself more than to me. Her grip tightened. “You carry something inside you. Something that calls to old things. Hungry things.”

  Euryale shifted beside me, suddenly very still. The air in the room had changed—charged, electric.

  Jade’s fingers flexed against my wrist, her claws pressing deeper. “Do you know what I could have, if I devoured you?”

  The words made my stomach twist.

  Euryale’s voice was careful, controlled. “Jade. Careful.”

  Jade’s eyes flicked to her, sharp and unreadable.

  For a moment, the room held its breath.

  Then, just as suddenly, she let go.

  I yanked my hand back, breathing a little too fast. The skin on my wrist tingled, faint, scaly impressions left behind—ones that wouldn’t fade quickly.

  Jade leaned back, her facade slipping effortlessly back into place, the hungry thing behind her eyes retreating once more. “Truly tempting,” she admitted, smoothing her blouse. “But no. That would be shortsighted.”

  I flexed my fingers, resisting the urge to rub the marks on my wrist.

  Jade smiled, all elegance again. “I do wish you the best of luck, Daniel.”

  Her gaze lingered on me for a moment longer before flicking to Euryale. “And you, dear, do be careful. You know what happens to those who get too close to dragons.”

  Euryale said nothing.

  We both knew the warning wasn’t about her.

  As for me, I had a decision to make.

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