Balthazar shrugged as if it wasn’t important.
“Oh, don’t be so modest, Balthazar. His scales are quite striking,” Lancelot told her. “Dark blue. You can barely see him when he flies during late evening.”
“Except I can’t shift now, can I?” Balthazar retorted, his hands clenched into fists.
Lancelot’s eyes widened. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Forget it.” He turned around. “I lost my scale in a fight with my brother. That story Mr. Fuentes told you is true.”
“What does that mean for you?”
“It means I can’t shift.” He pointed at his brother. “I can’t do what Lancelot is doing, and I can’t transform into full dragon. I’m stuck like this until I can find it.” He took off his denim jacket and grabbed the hem of his T-shirt, pulling it over his head. Tanned skin and dense muscle covered his large frame in perfect symmetry, and she felt her mouth go dry. She hoped she kept a neutral expression, but judging by Lancelot’s smirk, it wasn’t working.
Balthazar came close, his chest filling her vision, and turned slightly to point at his shoulder. Two dragon faces—one black, the other green—stared back at her. They covered his right shoulder and part of his upper chest. She also noticed an ugly wound on the top of his shoulder. “That is where my scale should be,” he said.
She stood on tiptoe to get a better look, resting her hand on his chest for balance. The wound looked raw, but it wasn’t infected or open. “Does it hurt?”
“Sometimes.”
She suddenly felt his hand on her hip and realized she was practically leaning against him. “The wound hasn’t closed.”
“It won’t until I put my scale back on it.”
The temptation to fondle the solid muscle beneath her hand fought with her common sense until, with a reluctant sigh, Eva stepped back. She felt the wheels turning in her head. “So the sponsorship you provided for Papa and me was to see if we could find it?”
“It wasn’t just for that.” He grasped her hands. “Discovering the history of Iceland’s past was just as important.”
“But you hoped we might stumble across it.”
He nodded. His saddened expression troubled her. “Being this—” He tilted his head at Lancelot. “Is as much a part of me as being human.”
She looked over her shoulder. “Thorsson, how long have you known?”
“All my life, Miss Haraldsdóttir. My family has known the Anda family for generations.”
“And you’ve managed to hide all this time.”
“We had no choice. Lancelot and I remained human. It was easier that way.”
The thought of seeing a dragon flying over the city suddenly made her smile.
Lancelot grunted. “Shit, I’m losing control.”
Balthazar ran back to his brother, while Eva tried to process what was going on. “What do you mean, losing control? What’s wrong with him?”
“Lancelot held the semi-transformation for too long.” He grabbed Lancelot’s arm and pulled him to the cliffs facing the battlefield.
“Where the hell are you going?”
“He needs space! Thorsson, get the suit on Eva, fast!”
Lancelot laughed. “It looks like your girlfriend gets to see the real deal, Balthazar.”
“I’m not his girlfriend!” she yelled as both men ran down the cliff side. She started to follow, but Thorsson grabbed her arm. “We’re staying up here.”
“Why? Oh right, I get it. So we don’t get stepped on or fried to a crisp.”
He didn’t react, just handed her the heat-resistant suit. “Put this on.”
“Mr. Thorsson, are you really serious? We don’t need these.”
The security guard shrugged and stepped into his. “Your funeral.”
The brothers had almost reached the middle of the field when Lancelot fell down. He pushed himself up, and Balthazar backed away, keeping an eye on his brother.
What happened next defied any logical explanation. Lancelot’s body grew. It expanded and shredded his clothing. His body shimmered as scales covered his flesh.
“Put the damn suit on!” Thorsson yelled, shoving it into her hands. “If you get hurt, Mr. Andal will eat me for lunch!”
Eva dragged the suit over her feet, keeping her eyes on the unbelievable spectacle before her. Lancelot had now lost all human form—he had four legs that ended in sharp black talons, and a tail. His neck lengthened, and his torso was larger than a bus. And yet he grew larger. Balthazar stood to one side, his head tilted up and mouth wide open. She realized he was laughing. She got the suit on and placed the mask over her head before pulling on the gloves.