Kira had wanted the advantages of relocation. As much as she loved her grandmother, the safety of the Jade Palace and the thought of no more human school, of being somewhere safe where she could be a princess was appealing, to say the least. 

But then again, she wouldn't be here tonight if Lila hadn't gotten her way.

"Hey, I just wanted to ask—are you okay?" 

Kira looked up from her book. She was lying on the floor of Galileo's room with the door left open at his stepmother's behest. She'd been reading some of Galileo's dragon lore books, he'd been playing video games on the bed. All the while they'd been listening to an experimental album he'd recorded using GarageBand on his laptop.

She sat up. She didn't want to scare him away—but she didn't want to lie to him either. "I saw someone I didn't want to."

"Who?"

Kira exhaled sharply as she tried to find a place between truth and lie that she could comfortably reside in. "I saw him at the college, at my grandma's reception. With a group of his friends—they didn't say nice things."

"Oh." Galileo glanced down at the screen of his handheld. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright." She did her best to smile, to toss her hair over her shoulder. "I don't want to talk about him anyway."

He shrugged. "Okay." 

They fell into a silence again, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Well, not entirely. And yet, Kira was bursting to break it. There were so many questions she wanted to ask. And they weren't about dragons or his books or any of that. She wanted to know everything about him—but she had no idea where to even start. 

"Everything okay, you two?"

They turned their heads to see Galileo's step-mom leaning in the doorway. 

Kira nodded.

"Well, I've got some spaghetti on the table, when you two are ready." She lingered, her eyes glimmering with amusement. "I'll check in on you in a little bit."

"Thanks, Lisa," Galileo said without looking up.

His step-mom simply shook her head and let out a breathy sound like a laugh before she disappeared altogether. 

It was quiet again for a moment before Galileo set down a handheld, looking as if he'd suddenly been struck by lightning. Or perhaps, more aptly, newfound urgency. "Have I shown you my telescope yet?"

"No?" Kira tilted her head. "I didn't even know you had a telescope."

"I do, one I can mount to the window." Galileo scrambled to his feet, only to come to a sudden stop as he looked back to her. "That is, if you'd like that? It's supposed to be a clear night."

"I'd like that," Kira decided. 

It took Galileo a few minutes to set up the telescope and open the window. But once he did, they were standing so close together, taking turns looking through the viewpiece. 

"Let's start by looking for Polaris." Galileo handed the viewpiece to her. "It's pretty easy to find. First, you've got to find Ursa Major—"

"You mean the Big Dipper?" Kira directed the piece towards the familiar constellation. Once, her grandmother had taken her stargazing out in a parking lot of a motel they were staying at between moves.

"Right, sorry, that was pretentious." Galileo ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry."

Kira couldn't help but laugh. "It's okay."

"You probably don't find any of this interesting, do you?" 

"No, no, I'm interested." Kira hoped that she could impress the great many meanings of that phrase upon him.

"So, I think Draco is over there—"

"I think I see it." She squinted through the telescope, but didn't get it quite right.

"Right there." He helped her guide the lens gently over to the dragon constellation. She adjusted the zoom of the lens, and then saw the dragon.

"Wow," she whispered.

"I wanted to cheer you up." Galileo turned away and shoved his hands into his pockets. "You just seem so scared, and I don't know if I did something wrong or—"

"It has nothing to do with you." Her voice was gentle, tender, even, as she looked away from the telescope. "I told you that."

"Well, it's not just that." Galileo glanced back at her. "I think there's more to all of this than you're telling me."

Kira's palms grew sweaty, and her chest ached as her heart rate increased again. "What are you talking about?"

"I can't describe it, and I know it's not very scientific, but it's a gut feeling, an instinct," he said. "I know there's something more—"

"I can't tell you about it," Kira admitted. "I wish I could, just—-"

"Whenever you want me to know, I'm ready," Galileo said. "I'm here for you."

Kira smiled, but a part of her wondered if he really meant it. Would he run for the hills if he knew the truth?

She looked back toward the telescope, but before she could take the viewpiece, she noticed something moving on the ground. Her stomach lurched—there, in the driveways of the Schuylers' house were a group of them. Paladins. And the girl with the dark hair and gray eyes was staring up at the window. 

Now, more than ever, she wished that she could've accepted Absinthe's offer, that she'd stood up to Lila, that she could have been safe. She pulled away from the telescope. Distantly, she could hear Galileo speaking, but the words were too blurry, too far away. She removed her phone to dial Aideen with shaking hands. 

Then a fire coursed through her.

She shoved the phone into her pocket and threw her shoulders back, her head high. She wasn't going to let the Paladins drive her out of her home and her mind. 

"Where are you going—"

But Kira had already stormed down the stairs and out the front door. She turned the corner to the driveway, and the Paladins turned to face her. 

"Looking for me?"

The girl with the dark hair and the gray eyes stepped forward. Closer now, Kira could see a passing resemblance between her and the boy with the denim-colored eyes. A quick survey of the pack told her that he wasn't with them tonight. 

Kira didn't give the girl a chance to speak.

"You had no right!" She hissed, as she hoped that Galileo wouldn't hear her from the open window. "You tracked me to my house—and to my friend's house! He doesn't deserve this!"

"We'll do what we have to," the girl said gravely. She at least had the decency to wince. "I wish things could be different, Kira, but—"

"No!" Kira jabbed a finger at the Paladin girl. "You are going to leave my family and friends alone! You're going to leave me alone!"

Blood rushed to Kira's head. Her anger surged, and she thought surely it would break her. But it didn't. Instead, the Paladins leapt out of her path as Kira breathed fire. Black scorch marks trailed over the driveway and into the grass, marring the emerald green.

All her anger dissipated, and Kira was certain she'd throw up. She stumbled back in horror—what had she done?

The Paladins drew their weapons—only to freeze.

"Kira?"

She dropped to her knees—she couldn't face him. "I—I'm so sorry—"

Footsteps stopped just behind her. Then Galileo's voice dropped colder than she'd ever heard it. "You need to leave."

"We were just going," said the dark-haired girl with gray eyes. "This isn't over, Kira Drake."

With that, they were gone, and Galileo knelt beside her. She couldn't look at him, and she couldn't stop shaking. 

"I'm sorry," she kept repeating. "I'm so sorry—"

He cut her off with an embrace and that was when she knew that for better or for worse, he'd been drawn into her secret. But she stared over his shoulder, at the result of her wild magic. 

What else was she capable of?