It was approximately six in the evening when Abner and Kira jumped into the remaining seats in Seth's car. Pushing over the briefcase containing notes and the flash drive for her abba's presentation with Brad Durand, she slammed the door closed behind her, barely avoiding the rain. 

In the rush to buckle her seatbelt, Seth stomped down on the pedal, definitely pushing the speed limit of the college campus in the hurry to leave for home.

"You did a great job, Abba," Kira said. 

"Thank you!" Abner's eyes lit up as he began to talk. "Durand did such a good job, I was very pleased with how professionally he conducted himself— especially since young women do seem to distract him quite often."

Seth rolled his eyes. "Probably because you were reining him in."

"I was busy with distractions of my own," Abner said, his soppy and lovesick grin still the same as when Seth had first met him in college, twenty-two years before. He then looked to Kira, a more tender gaze on her. 

"I think it's really fascinating, the—"

Kira's excitement about her father's presentation was interrupted as Seth slammed the brakes, bringing the car to a sudden stop. Immediately, both Abner and Seth stretched their arms out to make sure Kira didn't go flying through the windshield— never mind that she had managed to buckle her seatbelt during Seth's hurry. 

Standing in the road were a bunch of teenagers and young adults, carrying what looked like silver swords and other various ornate weapons. Kira couldn't describe it later, but she knew in that moment that the weapons weren't just replicas for cosplay, like she was used to.

They were real— and worse, they were magical.

The oldest of the kids— which was maybe a twenty-two, and that was pushing it— stormed up to the car. Seth reluctantly rolled down the window.

"Can I help you?" His voice was cool, an air of politeness— with a layer of disdain peeking through. 

"Is Kira Goldstein in this vehicle?" The blonde girl folded her arms over her tank top, stained and ratty with a Nirvana logo on it, and what seemed to be a sword sticking out of the back, out of a sheath sewn into it. 

Seth glowered, matching the girl's piercing gray gaze. "Kid, I don't have time for this. Tell your friends to move. We've got dinner reservations—"

"Answer my questions." 

"Look, what's this about?" Abner asked. "Our daughter—"

Seth turned his angry look to Abner, but after two decades of commitment that was eventual legal marriage, Abner had become immune to it. 

"I can see your daughter is in the car," the girl said. "She needs to come with us."

Kira's heart rate started to pick up. Colors blurred in her vision— only becoming clarity in points of escape from the car—

Knowing the game was up, Seth glanced back at Kira. "Do you know these people?"

Kira shook her head. Unconsciously, she let out a low whimper. She could feel tears stinging at her eyes, her heart beating faster— faster— about to beat out of her chest—

Seth looked back to the girl. "Get your friends out of the way. Or I will run them over—"

"You wouldn't dare." The girl narrowed her eyes. 

"Don't you dare," Seth shot back. He started inching on the pedal, and the girl looked to her friends in panic. 

They scattered in a leap of common sense, and Seth slammed on the gas pedal, throwing Kira back against the seat. As they left the group of teenagers behind, Kira felt like she could finally breathe again. Seth rolled up the window.

"What the Hell happened there?" 

Kira let out a pathetic, incoherent sound. 

"Bastards," Seth muttered.

"It's okay," Abner said, recognizing Kira's panic attack. He reached for her hand, and she carefully offered it. "They're not going to touch you." 

Seth tried again. "Do you know who they are?"

Abner's voice dropped low, even though the windows were rolled up and no one could hear them. "Are they dragons?"

"I don't know," Kira managed to say. She gulped in air, aware that she was crying again. Her chest hurt as her heartbeat slowed back to normal. "I'm sorry—"

"It's not your fault they showed up," Abner said. He looked back at his husband. "Seth, should we talk to the police—"

"Not yet," Seth said. "Let me see if I can find a few connections at the office. I've never seen those kids in town."

"Alright." Abner deflated, and he looked back to Kira. "Call us if you see one of them again. I don't think they were up to any good."

Kira said nothing, even though she agreed. 

Elodie saw them enter the building. While Dr. Gershwin, Kira, and Mr. Goldstein-Gershwin had left early, her family remained outside of the lecture hall as various other professors and students talked to and congratulated Brad. She smiled politely at all of them, not taking in any of the names or what they were talking about.

There was a reason she only took the amount of physics required to graduate— which was none. She had to take chemistry instead. Math had never been her strong suit, not compared to language and humanities. 

Therefore, what Brad did was completely beyond her. Although she'd tried to keep up, for love of her brother, she easily ended up lost in the terms and numbers spiraling around on the screen and in her head. 

In her desperation to escape the physics talk, she'd looked away from one of the other physics professors— and she saw them.

A group of teenagers and twenty-somethings who clearly didn't belong there. In mud-splattered combat boots, distressed jeans and ratty shirts, weapons strapped where it was easy to grab, they were all just standing around in the lobby.

Elodie looked to her parents, smiling at the professor, then to her brother, who was re-explaining whatever was the point of the presentation, and finally to Nani. 

Nani was the one who recognized Elodie's distress. She stepped to the side discreetly and leaned in, giving a slight gesture for Elodie to speak quietly, yet clearly, into her good ear. 

"I need to use the restroom," Elodie lied.

"Go ahead, dear," Nani said. "I'll tell Arman where you've gone."

"Thanks, Nani." Elodie kissed her grandmother on the cheek, and darted out to the staircase, past the more conveniently-located bathroom. As soon as she was out of sight, she pulled off her kitten heels, and ran up the staircase to the top floor, and made a beeline for the ladies' room.

She locked the door to a stall, and pulled her cellphone out of her purse.

Just the sight of those teenagers— they reminded her of the words she'd spoken, the premonition she'd had before. 

"The Paladins," she whispered again. "They're coming."

She tapped Aideen's contact on her phone, and typed as fast as her heart beat.

You know the Paladins from your story last night?

Three dots appeared. The door to the bathroom creaked.

Type faster, Elodie screamed mentally at her phone. 

Yea

Someone hit a door at the end of the stalls, pushing it open with a loud bang. 

Do they still exist?

Another door— BANG.

More dots on the screen, indicating Aideen's typing. Elodie flinched as the door next to her opened.

Why were the dragon-hunters here? How did they know about her and Kira? And their families? 

Then a pair of mud-splattered combat boots that were practically falling apart sauntered in front of the door to Elodie's stall. 

Think fast.

THUD.

"Estoy ocupada!" Elodie was suddenly thankful for her Spanish classes. "Un momento, por favor!"

Whoever was standing outside backed up a few paces— but she didn't leave. Elodie looked down at her phone. Aideen was still typing—- Elodie was on her own.

Elodie stood, flushing the toilet as she put her phone and shoes into her purse. She'd need her feet free for whatever happened.

"Exusame, por favor," Elodie mumbled as she walked by the Paladin, avoiding even looking at her.

But the Paladin was not so polite or non-confrontational. She grabbed at Elodie's right sleeve— right where the dragon-shaped birthmark was.

"Hey!" Elodie darted out of the Paladin's grip, covering her birthmark.

The girl narrowed her dark green eyes, and reached for something strapped to the inside of her dusty-looking plaid shirt. "You're Elodie Durand, aren't you?"

"No comprendo, señorita," Elodie said.

The girl rolled her eyes. "No point hiding it anymore. We saw you in the lobby. We found Kira Goldstein earlier."

Kira? They found Kira?

"You're a Paladin, aren't you?" Elodie knew it all the same, but it might buy her some time. 

"So you have heard of us." The girl arched an eyebrow. "Look, we don't have to make a scene—"

"I think you were the one who did that." Elodie's voice was low and commanding— the persona she had developed through Speech and Debate. She knew the ferocity— but it had never felt genuine until now. "You were stalking us, weren't you?" 

"We have contacts."

"What do you want?" Elodie asked.

"Look, just come with us, and—"

Elodie shook her head. "I don't think I will." 

She ran out the door to the hallway, and saw other Paladins, male and female, racing up the stairs. There was only one exit— the large window at the end of the hallway. She always winced when she took off— being a dragon didn't mean she was absolved of her fear of heights.

But she had to try. Otherwise, she had no idea what the Paladins wanted. But it involved weapons, and Elodie didn't have anything resembling a bow and arrow. No defense, no rational way out.

She just had to fly— or fall.

She closed her eyes, and lifted her knees as far as she could in the minty-green skirt, her running rolling up the cotton-candy-colored cardigan's sleeves. She didn't dare look, didn't dare hesitate. Not until she ran up against the wall.

Pulling it open in an unusual display of strength, she felt a tightness in her chest when she saw the distance from the seventh floor to the ground. But she could hear the footsteps behind her and knew she'd already lost too much time. She climbed onto the windowsill.

"Don't!" One of the boys had shouted it in a panic— she turned to see him, dark hair and navy eyes. 

But she'd already made up her mind. She closed her eyes and pushed herself off of the windowsill. 

Instead of panic, as she fell, she felt serenity. It took faith, she somehow knew.

Lord Vishnu, let your power work through me. Lady Parvati, give me your strength. 

If Elodie had been a normal, human girl, that fall would have been the end. But she was not human— she was a dragon princess. 

Her eyes opened, flashing gold as she halted a mere inch above the wet ground. Rain fell around her— it was as if the sky was falling all around her. And she could see the Paladins leaning out of the window, staring at her as she sat up on her invisible mattress of air, pulling out her kitten heels, and putting them back on before venturing back into the building. 

"Elodie, there you are!" Jinn looked angry as she observed her soaking wet daughter. "Nani said you were in the bathroom, but you weren't—"

"I went to the seventh floor one, I got lost," Elodie said, some of her exhaustion peeking through. Exhilaration was quickly wearing off. "Sorry, I'm tired. We stayed up really late last night."

"You knew this was happening last night, and that this was important to Brad!"

By this point, Arman, Brad, and Nani were approaching the mother and daughter.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get lost, it won't happen again."

Jinn folded her arms across her chest. "Really, you have been acting strange lately."

"I'm sorry." Elodie was running through any phrases in her vocabulary that would give her a minute, just a minute to be alone with the fact that people had just tried to attack her.

"I don't think you should be seeing those new friends of yours, even if one of them is Dr. Gershwin's daughter—"

"Jinn!" Arman cried, pulling his wife away from his daughter. He looked to Elodie. "What's going on?"

"I just got lost on the way to the bathroom." Elodie was on the verge of tears. "I was tired from last night. I'm sorry— I'm sorry I ruined everything—"

"No one ruined anything," Brad said, despite glaring at Jinn. "Look, I finished talking to everyone who matters— so let's get out of here."

Jinn said nothing, pulling out of Arman's grip. She then stalked out of the building, towards where the car was.

That left Nani and Brad with Elodie as she continued to cry, despite her best efforts to stop. For all the wonder of her short miracle outside— kids her age tried to attack her. Nothing could change that.

"Jinn means well," Nani said. She then walked away, to where Arman would bring up the car to pick the rest of them up in the lobby.

Brad looked at the doors before leaning in. "I saw them."

Elodie jumped and blinked. "What?"'

"The kids that followed you up the stairs," Brad said. "Did something happen?"

Elodie had no choice but to nod.

"Are you in trouble, or—"

"I wish I could tell you," Elodie said. "But I can't. You have to trust me." 

"Alright." Brad awkwardly ran a hand through his hair, undoing the gel that Jinn had caked it in earlier that morning. "If you're ever in too much trouble— I'll help you. You don't even have to tell me why."

With that, he walked away. But Elodie didn't follow.