Monalisa glanced at Pandora for reassurance.

Pandora put her hand on Monalisa’s arm and whispered, “No. He needs the heat right now to burn that venom out.”

“But…” Monalisa whispered back. Her heart ached. She wanted to help. Wanted someone to help. She hated that he was going through this alone. Because, despite the gathered crowd, he was the only one physically dealing with this. And it was all because of her.

Pandora leaned in. “I know it’s hard, but trust me, he’s going to be fine.”

“I hope you’re—”

A loud, guttural bellow rang out across the open space, and Van fell to the ground on all fours. Tiny wisps of smoke rose off his back as his body was racked by a shudder that Monalisa swore she could feel.

A few people gasped. Monalisa grabbed Pandora’s hand and squeezed.

Van’s whole body tensed. His back arched, and his muscles contracted so sharply that they were visible beneath his coat. More curls of smoke spiraled off him as his next roar of pain ripped across the clearing, shaking the trees. The heat emanating from him caused several people to back up.

Monalisa stepped forward. She glanced at Pandora and Jayne. “Help him, please.”

Pandora gave a nod, so Jayne moved toward him, hands raised.

Van’s head came back. His eyes gleamed red, and a pattern of scales appeared on his skin. His dragon was struggling to get out. Cords of muscle in his neck tensed. The grass around him, dried out by the intense heat, burst into flames.

He opened his mouth and let out one more deafening roar as a brilliant shower of sparks and smoke erupted off him.

Monalisa threw her hands up against the explosion. Billows of smoke filled the small arena. She coughed and waved it away to no avail. “Van!”

No answer. At first. Then a low rumble greeted her. It came from above. Odd.

As the smoke cleared, she understood why.

“Van,” she whispered as she craned her head back. He was still at the center of the clearing. But now, he was a dragon. A rather large one. “You did it.”

Several in the crowd retreated a little as a nervous but happy buzz wafted through the space. Monalisa took another step forward, careful to mind the small fires still burning while staring up at the enormous creature before her.

He was breathtakingly beautiful. His coloring ranged from midnight blue through deep teal to emerald green, all with an iridescent purple sheen. Then the sun broke through the clouds, and his scales glittered like jewels.

He arched and unfurled his wings in what looked like a well-enjoyed stretch. His wing tips almost touched the trees on either side. Then he shook his head and snorted, sending two hot blasts of steam into the air.

“Van?” She wasn’t sure how much understanding he had in this form. Most shifters were just as capable, if not more so, in their second forms, but the legendary types might be different.

He tucked his broad, leathery wings down along his spine, then bent his head to look at her, dipping low to meet her eyes. She saw recognition in his gaze. He definitely knew who she was.

“Van, you’re so beautiful. And huge.” She wanted to touch him, but he was a dragon. Maybe touching him wasn’t a good idea. She kept her hands to her sides. “Can you understand me?”

He nodded. His head was the size of a Christmas turkey. Bigger, maybe.

“Good, a yes. Are you still in pain?”

This time, he shook his big head.

“Oh, that’s excellent news. So the shift did it. The venom is gone.”

His mouth curled back, exposing teeth that looked positively Jurassic. She almost sucked in an alarmed breath, but then she realized he was smiling.

She grinned back. “Your smile is a little scary, just so you know.”

He snorted, causing her to jump back to avoid the steamy blasts.

“Hey!”

He jerked his head up, then brought it right back down and laid it at her feet in what seemed to be a plea for forgiveness. He looked up at her with wide, sad eyes.

In that moment, he reminded her very much of Grom. She kept that to herself. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it. At least you put out the last of the fires.”

He wiggled his head back and forth, agreeing with her.

His easy manner in this form gave her some confidence. “Can I touch you?”

Another nod.

She stretched out her hand and stroked the scales between his eyes. They were the color of the ocean at the horizon, a deep, unfathomable green, and they had the warm, smooth feel of polished leather. “Wow.”

Pandora walked up to them. “I hate to interrupt, but is everything okay, Van? I’m assuming so since you shifted, but figured I should check. Everyone wants to know. And I promised to call Cole and Kaley at home and let them know as soon as you were all right.”

Monalisa clenched her hand, still relishing the feel of his scales under her fingertips, and faced Pandora. “He said the pain is gone.”

Her eyes widened. “You can hear him? Like in your head, or what?”

“No, he didn’t talk like that. I just asked him some yes-or-no questions.”

“Oh, right. Cool.” She smiled. “Excellent news.” Then she twisted to face the crowd and gave a thumbs-up. “Van confirmed it! The shift worked!”

Everyone cheered and clapped. Monalisa joined them, ecstatic for a moment, until she realized what this meant. Van was actually going back into the ring, this time on her behalf. That ramped her nerves back up. Once again, he was going to face a risk because of her. The burden of that weighed on her tremendously.