Reena swallowed the urge to yawn as the city bus’s brakes squealed to a stop on Second Street. Bast, who had curled around her neck like a scarf, snored peacefully and hadn’t budged since she and Mica had boarded at Riverside Park.  

Mica hadn’t said a word, but the girl was vibrating with latent energy. If she didn’t get to express herself soon she was probably going to spontaneously combust.  

Reena stood as soon as the bus stopped moving and walked to the exit door with Mica at her heels. Everyone on the bus was buried in their own projects. Some stared at phone screens. Others read books. None of them noticed a little teenage girl with an alien red panda draped across her shoulders.  

Maybe fewer people had noticed the dragon battle than Reena had thought.  

Mica stood at her side as the bus door closed, and they watched it lumber down Second Street with its lights flashing. Mica turned to look at her.  

Here we go.  

“Reena, you’re a superhero!” Mica squealed.  

“Yes, Mica, apparently I am.” Reena gathered Bast from around her neck and cradled his limp body in her arms.  

Mica bounced beside her. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, that was just so cool! The evil black dragon was all like RAWR-rahr-RAWR and you were all shiny and pink and sparkly like Take-That-Foul-Beast! Wham!” Mica reenacted the moments of the airborne battle as best she could without wings or a tail. “That has to be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”  

Reena sighed. 

“Why aren’t you excited?” Mica grabbed her arm. “Reena, we went to space! You’re an alien princess with a dragon sidekick!”  

Reena glanced at her and couldn’t stop a smile. “It is pretty cool, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah.” Mica laughed, beaming for a moment until her face fell. “Unless—are you hurt?” 

Reena blinked. 

“You’ve been so quiet. I didn’t think. Are you okay? Did you get hurt?” Mica pressed closer to her as they walked up the sidewalk.  

“No, Mica, I’m okay. A few bumps and bruises, and I’m just—really tired.” Reena couldn’t stop the yawn this time. “I just want to go home and talk to my dad and see if he can make sense out of any of this wild, crazy stuff.” 

She smiled as the house came into view, but she stopped short in sight of the garage. “Uh oh.” 

“Uh oh, what?” Mica stopped with her. 

“Dad’s home.” Reena nodded to the black metallic Dodge Charger parked in the garage. 

“He was out with Cecilia today, wasn’t he?” Mica fell into step with Reena as they walked up the driveway together. 

“Yeah, for her birthday.” Reena adjusted her hold on Bast. “I don’t know, Mica. This might get really ugly.” 

“Hey.” Mica took her arm. “I’m with you. And it’s not like I don’t already know all your family secrets.” 

Reena scoffed. “True.” 

“And you just beat a dragon.” Mica nodded somberly. “You can handle your dad.” 

Reena chuckled. “The moment I think my dad is less scary than a dragon, I’m in trouble.” 

She scaled the steps into the kitchen hesitantly and cracked the door open. Raised voices from inside the house made her stomach turn over.  

Yeah. Not good.  

Her father rarely raised his voice. He didn’t need to. He had a magical ability to force a confession out of any of his three children with a simple raised eyebrow. Strange, because her mother possessed the ability as well.  

Reena had often considered writing a thesis on it, but Jim told her it was just parent skills, since his mother had been able to do it too. 

Mica crept into the kitchen behind her, and they approached the family living room together. Slowly, Reena handed Bast over to Mica, who cradled him with a silent squeal of joy. Bast snored away, his tail twitching happily.  

“Cecilia, you must tell us the truth.” 

Reena paused. 

Auntie Kay? 

What was Auntie Kay doing here? Auntie Kay hadn’t been planning to come over for another week or so. Actually, hadn’t she been on a trip to Japan? Had she come back? 

Reena angled her position so she could see into the living room.  

Cecilia sat on the sofa, arms crossed and face screwed up in an expression of anger. All her braids were wound up in an impressive style on the top of her head, and the whole style shook every time she opened her mouth. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cecilia said. “Either of you!” 

Auntie Kay stood at the center of the living room. She wore a vibrant yellow and black patterned business dress, the matching blazer draped over the back of an upholstered chair. Her dark hair, streaked with silver, hung down around her shoulders.  

Jasper Ellis heaved a heavy sigh from where he sat on the sofa across from his eldest daughter. His khakis and collared shirt looked rumpled, as though he’d been crawling around in a tight space and had only just emerged.  

“Cecilia,” he spoke slowly and precisely, “it could only have been you.” 

Cecilia turned away from him, nose in the air. “Well it had to be someone else, because I didn’t do it. I don’t even know how to get into your stupid safe.” 

Reena gulped.  

Oh, this just got worse.  

Cecilia was taking the blame for what Reena had done. Probably for what Hermes had done too. 

Jasper ran his hands over his face for a moment before he stood and knelt in front of Cecilia. “I understand why you’re upset, Cece.” He set his hand on her knee. “But I do not understand why you are lying.” 

Reena sagged against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut. She had to intervene now before the situation got even more complicated. She had so many questions, but letting her sister take the heat for something she hadn’t done wasn’t right. 

Reena gestured to Mica to wait, and Mica lifted her arms where Bast was still snoring. And Reena stepped into the living room.  

“Dad?” 

Jasper scowled at her. “Sareena, not now.” He pointed to the stairwell.  

“Dad, Cecilia didn’t do it.” 

Her father’s laser-eyes focused on her. Auntie Kay turned to her with a skeptical face.  

“Cecilia didn’t do what, Sareena?” Auntie Kay folded her arms, her heavy accent growing stronger with every word. 

Reena took a deep breath. “I opened your safe.” 

Her father blinked at her in surprise. “You did?” He stood and faced her.  

“You did?” Cecilia gawked at her and pointed. “Have you been upstairs this whole time? Listening to me take your punishment?” 

“No.” Reena held up her hands. 

Cecilia stood up, face set in fury and fists clenched at her sides. “So you break into Dad’s safe and steal his random pink egg, you let Hermes tear the whole house apart, and I get the lecture about it?” Cecilia glared at her father. “I know she’s your favorite, but that’s not fair, Dad.” 

“Enough, Cecilia.” Jasper held up his hand, but he stopped before he could continue as his cell phone rang. “Of course.” He checked the screen. “It’s the office. Cecilia, sit down. Sareena, sit down. You two will sit and be silent until I am finished.” 

He didn’t wait for them to agree. He just answered his phone gruffly, “Ellis,” and walked out of the room.  

Cecilia flared her nostrils and sat down with a huff. Reena quietly hurried to a chair and sat, holding a pillow and glancing over her shoulder to where Mica was still hiding in the kitchen.  

Auntie Kay stepped in front of her, eyes narrowed.  

“Sareena,” she began in her rich-toned voice, “you’re acting strangely.” 

Reena pressed her lips together.  

“Very strangely.” 

Auntie Kay wasn’t exactly a mind-reader, but she was the closest thing to one that Reena had ever met.  

A startled exclamation from the other room drew her attention as Jasper’s voice raised again. In his office with the door shut, Reena couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he sounded upset.  

He knows. She shut her eyes. Someone in his office saw the whole thing, and now he knows.  

The door to his office flung open, and he stormed back into the living room. 

“Akeyo,” he strode directly to Auntie Kay, “the worst has happened. Two dragons were spotted downtown engaged in battle over Riverside Park.” 

Reena planted her face into the pillow in her lap. 

“Dragons?” Cecilia yelped.  

“Impossible.” Auntie Kay’s face twisted. “Impossible, Jasper. It cannot be. And even if it were, it cannot be the khonzi. It couldn’t transform without bonding to an agnimitra.” She set a hand on Jasper’s arm and turned her attention to Reena. “Sareena, you opened your father’s safe?” 

“Yes.” Reena nodded once. 

“And you took the egg from inside.” Jasper scowled at her.  

Reena started to answer and stopped. “Egg?” 

“Yes. The egg-shaped stone inside my office safe.” Jasper pointed backward.  

“See? I told you he’s all focused on some stupid egg,” Cecilia muttered, crossing her arms.  

“There wasn’t an egg,” Reena said. “I guess—he already—hatched? Is that the right terminology?” Reena looked back over her shoulder. “You might as well come out, Mica.” 

“Okay!” 

“Mica?” Jasper straightened in surprise.  

“Of course, Michaela is involved.” Auntie Kay rolled her eyes. “Where one is, there’s the other.” But she stopped short when Mica stepped into view with Bast lounging in her arms, snoring loudly.  

Jasper gawked along with her.  

“Hi,” Mica said weakly with an awkward smile. 

Cecilia stood up from the couch, pointing at Bast. “What is that?” 

“Well, his name is Bast.” Mica lifted him slightly. “He’s cute and cuddly and has a really bad attitude. And he doesn’t have a lot of helpful information to share. Just saying.” 

Both the adults in the room stared at Mica and Bast with their mouths open.  

“Did you take that from the zoo?” Cecilia set her hands on her hips. “Where did you find that? Is it alive?” 

Reena twisted her fingers together. “He was in the safe.” 

Cecilia spun toward her father, eyes narrowed. “You said it was an egg.” 

“Cece.” Jasper held up a hand. 

“You said there was an egg in your safe, and you said I took it.” Cecilia pointed to Bast. “That’s not an egg, Daddy.” 

Jasper’s gaze shifted to Auntie Kay. He held his hands palm up, and Auntie Kay shrugged, her expression flabbergasted.  

Reena watched their faces.  

Shocked.  

They were totally caught off guard. In all her life, she’d never seen her father look like that, and she’d certainly never seen Auntie Kay look that way either. 

As though she feared any sudden movement would make Bast disappear, Auntie Kay turned to face Reena.  

“You heard him?” 

Reena met her gaze. “Yes.” 

“You heard him call to you?” 

“Yes, Auntie Kay.” 

The woman glanced toward the sleeping red panda and back to Reena. “Did he give it to you?” Auntie Kay’s eyes tightened at the corners, the way they did when she had to talk to someone on the telephone.  

“Give what to me?” Reena asked. 

“If he gave it to you, then you know what I am asking.” Auntie Kay set her jaw.  

Slowly, Reena reached into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out the burning, sparkling pink jewel.  

Her father whispered a Somali prayer, and Auntie Kay staggered as though something heavy had been laid across her shoulders.  

“The Heart of Arawelo,” Auntie Kay lowered her head, her eyes misting. “So, it is true. The Lord Bast has chosen you.” 

Reena trembled. “I’m sorry.” She looked at her father. “Dad, I know your safe is off limits, and I never would have opened it. But he needed me. I had to do something.” 

Jasper stepped toward her and enfolded her in his arms, he mumbled something in Somali in her ear, and Reena buried her face in his chest. For a solitary moment, everything was all right.  

“Forgive me, Jasper.” Auntie Kay’s voice sounded thick and heavy with emotion. “I was wrong.” 

“We were both wrong.” Jasper’s tone was rough, low. He was upset, but not at Reena. 

Slowly, Reena pulled back and looked up into her father’s face and then at Auntie Kay. On the couch, Cecilia’s eyebrows were drawn together, and her eyes were full of worry. 

“It should have been Cecilia,” Auntie Kay said. “Every piece of data I have research always indicated the eldest daughter would be the agnimitra.” 

Cecilia huffed from the couch and lifted her nose.  

Jasper regarded her with a sheepish smile. “Then I owe you an apology.” 

“You do. Several.” Cecilia looked away from him. 

Still holding Reena, Jasper turned to look at his older daughter. “Cecilia, I am sorry to have not believed you. You did nothing wrong.” 

Cecilia flopped back on the couch cushions.  

Jasper lifted his eyebrows at her. “Will you forgive me?” 

“Yes, Dad, I forgive you.” Cecilia kept her eyes narrowed. “I don’t know if I’ll forgive the paramecium you’re snuggling, though.” 

Reena stuck her tongue out at her.  

Auntie Kay set her hand on Reena’s shoulder. “There are many stories to tell and much to discuss. But right now, we must go. There is a special place—a hidden place—and I need that gem to unlock it.” 

“The Ikroza?” Reena winced. 

For the second time that day, both her father and her aunt gawked at her in wordless shock.  

“Yeah, been there, done that.” Mica shrugged, coming to stand next to Reena. “It’s been a day.” 

Jasper was praying out loud again as he sank into a chair and set his head in his hands.  

“How did you find the Ikroza?” Auntie Kay blinked repeatedly like something was stuck in her eyes.  

“Bast took us.” Reena nodded to the snoring red panda.  

“How did you survive?” Jasper lifted his head, muscle ticking at the back of his jaw. “That is the question. The Ikroza’s security systems will kill anyone who enters without authorization.” 

Mica and Reena glanced at each other and shrugged.  

“Well, we were able to get the computer systems running.” Reena bit her lower lip. “And from there, I kind of just winged it.” 

“You winged it?” Auntie Kay’s eyes were like saucers.  

“Yeah, that makes it sound really irresponsible, doesn’t it?” 

In Mica’s arms, Bast shifted and stretched out, yawning enormously. He sighed and turned to look around the room and paused, big eyes widening.  

“Oh.” Bast blinked. “What an unexpected sight to awaken to.” 

Behind Jasper, Cecilia stared. “Did it just talk?” 

“Hush, Cece.” 

“Dad, that zoo animal just talked.” 

Bast crawled up Mica’s arm and leaped down to the floor, sitting on his haunches and staring up at Auntie Kay with wonder on his furry face. Auntie Kay regarded him in silence. 

“Your Majesty,” he whispered in awe, bowing his head until his ears nearly brushed the floor. “You look so much like your mother.” 

Reena stiffened.  

Her mother? Did Bast know Auntie Kay? How? 

Auntie Kay shut her eyes and sank into a nearby chair, running her hands over her face. When she sat up again, she was smiling, tears in her eyes.  

“Hello, Lord Bast.” She nodded. “It has been many years.” 

Bast sat up and glanced at Jasper.   

“Yes,” Bast said. “Hello, Prince Jameilas.” Bast smirked. “Though I hear you have traded the name your great father gave you for something quite Hadashi.” 

Jasper’s expression hardened. “Lord Bast.” He nodded shortly. “Much has happened since you slept.” 

Reena stared at the little red panda. 

She’d already accepted it wasn’t a normal red panda. It wasn’t even a normal dragon. It was a pink-red-panda-dragon-thing. And that in and of itself was impressive, but her father spoke to it with respect? Even reverence? And so did Auntie Kay? 

It was just another reminder of how little Reena actually understood.  

Jasper stepped forward and took Reena’s shoulders in his hands. He bent down and kissed her forehead with closed eyes, his expression the strangest mix of pride and dread Reena had ever read on his face. He hadn’t looked like that since she’d shown him her results from the Peregrine Academy entrance exams. 

Proud.  

But terrified. 

“There is much to discuss,” Auntie Kay said softly. “You girls have had a long day. Michaela, I suggest you go home.” 

Mica stiffened a bit in surprise at the dismissal, but she only smiled in return. “Sure. Okay. I can do that.” 

Cecilia slid off the couch. “I can drive you home, and maybe you can tell me what my crazy sister was doing all day.”  

Mica glanced at Reena, and Reena nodded at her.  

Mica grinned and ran after Cecilia. They’d meet up later to talk about whatever Auntie Kay had to say that she didn’t want to share.  

After all, Mica already knew everything, and Reena had no intention of leaving her out of the loop—no matter what Auntie Kay thought.