Chapter 5
“Why did thou leave the trodden paths of men
Too soon, and with weak hands though mighty heart
Dare with unpastur’d dragon in his den?
Defenseless as thou wert, oh, where was then
Wisdom mirror’d shield
Or scorn the spear?”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley
Desires and Adorations, XXVII
“Here there be dragons . . .”
The moment Madelyn heard Grigori echo her words, she panicked.
He was clearly insane. Because dragons did not exist, at least not anymore. And even if they had existed at one time—they didn’t morph into humans. She looked at him again, saw the molten gold in his eyes, eyes she distinctly remembered had been blue a moment before and wondered if maybe she was the one who had gone insane.
The sharp sound of her own scream startled them both. She recovered faster, sprinti
