Azure Dragons (Supernatural Shifter Academy #2) - G. Bailey Page 0,27

help but laugh, disguising it as a cough at the last second.

“This is how we usually get downtown,” Ruby explains. “If we were witches, I suppose we could transport, but there’s always risk to that, you know? The campus is isolated enough, but it’s pretty much open season once you get into the city proper.

“Come to think of it,” I say, turning to her, “what kind of shifters are you guys? I just realised I have no idea.”

“I’m a wolf shifter,” Xander replies. “Ruby here’s a dragon.”

“Seriously?” Shade raises his eyebrows. “I didn’t know siblings could be different kinds.”

“It’s rare, but it does happen,” Ruby replies. “We used to get a lot of shit for it when we were younger - even our parents took a while to warm up to it. It’s a little taboo in the shifter community - sort of like hybridism. We’re in the same boat, Millie.”

“Boots,” I say, feeling a sudden sense of camaraderie with the siblings. “Call me Boots.”

Xander’s brow furrows. “Boots?”

I nod, instinctively reaching for my foot and fingering the broken pendant I keep in my worn shoe. It was a gift from Mollie, something of a good luck charm. Although I feel a twinge of sadness whenever I think about her—whatever happened to her, anyway?

“All right,” he says, laughing. “Boots it is, then.”

It takes us less than half an hour to reach our stop, emerging from the metro station in a wave of excited chatter. I do my best to stick close to the others as we walk, but it’s difficult when there’s so much to take in, and I find myself pausing at practically every street corner to gawk at something or another. The streets are tight and winding, lined with buildings dating back hundreds of years. We pass parks, clock towers, fountains, and flowerbeds, all crammed in next to hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurants and Colonial museums.

I’m so caught up in the sightseeing that I don’t even notice Amelia flanking me until we come to a stop at an intersection and she sidles up next to me. “Brix.”

I glance at her before looking frantically for the others; they’ve already crossed the street, and the light has gone red, leaving the rest of us behind. Not looking forward to whatever it is she wants to discuss, I slowly turn to her. “Was there something you wanted to talk about, Amelia?”

“I… Yes.” Her voice is uncharacteristically soft, and she crosses her arms over her chest, looking at the ground. “Look,” she says, finally making eye contact, “this isn’t easy for me to say, so I’m only going to say it once. I wanted to thank you.”

I blink. “Thank… me?”

Amelia nods. “Hunter transformed for me out on the quad this morning. He wasn’t able to hold it for more than a few seconds, but it’s more than he’s ever done before.” She clears her throat. “He said you were the one who showed him how to do it.”

“Er… right.” I rub the back of my neck sheepishly. “I just felt like maybe he needed a different approach. I gave him a few pointers last night, and he trusts me, which I think helped.” Rushing on, I add, “It wasn’t anything dangerous, though. He seemed pretty down about it, so I thought, if I could help…”

“I know.” There’s a look on her face that it takes me a moment to identify, before suddenly it hits me—gratitude. And a hint of remorse. She shuffles her feet. “You know, I’ve been trying to show him how to shapeshift ever since we were kids. He could never get it right. I was always the quick learner, and I think maybe some part of him resented me for it… I don’t know.” She shrugs. “I was starting to wonder if he’d ever get there.”

“Maybe you just needed to have a little more faith in him,” I suggest gently.

“Maybe.” She looks at me thoughtfully. “And maybe he’s not the only one.” Biting her lip, Amelia looks as if she wants to say something else, but then the light turns green, and we begin to cross the street. “I’ll see you around, Millie,” she says at last, before moving away and disappearing into the crowd.

“What was that about?” Landon asks as I rejoin the group. “Amelia giving you more problems?”

“Actually… no,” I reply. “I think maybe she was trying to apologise. In her own way.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Landon says, shaking his head. “An apology from Amelia Fucking Ash. What else does