Lost Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 4)

Staying under Kya’s radar was supposed to be easy, but it has gradually gotten harder and harder to do since our groups continuously run into each other. I let my guard down one time, and this happens. I never expected to run into her at the fight.

Just as I suspected, she saw through to my core, but surprised me by knowing the one part of me that I thought could forever remain a secret. Dragonites aren’t even whispered about. Dragons are fabled creatures that never truly existed—according to the human world. Which is mostly true.

Dragon shifters were real, though. They were also hungry for death. I knew this, but hearing it aloud...

Panic. Fear. Anger.

Her eyes were teeming with so many emotions it was hard to keep up, but hatred was amongst those emotions.

She doesn’t even know me and hates me.

It’s a small reminder why my mother worked so hard to teach me to use my jinn magic to pull off the duster persona. A little gold dust goes a long way in convincing someone I’m harmless. Add in a couple parlor tricks—such as turning Dice’s voice into a cat’s meow—and you can sell it. Since a jinn can do almost anything a duster can, no one was the wiser.

Duster eyes flicker with gold flakes, and a Lokie’s eyes turn solid gold. My default color is gold, though I rarely touch my Lokie powers. It’s easy to convince someone they just saw things wrong when I slip.

Were your eyes just gold?

They have gold flakes when I use my power...

Oh. Guess I saw wrong.

Those are the conversations I’ve had countless times.

Alyssa and Ella both have a touch of Lokie in them, which is only possible because of their creature goddess status. Neither of them knows it exists. Ella’s is more profound when she loses it. I can almost taste her need for bloodshed.

The Lokie blood drove several other creature gods and goddesses insane. Not that I ever mentioned that to them. The insanity was blamed on various other reasons and explained away to give Alyssa peace of mind.

Her royal bloodline was strong and prevented the same fate... Hopefully it will continue to do so for Ella. Kane was only saved by the fact he was sired by a night stalker before turning. It gave him time to mature and grow into his powers much slower, once his final bond was finally destroyed.

Being someone you’re not is exhausting, but becoming a target isn’t an option. If I’m a target, so is my mother, and though she’s hella strong, she’s not strong enough to take on an army.

Telling her what just happened is also not an option... She’ll go after Kya and eliminate the threat if I called her right now. She’s not stronger than Kya, and honestly, I wouldn’t let either of them hurt each other.

I had to give up Alyssa—my best friend—when my powers started coming in stronger. Suppressing the Lokie was the hardest, and keeping the dragonite turned off was almost impossible at first.

Mom sparked an argument with Calypso—Alyssa’s mother—in an effort to give us cover. Turns out, Calypso was doing the same thing to keep her own daughter’s secret.

What a fucked up web we’ve all woven.

Now I have no choice but to tell everyone, because there’s no doubt in my mind that Kya isn’t already on her way to tell Slade everything. I think enough other shit is going on that they could overlook this. Maybe even see the additional power as a bonus.

I’ve been their friend for so long. I’ve had their backs through hell and fire. I’ve stopped an apocalypse with them, and I’ve saved their lives.

There’s no way of knowing if they can overlook what created me unless I finally tell them. There has already been plenty of suspicion floating around, and I haven’t been denying their suspicions.

Taking a deep breath, I land on the front porch of Gage’s home, not even bothering with the fake gold dust. When I walk inside, I’m fully prepared to unload everything I’ve held back.

I can handle Slade if he comes for me. But I won’t let him near them.

I have no idea how truly strong I am, but I’ll find out if he comes for me.

> Just as I open my mouth to call for everyone, I hear arguing.

“How could you lie to us?” Alyssa is demanding.

What the hell is she doing here? She’s supposed to be in hiding until she has the baby!

Scowling, I head into the front room to find them all staring at Zee as Leah rubs his back like she’s proving she’s on his side.