—Alex wanted to talk to Piper after she got claimed, but the second Leo disappeared, she went searching for him. 

She knew it was all too weird for him, he had always known there was something weird with himself and now he would blame himself for his mother's death. Alex was the only person Leo had told about his mother, how she died because some freaky fire accident, Alex now realized the fire came from Leo. But he shouldn't blame himself because he had been eight. 

His relatives had shunned him and that's how he ended up in his first foster home where he met Alex. The two immediately hit it off, although Leo didn't understand why someone would run away from their own home when their mother was still alive and well. 

Alex had told him how she despised her mother for putting up with her foster dad- Gabe Ugliano who would routinely beat Alex up, from then Leo understood. He noticed the way Alex flinched when anyone moved too fast or the way she started crying when anyone raised their voice. He started defending her, telling others to not pick on her. 

He taught Alex how to pretend nothing bothered him, she mimicked and soon the only time the two genuinely laughed and smiled were in each other's company. 

Staying at foster homes was obviously not for Alex and Leo and a couple weeks later they ran away together. 

Some foster homes lasted longer than others. They would joke around, make a few friends, pretend that nothing bothered them, but they always ended up running sooner or later, and always together. 

"Promise me we'll stay friends forever" Ten year old Alex held up her right fist with her pinky sticking out, Leo would've laughed but he put on a serious face and held up the same gesture. 

Entwining their pinkies he said, "I promise, I will never leave you- As long as you don't leave me"

"Never"

Fifteen year old—present day Alex found Leo at the edge of the woods, she joined his side and by now he wasn't startled by the way the girl always found her way to him. He only took her hand in his, but this time Alex felt a funny feeling in her stomach she hadn't felt since her first crush— butterflies. 

"I'm going after the dragon" Leo spoke.

"I would ask you if you're crazy but I already know the answer- so what are we waiting for?" 

With that, the two plunged into the forest.

—They found the first trap after a short while. At the bottom of a clearing there was a hundred-foot-wide crater ringed with boulders.

In the centre of the depression, a metal vat the size of a hot tub had been filled with bubbly dark liquid-Tabasco sauce and motor oil. On a pedestal suspended over the vat, an electric fan rotated in a circle, spreading the fumes across the forest. Could metal dragons smell?

The vat seemed to be unguarded.

Alex had no idea what Leo was doing, but he seemed to be examining the trap, appreciating the craftsmanship while Alex stood drinking some water. 

She stood admiring how Leo looked right in his element as he smiled softly. It was the same smile he had when he did whatever he liked. In many ways, the two were similar, but they were also opposites. 

She was the daughter of the sea god and he— the son of a fire god, they were in that sense opposites, but they ignored their differences and focused on their similarities. 

Alex didn't realize she was staring until Leo turned around and grinned when he saw her eyes locked into his. She looked away immediately and cleared her throat but Leo smirked and walked over to her. 

"Like what you see? Speak up while I'm single, I won't be for too long" 

Alex was about to give a witty retort when they heard the sound. It was more of a tremor— the deep sort of rumbling you hear in your gut rather than your ears. It gave her the jitters, but Leo didn't look around for the source. He just kept examining the trap, thinking.

Then they heard a grinding snort, like steam forced out of a metal barrel. Alex's neck tingled. She turned slowly. At the edge of the pit, fifty feet away, two glowing red eyes were staring at them. The creature gleamed in the moonlight, and Alex couldn't believe something that huge had sneaked up on them so fast. Too late, Leo realized its gaze was fixed on the fire in his hand, and he extinguished the flames. 

They could still see the dragon just fine. It was about sixty feet long, snout to tail, its body made of interlocking bronze plates. Its claws were the size of butcher knives, and its mouth was lined with hundreds of dagger-sharp metal teeth. Steam came out of its nostrils. It snarled like a chain saw cutting through a tree. It could've bitten Alex in half, easy, or stomped her flat. 

"You don't have wings," Leo said.

Alex who had been frozen in fear gave him a look, but then understood why Leo wanted wings— the ride. 

The dragon's snarl died. It tilted its head as if to say, Why aren't you running away in terror?

"Hey, no offense," Leo said. "You're amazing! Good god, who made you? Are you hydraulic or nuclear-powered or what? But if it was me, I would've put wings on you. What kind of dragon doesn't have wings? I guess maybe you're too heavy to fly? I should've thought of that."
The dragon snorted, more confused now. It was supposed to trample Leo. This conversation thing wasn't part of the plan. It took a step forward, and Leo shouted, "No!"

The dragon snarled again.

"It's a trap, bronze brain" Alex said. "They're trying to catch you."