Lawrence
She’s quirky.
That much is certain.
Julie sits beside me as the feeling slowly returns to my body. I go from feeling nothing at all to feeling pins and needles. It’s like my body has just been asleep. The ache of those muscles awakening bothers me, but I bite back any sort of response.
“Can you speak?” She whispers. “Your eyes are open a little wider.”
I open my mouth and lick my lips.
No words come out, but I feel thirsty.
“You need a drink,” she seems to be able to understand, and gives me a sip of water. The liquid feels cool against my dry throat, and then I try again.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
The smile that lights her face is more beautiful than anything I could possibly imagine.
“You can talk,” she says. “It’s working.”
“Yes,” I whisper.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to take for your entire body to return to normal,” she says. “Hopefully soon. We need to get you back to your family, right? You have a group of dragons waiting for you? They’re going to be worried.”
That’s what she’s concerned about? Talk about a heart of fucking gold.
“My clan,” I tell her. “It’s my clan.”
“Your clan,” she repeats. “Is there any way to contact them? I mean, what do we do with her?” She jerks her head toward Nicole. “Do you have like, a prison for people who try to hurt shifters? How does that work? Sorry, I’m babbling, but damn, this has been quite a ride.”
I realize it’s late. It’s well past midnight. I don’t know how long I was incapacitated for, but I turn my head to see Nicole lying, bound on the ground. Even though she still looks pissed, she also looks really tired. Eventually, she’s going to pass out. I think we all are. We need to get to Fablestone before that.
“I can’t shift yet,” I whisper. I keep trying, but nothing happens.
“That’s okay,” she says. “We can camp here. I’ll stay awake. We can build a fire if we want to?” She says it like it’s a question.
“No,” I choke out. “No fire.”
“You’re probably right,” she says with a sigh. “Don’t want to attract anything dangerous. You know, like a bear.” She winks at me, and I realize how nice it is to be around someone who isn’t afraid to make jokes in the middle of a terrible situation. “But seriously, what do you want to do about Little Miss Evil?”
“We can bring her to the clan.”
“Are you sure about that?” Julie seems unconvinced. “Is your dragon lord going to be okay with that?”
I stare at her blankly.
“Dragon king?”
What the fuck?
“Dragon sorcerer?”
“Please stop.”
“Okay.”
“We don’t have any of those things.”
She just shrugs.
I sigh. “We have a clan leader. He’s going to be fine with it because we won’t let her know where anything is.”
Julie looks doubtful.
“We’ll blindfold her.”
Julie just stares at me.
“And we’ll keep her bound.”
“Are you sure that’s going to be enough? She seems kind of tricky. No offense, but are you sure you’re up for that? What if you lose your powers again?”
“My powers?”
“Yeah, your dragon powers. You have powers, right?”
“I can change into a giant beast, if that’s what you mean.”
“Can you do anything else?” Julie cocks her head, studying me. I like her eyes on me more than I’m willing to admit, but she’s not looking at me like I’m a piece of luscious man-meat. She’s looking at me like she wants to study me.
Like she wants to learn everything she can about me.
“Like what?”
“Can you breathe fire?”
“Not all dragons breathe fire.”
“Can you become invisible?”
“No.”
“What about flips?”
“Flips?”
“Yeah,” she smiles and twirls her fingers. “Like when you’re flying in the air. Can you do air flips?”
I chuckle. I can’t help myself. Who the fuck is this girl? She’s freaking delightful. If any other person was here trying to help me make sense of this situation, I’d be stressing out. Even the human girls I like being around, like Peggy or Natalie, wouldn’t have me in stitches over what’s basically a horrible situation.
I like that she’s trying to make me laugh.
I like that she’s helping me to keep the focus off the inevitable danger.
If Nicole has more friends in the area, they could already be hunting us. Somehow, I don’t think that’s what’s happening. I’ll have to interview her – or Cameron or Wilson can – and discover what secrets she’s still holding close. Whether the clan will release her or imprison her, I’m not sure.
“Is that a yes?” She asks. “Because you know, I’ve never seen a dragon do an air flip.”
“Have you seen a dragon do anything before?” I’m curious about her. Who is she? Where is she from? Why is she so comfortable around me? I suppose part of me thinks she should have run off the moment I showed up and distracted Nicole. Part of me thinks it would have been smarter for her to just take off in a move of self-preservation, but I don’t get the impression that Julie is actually worried about that.
“Nope.”
“Never?”
“Not unless you count cartoons. Sorry, buddy boy, but you’re my first.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “I hope that doesn’t bother you.”
“I’m honored,” I tell her honestly.
Honored indeed.