Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 430(@200wpm)___ 344(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
I look at Jurik. He stares straight ahead, and I can see bits of black swirling at the edges of his golden eyes. "He doesn't understand me? Why…why would that mean he should bring me here?"
"It's probably because of Luminoura," Sasha says with a sigh. "We get a lot of visitors now. Would you like something to wear? A drink?"
I'm suddenly achingly thirsty…and extremely aware of my nudity. "Yes to both. Please."
"I'll get you something, and then we should probably talk." She leans over and kisses the baby's fat cheek, then stands on her tiptoes and kisses her mate's cheek. The dragon-man's eyes whirl gold, but black edges in as she moves away and he glares at Jurik.
Are these friends of his, I wonder? If so, they don't seem thrilled that we're here. This is all so confusing.
Sasha returns quickly with a dress, and I toss it over my head. The bust is a little tight and the fit in the waist all wrong, but I don't care. Relieved, I follow her when she gestures at another door. "This is my kitchen."
Jurik immediately grabs my arm and tries to stop me from following her.
I try to pry out of his grip. "Let me go—"
"Dakh, love, please talk to him," Sasha says to her dragon-man. "Tell him we're happy to give him answers, but he needs to stop acting like this."
I slide out of Jurik's possessive grip and this time he lets me go, a frown on his face. He follows as we head into the next room, Sasha's “kitchen,” and I notice Sasha's mate Dakh follows as well. Sasha's kitchen looks like an old office break room, complete with a dead refrigerator, but it's got a sink and when she takes a glass and pours water into it, my dry mouth waters. I practically pounce on the drink, gulping it down before holding out my empty glass and asking for a refill. Sasha fills it without protest and then moves to sit at a round gray table, complete with four gray chairs. "Want to sit and talk?"
"Is that why I'm here?" I ask. "So we can talk?"
"Jurik can't talk to you without a mental bond, so he's throwing questions at Luminoura."
I glance over in surprise at the infant. "T-the baby?" Well, they did warn me he was crazy…
"She doesn't think like we do," Sasha explains with a proud little smile. "Even though she's an infant, she can send her thoughts to the others. There's something special about their thoughts, too. They're…calming, I guess. It helps with the madness."
"They? There's more than one baby?"
Sasha gives me a curious look. "Two, actually. I guess you wouldn't know that. The other belongs to a friend." She leans forward. "You're from Fort Dallas, aren't you? How did you meet Jurik? How did he find you? I thought the dragon attacks there had stopped a few months ago."
I'm hesitant to say too much, because it feels like I don't have the right to share the answers. I don't want to get Jenny and Manda in trouble if it gets back to Azar that I'm blabbing all about the program. "They did stop. I was out scavenging and I guess Jurik smelled me."
“They let you out to scavenge alone?” Her brows furrow and she looks surprised.
“No. I had someone with me. Jurik killed him.”
She nods slowly, as if unsurprised by this admission. “The drakoni are very possessive. It’s taking a lot for Dakh to allow Jurik here in our home. Luminoura’s soothing him.”
I look over at the dragon-man holding the baby. The little one is slobbering on her fist, her eyes closed as she leans against her father’s shoulder. “I…see.” I drain my glass of water again and set it on the table.
Immediately, Jurik grabs it and goes to the sink. He fills it up—after pawing at the knobs for a moment—and then brings it back to me, thrusting it under my nose.
I take it from him, a little bewildered, and set it down on the table. I just drank two full glasses and I should probably pace myself, but he doesn’t look pleased at my response. He takes the glass and offers it to me again, scowling.
Sasha watches us curiously. “He says you won’t drink for him.”
“He told you that?”
“No, he told Dakh. Dakh tells me.” At my curious look, she continues. “The drakoni talk to each other telepathically, but humans don’t have that ability so I can only talk to Dakh because we’re linked. I can’t talk to Jurik or Luminoura, so I’m just the middleman.”
Her gaze drops to my stump, where it rests on the table, and I suddenly feel uncomfortably aware of just how scarred I am. Sasha meets my gaze as we talk, but it’s almost…too focused, as if she’s deliberately trying not to look at my scars. I know they’re awful. I’ve seen how bad they are in mirrors. I know it makes me look hideous, the way they pucker across my cheek and draw part of my mouth up. In front of Sasha, I feel acutely…ugly. She’s beautiful, her thick hair cascading over her shoulders, her eyes bright and her skin perfect.