“I didn’t see anyone else,” Niall said; his face had lost some coloring as he stood and gawked at the end of the cave.
“A dragon would have eaten anyone else,” Brokk said.
“There has to be someone else; dragons can’t speak,” Cole stated.
“Have you ever tried talking to one?” Orin asked. When Cole shot him a look, he shrugged. “I’m just saying, I doubt it’s something anyone, other than maybe an arach, has tried before. They don’t exactly come across as conversationalists.”
When the dragon behind them scraped its claws against the rocks, they turned to discover it had inched close enough that its snout was only feet away. The audible gulp of the others was loud in the hush of the cave.
“If you seek answers, child, then you should come out,” the sweet, steely voice said from the front of the cave.
“I have to go talk to her,” Lexi said.
“She might not be talking to you,” Kaylia said.
“Who else would she be talking to?”
“It can’t be a dragon talking,” Maverick muttered as he ran a hand through his dark, wavy, brown hair. His chestnut-colored eyes were troubled, his broad shoulders back, and at six foot nine, he was the tallest in the cave. “Dragons don’t talk.”
“And again, have you ever tried?” Orin inquired.
“Shut up, Orin,” her dad said as he studied the front of the cave. “I don’t like this.”
“None of us do,” Sahira said.
Lexi took a deep breath as she tried to calm her chaotic thoughts. If itwasthe dragon talking to her, there were so many answers they could get from the creature… if it didn’t eat her or stomp her first.
“I will not ask again, child. Come out, or I will come in,” the voice stated.
And if it was the dragon and it decided to come in, judging by its size, it would tear this cave down around itself before they ever got any answers.
“I’m coming!” Lexi called before she could think about it any further.
Besides, there wasn’t anything to think about. She didn’t have any other choices. They’d come here for answers, and this creature was promising them.
“Wait,” Cole grasped her arm before she could take a step. “You’re not going out there.”
“I don’t have a choice,” she told him.
“There are always choices,” Kaylia replied.
“Do you see a different one in this scenario? Besides, we’re all here to learn how I get along with dragons, and this one”—she thrust her thumb over her shoulder at the chained dragon behind them— “couldn’t care less about what I am.”
“You haven’t had much time with it,” Varo said. “Perhaps with more—”
“There is no more,” Lexi said. “The one out there will make sure of that.”
“Dragons can’t talk,” her dad said. “Let whoever’s out there come in.”
Lexi glanced back at the front of the cave; it made no sense to her, but he was wrong. “There isnoone else out there. I have to go.”
When Cole’s hand tightened on her arm, Lexi glanced nervously at the shadows as they edged closer to him.
“Cole,” she whispered.
“If they’re what’s necessary to keep you safe, then so be it,” he stated.
Lexi’s entire being protested his words. She didnotwant this. She didn’t wantthem.
