I nodded. “It may be.”
His smile was so wide and bright that I got lost in it for a moment.
“In that case, I will buy you an entire fucking candy store.”
“Now you’re just talking dirty.” I beamed at him. “I’m going to finish my meal and go get some sleep. You need to go have a fly, young man. Actually… how old are you? I never thought to ask.”
“A few years older than you.”
I paused. A thought occurred to me that stopped me in my tracks.
“Wait… how old am I? I always say that I’m twenty-eight, but…” I trailed off. Even though I kept saying otherwise, the evidence was pretty clear. I had been their mate a long time ago, which meant they knew things about me I had been desperate to know for years.
“You were eighteen when you went missing, which would make you twenty-five now.”
Twenty-five. It sounded so juvenile when I had thought I was nearly thirty.
“I don’t know whether I’m happy or upset by the fact that I’m actually three years younger than I thought I was,” I said, staring off into the distance, trying to comprehend his words.
“You really didn’t know how old you were?” he asked, putting his food down and giving me his full attention.
“Kiki did her best to estimate. But no, I knew nothing about myself when I woke up. We just hadto assume.”
“When do you celebrate your birthday?”
“On the day Kiki found me,” I said with a smile. “It was a birth, of sorts.”
He nodded. “Well, that’s a day that should always be celebrated… but you were actually born on March thirty-first.”
The date I had been celebrating was in July.
Even though I had never put much stock into my birthday, because I knew it probably wasn’t the real date I was born, it felt weird knowing the truth.
“That’s good to know… Thank you.”
“If you ever have questions, Rowan, I’m here.”
My throat went dry, my eyes stinging from the effort of holding back tears. Having a connection to my past made me inexplicably overwhelmed. On the one hand, I wanted to know everything. On the other, I wanted to know nothing.
After quickly shoving the rest of the food into my mouth, I said my goodbyes and left my best friend and shirtless mate chatting at the table while I scurried back to the safety of my own space.
Unable to bear the thought of taking the item of clothing off that Greylen had given me, I clambered into bed wearing my sleep shorts and the borrowed hoodie, wrapping myself up in his comforting scent and letting it lull me back to sleep.
Rowan
It must have only been an hour or two later when the door to my room opened, and a very naked, very bouncy dragon ran into the room.
“Ro!” Nix yelled, jumping on the bed. “Sorry to disturb your slumber, but we could use a healer.”
His words were a shot of adrenaline to my system, as they likely were for anyone medically trained. I was needed? Then I was on it immediately. Sitting up straight, I took a closer look at him. His face didn’t appear concerned; there was actually a small smile plastered across it.
“Umm… what happened?” I asked, cocking a brow.
“Orsen fucked up his wing a bit. He was going to brush it off, but I thought it best he get a healer’sopinion first.”
A brief flicker of panic coursed through me at the idea of Orsen being injured. Even though I didn't know what we were to each other, I didn't want him to be hurt. And I had to admit the sour candy had done its job. I knew he was trying, and I supposed… I could too.
“Is he…” I trailed off, unable to think of the right words as my eyes tracked down his midsection.
