“Are you saying Nessie is mind-controlling them?”
“How else would she get them to follow her orders?These are monsters whose sole purpose is violence and death.They get nothing from serving Nessie.”
My lips pursed.“Maybe she gives them a safe place to call home.”
He snorted.“I highly doubt that.”
“If she’s controlling them, then she’s kind of like you, I guess, only better at it.”Snippy, but even my usual sunny outlook tired of his attitude.
“Simple-minded creatures aren’t hard to command.”
“Wait, was that a backwards compliment?”
The flicking light from the fire illuminated the tilt of his lips.“Guess it was.While you might be misguided and too eager for your own good, you are not stupid.”
“Be still, my heart.”I clasped a hand to my chest.
“Definitely a smartass,” he added, deadpan.
I giggled before throwing my next question at him.“More seriously, though, what else can Nessie do, other than mind-control living things?”
“Swim.”
“Duh.”I rolled my eyes at the obvious.
He sighed.“Guess you’ll keep pestering until I answer.”
“Is it pestering or expanding my knowledge with truths only you can impart?”
“Nessie is often called a sea monster or sea serpent.”
“I’ve also heard the term dinosaur bandied about.”
“Definitely not the latter.There was a time she didn’t even live in water, although she always had an affinity for it.See, before her wings got sheared, Nessie could fly because she was a dragon like me.”
“No way,” I breathed.
“It’s true, although I wouldn’t recommend asking her about it.It’s a touchy subject.”
“How did she lose her wings?”
“Jealous rival.”
“A dragon fight?”
“Dragon fight but also sibling.Her twin sister, to be exact, tore them off.”
“That’s horrible.How could her own sister do that to her?”
“Rivalry.Domination.”He shrugged.“It was never quite clear, but I imagine some kind of jealousy might have been at play.You have to remember dragons aren’t like humans.We don’t perceive family like you do, or form emotional attachments.”
“You like Astaria.”
“Barely,” his dry reply.
“You try to pretend you don’t care, but I think that’s a lie.”
“I never claimed we didn’t feel.We often envy what others have.We covet.We steal with no compunction.Annoyance is another emotion I’m well acquainted with.”The latter he aimed at me with a scowl.
