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“No. It was a Serakian witchling. Uh… a different kind from my homeworld. They too are allied with the Faieara and their magic comes naturally to them.”
“Serakian.” She tested out the name. “How are your witches different? How do they use magicunnaturally?” She suddenly grew excited and faced him with a bouncing sideways walk. “Could I do magic?”
He tripped to a halt, a shiver of disquiet crawling up his back.
She shrank under his gaze. “Is that a rude question?”
Proceeding down the path again, he grated, “The witches on my home world take power from nature, from creatures, and even from us.”
There was a beat of silence. “Did I offend you?”
“No.”
“You look mad. And you’re walking faster now.”
“I’m no’ mad.”
“I’m only curious. Everyone wishes they could do magic. What do you mean they take power from you? How can they do that?”
Once more he stopped walking and glowered down at her. “They kill us for it.”
Her eyes went wide, and he hoped he’d silenced her on this subject. For a moment, he had, but after walking only a few minutes more, she asked, “Has a witch ever tried to kill you?”
He sighed. “No. My clan is strong, and we have driven the witches away from our land.”For now.
“How did you do that?”
“With tooth and nail and a lot of fire power.”
“Oh, right. The dragon thing. Can I see you turn into a dragon?”
“No.”
“Why not? Would you eat me?”
“Depends. Are you tasty?”
He’d meant it to be menacing, but she only giggled, a light, pleasing sound that cooled his ire almost entirely. “What do dragons eat, anyway?”
She was a curious thing, wasn’t she? He supposed he couldn’t blame her, and he was enjoying a lighthearted repartee that had nothing to do with politics, arranged marriage, or the duties of his crown. So that was how he found himself teasing, “Aside from attractive female humans?”
Her smile widened. “Hey, just try it. I eat a lot of spicy food. I might not have magic in me, but I’ll still curse you with indigestion for weeks.”
“Months, I bet.”
Her outright laughter sent a zing of pleasure through him. “You are full of questions. I should be the one interrogating you.”
She clasped her hands behind her back. “What do you want to know?”
“How did you end up on that ship?”
“I was hiking and I found the craft in the woods.”
“So, no’ all forests terrify you?”
“I had my knife with me—” She gasped and patted herself down. “Oh no. Where is it?”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small tool she’d dropped earlier. “This?”
