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Although nothing compared to when they crested a hill and she saw the lake for the first time. It was long, not too wide, and a deep-blue color. The lake was filled with small dragons of every color—black, gold, red, blue, green, and purple—splashing, floating, diving, and swimming around.
That was what she should’ve done as a child but never had. For a second, tears filled her eyes, but she willed them away. She wasn’t about to allow her past to ruin this day. It was too magical and beautiful, and she wanted to memorize everything about it.
The light inside her head pulsed a few beats but then went back to a steady glow. Maybe seeing so many dragon-shifters in their dragon forms would coax her beast out and convince her to stay around longer.
Percy didn’t realize she’d stopped in place until Bronx said, “Do you want to keep going? Or do you want to head back?”
She tore her gaze from the lake and looked at him. Unlike earlier, when there had been amusement and patience, she couldn’t read his expression.
And that irritated her.
Ignoring the feeling—she was getting fucking bombarded with them on a regular basis now, and she didn’t know how to handle them—she answered, “I definitely want to keep going. Are they expecting us?”
He nodded and gestured for them to walk again. “Tristan knows we might show up, and if we do, he and the other teacher, Ella, will signal the dragon children to come back to shore when you’re ready. That way you can see them up close.” He paused and smiled. “And the human children will be there, so you’ll finally meet Daisy.”
“Why are you smiling at that?”
He laughed, and the sound nearly startled her. She liked how deep and gravelly it was. Bronx most definitely needed to laugh more.
Not that it was her concern.
He replied, “Daisy is a force of nature. But in a good way. You’ll see.” He pointed to the shore ahead. “She’s the blond one. Near her are Joey and his older brother, Mark.”
She spotted the trio of children shouting things for the dragon students to try.
The sight was strange to her. Growing up, she’d been told so many times that humans hated dragon-shifters. And even inside the facility, she’d been told no one cared if she was an experimental test subject because she wasn’t human and dragon-shifters were expendable.
Although she should know by now that she’d been fed lie upon lie inside that hellhole.
The light flickered inside her head again but still didn’t morph into a dragon. Resisting a sigh, she focused on the other people standing on the shore. Tristan was there, plus a tall female with dark hair who was filming something, one who didn’t have a tattoo on her upper arm.
“Is she human too?”
“Yes, that’s Jane Hartley, Kai’s mate. He’s the blond dragonman who rescued you from the facility.”
She frowned. “Wait. Even the head of security is allowed to have a human mate?”
He nodded. “Anyone on Stonefire is, although it wasn’t always that way. However, Bram’s mate used to be an employee for the Department of Dragon Affairs, and she’s worked hard to change a few things around here for the better.”
Percy had learned a lot about the DDA over the last few weeks, although she was still unsure about if they were good or bad for her kind. “Violet has mentioned several times that there are more male than female dragons, so I guess that makes sense to allow human mates.”
“Dragon-shifter numbers tend to skew male. Well, until recently. There are theories that a male human paired with a female dragon will more often have daughters than sons.”
She tapped her chin. “Really? If so, then it’s almost as if humans and dragons always should’ve lived together, to create the right balance.”
As soon as she said that, Percy felt naïve. But Bronx grunted. “That makes sense, actually. Being so strictly separated from humans pushed our numbers rather low over the last fifty years or so, to a worrying degree.” He gently touched the back of her hand with his fingers. “Which should be the last proof you need that half-human dragon-shifters are most definitely wanted. Otherwise, we’d have too many males and not enough females.”
“I suppose.” She couldn’t resist brushing her hand against Bronx’s and loved how the light touch sent a rush of happiness through her. But she wasn’t bold enough to take his hand. “Thank you for today.”
“It’s barely started, Percy.”
She smiled up at him. “Regardless, it’s turning into one of the best I can remember.”
He took her hand, but she didn’t pull away. “Then come on. Let’s see if we can make it even more memorable.”
She laughed as he tugged her along and she struggled to keep up. For a man missing a part of his leg, he could be bloody fast.
Out of breath from laughing, she had to take a moment once they reached the other humans and dragon-shifters in their human forms before she could truly take in everyone.
