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“All right, students. Gather ’round, gather ’round.” Professor Vesely ushered everyone closer to the dragon—entirely too close, if you asked me.
Jasmine, Kasi and I hung at the back of the group, me because I was desperately trying to rein in my leopard while they were simply being supportive friends.
I’ve been living every waking moment since the day I came out of the coma, waiting for Lydrel Zowen to return for me, and wondering if my dreams would turn out to be prophetic. Did dragon fire actually have the power to destroy me?
And now, with so many fears wrapped in a dragon-shaped package, the very real dragon standing in front of us was almost more than I could bear.
The only thing keepingme sane in that moment was knowing that the dragons in this class were all one hundred percent dragon. No human half to corrupt the beast.
Still, the longer we stood so close to the dragon, the more agitated my leopard became.
Then the professor made everything worse. “As I said, you won’t be allowed near the dragons without first, some basic understanding of their care, and you won’t be allowed to ride them until I’m convinced you will survive the experience. However, realizing that dragons are the reason you enrolled in this course in the first place, I try to give my students a simulated dragon experience the first day of class. That way, when you’re getting impatient, you can remember how amazing it was totouch a real, live dragon and you’ll work harder for that privilege.
“The first thing you need to know is that dragons arenotthe same as dragonshifters. Shifters, even dragon ones, have a veneer of human civility that their wild counterparts simply do not possess. So, when you approach a dragon, remember that they are wild beasts and if you piss them off or hurt them or make them feel as if you are a danger or a threat, they will not have a human conscience to hold them back.”
“Or a human’s capacity for evil,” I muttered. An enraged beast would simply kill you. An enraged shifter, on the other hand, might torture you first.
Jasmine nudged my shoulder in sympathy.
“This is Elliot.”Professor Vesely patted one hand on the neck of the dragon. “What can you tell me about Elliot just by looking at him?”
“He’s huge,” someone offered.
“His scales are the same color as the grass,” another offered.
“Are they really?” Professor Vesely countered. “Look closer.”
The other students shifted positions, stepping closer and in some cases, wandering to the sides of the dragon to get a better view, but I stayed where I was.
Jasmine and Kasi stayed with me.
“I think maybe they’re just reflecting the grass,” someone called out.
“Excellent observation, Mr. Jamison. Now can anyone tell me which dragons are able to camouflage themselves by taking on the appearance of theirsurroundings?”
Oh, shit.
The truth exploded in my head, along with the memory of where I’d heard the name Elliot before. My leopard shifted restlessly, her growl increasing in tenor and menace.
“A chameleon dragon,” a redhead standing near the dragon’s right, front leg exclaimed.
“Exactly so. And what do we know about chameleon dragons?”
“They’reshifters.” Taggart’s voice was full of disgust as he stamped back toward the front of the dragon. “He’s not a real dragon at all.”
No. He wasElliot.My new dragon shifter tutor.
Even worse, he was apparently achameleondragon, just likethat bastard Lydrel Zowen.
Mr. Vesely raised an eyebrow and said, “Well, I’d venture to say he’s no more a dragon, Mr. Anderson, than you are a wolf.”
Taggart scowled, clearly not appreciating the comparison.
My leopard sent me an image of her baring her fangs at Taggart, along with a snarl that felt strangely like a demand that I bare my fangs too.
Thrilled that she was finally communicating with me, I worked on sending back the image of my own teeth, flat, no fangs in sight.
“The point,” Professor Vesely continued, “is that Elliot here isnota wild animal. He’s a shifter in full control of his beast, which makes him the perfect candidate for you to practice on.Elliot will be joining our classes quite often this first month, to allow each of you an opportunity to practice approaching a dragon whowon’tset your hair on fire if you piss him off.” He sent Elliot a look so pointed, it made me wonder if perhaps he’d lost his temper once, thus ruining his supposed “perfect control.”
