Page 18 of Dragon Me Through Space

He said he wasn’t great about social interactions, but everything he had just said made me feel a hundred times better.

“Five hundred million,” I replied. “Though, Charles was once offered one billion and he turned them down.” I was pretty sure he turned them down because he knew they couldn’t actually pay it, but I hadn’t been able to ask.

All of the Dragonkin’s eyes widened.

“Good night,” I said, waved, and hurried to my room.

They were all so strange compared to the other males I’d known. Though, if I were honest, I hadn’t ever really been around stellar males before. They still hadn’t told me what they were searching for, but I hadn’t told them what I was searching for, either.

I pulled the necklace from beneath my shirt and traced the strange knot design on the locket.

I had to find someone who knew what it was, but I had to be sure I was discreet about it. The one time I’d shown it to Charles, he’d freaked out and tried to steal it from me. That had been the day that I left, that I escaped from him.

Before they had sent me away, Mother had given it to me and told me it would unlock my future. That I had to find the ones who I wanted to activate it with. She said it was a gift from an alliance that had been forged and that it would secure my future.

She hadn’t elaborated more than that and I desperately wished that she had. Even just a tiny bit of additional knowledge would have been significant. Even a quadrant I was supposed to search in would have been a huge help.

“Scout,” I whispered.

Scout chirped softly, a reminder that it was with me.

“Good night, Scout.”

Scout chirped again.

“Waffles?” I asked, looking down at the plate on the table before me.

Preston nodded. “It’s one of our favorite breakfast meals.”

“It’s got a ton of extra protein in it, doesn’t it?” I asked. “Unlike normal waffles?”

He smiled and nodded again. “Yes.”

Dragonkin required hundreds of grams of protein each day, so I’d assumed they added protein to their meals in some way, but hadn’t gotten confirmation until just now.

“Do you want to spar with us?” Wayne asked between shoveling food into his mouth. “We spar after breakfast to keep our instincts honed.”

“And ensure we don’t get fat,” Zeke said and patted his stomach.

Dragonkin never got fat. Their higher body temperatures, incredibly fast metabolisms, and constant use of calories ensured that. Even very old Dragonkin were always in shape, though they did lose their excess muscle mass and become thinner with age. Or at least that’s what everyone was told.

“Sure,” I agreed with a nod, somehow containing my excitement at being able to spar with them. “Just don’t be upset if I beat any of you.” I raised my fork and then paused. “Scout.”

Scout chirped, flew out from behind my ear, scanned my food, chirped, and went back to its resting place.

“Still don’t trust us?” Gage asked.

I shrugged. “It’s only been a few days. It takes more than that to earn my trust.”

“Smart woman,” Preston said. “Trusting easily leads to an early demise.”

“Preston trusts no one,” Gage said.

“He let me stay,” I pointed out.

Preston’s lip twitched, but did not go into a full smile. “You’re a special case.”

“I’m not sure if that was said as a compliment or an insult,” I whispered.