Page 8 of Dragon Me Through Space

“No, it wasn’t voluntary,” I replied. I finished eating the food and stood. “Thank you for the food.”

None of them tried to stop me as I left, and I was glad for that. Thinking about the time spent in that laboratory always made me sad and want to just curl up on a bed and take a nap.

Half an hour after I’d left the dining room, there was a knock on my door.

“Who is it?” I asked, my arm slung over my eyes as I slouched in one of the chairs.

“Zeke,” he called softly through the door.

“Come in,” I said.

The door opened and I heard him walk in.

“Are you ill?” he asked.

“No,” I said and sat up with a sigh. “What’s up?”

He held out a plate with a piece of what looked like chocolate cake on it. “You left before dessert,” he said with a smile.

“Why are you four being so nice? I ran from you. I stowed away on your ship. Most would have just killed me.”

Not being killed made me immensely happy, but it also made me a bit nervous. I knew the intentions of those who tried to kill me. I didn’t like not knowing someone’s intentions.

He set the plate on the table beside me and sat down cross-legged on the floor, which still kept us at eye level. “What are you searching for?” he asked.

“It’s personal,” I whispered, my fingers reaching up to touch the necklace beneath my shirt.

“Well, we’re searching for something, too,” he said. “Maybe we can help each other.”

“You’re being too nice. I feel like I’m going to wake up with organs removed that you’ll sell,” I mumbled. “Scout.”

Scout zipped out and scanned the cake and gave me a chirp.

Zeke didn’t say anything, but I saw a muscle in his jaw twitch.

I picked up the cake and took a bite. It was chocolate and amazing.

“The cake is good, right?” Zeke asked.

I nodded, taking another bite.

“What do you know about Dragonkin?” he asked.

“You can shift into dragons or shift your wings out of your back. You can breathe fire and are immune to fire. You have a high rate of male births and as such, spend most of your life searching for a mate. Which confuses me about you guys being together. How can you search for a mate if you’re all together?”

“What enhanced abilities do you have?” he asked.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” I said, shoveling another piece of cake into my mouth.

“Okay. Well, how about this? Let’s make a deal. You join us and help us find what we’re looking for and we will try to help you find what you’re looking for at the same time,” he said.

“How does this benefit you guys?” I asked.

“We can always use another person to watch our backs. Plus, I have a feeling that our fates are entwined,” he said.

“I don’t believe in fate,” I mumbled.

I didn’t, but having Dragonkin at my back would make searching for my objective much easier.