Page 81 of Nine-Tenths

"What stories?" Onatah tilts her head to the side, earrings swaying, and it's the first time I've seen her move in a particularly reptilian way. It makes something in my chest quiver.

While Dav tries so hard to move, and blink, and breathe like a human, Onatah isn't even bothering. She's wearing skin, yeah, but she moves like a lizard. I can tell just by being near her that she'shomo draconis. Like I could with Lt. Gov. Fuckstick.

How small does Dav crunch himself down every day, to suck that all in?

"I mean... the fairy tales, right? Shouldn't I have an enchanted sword if I'm going to break into a dragon's lair?"

"Going into battle, are you?" She's smirking.

"You know how he is. Shuts down. Shuts up."

"Stands at attention."

I shoot her a pair of finger-guns. "Exactly. Maybe I need a can-opener, instead."

Onatah laughs, hissingly sibilant and delighted. "Yeah, you'll be fine."

"I'm serious, though. Have you ever managed to get Dav to listen instead of just deciding what's best for everyone around him? This might be—I mean, he really is okay?"

"Yeah." Her face softens for a second, and then twists back into that amused sneer. "And to be clear, you're not the knight in this little drama."

"Oh, I'm not?"

"Honey, you're the princess."

"Fuck off."

"Gladly," she says, and mounts up.

"Whoa, no wait," I yelp and reach for her hand.

Onatah jerks away from my touch like its acid. There's no skin-to-skin contact, but she's still staring wide-eyed at my fingers. "That's a big no-no, princess."

"What?"

"Dav'll explain."

"Come with me," I say again. "I don't… I'm not scared, okay, I just don't know what I'm… please."

"I'm not going in," Onatah explains patiently. "Not without an explicit invitation to cross into his nesting grounds. Which he's never given."

"Fuck, man. Dragons," I blow out a sigh and shove my hands into my back pockets. "Why do you make everything so complicated?"

"It's you humans who make it hard to know where you stand with each other. You're weird."

I feel like sticking out my tongue at her, so I do.

She laughs. I take it as a good sign. "Go on. House is at the end of the walk."

She's roaring off down the road before I can say thank you.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The walk is deceptively named. It's long enough to be ahike.

I was expecting a nice country path with a romantic avenue of trees, leaning in to gossip over my head. There are trees, but they’re regimented, evenly-spaced, canopy-shy maples. They border a darkly-paved drive wide enough for two vehicles to pass, marching toward a house hidden beyond a high wall of shrubs with a second arching gateway.

It's nice, but there's nopersonality.