Page 20 of Claimed By the Dragon
“That’s easier for you. If it’s supposed to be a circle, it needs to be a circle. Otherwise, it just looks wrong to me.”
“Then do this.”
She took his plate, cut up the pancake into equal pieces, and pushed it back. “There. Every bit is roughly the same size. Is that better?”
“A little.” He finally glanced at her. “Thank you.”
As they stared at one another, she wished she could trust Trahern completely. That maybe, just maybe, he would always be honest with her and not deceive or hurt her.
And yet, she’d been burned too recently and might never trust another person with all her thoughts and secrets, let alone her life or love.
Not that she was going to love anyone, apart from her sons.
Thinking of her boys helped her tear her eyes from Trahern’s, and she went to work eating her breakfast.
Daisy chattered, filling most of the silence. Maybe some would find it annoying, but the little girl made her smile and even laugh once. And before she could stop, Grace eventually blurted, “How did you learn so much about dragon-shifters so quickly? It’s been less than two years, I think, since your mum mated Blake?”
“Oh, I attended the human-dragon camp before that, and then the plays we performed on Stonefire. But I’ve always been fascinated and wanted to know more about the dragons.My mum and me are writing some children’s books to help other humans understand. Ones that aren’t scary or full of lies. I’m sure some will say they’re bad books because they show dragon-shifters are a lot like humans—which is true. Apart from changing into a dragon, of course. Mum and I can show you what we have, if you want.”
Grace bobbed her head. “I would love to see them, thank you. Maybe we can read the stories to Eli and Eddie.” Movement caught her eye. “Speaking of which, Eli wants attention or he’ll start crying soon.”
She drained the last of her tea and went to her son. Eddie was still asleep, but Eli wiggled and blinked at her. While she’d still be a little blurry at this age, he could see color. And because he was a dragon-shifter, he should be able to see her in detail over the next month.
Regardless, she smiled at her son before kissing his cheek and picking him up. “Hello, little one. Were you a good boy for Daisy and Blake and Trahern?”
Eli moved a hand, and she replied, “Mostly? That sounds about right.” She kissed his cheek again. “Let’s change your nappy and you can have some playtime on the floor. How does that sound?” He gurgled, and she replied, “I agree, you need loads of playtime to help make things interesting. I’m sure you’ll want the noisiest toys, won’t you?”
She continued having a one-sided conversation with her son until Trahern stood next to her and said, “We’ll take them both to the living room.”
After glancing to see Daisy and Blake were gone, she frowned. “When did they leave?”
“Whilst you talked with Eli.”
“I should’ve thanked them, though.”
“It’s fine. You were smiling, and I didn’t want to disturb that.”
She readjusted her hold on Eli and glanced at Trahern. But he focused on Eddie, watching as her other son squirmed and started to wake up.
Before she could ask anything, Trahern picked up Eddie, cleared his throat, and said, “Hello, Edward and your inner dragon. It’s time for some learning enrichment activities.”
Eddie blinked, and Grace laughed. “Just say playtime, Trahern. He’s only a month old.”
He arched an eyebrow. “His human half won’t understand the words for a while yet. However, I think his inner beast is listening. I’d rather help increase his vocabulary.”
“You keep mentioning how you think inner dragons understand language sooner. Where did that idea come from? Knowing you, it’s based on something tangible.”
He turned toward the door. “I’ll explain whilst we clean them up.”
Once Grace had Eli on the changing table, Trahern spoke up again. “There is a young female dragon-shifter on Clan Lochguard, in Scotland, who has been able to shift into a dragon from a young age, under a year. To shift means you must be able to communicate with your dragon. And the female, Freya Stewart, has continued shifting back and forth for years now. Her parents have let me talk with her, but I haven’t been able to get a definitive answer. Maybe when she’s a few years older, her inner dragon can tell me how she could shift so young.”
“Wait, I thought dragon-shifters couldn’t change forms until after six years old or so.”
“Normally, yes. That is when they finally emerge from the labyrinth inside a dragon-shifter’s mind and have enough courage to start talking. Sometimes it’s a little sooner, or a little later. Sometimes, they go silent for self-preservation.”
Once Eli was changed and in a new set of clothes, she picked him up and turned toward Trahern. “Yours was quieter before, but not as much now. Why?”
As he fidgeted with Eddie’s snaps on his onesie, Grace wondered if she’d gone too far.