“I don’t even know where to start. I know next to nothing about my abilities, my heritage.”
He cleared his throat, and thought for a moment. I used the time to study him. He overflowed the chair. He scrubbed his hand through his short hair. “Every Sárkány has magic in their blood. We were an advanced species, probably more so than those here on Earth. Many of the Sárkány have had an easy time acclimating to the technology of today because they were alive when we had similar technologies.”
“Were you?”
“No, I’m young by Sárkány standards. Only eighty four.”
I rolled my eyes. “Onlyeighty four.”
He grinned at me. “I understand that’s very old to you, but you should get used to it. We’re pretty sure you’ll have our long lives, because every other trait we have, we’ve found in Riley, and probably you. Can you use your fire yet?”
“I’ll have fire?” Excitement bubbled up my stomach. “I knew Riley did, but I didn’t know I would, because she doesn’t have wings.”
He jerked and turned his gaze from the books to me. “You have wings?”
I nodded. “I can show you.”
“Please, do.”
“It takes me a while to shift. I’m not good at it, yet.”
“That will get easier, I’m told. I’m still having trouble myself. On Galdiart, we didn’t have this human form, that is a magic from the portals. As I understand it, our DNA has likely changed to include the human side now that we’re here. You, however, come by your human genes honestly, from your ancestors.”
I nodded. He made sense. I sucked in a breath and pulled off my t-shirt. “I had a couple of tube tops, luckily. One was a bathing suit—”
“A what?”
“A costume type thing for swimming in.”
His eyes took on that dreamy quality again. “I still haven’t been able to do it.”
“Do what?”
“Immerse my body completely in water. What if I absorb too much and drown?”
I burst out laughing. “Bless your heart, you won’t! I promise, you teach me about what it means to be a Sárkány, and I’ll teach you what it means to be a human.”
“It’s a deal.”
“So anyway, I had a tube top bathing suit, and a couple of strapless bras. I’ve taken to wearing them under my shirts so I can shift if I want to without ripping another shirt.”
He grinned, eyes drifting south. I was chubby, for sure, but I was curvy in the good places. I let his eyes drift, skin heating under his scrutiny, but I didn’t let him get his eyeful without getting my own. His t-shirt was tight over his chest and arms.
Dude worked out.
When I’d had my fill, I walked over to the corner of the library, where I’d set up my keyboard. I’d been surprised to find in the entire castle they had a music room complete with a harp, all sorts of brass instruments, violins, guitars, a plethora of different drums, and many, many more instruments—but no piano. I’d grabbed my keyboard the first day I had a portal to my home.
I sat on the small bench in front of the keys and my hands moved of their own accord. Chopin seemed to be the music of the moment, and I closed my eyes and let it flow through me. I’d played piano for so long that I didn’t have to think about the keys as I played, I was able to focus on my body and find that special place inside myself that would help me change.
The shift happened faster than it had before. It was getting easier every time I did it. Once I was fully transformed I stilled my hands and opened my eyes, looking down at myself. I hadn’t yet tired of seeing myself with purple and black scales.
I turned to face Doryu, my head held high. He had shifted too, and he didn’t have wings, but his scales were varying shades of pink, from the lightest baby pink to almost purple and red. I grinned, barely holding in my laughter. “Wow,” I said. He’d taken off his shirt, but he left his black jeans and chunky boots on. His facial hair was still there, to my delight.Since when do you like beards?I had no answer for myself since apparently I’dveryrecently begun to like them.
“Jen, you’re beautiful,” he replied in a gruff voice. “Purple is the rarest color of the Sárkány.”
Okay, that was awesome. I had a rare color. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Can I look closer? You’re the first shifted Sárkány—” The word was foreign on my tongue. I’d been saying dragon. “—I’ve seen so far, besides myself.”
“Of course,” he replied, puffing up.
