“I’m a dragon shifter.”Ranulf’s announcement put an end to her wild imaginings.
Except his answer was even more magical than her thoughts had been.
A dragon!
Ranulf could shift into a dragon!
Sephie couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off her face.Which was probably causing Ranulf to question her sanity.“You’re a silver dragon, right?”she prompted excitedly.
Ranulf eyed her quizzically.“How do you know that?”
She shrugged.“Every now and then it’s as if you have silver flames in the depths of your eyes.It’s really fascinating to see!”
“Ah.”He smiled ruefully.“I’m a snow dragon, and my dragon is silver.I also have enhanced hearing and sight.”
“Are your brothers dragon shifters too, with the same superpowers?”
He huffed.“Those ‘powers’ seem pretty normal to us.”
“But it’s the reason they both seemed to know what we were talking about earlier, even though they were all the way across the kitchen from us?”
“Yes.”
“Explain more about the shifter part, please,” she encouraged.
Ranulf moved up the bed until he was leaning back against the carved headboard.“Most people who speculate about or search for dragon shifters?—”
“Youknowthere are people who do that?”Sephie prompted guardedly.
He nodded.“Edgar Wallis is one.But I believe he is also under the misapprehension that I’m a man first and can shift into a dragon at will.It’s actually the other way around.I was born a dragon but can shift into and now spend most of my time as a man.”
“Why, when you can be a dragon?”Mind-boggling as this was, Sephie couldn’t deny she was also thrilled by what Ranulf was confiding in her.
Ranulf shrugged.“We learned very quickly that humans become alarmed and start shouting ‘dragon’ if they see one of us.That tends to bring out the pitchforks and wanting to burn our home to the ground.”
“Has that happened to you?”
“Centuries ago,” he dismissed.
“This really is a castle, though?”
“Yes.”
“How do you make everyone else see it as a manse?”
“Two ways.We can put a shield on the castle so that humans only see a house.We can also mentally influence what they see and the memories they retain.”
She frowned.“I hope you never intend to try to do that to me.”
He smiled.“The shield obviously doesn’t work on you if you can see the castle.”
“Which I can.”
“Then I doubt I could influence the memories you retain either.”
“I advise that you never try,” she warned.“I will not be amused if you do.”
He chuckled.“I already know that.”He sobered.“The advent of the internet and people being able to take photographs on their cell phones and instantly put them up on social media has changed things for us somewhat.”
