Krystal shot me a look, a soft warning, not sharp, but definite. I eased off. "Hey," I said to Bryce, changing gears. "What are you into? Music, sports, games?"
He hesitated, then said, "I like video games. Mom got me a Switch for Christmas, and I play with my cousin and friends a lot. And I like to play baseball."
I grinned at him. "I love baseball. Are you any good?" I leaned forward. "I'm pretty good, we could throw the ball around sometime."
He perked up. "I'm a good hitter but could be a better catcher."
"You got it. We can work on catching. Maybe you can help me with my hitting."
He nodded eagerly. "Sure, I can do that!"
The questions came slower now, each one more careful. "Do dragons get sick?"
"Not often," I said. "But we can catch some stuff. Usually, it just makes us cranky, not sick-sick."
He considered this, then, "Why do dragons hibernate?"
That one made me pause. I glanced at Krystal, who gave a little shrug to go ahead.
"Well, there’s a curse on the dragons," I said. "It means every so often, we have to sleep for a long time. Years, even."
He looked curious, not scared. "Did you hibernate when I was a baby?"
The gut-punch landed, but I didn’t let it show. "Yeah," I said, soft. "I missed a lot. I wish I hadn’t."
He went quiet, but the moment didn’t turn sad. He just nodded and went back to tracing little patterns on his shirt.
Krystal’s face was unreadable, but her eyes stayed on Bryce, always tracking, always ready.
I tried to lighten the mood. "You got any more questions, fire away. Otherwise, I’ll start telling embarrassing stories about dragons that can’t land without crashing into trees."
That got another giggle.
Bryce hesitated, then asked, "Would you show me sometime? The dragon?"
I nodded, relieved. "Anytime. Maybe not in the living room, though, Aurelia would kill me if I wrecked her sofa."
Aurelia’s voice drifted in from the hallway. "Mark my words, no dragons in the house."
Krystal snorted.
Bryce’s next question was half-whispered. "Did it scare you? The first time?"
I shook my head, honestly. "It surprised me. But it also felt right. Like suddenly, I knew what I was supposed to be."
His fingers had stopped drumming.
Krystal gave his shoulder a squeeze.
I let out a slow breath, letting the nerves bleed off. For the first time all week, I didn’t feel like I was standing on a trapdoor.
The talk drifted into smaller questions. Favorite foods, what school was like, and whether dragons ever got in trouble forskipping chores. I answered everything, keeping it light, careful not to overshare. Every so often, I looked at Krystal, searching for a sign that I’d crossed a line, but she never stopped me. If anything, she seemed to relax as the conversation found its own rhythm.
Bryce relaxed, too. His feet started to swing under the seat, the nervous energy turning into a low hum. Time stretched. The sunlight shifted, painting new shadows across the carpet. In another world, maybe we’d have stayed like that all day.
But for now, it was enough.
Krystal leaned back, letting her arm curl around Bryce’s shoulders. "You did good, B."
