Shit. This is not going well. What the fuck am I supposed to do with her? This is what I get for being nice.
When I fail to respond she huffs, rolling her eyes. She waves a bandaged hand forward, motioning me to follow her. "Since you're here, you might as well help."
"What happened to your hand?" I ask, but she waves off my concern.
"It's just a scratch. No need to get into a long explanation."
I fight the urge to press her for more information about her hand and follow after her. "I was hoping to run into you."
"Oh, really?" she says, though I doubt she really cares by her tone. "And why is that?"
I grimace. "I'm not sure."
She whips to face me and laughs. It feels like sunshine on a cold winter's day. "You don't know? Seems like you're lost in more ways than one." She doesn't grant me a moment to respond to her off-handed comment. "This is Marshu. Home of all sand dragons."
I shove my hands into my pockets. "So, this is where you spend all your time?"
She nods. "When I'm not on patrol with Helios, I'm here."
"It's incredible."
I feel her eyes on me and stop. "You don't seem surprised at the sight of dragons."
"I'm not." Drexel pops into my head. I miss him more than I thought I would. As if a piece of me is gone and I need to have it back to be whole.
"Do Tronovians still have Fire Breathers?" Her eyes brighten at the possibility. "I thought they all died in the Great War?"
"From what I know they did." Her confusion is immediately put to rest when I say, "But I have a Frost Dragon."
"You have a Frost Dragon?" She frowns, eyeing me head-to-toe. "How is that possible?" she motions to my face, clearly lacking all traces of Frost Elf features. "You are not a Basilius."
"It's a long story." I rake my hand through my hair only to remember I'm making my new scar visible. When I go to pull my hair over my face, she reaches up and stops me. She doesn't say anything, nor does she fuss which I expect her to do. Instead, she says, "I have time."
She extends a second silver bucket with butchered pieces of meat. "Come. You can tell me all about this Frost Dragon of yours while we feed the – "
My mouth drops when a shimmering golden dragon waddles into view. "Is that a baby dragon?"
"We call them hatchlings, but yes."
Two more hatchlings bound around the corner, and my eyes widen in wonder and excitement.
"There are more?"
"Just these three. These hatchlings are siblings. This is Zani." She grabs my hand when I reach to pet the dragon and pulls me back. "Zani bites," she warns. She releases me when our eyes meet and points at the second dragon. "That is Zoot, he has a love for treats and will con you into giving him extra so don't." The third dragon races up to me, nearly knocking me on my ass when she barrels against me. Opposed to the other two who are standoffish and wary of me, she sniffs me with wild amusement and curiosity.
"Hello, who are you?" I kneel slowly and pet the hatchling. I glance up at Hagar when I feel her eyes pinned on me. The astonishment on her face is hard to miss. "What?"
"That is ZuZu," she says slowly. "She likes you."
"Why do you sound surprised?"
"She's typically very shy and only lets me near her." Hagar tilts her head, her thoughts running wild in her head. "It would seem you not only have a way with ladies but with dragons as well."
I'm taken aback by her comment. Where did that even come from? "What do you mean by that?" My brows pinch together.
Her lips twist. "Let's just say I know your type."
I stand to my full height, towering over Hagar by at least a foot. "You don't know anything about me."
