I stared out the windshield. “So, the truth. What was that sound you made?”
“A warning.” There was no trace of defensiveness or deception in his voice.
“A human warning?”
“No.”
I turned to face him, studying his profile. His jaw was set, and his eyes were fixed on the road. He looked completely calm, as if he hadn’t claimed to be something other than human.
“Your eyes,” I continued, my voice quieter. “I saw them in the mirror. They weren’t right.”
“They weren’t. At least, not to you.”
I waited for him to elaborate. To tell me it was a trick of the light or an optical illusion. Something I could hold onto and believe. He didn’t, and the silence stretched between us.
My pulse hammered as I pressed my palms against my thighs, frustration building. “Are you seriously going to make me drag every word out of you?”
He shrugged. “No, but I’m not sure what you want me to tell you that won’t freak you out.”
My skin prickled with unease. “What are you?”
Lucan’s hands flexed on the steering wheel. He took a breath, seeming to weigh his words. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and matter of fact.
“I’m a dragon shifter.”
I stared at him, waiting for the laugh that would tell me this was some joke I wasn’t getting. His expression never changed.
“A dragon.” My voice came out flat. “Like... wings and scales and breathing fire.”
“Yes.”
A sharp laugh burst free. “That’s your explanation? That you’re a mythological creature?”
“It rarely makes sense when it contradicts everything you’ve been taught to believe.”
I shook my head, anger flaring. “This is ridiculous. Do you honestly expect me to believe this? Dragons don’t exist.”
“And yet here I am.”
His certainty sent a chill down my spine. He wasn’t joking. He believed what he was saying, which meant either he was completely delusional or I was sitting in a truck with something I couldn’t understand.
“Prove it.” The challenge escaped before I could stop it.
“No.”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I’m not going to shift in front of you when you’re already overwhelmed. You’re processing a lot right now. Pushing you further would be cruel.”
“That’s convenient.”
“You saw my eyes change. You heard me make a sound no human could make.”
“There are rational explanations for both of those things.”
“Such as?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again. My mind went absolutely blank.
