Page 18 of Taught By the Dragon
Layla said, “That’s my mate, Chase. He’s younger than me and yet somehow always manages to fall asleep first. I think it’s because I have heaps of practice of running on little sleep as a doctor.”
Percy studied the picture some more. The sight of a male being protective of babies was strange to her. The orphanage had been run mostly by females, and the males at the facility—well, those arseholes should stay far, far away from any child.
She resisted shivering. Instead, she maneuvered until she could lean against the headboard and pull her knees against her chest. She burned to ask what it was like to have a child—this female seemed to want hers—but instead, she asked, “Are you my new guard then?”
Layla put away her phone. “No, lass, I’m not. We just wanted a doctor present when you woke up, to see how you acted.” She gestured toward Percy. “Because of how you hurt yourself, we had to give you a sedative to calm you down. And we had no idea how it’d affect your dragon.”
Ah, familiar territory.“So I’m an experiment. Again.”
Layla frowned. “Not for fun, Percy. We’re trying to help you.”
Memories flashed of her early days at the facility, when one doctor after another said they needed to try one more thing to try to bring her dragon back—all lies, of course. Back then, she’d actually bloody sobbed at her dragon being gone. She’d been weak. And Percy had vowed to never be that way again.
She pushed aside any curiosity about the female dragon doctor or even the momentary desire to think she was different than the others. “Whatever.” She raised one arm. “Can you take these off now? I want to make something to eat.”
Layla searched her gaze, her pupils flashing to slits and back, and Percy wanted to shout, to ask why she couldn’t have her dragon, too, and get along with her.
But no, instead she’d apparently woken up with a crazy one.
Maybe her dream was naïve and stupid.
No.She wouldn’t think that. At least, not yet.
For years, that had been her reason for putting up with all the horrors inside the facility. If there was even a small chance she could embrace her beast, she would do anything for it.
The doctor finally replied, “Aye, I’ll release you as long as you vow to stay inside the cabin or its back garden until Stonefire’s clan leader says otherwise.”
She barked a laugh. “You think a vow means anything?”
Layla studied her, and Percy did her best not to squirm.
The doctor finally stood. “To me, aye, they mean the world. But I understand they probably don’t mean anything to you just yet.”
Or ever will,she thought to herself.
Layla took out a key and undid her cuffs.
As soon as her arms were free, Percy rubbed where the restraints had been. “Where’s Bronx and Violet? They’re supposed to give me lessons.”
The dragonwoman didn’t bat an eyelash at the change of topic. “They’re somewhere in the cabin, waiting for you to wake up. You have in-house teachers now since they’ll be staying there with you full-time.”
For a beat, she wondered if Bronx would barge into her room while she was restrained and hurt her. It’d happened too many times in the past. That meant she’d just have to keep herself out of the restraints or learn how to pick them.
She always liked to have an escape plan.
A knock sounded, and Violet’s voice came through the door. “I hear you two chatting. Can I come in?”
Uneasy at someone asking her for permission, she nodded first and then realized she had to speak. “Yes.”
The door swung open, and Violet sauntered inside, carrying a plate of biscuits.
Percy hadn’t eaten any baked goods since her thirteenth birthday and almost asked for one. Then she remembered her rule. When Violet offered the plate, she said, “No, I don’t want any.”
Violet frowned and looked at the biscuits. “Well, we can do this.” She set it on a side table, picked up a biscuit, broke it in half, and ate one of them. After swallowing, she held out the other half. “See? If we share, then you have to know it’s safe.”
She watched Violet closely, looking for any changes to her pupils or coloring or anything that might signal the treats were laced with something.
But the girl merely kept smiling, moving side-to-side as if she didn’t like standing still. Violet waved the biscuit half toward her. “Here. I know the doctors said you need healthy food, but sometimes biscuits just make everything better. Or ice cream. But I made these and wanted to share.”
