Chapter 6 THE DRAGON WITHIN 2

Elara's POV

I stirred in my sleep as I felt warmth on my face.

It wasn't the usual kind of warmth that came from curling beneath my favorite blanket on a cold winter morning, but something much more intense. It felt as though I had somehow managed to fall fast asleep right beside an open fireplace.

Whatever bed was producing this heat also felt remarkably hard. The second strange thing I noticed was that my bed seemed to be breathing.

I frowned without opening my eyes. A breathing bed. Did someone order a heavy-breathing mattress and accidentally send it to my shop for repairs?

That was odd. My bed had never breathed before. It had also never rumbled like a distant thunderstorm, but apparently, I was discovering all sorts of new physics today.

Wait.

My bed was breathing?

I snapped my eyes open.

For a few glorious, disoriented seconds, I stared up at the broken wooden rafters above me, trying to piece together where I was. The rain had slowed to a gentle, steady drizzle, and pale morning light filtered through the gaps in the old roof. My clothes were damp, my hair felt like a tangled bird's nest, and every single bone in my body seemed to have developed a personal grudge against me.

Then, I tried to shift position—only to realize something enormous was resting right beside me. I slowly turned my head toward it, and instantly froze.

I wished I hadn't. I swallowed hard, my eyes widening in pure shock and sheer terror.

A massive white dragon was curled up right beside me. Its long, scaled tail formed a protective wall behind my back, while one enormous wing stretched over us like a vaulted roof.

Intricate silver patterns shimmered across its snow-white scales, and its eyes were closed. Its massive head rested upon its forelegs, barely a couple of feet away from where I lay.

I had been sleeping on a dragon's tail the entire night? Oh, my God. Oh, my freaking—

My hands flew to my mouth, muffling a gasp before a full-blown panic attack could escape my throat.

The dragon let out a slow, heavy breath.

A warm gust of air swept across my face, lifting several damp strands of hair from my forehead.

I stared harder.

Then, the memories came rushing back in a tidal wave.

The forest. The rain. The glowing pocket watch. Kael’s eyes turning liquid gold. The colossal wings. The scales.

Kael turning into a dragon.

Oh, no.

No, no, no. Absolutely not.

I was not going to do this again. I had already screamed yesterday. I had passed out yesterday. Surely, I had fulfilled my lifetime quota of embarrassing, dramatic reactions.

Besides, perhaps I was still dreaming. Maybe I was still lying under some massive oak tree in Bellwether with a rock digging into my head and my blood staining the dirt, because there was no freaking way I was currently staring at a real, live dragon.

Yes. That made total sense. I must have hit my head hard during our rather violent arrival in this bizarre place, and my unconscious mind had decided to punish me with the most absurd dream imaginable.

All I needed to do was close my eyes, count to ten, and wake up safely back in my shop.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

One.

Two.

Three.

A low, deep rumble vibrated right through the ground beneath my back.

I opened my eyes again. And I was immediately met by those burning, golden-flame eyes that looked like they could never be put out.

The dragon was watching me.

Its golden irises narrowed slightly, and its massive, armored head lifted gracefully from its forelegs.

I swallowed hard.

"Good morning," I whispered in a high, squeaky voice, entirely unsure why on earth I was greeting a mythical beast.

The dragon blinked slowly.

I blinked right back.

"Lovely weather we're having," I added nervously.

A low growl rolled through its chest. I decided to take that as a firm warning.

"Right. Not much of a morning person, then."

I tried to sit up, only to discover that the dragon's heavy wing was still draped comfortably across my legs. It wasn't pinning me down with malicious intent, but it was certainly making a tactical retreat difficult.

I carefully reached out to lift the edge of the wing.

The dragon immediately raised its head higher.

I froze. "Don't mind me," I babbled quickly. "I'm just trying to leave before you decide that local mages look particularly appetizing for breakfast today."

Its nostrils flared.

I had absolutely no idea whether dragons ate people. I had spent my entire life repairing enchanted kettles, stubborn music boxes, and the occasional cursed hand mirror. My working knowledge of dragon dietary habits was embarrassingly limited.

Perhaps I should have paid closer attention when Mara insisted on reciting every single dragon legend she'd ever heard. But back then, I had been too busy obsessing over seeing one in real life to care about the practical safety details.

Then again, Mara had once claimed that dragons could smell dishonesty from three kingdoms away. Considering how often she lied about eating the last cinnamon bun, I had always assumed that particular rumor was nonsense.

The dragon slowly shifted its wing away from me.

I scrambled backward so fast that my shoulder blade smacked hard against the log wall behind me.

"Ouch!"

The dragon's gaze snapped back at me instantly.

"I'm fine!" I announced, holding up a frantic hand. "Absolutely fine. Just reminding myself that solid walls exist."

It continued to stare. I stared back, silently debating whether to scream or run for my life.

Then, very slowly, I pointed a trembling finger at it.

"You're a dragon."

Its golden eyes narrowed further.

"And you're Kael."

The dragon lowered its massive head slightly.

I waited for something else to happen. Perhaps a flash of blinding light, a burst of theatrical smoke, or some sort of logical explanation that would make the last twenty-four hours seem a little less ridiculous.

Nothing happened. I rubbed both hands tiredly over my face.

"Of course you are."

A deep, resonant voice suddenly echoed straight inside my head.

“Are you finished?”

I nearly swallowed my tongue. I jerked upright, staring at the beast with wide, saucer-like eyes.

"What was that?" I blurted out, wondering if I was now developing auditory hallucinations alongside everything else, because at this point, nothing could surprise me.

“Your thoughts are considerably louder than you seem to realize.”

I gaped at him. The voice was in his head. He was talking to me through telepathic mind-link.

"You can hear my thoughts?"

“Most of them.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. "That's not even remotely reassuring."

“It wasn't intended to be.”

I opened my mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. There were so many questions swirling in my brain that I couldn't decide which one deserved to come out first. How old was he? Could he actually breathe fire? Did his scales hurt if someone touched them? Why had he bothered pretending to be human? And why on earth had he allowed me to feed him a bacon burger without mentioning that he was a giant, fire-breathing apex predator?!

I finally settled on the most pressing matter.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a dragon?"

Kael's expression remained infuriatingly calm. “You didn't ask.”

I stared at him as if he had lost his absolute mind. How was I supposed to casually ask a customer if he was a dragon in a world where dragons were considered ancient history?

"You cannot possibly be serious," I breathed out.

“I rarely joke.”

"Yes, I've noticed. It's one of your many unfortunate personality traits."

His golden eyes narrowed dangerously.

I pressed my lips together, trying with all my might not to say another word. It lasted approximately three seconds.

"Can you turn back into a human?" I blurted out just as he began shifting his massive weight to stand up. I immediately scrambled backward until I hit the opposite wall. Good grief, he was huge.

"That was a question, not an invitation to eat me!"

Suddenly, a wave of bright golden light rippled across his scales. His colossal body began to shrink, his wings folding inward as the brilliant silver patterns dissolved into streams of shimmering magic. Within moments, the magnificent white dragon vanished, and Kael stood in his place.

Human again.

Except . . . he was entirely naked.