Legend of the Inero Dragon Read Online Free PDF Page B

Essentially, he called a secretary who sent a
messenger to find her.
    "Are you all right?" Jason asked once she
arrived. She seemed fine, but she was difficult to read. Most of
the women he interacted with were fake and shallow. He couldn't
tell yet if she was the same. Her bluntness from the night before
suggested otherwise, which was refreshing.
    "I'm okay," she
said. "There are so many women here, and they're all city ladies. I
guess this sort of thing is normal to them. The other girls kept
talking about how it was their dream come true being taken away
from home to be chosen by the dragon kind or, I guess, your kind."
She glanced up at him and shook her head. "I still can't believe
you're a dragon. I want more proof, but a lot of them talked about
it so openly I can't explain it as a lie anymore."
    He sometimes forgot that the normal human
population didn't realize the dragons could take on a human form.
He was so used to being surrounded by his own kind.
    "It's kind of a crazy thing if you don't live
with it all your life. I like to think of myself as more of a human
than a dragon," he said.
    She moved in closer to him with a small
smile, and he felt as if he had done something right. "I did get to
meet Katarina, like you suggested. She's nice. She helped me get
acquainted with the others. They're a little snotty though, and
cliquey. Most of them were already friends."
    Gwen came from one of the farming territories
and was eighteen years old. He'd gotten her to tell him a little
more about herself earlier in the morning. While he had been on the
planet for far longer, he was technically younger than her by a
year by dragon standards. The only other thing he knew about her
was how she enjoyed drinking tea instead of coffee in the
morning.
    "That's what it's like all over the city,"
Jason said. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you make some great
friends. In fact, I know someone you'll get along with besides
Kat." Jason liked his brother's wife, but she wasn't like Gwen at
all.
    "It's sweet of you to look out for me like
this."
    "I want to make sure you're comfortable given
the circumstances. Maybe after things settle some, we can visit
your family."
    "I'd like that. They'd appreciate knowing I'm
in good hands. I'm sure they're already proud that I've been chosen
to be an Elite, no matter how much they miss me."
    "It'll be good," he said. He couldn't
guarantee frequent visits back home, but one or two wouldn't hurt.
"I hope it makes things easier. I'm glad you feel you're in good
hands. I know we still have a lot to talk about. Like, what happens
now. I'm thankful for your cooperation."
    "I'm smart enough to know I can't run away
right now," she said with a shrug.
    He laughed. "Hopefully you'll never have to.
I mean, our whole relationship at this point is mostly for show. If
we can keep it believable, no one should give us any problems."
    "Pretend I love you, then?"
    He shook his head. "Most of my kin don't
believe in one true love. You can probably get away with simply
liking me," he said, flashing her a smile. She laughed.
    "You haven't given me a reason to not like
you yet, so I think I can put on a genuine performance. I shouldn't
expect to ever be able to really leave here though, should I?"
    "We'd have to divorce," he explained,
lowering his voice as they passed a small group of people. "Which,
if we can't find a system for both of us to be comfortable with or
you're truly that miserable, I will do it as soon as I think it's
safe to. Then you can go back."
    "But it's not safe now?"
    "No, far from it," he said. "If I let you go
now, you'd most likely be taken and recycled to another one of my
brothers. Our relationship isn't considered respectable. I can't
let them think you displease me or they'll give you away. It's hard
on me just as much as it is you. It will all figure itself
out."
    "You haven't let me down yet." The two
stopped in front of his new house. Her eyes widened at the sight of
the stucco and brick mansion