Page 22 of Bred By the Dragon

“Correct,” says the woman. “Many of these are items of significant cultural and historical value. They should be back where they belong, where they came from.”

I give her a blank look. “They came from my hoard,” I snap.

“And what else do you have?” the woman presses. “What other stolen relics are you keeping in your hoard?”

“They are mine!” I bellow, enraged at the implication we have taken our treasures over the centuries by force. “Unless you have real business here, I’m going to ask you to leave.”

The woman sniffs as she turns around to walk away, but the gryphon shakes his head at me.

“Maybe someday you’ll understand,” he says, then follows her back to their unmarked black car.

I’m still irritated over the visit from the two suits when I get a text message from Sammy a week later.

Negative.

She follows it up with a sad face.

My claws struggle with things like texting, so I pick up the phone and call her, instead. She answers with a surprised chirp.

“Hi!”

“Um, hi,” I say smoothly. “Sorry. It’s easier to call. It’s only been a week, maybe try again in a few days?”

“I will,” she says. There’s a very... pregnant pause. “How are you, Zak?”

I blink. “Zak?”

“Do you mind me calling you that?”

No one’s ever given me a nickname before. It’s absolutely charming, while also being an atrocious choice.

“No, not at all. I like it.” I smile as I tip the phone against the side of my head. “I’m... well.” I choose not to tell her about my unexpected visitors. “Biding my time. And you?”

“Biding my time is a good way to put it.” Sammy sighs. “Boring stuff. Driving. Some guy threw up in the back of my car last night, so I had a good time cleaning that up today.”

I frown. “How much are you working?” This is what I liked about DreamTogether: I knew my human was cared for, that she was making a living wage without having to push herself. Now I have no such assurance, and in fact, she’s doing the opposite.

Perhaps I should try again to find a different pawn shop. But I have a feeling she won’t accept my money, and the last thing I need is for the gryphon and the grumpy woman to show up again.

“Why are you asking?” I can hear her voice tense up. “It’s not that much. Just weekend nights, when everyone is partying.”

That’s good. Still, I wish I could take care of her, like before.

I try to remain neutral about it. “As long as it’s not too stressful,” I finally say.

“I’m used to dealing with people.”

“I’m sure you’re very good at it.”

Sammy clears her throat. “Well, I’ll call you the next time I take a test and let you know.”

“Thank you,” I tell her, earnestly. “For everything. For doing this with me.”

“Of course.” I can hear her bright smile in her voice, and wish I could see it for myself. “Maybe we should do some research in the meantime. Have any other dragons successfully had hatchlings recently?”

It’s a wonderful question, and my eyebrows fly up high when she suggests something so obvious. “Oh, I think so. I connected with a few of them online last year.” I don’t mention that it was while I was searching for a partner.

“Can you ask them?” she says.

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