Page 88 of Silent Jay

She perched on my footstool. ‘I’m cursed to attract dragons.’ She wrote on the pad. ‘I don’t want to fuck up your life any more than I need to, but I need your help.’

I leaned forward. “I want to help you.”

She put her fingers over my lips to stop me from talking, but I spoke around her finger. “You can’t mess up my life.”

Shaking her head, she wrote on the pad. ‘It will. It will bind youfor lifeif I can’t reverse it.’ She turned the pad back around and took a deep breath before writing, ‘I need you to mark me, but it will destroy your chances of finding a real mate.’

As soon as I read it, she turned the paper back around and furiously wrote. ‘I gave up my uterus for power. I can’t have your children.’

I raised my eyebrows, a million questions bouncing around in my brain. “Is that even possible? How? Can I do that? Wait, that was stupid. I don’t have a uterus. Give me a moment.”

Jay bit her bottom lip, her eyes twinkling as she tried not to laugh.

I held out my hands and shut my eyes, prioritizing the rush of questions and emotions her words filled me with. She didn’t believe her feelings were real. But she felt something for me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked. Based on her actions so far, it was safe to assume she wanted to be intimate with me, despite my weird dick. This woman was sexy, intelligent, and painfully candid. It would be hard for any man to turn her away.

After taking a few deep breaths, I met her green gaze. “I do want to hear more about how you increased your magic.” I pointed at her stomach. “But more importantly. I don’t need you to ‘have my kids.’ This isn’t feudal Japan. You’re worth has nothing to do with your fertility.”

A smile split Jay’s face, and she let out a victorious squeak.

“Also.” I tapped my finger against my leg. “So we’re upfront. I donate sperm regularly. It might be weird to a human, but I have at least two, probably more like six kids running around here, biologically mine. The community raises them, just like they did me.” I studied her face. “And I never even thought about taking a mate until you stumbled into my life.”

She waved no and wrote on her pad. ‘It’s a curse. You don’t like me. I’m a barren thousand-year-old hag.’

Anger rose in my gut for the first time since I met her. I surged to my feet. “Don’t you ever say that again.”

My daughter Olive's lost eyes flashed in front of my face. Everyone had value. The fact we lived in a world that took that away from anyone was wrong.

In one smooth motion, I pushed Jay off her perch and onto the ground, trapping her hips between my thighs. “You’re not a hag.You are exquisite.And at the point that someone reaches a thousand, I don’t think conventional rules apply anymore.” I brushed my fingers down her face. “I’ve spent my life working with magic; what I feel is not a curse.”

I sat up and held out my hand to help her up. “If you don’t want me, then say so. Either way, stop putting yourself down.” She blinked at me before sliding her palm into mine. “You’re incredible, and if Tyson and Rehan didn’t see that, then both of them can rot.” I pulled her up. “I can be your friend, lover, or just some dragon trying to help you get home. I’m fine with any of those roles.” My heart pinched, knowing how false that rang, but I didn’t have a choice. I might be able to hold her here physically, but her heart was something I could never control.

Jay’s chest rose and fell. Her wide eyes were full of skepticism. Something almost like hope flicked across her vision.

My heart thumped. “What’s it going to be, Princess?”

My nickname made her roll her eyes, and she wrote. ‘Friends, for now. I won’t let you lose your future to me.’

I frowned, my heart falling, but nodded. “Friends.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

JAIYANA

Iwoke alone the following day in Og’s single bed. After my second waking breath, Tyson pulled on our connection. A vague need to go east made it hard to sit still. Fortunately, I was very, very good at ignoring my needs. The firebrat had used our connection at least twenty times last night, and other than making me a bit jumpy, ignoring him seemed consequence-free.

On the tangible side, the earth dragons had successfully kept both Tyson and Rehan out of their territory. Selfish and inappropriate disappointment pinched my chest.

Be Helen of Troy. Let your mates start wars over your beauty. Think of the ego boost.

No. I support my friends in handling this like adults.

So fucking boring.

With my morning insults out of the way, I reviewed my new situation.

Og lived in a cave meant for one: single bed, single chair, even a single set of cutlery. It was the least hopeful housing I’d ever seen. However, he was one of the happiest and most driven people I’d ever met. He kept bringing me bits of his porcelain collection to show off like we were playing fetch. It was adorable.Genuine excitement at anything and everything made me keep comparing him to a Golden Retriever.

We’d ‘talked’ late into the night. Og had a million moments to share with me and held nothing back. His story wasn’t unique. His happy-go-lucky childhood ended when puberty hit along with his magic. His friends turned into typical teens who ostracized anyone who didn’t fit in, and Ogden was most certainly that. The warlocks whisked him away to study. He rose in the ranks fast, becoming the youngest and most potent earth dragon since they came to the island.

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