Page 50 of So I Dared a Dragon

I sighed loudly, but it was wasted because I was alone at Bibi’s house. I kept looking at my phone, hoping for some update, even though I had a bad feeling there was an emergency production meeting in progress with my name all over it.

The scales on my arm throbbed like they were just as frustrated as I was. I’d handed over my life to Bibi and her team, daring them to fix it, but I craved having some control over the situation. Or at least an understanding why things were happening.

I wasn’t sure anyone had answers. None of the ladies in the library had ever seen words vanish from a book before. Aarix would know, I was sure of it. All I had to do was get him alone.

I topped my late afternoon matcha with a healthy dollop of vanilla cold foam and retrieved the journal Bibi had gifted me with when my episode started. I had yet to use it, because pretty notebooks intimidated me. I didn’t want to make a mistake, cross something out, or somehow sap its beauty away.

But it was perfect for conducting this experiment. I pulled a purple felt-tip pen out of the cup Bibi kept in the utility drawer in the kitchen, then took a seat at the table. Indulging in a long sip of matcha, I wondered what I was trying to prove.

I started writing.

Nothing was scarier than walking into that mountain for the first time. Those dark, craggy hallways only illuminated by fire. The guards barking at us to stay in line. I swore they were leading us straight to hell, and in some respects, I was right. They brought us straight to the stage to be bid on, fought over, and sweet moon, did I ever want to run. But those guards were all too willing to punish us like they’d punished you. And when Darcy’s name was called out, I knew I couldn’t leave her. I’ve always been loyal to a fault, everyone’s ride or die, even when the latter felt like a real possibility.

My lips curled into a smile, and my hand started to cramp, but I kept writing. Bibi had thought I might like to journal about my experience, give myself something to look back on. And maybe I could do that. I could tell the story of how Aarix claimed me, and maybe I could give it to him at our mating ceremony. If history was something that could be taken from us, I’d record it as it happened, when it was still the present.

Warmth flooded my body as I started to write about our very first encounter. How he’d shown me that he was very much in control of the situation, but he didn’t make me feel helpless.How he’d wanted to know everything about me. My life. What the world was like outside that mountain.

So I let myself get lost in every single detail, channeling the feeling of his lips on mine and those talons against my skin. Everyone was tiptoeing around these dragons, unsure of how to help them acclimate to modern life. I was far from an expert, but if we simply let them follow their curiosity, I was sure they’d find their place.

Maybe I wanted for them what I wanted for myself.

The corners of my vision blurred, and my handwriting changed. Not surprising, since I probably hadn’t written this much by hand since my last high school essay. But then, my reality started to melt away and I was no longer in Bibi’s kitchen. I was in the mountains, somewhere? It didn’t look familiar at all. But I still had my notebook and my matcha.

I kept writing, fixated on how none of the words looked familiar. Not just the handwriting, which was becoming increasingly more flowery, but much neater than my regular penmanship. The words were changing. I was spelling them with extra letters, but somehow, they looked right. Some of the words I’d never seen before but I knew exactly how to use them in sentences.

Language has evolved over time,Wendy had eagerly told us just hours before.If there’s anything you don’t recognize…

Forcing myself to pull the pen away from the paper, I read over the words, astonished at what had poured out of me. I had no idea whose history this was, but it belonged to someone.

I had to take a picture of this before it disappeared. There was something important here, but I had no idea what it was.

Where did I leave my phone? I got up to grab it when I heard car tires crunch on the gravel driveway. A quick peek out the window revealed Bibi’s Firebird.

Shit. I hated feeling like I had to hide things, but there was no way she hadn’t gotten the full report on what had happened at the library.

If I was going to help Aarix, I needed to take control of this situation. I needed to see him now. But we’d just had our first date, and I didn’t have say over the show’s schedule. It was his turn to plan the next date.

I had to take matters into my own hands. A jumbled plan came together in my head. I didn’t have time to perfect it, but this message couldn’t wait.

“Hello!” Bibi called out as she walked into the front door. Giving up on finding my phone, I tossed the notebook into the spare boudoir and shut the door more forcefully than I intended.

“Hey,” I said, taking her in.

Wait. Her wig was crooked, her makeup was smudged, and she was absolutely glowing.

“I have to talk to you.” I had to go through with the plan I’d just concocted, but moon knew I was dying to know what had happened.

“Of course.” Bibi frowned and settled into one of her chairs. “Is everything okay?”

How did she not know everything wasn’t okay? Where the heck did she just come back from?

“I don’t know.” I hugged my arms across my chest. “I just keep thinking about Aarix. Last night. I’m…not sure our date was a success.”

That had sounded so much better in my head. I had no choice but to roll with it now.

Bibi waved her hand. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. The two of you have such a beautiful connection.”

She wasn’t buying it. Damn it. I had to double down.

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