Page 26 of Tamhas

10

Keira

How could he be one of them?

Emelie, you would laugh your ass off if you know about this.

I couldn’t help but chuckle a little when I imagined how she’d react. There was no humor in my chuckling—I was laughing at myself more than anything else.

Laughing at my stupidity. How naïve I was, thinking he needed help. Wanting to know how he could forget me that easily. What did I really think I was going to achieve by flying across the ocean and confronting him?

The joke was on me. He was the last person in need of help. He was a…

I could barely bring myself to think it.

He was a dragon.

Like the others. They had changed right in front of my eyes. How long had they existed? No wonder he seemed so old-fashioned. He might have been alive for twice as long as me, even three times. So what if he looked young and healthy?

Looks were deceiving. They had taught me that. If I ran into any of them on the street—if they were wearing sunglasses—I never would’ve guessed there was anything different about them. Just those eyes.

Why did he seem so surprised that I could see the difference in his eyes?

More questions. Always more questions. I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t stop asking them, going over them, picking them apart. I’d also lose my mind if I just sat there and stared at the cell bars. I’d go crazy either way. No matter how I sliced a shit sandwich, it was still a shit sandwich.

Lucky me.

It didn’t come as a surprise when their footsteps echoed down the tunnel again, getting louder the closer they came. They weren’t through with me by a long shot. God, I was so stupid. If I lived through the experience, it would make for a great story.

If anybody believed it.

But I’d have to live through this, first.

Tamhas was at the head of the group. They all looked so much alike, like a bunch of fitness models. I guessed that was the whole dragon thing. It set them apart from regular humans like me. I worked for my body, always had. Had they? Or could they eat an entire cake and never gain an ounce?

If so, screw them.

There was one way he stood out from the rest: he looked sorry for what was about to happen. He was frowning, sullen. The rest of them brought to mind the image of burning torches. They would’ve been carrying them to my door if we were in a situation like that.

An angry mob, demanding answers.

Only they were the mythical monsters. Not me. They were the ones whose doors would’ve been banged down, who would’ve been bound and dragged from their homes in the middle of the night because they’d be considered animals.

I was too tired to think straight, too hungry, too confused.

Tamhas looked at me.

Too hurt.

The leader cleared his throat and looked to Tamhas, like he was signaling for him to start.

I saw what this was all about. He wanted Tamhas to do the talking because we were friends. Was that what he believed?

Were we friends? Obviously not, since being friends would’ve meant knowing he wasn’t fricking human. For starters. Finding out about his living in some sort of dragon commune under a mountain—one with actual, honest-to-God jail cells inside—would’ve been nice, too.

Tamhas took a deep breath. “Keira, I’ve explained how we met online.”

“I see.” I sat on the cot, hands folded in my lap, back straight and chin raised.

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