Page 12 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
"I didn't think talking was what you had in mind when you slipped me that note."
"Oh?" He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Is there something else you'd rather be doing?"
No way was I going to tell him exactly what I'd pictured when I read the note. I bit my lower lip, feeling like there should be something clever I could say, but it wasn't coming to me.
"Don't worry," Lowen said, lifting the pressure off me. "I know what you were thinking, which is why I'm even more surprised that you came. But you've been super tense from the moment I opened the door, like you're afraid I'm going to assault you or something. You can relax. I'm not going to do that. I'm okay if all we do tonight is talk a little. You're nice to talk to." His voice was warm and gentle, making it easy to follow his suggestion and relax. I had nothing to fear from him, did I?
"You're nice to talk to as well." Nicer than I'd expected. Maybe I'd been exposed to too many harmful dragon stereotypes after all. I thought I was better than my family, but they might have rubbed off on my after all.
"Thank you." He glanced around the room as if searching for something even though he wasn't sure what. I wondered what he was thinking about. After a few seconds, his eyes settled back on me. "Want me to let you in on a secret?"
I shot the dragon a curious look. "A secret?" I heard that word at least twice a day. My mom was always telling me 'secrets' she'd found out about someone else, but it was mostly just gossip.
"You have to promise me that you'll never tell anyone, though. Not ever."
That sounded big. Why would he let me in on something like that? He didn't even know me. "If this secret is so important, maybe you shouldn't share it with your latest hook-up."
Lowen made a sound that was almost laughter. What amused him so much? "You're not my latest hook-up."
"I'm not?" I felt myself go slightly red.
"No," Lowen said, but didn't explain further. "I know I can trust you with this information. I can feel it—and when I say that, I really mean it. Icanfeel it. I'm an empath. That's the secret."
I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to understand. That was the secret? That he was an empath? "Wait, is this some sort of dragon magic?"
His face lit up, telling me that I'd hit the nail on the head. "Exactly. It's a rare kind, though."
I was intrigued now. "What exactly does it do?" Had he been using it on me?
"I can see your colors.”
What was he talking about? “My colors?” I thought he was a dragon, but that sounded seriously new-agey.
“You might call it an aura,” he explained. “Everyone has one. Most people have a soft glow of one color around them that might fluctuate a bit depending on their mood and I can see and interpret it. You’re…” He shook his head. “You have every color of the rainbow swirling around you.”
I tilted my head at him, not sure if I could believe what he was telling me.
“I don’t know why your aura looks like that,” Lowen continued, “but it tells me you’re special.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “Is this some sort of weird come-on?”
Lowen held his hands up. “I promise I’m telling the truth.”
For some undefinable reason, I believed him. But there were still questions on my mind. “Why can’t I tell anyone?”
“To be honest, seeing auras isn’t the only thing I can do. I also get visions every now and then. If my people knew, they’d pressure me into joining the shrine. It’s a whole religious thing.” He waved his hand dismissively.
“Visions?”
“They’re mostly useless. It's probably because I'm male."
I couldn't follow. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"Female dragons are stronger than male ones, regarding magic."
"I didn't know that." What I did know, though... "Aren't female dragons rarer than male ones?" People speculated this was one reason dragons all seemed to swing bisexual, getting their needs met by whatever partner they could find, regardless of sex or gender.
"They are. If we had more females, we would be stronger as a people, but it is what it is. Not that my abilities are all that useful. Right now, all I can tell is that I'm making you uncomfortable somehow, but I'm not even sure why."
