Page 55 of Saving the Last Heir
“A weapon? Like using it on other humans?”
“Or shifters. We heal incredibly fast. Most human weapons do damage, but aren’t fatal. Knives, guns, stuff like that? It hurts like hell, and can slow us down, but we usually don’t go down for the count unless they use silver. Or you, know, a headshot when we’re in our human form.”
“Silver?” she asked, leaning forward. “Like with werewolves?”
I tilted my head back and laughed. When I recovered, I nodded. “Yeah, basically. Silver can really damage us. There’s a few other items like wolfsbane for wolf shifters and dragonsbane for dragons that can hurt or poison us, but silver is really the main thing humans can use to hurt us. It’s probably how the whole werewolf myth started. Some random guy thousands of years ago killed a wolf shifter with silver, andboom, legend.”
“This is fascinating,” she said. “So a weapon made from a shifter could hurt another shifter?”
I shook my head. “I suppose they could, but I’ve never heard of that. The injuries we sustain from other shifters are always more damaging. In our dragon form, it’s pretty difficult for anything but another shifter to hurt or kill us. Dragon, wolf, or bear teeth and claws do more damage, and the wounds heal a little slower. Stuff like that. In our human form? We can still get hurt. Like I said, cuts, burns, gunshot wounds? It can hurt us, but we heal incredibly fast. For a human to kill one of us with anything but a silver bullet or knife, they probably would have to make a weapon out of a dragon claw or tooth or something. It’s why it’s easier for us to kill each other in fights than it is for humans to hurt us even with modern weapons.” I shrugged and mimicked her hand waving. “Magic.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said with a laugh. “Speaking of, what is this weird fascination with rocks?”
“Excuse me?” I frowned, unsure what she was talking about.
“Sorry,” she said, wincing. “It may not even have to deal with dragons. It’s just that all these books and articles I read about magic keep coming back to rocks. Like crystals and shit. Does that stuff really work? I always thought it was just for new-age gurus and whatnot.”
I thought about it for a bit, then shrugged. “Some stones are useful, that’s true. Most can’t heal you or anything, but they can be used to focus magic or even store magic like a battery. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. Magic usage wasn’t a huge deal for my family other than the healers and a few things here and there.”
“Battery?” she said. “Weird. I was reading about moonstones and quartz crystals and sapphires. Those were apparently the most powerful. Is that true?”
“No idea. Maybe? I’ve heard moonstones can store a ton of magical power. Like, almost unlimited. If you had a stone big enough, it would be able to hold as much magic as you wanted. It would come in handy for any shaman, magician, or sorcerer who might still be out there in the world. If I’m honest, those people are probably rarer than winged dragons at this point. It sort of fell out of favor with the witch hunts back in the day. Rumors are some shifters practice magic, but I’m not sure how true that is.”
My mind drifted back to the stories of the dragons who had tried to use magic to give us more power. Look what that caused. A few stupid men had tried to give us more than we already had, and they damned us. Maybe it would be best if magic like that fully died out. Greed always seemed to bring about destruction.
“I won’t bore you with any more questions,” Shyanne said.
“It wasn’t a bore,” I said, looking back at her with a smile. “I enjoy talking to you. About anything.”
“I wish I was that interesting.”
“To me you are.”
My enhanced senses picked up the unmistakable scent of arousal, and it was all I could do not to grin at her. Instead, I gazed back with a placid expression on my face. This woman was special. Inquisitive, smart, funny, and gorgeous. I could fall for her. Hell, maybe I already have.
“Okay,” she said, taking a deep, steadying breath. “Let’s head back out. If we stay in here too long, the guys are gonna start thinking something inappropriate is up.”
“If we stayed here,wouldsomething be up?” My words tumbled out before I realized I was gonna say them, the innuendo heavy, and from the look on her face, I could see she got my meaning.
Shyanne paused halfway through standing, a knowing grin spreading across her lips. “That depends, Jackson. Do youwantsomething to be up?”
My pulse thundered in my ears, and a dozen fantasies flashed through my mind—me taking her from behind, her mouth on my cock, my tongue buried in her pussy, and so much more. Each one was more delicious than the last.
I opened my mouth to saysomething, though I wasn’t entirely sure what, when someone pounded on the door.
“Boss?” Carlo called.
Shyanne glared at the door in irritation. “Yes?Itbetterbe important.”
“Mariposa’s at the door. Asking if she can come in and study?”
Her anger faded in an instant, and she hurried around the desk and opened the door. “Of course. Let her in.”
Carlo nodded and turned around.
“Who’s Mariposa?” I asked, rising from my chair.
“A girl,” Shyanne said.
