Free Not His Dragon by Annie Nicholas Page A

smart, she’d call Beth to retrieve her and wait on the front steps. Nobody would accuse Angie of being smart though. She held the state record for running away from foster homes until they made the orphanage her permanent home. She’d also dropped out of high school only to return six months later to finish with a GED.
    She wanted to belong, yet every time she started to fit in something drove her away. It was stupid.
    Like following a dragon deeper into his lair.
    But he’d said something about flying…
    For as long as she could remember, she’d dreamt of having wings. Not a fantasy, but at night in her sleep she would often have sweet dreams of playing in the clouds. She had to take the stairs two at a time to keep up with Eoin so she wouldn’t have to let go of his tail. The castle was a maze of stairs and halls. She’d be lost in minutes. Her lungs burned for oxygen as she climbed higher and higher until at last cold, sharp air hit her face.
    Eoin stood on a balcony with no railings, a silhouette against the night sky blocking out the stars. “I like to launch from here.”
    Darkness blanketed the wilderness below so it seemed she stood above an ocean of nothing. The chirping of frogs reached her even this far up and reassured her that the world still existed. She released his tail and leaned against the wall, scanning the vast view. “The sky seems to go on forever.” She spoke between gasps.
    He made a pleasant rumbling noise that moved through the stone under her feet. “The sky does go forever, and everywhere. I can take wing now and go wherever I wish.”
    “It’s freedom.”
    His tail wrapped around her ankle. “Yes, it’s precious to our kind.”
    “Eoin, stop it. Not our kind. Your kind.”
    “You’re so stubborn. Maybe you have distant relatives your parents never mentioned or someone’s done a family tree. I’ve never heard of a partial dragon. I didn’t think it was physically possible. That deserves some attention. Trust me, you’d rather have me looking into this than other dragons.”
    She laughed but it sounded bitter next to his excitement. “Because you’re so sensitive?”
    He growled. “No, because I won’t snatch you away from your life and keep you as a pet. Don’t let modern television blind you. Most supernaturals follow human laws because humans outnumber them. Dragons aren’t part of that faction.”
    “I don’t hear about dragons stealing people. You’d think that would make the news.”
    “That’s because they don’t, normally. We’re a quiet species. Time moves differently for us and in the last century the world has changed so much it has made us even more isolated.”
    “You’re one of the few that talks to the press.” She’d known dragons didn’t like living among humankind but she hadn’t known why. With the sudden advancements in technology over the last century, it made sense that the old dragons hadn’t caught on. “Why are you so social?”
    “I haven’t a choice. Someone has to do it.” Smoke drifted from his nostrils and curled above his head. He gave her a crooked smile. “No extended family?”
    “No grandparents, aunts or uncles, no fucking cousins. Sorry to disappoint you but my heritage will remain a mystery to both of us.”
    “What about the people who raised you after your parents passed?”
    “You mean the state-run orphanage? Let it go.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “Don’t get me wrong. The orphanage and Mrs. Gracie were my salvation. Better than those crappy foster parents who only wanted my monthly check. But Mrs. Gracie doesn’t know more about me than I do. My parents kept to themselves, they didn’t have much money and they loved me with all their hearts. That’s all that matters and now it’s gone.”
    He lowered his body until he rested on his stomach then pulled her close by using his tail. “I’m sorry for your loss. I’m alone too.” He pointed to the tattoos by his eye. “Do you know what