“And then you ate her.”
He grimaced. “Not my finest moment. But she was a threat and now she’s not, so I guess it worked out in the end. And eventually, she’ll work her way out of my end. Ironic, don’t you think?”
“Ugh,” I said.
“Indeed.”
“She was a threat to you?” I asked.
“Well, yes. And to you. And Gary. And Tiggy. Since we don’t like Ryan and Justin, we won’t count them.”
“You defended us,” I said, surprised.
“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked.
“Why would you? I’m a wizard. You hate wizards. You don’t even really know us.”
“Are you a good person?”
“Uh. I think so? Most of the time.”
“And Gary and Tiggy are good?”
“Yes. Better than me, for sure.”
“There you go,” he said, as if it were nothing.
“You’re very strange,” I said after a while.
“Dragons usually are,” he said.
“But.” I hesitated, unsure of my place. “You said that you’d never met any other dragons.”
“We’re giant lizards that fly and breathe fire,” he said. “That’s strange in itself. I’m just generalizing.”
“There are others, you know.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “Maybe one day I’ll meet them.”
“But not today?”
“Not today, pretty.”
It was nice, though my heart was breaking. It was nice sitting out in the spring night air where just twenty-four hours ago, I’d discovered what Ryan Foxheart tasted like, sweet and clean and warm. It was nice. All of this was nice.
“Why’d you come here?” I asked him.
“Because I could.”
“Where did you come from?”
“Far away.”
“What were you looking for?”
“A place to call my own.”
“Dragons are frustrating,” I said, because I could.