Croy hummed. “Two-hundred and twenty-four as of this December. I have been through every single war since the Civil War in 1861.” He seemed to let me soak that in before he began again.
“My mother and father had come from England before I was born. Unfortunately, around the age of eighteen on a hunting expedition, I’d run into a shifter that had clearly lost his mind. I shifted the very next full moon for the first time and left my family, realizing that I was only putting them in danger. Since then, I have moved throughout the states, settling in the south only around 1983 for a business venture I was seeking out... Sorry, you probably didn’t need to know all of this, Sugar.”
“No, I love it!” I encouraged, listening attentively. I didn’t think Croy purposefully kept details of himself hidden but he didn’t advertise them, so I would take anything I could get. He had a life I couldn’t imagine, it was absolutely fascinating.
He searched my face and continued with a nod, “I was on the first wave of silicon valley when I moved from the south to California and since then I’ve stayed put. But my accent is somewhat stuck which makes it easier when I have to provide the humans with a backstory.”
I searched his face, “So this entire time, you’ve been alone?”
His green eyes filled with something that looked really sad and he kissed the top of my hand, “I hadn’t found my mate yet, so it didn’t make sense to keep anyone around very long. I didn’t know where I would have to go.”
I smiled and leaned closer to him, “Well now you aren’t alone, now you have me.”
Croy flashed a brilliant grin, “Yes. Yes, I do, Sugar. Now, do you have any other questions about the basics?”
“That was the basics?” I asked, alarmed.
“I know, it’s a bit overwhelming,” his eyes darkened slightly with concern, “do you want to take a bit of a break?”
“No,” I shook my head, “can you tell me more about phoenixes, oh, and shifters? Mostly dragons and wolves, it seems like that would be good to know about.”
I got exactly what I asked for. The next hour was spent learning more than I had in the past week and a half in school. Croy explained a numerous amount of different topics, answering any questions I had easily. I was in awe of how smart he was. The two questions and answers I found most interesting were regarding the different types of dragons and the powers that they, wolves, and phoenixes all have.
Dragons, I was finding, were far more complicated than I ever realized. There were apparently a ton of different dragon types. Those specifically from the Dreki realm had six ‘power categories’ that they were separated into.
The first was a shadow dragon, usually a smoky gray or black in color, according to the massive book that Croy offered me. They had the ability to move silently and through the shadows in their human form. In their dragon form, they could go completely unnoticed and invisible in the sky if they chose. The concept made a bit more sense to me because come on, my mates were huge, and some of them moved super quietly.
The blood dragon was usually a sapphire blue in coloring, with these massive dark barbs on their tail. Apparently, they were the most bloodthirsty. They loved violence and as dragons, they were not only usually those that led war efforts but were also fantastic hunters. In their human form, they were able to manipulate others' blood and often drank it to fuel their own magic. I swallowed nervously thinking about how that would feel. Oddly, it didn’t freak me out, but I was intrigued by the concept.
The third and fourth were the oddest to me in some ways because they felt as though they should have been opposites. The third was a deep crimson color that I instantly recognized as Sai’s type of dragon. The others I hadn’t asked about but it was clear as day that Sai was the type of dragon that had control over both fire and water. What an odd pairing. Croy explained that the balance allowed them to be extremely powerful.
The same went for the fourth type, which had control over both air and earth. The dragon was a stunning emerald green with large dark eyes that seemed almost metallic in coloring. They were stunning creatures.
As we moved onto the last page, my eyes widened finding both dragons: black and a pale white, to be absolutely nearly hypnotizing. Croy stated that these two were the rarest, as not all flights had them, thus highly valued. The first being named after the hellfire that it spewed. There was rumor that those with hellfire had ancestry from the Demonic realm and that was where it had come from. Then there was the white that had telepathic powers. The concept made me a bit nervous because I wasn’t positive that I wanted anyone in my head that much.
No, that’s not true. If I was going to let anyone into my head it would be one of my boys.
“So I know Sai is the red dragon, I’ve seen him shifted, what about the others?”
“You want to explain that?” Croy asked, looking over my shoulder as I jumped slightly, Henry’s spring rain scent wrapping around me as I relaxed back into him.
“What do you think each of us are?” Henry looked down at me as my toes curled, the feeling of being between the two of them making me cheeks heat. His eyes darkened as if he could...no way. Well, that explained a lot.
“You can read my thoughts?!” I demanded, feeling both super curious and also panicked.
Henry’s lips twisted up as his eyes sparkled. “I could if I wanted to. I usually try to stay out...plus, you are pretty good at keeping me out of your head. Unless of course you are turned on then your control is pretty much screwed."
“Henry!” I turned bright red as Croy chuckled and my eyes narrowed on him.
“Don’t be mad, sweetheart,” he chimed, “I really do try to keep out.”
“What is everyone else?” I asked, trying to move on from my embarrassment.
“Sai is, as you stated, able to control fire and water. I have telepathic abilities, who do you want to know about next?”
“Anani and Ledger,” I decided, absurdly curious.
“Ledger,” Henry grinned, “is a blood dragon.”