An Abundance of Dragons

Chapter 17

"Thank you for saving my life."

Xiu glanced up at the stupid face staring back at her. "Whatever."

"Really. Thank you."

She continued grooming dried mud out of her pelt. She didn't want to admit she was thankful that Roman had pushed her out of the way. He got her covered in mud. Plus, she was saving his life anyway. It was even. As nice as it would be, him owing her a favor, she hated people being in debt to her. It was just a recipe for disaster, in her own opinion. She'd been jaded too many times to risk changing her mind.

They had been traveling for a few hours by then. She expected them to arrive at Corinth's estate by early morning. Hopefully, the others were still there.

"How did you meet Fen and Chao?"

"Are you going to talk the entire time?" she demanded.

"In case you haven't noticed, which I'm sure you have, I'm loud and mean," he said quietly. She almost felt bad. She quietly told him, "You're not mean. Loud, yes. But you're not mean. Just obnoxious."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"I wonder why."

He snorted. "I have six older sisters. I had to fight through them yelling their drama to my mother for anyone to realize I hadn't eaten dinner. Things like that. It never really leaves you once it becomes a survival instinct."

Xiu nodded softly. "That's. . .rough."

"It's just the way things are." There was a pause. "And I have my own place now, so I'm probably less obnoxious than I was two or three years ago."

She studied him and thought for a moment before telling him, "I ran away from home when I was fifteen."

"Oh. Wow."

"I'm the youngest of five siblings. I was an accident. They're all prettier and smarter and better at being a dragon. I was always reading and hiding growing up. One day, it just snapped and I left." There was a pause. She could tell Roman didn't know what to say and added, "I talk to my parents now when I have to. We've agreed to disagree and leave each other alone. There's no bad blood."

"That's good. Maybe one day I'll find that with my family."

"I wish you the best."

"Xiu?"

"Hmm?"

"For the record, I think you're pretty cool."

"Yeah?"

"You seem really smart and good at your job. Fen and Chao trust you; I'm sure there's a reason why even if I don't know it. And you got me out. Different isn't bad." There was a pause. Then he added, "And if a Western dragon had your scales, she'd be the next Paris Jirven."

"Paris Jirven?"

"You know Marilyn Monroe?"

"Yeah."

"She's like the Marilyn Monroe of Western draconic culture. Lived in the seventies."

"You think she's pretty?"

"I mean, yeah, but I'm also super gay, so not that pretty."

"Right."

Xiu, of course, knew herself all the things Roman had told her. She'd spent long enough building a life for herself—it was impossible to do that without a dollop of self-confidence. It was different though, somehow. There was something about the way that he said it that it felt like she was hearing it for the first time. It was just reassurance, but she still appreciated it. If only she could use words the way Bai could. . .