Dragon's Claim

Chapter 7-1

Chapter 7

Layla slowly descended the stairs. Her body was crying out with fatigue. She’d had little more to eat than a handful of American cheese crackers and while they quieted the grumble of her stomach, they didn’t last her long.

Upstairs, she’d laid the girl out on Drake’s bed. It had been a long day for her, too. After scrubbing her clean of the forest that had followed her inside, Layla wrapped her in one of Drake’s shirts. He couldn’t be angry at her for digging through his clothing. There had been a kind of calm that had taken her over as she did. The whole room smelled of him. The bed, the drawers, everything.

In the end, she’d wanted to curl up beside the girl and sleep, too.

But, she couldn’t. Not in Drake’s bed. He would direct her to her own place. Surely, he had an apartment or a studio set up for her in this little ramshackle town.

She found him outside, sitting on his porch with his feet propped on a low table while he looked out over the little town. There was a Styrofoam container near his feet and the smell of roast chicken filled the air, her stomach grumbling audibly.

The sound drew his attention. He looked up at her with wide eyes, like he could see everything even through the dusky dark. He patted the place beside him on the bench. Layla hesitated. She really should go find her own place to sleep. She knew it might be moments before her body gave in entirely and she fell asleep where she was standing.

But, her body betrayed her and she fell into the seat beside Drake. Her side rested against his, his warmth radiating over her. He leaned forward, and she found she missed his touch until he returned with the Styrofoam container.

“There’s a place just off the Territory that makes the best grilled chicken dinners,” Drake informed her. “It looks like a little shack beside the road, but you can smell it for miles. I think this Territory alone has kept them in business for decades now.”

She couldn’t stop herself. She cracked open the container to find half a chicken along with a number of sides. The potatoes were salty across her tongue, but she dipped them in butter and ate them each in one bite. Her achy body relaxed, the tension flooding away.

It had been awkward, at first, helping the small girl bathe herself. She couldn’t have been more than five and it caused a sharp ache in Layla’s chest every time she looked at the girl. The mud washed away to reveal sun-kissed skin and honey eyes. Her messy hair took a while to get all the twigs and mud out, but once she untangled the mess it became a sleek wall of black that ran down the girl’s back.

Layla suspected the girl was mixed race. It was more than the color of her skin. It was the way her sharp eyes followed Layla around the room. The girl had to be more than she looked, but Layla couldn’t tell if she was a young dragon.

“I didn’t call any of the human authorities about the girl,” Drake informed her as she stuffed her face with grilled chicken. “There’s a reason she’s here with us and not with her family. Someone told her to find me and I’m going to do whatever I can to help her, to keep her safe.”

Layla nodded. She set aside the container and looked out into the night. “She didn’t talk much, but I did get a name out of her. Miri. I don’t know if that means anything to you.”

Drake groaned. She didn’t know what that meant. His head fell back and the swing rocked beneath them. Their bodies fell closer together. She found she was comfortable. Her guard was not raised in defense. She was not prepared for a fight. Was that the new Territory, or was it Drake’s presence beside her?

“Tomorrow, we’re scheduled to look at a site for the new American Dragon Embassy. After that, I would like it if you would accompany me to check up on a family outside the Territory. They are not my dragons, but I would like to know if my hunch is correct.”

Layla wanted to go there first. There was a small girl sleeping a floor above them, separated from her whole world. To her, that should have been their top priority. But, she understood the importance of the Embassy. The girl was safe here. They had time to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.

Drake leaned into her. She could feel his eyes dancing along her skin and it left a warm trail where a girlish blush rose. Thankfully, it was dark and he probably didn’t notice. She didn’t need him to know the kind of affect he was beginning to have on her.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper that was almost carried away on a stray breeze.

She sat upright and turned to face him, somehow startled by the softness. “What do you mean?”

His eyes met hers through the settling dark. There was barely an inch between their faces. Her heart thumped inside her chest, so loud, so oppressive that it drowned out the monster that lurked inside of her.

“For everything you’ve done for us today. No one asked you to find Marc. He was not your problem. No one asked you to carry Miri all the way here or take care of her the way you did.”

Layla wanted to shrug, wanted to wave it all off, but she found that she couldn’t move. She was trapped beneath Drake’s gaze like a young deer. The smallest movement would brush her lips against his. All she had to do was reach up and thread her fingers through his dark waves and pull his face to hers.

She wanted to. She wanted him, this strong leader.

Layla shot up from her seat, heart thumping. “Could you point me toward where I’m staying? I’m damned tired.”

She wouldn’t get attached. Not to Drake. Not to the child sleeping in his room. It would cut her in half. Especially when they were inevitably hurt. This world was cruel to her kind. It was cruel in general. She could keep them safe, try her hardest to fight for them, but she would not fall in love.

“I thought you could pick a room in my place. It’s too big for just me.”

Her heart flopped. She glanced down at Drake. He looked up at her with earnest eyes before gesturing toward the door. Layla could have marched over to the funny looking house next door and crashed on the twins’ couch. She could lay down here, on the porch, and sleep beneath the stars.

Instead, she sighed. She was too tired to fight him on such a small matter. She would get her own room; that was good enough for the time being. All that mattered was that she got some sleep so she could fight him in the morning.

“You look ready to topple over at any moment.” Drake shot up beside her.

She swayed on her feet. The monster inside her was too weary to do anything, too tired to even step back from him. The food sat heavy in her stomach, making her feel as though the world might drag her down at any moment. Her eyelids echoed the feeling.

Drake laughed, a small, gentle sound before sweeping her into his arms. She barely had the energy to give out a small squeak of alarm.

*