10. Two Desperate Pleas
When we returned to the outside world, Mallory gave Zoey a friendly hug and departed in the other direction. Zoey and I walked to the restaurant she had suggested in silence. She still felt guarded and withdrawn to me. Less so than during our first workout, but not the girl I had used to know. Our muted walk was uncomfortable for me, wondering if I should insist on engaging in conversation or if a hasty attempt to insert myself would merely bother Zoey more.
Ultimately, the unease lasted until we made it to the bistro. A hidden little shop on the second floor of a building, with the street-facing wall having opened windows to simulate a balcony. It was quiet and dimly lit, giving an intimate and cozy atmosphere. The bored and detached cashier took my order of an egg salad sandwich and chips and added Zoey's regular order, which the receipt displayed as two steak spinach wraps. The price was slightly higher than I had mentally anticipated, but I wasn't exactly hurting for spending money.
Zoey unenthusiastically shuffled to one of the tables by the open windows, and I felt comfortable with her decision. Perhaps the noise from the street would help mask our conversation, not that there was anyone here to overhear us anyway.
"Why are you doing this?" She asked as I sat down.
"I don't really understand what you mean."
"Why now? Why spend all those years keeping me at arm's length and letting me live in ignorance only to show up now without warning and interject yourself? Why hide away from all of us at school? Why pretend to be a child, one of my peers? Even ignoring that, how could you lie to Sam? You must've known how much she tortured herself because she thought you were a mundane. And now what, you're here to just take both of us back to your ignoble schemes? I saw you've already claimed her. Don't lie and tell me you haven't."
Okay, wow. That's a lot to unpack. What a mess of preconceptions to unravel. I ran my hand through my hair and tried to find an entry point to respond to her accusations.
"I wasn't pretending. Can you relax for a moment and just explain what you think is happening here so we can be on the same page?"
She glared at me with positively murderous intent before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
"I'll try. You're a dragon. There are only two known males, so you're one of them. Somehow, you divined that I was your mate. You curried favor with Aisling to hide your true nature and disappear in her realm as a mundane human to watch and decide if I would be acceptable as a mate for you, among other machinations. Eventually, something must have caused you to attend something elsewhere, but now you've been able to return to make your decision. Maybe you're still testing me now.
"So, you've returned, scheming more and colluding with Aisling to get me to think there's a new VIP resident to train. Don't I look the fool when you show up and reveal my mate shard to me, and I lose my mind and disgrace myself at work. You got Aisling to pair us together to humiliate me publicly. I went and looked you up afterward, and I saw all the pictures of you and Sam together out on the town. Have you already enthralled her, or was she willing to participate in your designs? Why are you acting like I even have a choice here? Just envenom me and get it over with."
Zoey sank into her seat, her visage revealing that she was thoroughly defeated and utterly conquered, resigned to her fate. We sat in silence for a few moments as I tried to process her understanding of the events that had transpired, my ignorance of this world doing nothing to help. The cashier brought our plates of food over. Neither of us moved to begin eating, letting the food lie where the server had left them.
"Wow. I, uhh, I can see why you're upset with me. That's, wow."
She eyed me suspiciously, "I suppose now you're going to lie through your teeth and tell me that none of it is true."
"Zoey, I didn't know any of this world existed last week. I got into a fight, helped a scared girl, and went to bed. I woke up the following day to Sam beating down my front door because I was projecting too much energy into the ether, which kept her up all night. She brought her mom to talk to me, and then they escorted me here. I met Aisling, and she's loaning me an apartment and a bunch of trainers to bring me up to speed in this world. That includes you, by the way. I'm a sixth dragon, and according to everyone I've talked to, my circumstances are unnatural and unique.
"I don't know how I can prove any of this to you. Can you call your supervisor and ask about an open investigation into a power surge Friday night? Two guys there were observing the fight, and they seemed to understand what was going on more than I did. I did something, and they told me I couldn't do it in front of humans and that they would have to report me, which made no sense at the time. Or, call Kyle. I sent him a hasty text message on Saturday saying that something had come up and that I would be taking a leave of absence. If you say you've seen me, he'll have all kinds of questions as to why I just disappeared."
Zoey looked at me, with disbelief and derision, before pulling out her cell phone and becoming enraptured in the little screen. I took the opportunity to eat my food. I was still trying to come to terms with whether I even wanted to eat and what my diet should be, but I didn't need to subject Zoey to that conversation now.
The robust blonde's phone rang while she was still typing on it, and she looked at me hesitantly before leaving the table to answer it. She made her way out of the otherwise quiet lounge and down the stairs to the street. If I focused intently, I could understand her side of the conversation through the open windows. I decided against intruding and just tried to relax and eat my sandwich. The mustard was intense and contained flecks of horseradish, much to my enjoyment. There's no such thing as too much sauce. Maybe that was the answer to my diet conundrum -- I could just consume condiments.
Zoey returned to the table, looking shaken, uncomfortable, insecure, and lost.
"Alright, James. It seems you aren't just completely blowing smoke up my ass. Tell me what's going on, then, from your side."
And so I did. I told her everything I could remember from when I had a confusing fistfight in an alley through learning to fly while she watched half an hour ago. It took nearly twenty minutes, and several times she stopped me to ask questions, but eventually, I had recapped the past week of my life and explained how I got to sit across from her today.
She wasn't very convinced, and the expression on her face suggested that I was rapidly burning any good faith she had remaining.
"Why would a random kid just awakening get a personal meeting with Aisling?"
"Cynthia called ahead, and I'm assuming that she conveyed that I had the potential to be powerful. After having me do the demonstration in the parking lot, she practically ran away to get on the phone. I presume that Aisling was evaluating me -- trying to decide if she should have me disposed of or if I would be useful to integrate."
Zoey laughed, "Sure thing, big shot. I mean, yeah, you're a dragon, and that's pretty rare. Powerful? Maybe. I've met bigger auras. Don't think some completely green kid would get an immediate audience, even with a sizable aura."
