Into The Dragon's World - Brittany White Page 0,10

sip of wine before replying. “Yes,” he said, still smiling. “I’m a dragon shifter.”

“Is it like being a werewolf or…?”

“Not really. I don’t do the big transformation scene they do in the movies.” He flexed his hands over his plate. Casey watched with huge eyes as he did a small shift, allowing his hands to take on the appearance of a dragon’s claws, black talons and scaled flesh. She looked up at his eyes again, more fascinated than afraid. He shifted his hands back to human form.

“How did you do that?” she asked. “That’s amazing!”

He shrugged. “Just born that way, I guess.”

“So, it doesn’t hurt when you shift?”

“Not really.” His smile slanted. “It actually feels great. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I like my human form as well, but as a dragon…” He shook his head slightly. “I feel like I can do anything.”

“Do you have to take your clothes off first, or do you just Hulk out and tear everything up?”

Brady shook his head. Where were these questions coming from?

“You can take off your clothes first, if you want.” Brady’s smile grew a little. “But the change is...I don’t know. Like a total transformation. It just happens, and when it does, it’s like the dragon comes out of my body and my human form goes in. My family just explained it as ‘magic’ and let it go.”

He felt the weight of Casey’s gaze as she studied him. Trying to see the dragon in me, he thought. He couldn’t quite believe he was talking about the subject so frankly, especially with someone he barely knew. Most people were uncomfortable with the idea of shifters. It scared them because they didn’t understand. To him, shifting was as natural as breathing. It was still him, but in a different form.

Casey seemed to understand that. And it didn’t scare her.

“What do you look like as a dragon?” she asked, propping up her chin with her hand.

Brady laughed again. “I don’t know. It’s not like I have a mirror close by when I change.”

“Good point.” Casey slowly smiled. “Can I see it?”

Brady’s brows shot up. “See what?”

“Your dragon.”

He shook his head, smile turning rueful. “I don’t think—”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Casey frowned at herself. “That’s a personal thing, isn’t it? I know Jasmine doesn’t like me to see her in panther form. She’s afraid I’ll be scared of her, but how could I be scared of Jazzy? I mean, I know it’s just a natural thing for you guys, but I’d really like to see what happens and…” Her voice trailed away. “I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“A little.”

Casey took a slice of bread from the basket, nibbling at it as she studied Brady with bald fascination. Brady felt as if a spotlight was shining on him, but he simply smiled and waited. He knew more questions were coming, and for some strange reason, he didn’t mind answering them.

“Are you really a prince?” she finally asked.

Brady nodded. “Yes.”

“And? I need details. Like, do you live in a castle with servants? Do you walk around as dragons or humans? Do you have a huge room filled with gold?”

“That’s a stereotype,” Brady said with mock annoyance. “We keep our mountains of gold in banks like anyone else.”

Casey closed her eyes and placed her hand over her heart. “My deepest apologies, my liege.”

“Cut it out, peasant.” Brady laughed. “But to answer your questions...yes, I guess you could call my family’s home a castle. It’s left over from the wars centuries ago.”

“The wars?”

“It was over a thousand years ago. The different regions decided that their own pieces of real estate weren’t enough, so they tried raiding others. Supposedly, it went on for hundreds of years until somebody decided to divide everything up evenly. So far, it’s worked.”

“So far,” Casey repeated.

“And as far as our forms, we go back and forth depending on our moods. When I was younger, I would go weeks without shifting into my human form.” His smile turned slightly sad. “Sometimes I miss those days.”

“What’s your world like?”

“It’s beautiful.” Brady closed his eyes for a moment, remembering it. “It’s a lot like this world. Greener, maybe. There are no cities like this. Villages and marketplaces, but no cities. No pollution. Technology-wise, I guess you would say we’re still in the Middle Ages. No electric lights or internet.”

“Oh, my God. No cell phones? No TV?” Casey looked almost horrified at the thought. “How do you live without cable?”

“We read. We write letters. We actually visit face to face.”