39. Jaiyana

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

JAIYANA

S oft knocking woke me the following day.

It took me a moment to figure out where I was. Last night, the priestess, who dressed like Sister Abby, froze in shock at the sight of three unique elemental dragons dropping me off at her temple, tucked into the border of air territory. After a bit of prodding, she directed me to a guest room at the back of the temple built into a mountaintop.

The space was simple but comfortable. White and silver decorated everything, including sheets of gauzy material hanging on the walls. After a quick shower, my head hit the pillow, and until this very moment, I'd forgotten about the world.

The door to my sun-filled room opened, and a young teenage girl dressed in light blue shorts and a white button-down limped into my kitchen with a tray full of food balanced on one arm.

It took me a moment to realize her limp was from a prosthetic leg that was just a little too short. Her long brown hair swayed, showing off her fanned dragon ears. A tiny brown and white scaled tail poked out of her shorts.

The tray tipped precariously. She reached out with a white prosthetic arm to stabilize it before letting it drop onto the little table in the kitchen with a clinking rattle.

"Ah, hi." She turned to me with a broad grin on her face and pulled a set of clothing out of her backpack. "It might be small, but I brought you a uniform."

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and squeaked, startling myself .

Memory like a steel trap, my ass.

The teenager excitedly brought her hands to her chest, the prosthetic fingers not curling quite as tightly as her real ones. "Oh, my god. You really are her?"

I took a deep breath and pushed out of the bed.

"I'm, like, so super excited." The girl bounced, swaying slightly to one side. "I brought you chocolate chip pancakes." She pointed at the tray. "They're my favorite, and we only get them once a month, so it's, like, super good timing you're here."

I nodded, not really understanding, but accepted the food and sat.

"I've never met a real human before." She blinked her wide brown eyes rapidly. "What does it look like when you scowl? Does it still look angry when no scales come out?"

I raised an eyebrow and then leaned forward and scowled at her.

She squealed. "It does, sorta!"

She pulled out the chair across from me and sat.

Yeah, ‘sort of.' This kid is going to walk all over you.

Probably.

I eyed her prosthetics. Sister Abby looked to be in her mid-twenties; she had years of life to possibly lose some limbs, but this kid couldn't be more than thirteen.

The girl touched her fake arm, her excitement falling. "It's why I'm here, at the orphanage. I was born wrong. It's what happens when two dragon shifters make a baby."

I thought dragon females were infertile.

I did too.

This is the stupidest conversation you've had with yourself yet.

It is. Stop fucking staring.

I had a million things I wanted to say to the girl, but I couldn't even talk. Instead, I reached forward and squeezed her shoulder.

She nodded. "Just don't stare at the other kids like that. We're happy here; don't take that away from us."

I held my hands out and squeaked, desperately trying to convey how badly I didn't want to do that.

She giggled, her excitement returning. "So, Mother says I'm supposed to get you anything you need. I'm Aria, by the way." She waved again. "Mother is our head priestess, and she also runs the orphanage. It's the only one on the island!"

I nodded, pieces clicking into place.

"Uh, sorry, I should have started with that. Anyway, if you want, you can follow me around all day." She pressed her hands against the table. "Oh. My. God. You have to do that. We've never had a human in our classes before, and it would be, like, so cool. Anything new would be so cool. It's too bad you can't talk."

I dug into my pancakes, unwilling to commit to anything.

"So, I'll introduce you to all my friends." She pulled the bowl of fruit off my tray and took a grape. "I like, can't promise they'll like you, especially if you stare at them." She pursed her lips. "But anything new around here is at least exciting and something to do other than study. I'm so tired of studying." She exhaled and fingered her upper arm, denting the cloth of her shirt where her prosthetic must attach to her limb. "I don't even know why they make us do it. It's not like we can be a part of society."

I raised an eyebrow, but words rushed out of Aria like a raging storm. Complaints about her math class swallowed her sadness. She assured me she wouldn't have to go to math as long as I ate slowly enough. I chewed slower.

How does this help us find a fourth dragon to bang?

It doesn't. Tyson's a secret evil genius.

Shoving another bite of pancakes into my mouth, I took my time chewing, letting her excited chatter about school wash over me. Her two-tone scales and hair sparkled in the morning light. Although she only had one arm and one leg, it looked like she had two elemental magics—something I'd yet to see on this island.

Nope. Not my problem. Do not analyze this, Jay. Do not get involved.

Getting involved would only make whatever problem was happening here worse.

How do you know that?

Because…

I racked my brain, but a haze shrouded my memory. A man's brown gaze fought through a sea of gray. " Jaiyana, you need to remember," he said, his voice almost in focus.

"Are you even listening?" Aria demanded, snapping me out of my daze. "Just because I'm disabled doesn't mean you can just ignore me."

I shot up; whatever I'd been thinking about instantly vanished. I flailed my arms and squeaked, even bowing, desperate for the girl to know that my space out had nothing to do with her.

She giggled. "It's fine. You can make it up to me by coming with me to class."

I froze, mid, well, I wasn't even sure what my arms were doing. Dropping them to my side, I eyed the pre-teen. She winked at me.

‘You manipulative little shit,' I said, though only squeaking came out.

I grabbed the pile of clothing and stalked into the bathroom. If nothing else, I could keep my eye out for Sister Abby. Maybe she liked me enough to help smuggle me out of the temple.

As I unfolded the uniform, a bright red thong and push-up bra of swirling red and gold fell to the floor. I rolled my eyes, Tyson.

Aww, I bet it wasn't easy for him to sneak those in there.

Not aww, I have to walk around with string up my ass now.

Well, at least you'll feel sexy as hell.

I'm probably going to get a rash on my butt cheeks.

A red one, Tyson will love it.

I snorted.

"Are you okay in there?" Aria called. "I can help! I'd love to see what a naked human looks like."

With a preteen threatening my personal space, I flew into the uniform and rushed out to join my excited tour guide. She looked a little disappointed that I was dressed but brightened when I motioned toward the door.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd been in a classroom. A few lectures on college campuses, maybe. In the early two-thousands, I'd gone to a technical college for computers to keep up with the times, but that had been pretty hands-on. Aria's classes were old-school chalkboards and textbooks. I didn't even see a projector. The kids took their notes on paper.

Like Aria asked, I managed not to stare at a single other child, which was not an easy task. Around twenty-five kids of various ages eyed me curiously over the day. Missing limbs were common. One kid had a cloth strip tied over her eyes and clung to her friend to get around without running into things.

My heart would have broken, except they all laughed and bounced as if their disabilities didn't bother them. One of the boys had even painted his prosthetic arm to look like Iron Man and excitedly shot fire out of his palm.

A bell rang, ending our second-to-last class of the day. Aria and her little gaggle of passive-aggressive teenage ‘friends' stood and gathered their things. God, I forgot how awful girls were at this age. Although a few boys dotted the classrooms, the majority of the orphans were girls. And their drama was intense. The most popular of the guys seemed to have started a harem while his rival stayed true to Kelsey, whoever that was, but there was a rumor he'd eaten lunch yesterday with Erica. And, omgs, Arthur held hands with Bonnie and Clyde during flying lessons.

You just made that up.

I snorted.

You should be more understanding. Your drama's way worse. You tied your shirt around Tyson's eyes so you could fuck two other guys at the same time.

Let's not think about that in a school.

I managed to pull my attention back to reality as we walked into the final class of the day. Like all the little rooms, this one had rows of desks and chairs holding about fifteen and facing a big wooden table at the front. A dragon shifter draped in the typical white robes of the sisters scribbled on a piece of paper. I blinked a few times. The clean, dark chalkboard outlined Sister Abby perfectly. Instead of sitting with her back straight, she slouched with a slight frown on her face as she read whatever was on her desk. She hadn't noticed my entrance.

I followed Aria to her seat. A few posters with drawings of hand symbols and finger positions lined the walls. I glanced around and noticed a sea of hair all accented with white. It wasn't a far leap to assume this was an air magic class.

The bell rang, and the sister stood with a broad smile on her makeup-covered face. She glanced around, and her gaze froze on me. Tension filled her shoulders. She swayed, her eyes slipping into their dragon slits. For a moment, I thought she might faint. Instead, she placed one hand on the desk and the other behind her back and turned away.

My stomach sank. Right, maybe she didn't need me to help her loosen up. Perhaps I was the reason she'd been so tense.

You are an opinionated piece of work, Jay.

I can't even talk to give an opinion!

I flattened my lips and pressed into the chair, ready for whatever came next.

Sister Abby turned away from me and addressed her class. "I hope everyone had a good day."

"Yes, Sister Abby," the class responded dutifully.

"Good, good." Her gaze slid to me again before she scowled and adjusted her robes. A moment later, a barrier of swirling wind bloomed to life in front of me, destroying my view, and only my view, of her.

"Oh wow, are you impressed?" Aria asked me. "I mean, you've been hanging out with us all day. Sorry to say this, but you're like super boring."

I looked down at the teen with an eyebrow raised.

"We'll continue where we left off yesterday," Sister Abby's voice filled the room. "Compressing air into solid walls."

Aria lowered her voice but kept talking while the sister began her lecture. "Jay, you've been around magic and flying dragons all day. Cullen even offered to let you ride him, and you just waved him off. Cullen!"

I wracked my brain, trying to remember who Cullen was before I remembered I didn't care. Aria pouted, and I sighed, putting myself in her shoes. She'd been so excited to show me her world and probably feel special, and I'd given her nothing.

Sister Abby's voice grew stronger as her lecture continued, but the sister didn't release her magic, leaving me behind her barrier.

I glanced around to ensure none of the other girls were looking before tearing a piece of paper out of Aria's notepad and writing: ‘I'm not fully human. And Tyson, the fire prince, and Rehan, the water heir, have given me rides. Don't tell anyone.'

I showed her the note, and her eyes flew wide. Plucking the paper from her fingers, I folded it into a messy origami dragon and placed it on her lap. With a snap, I incinerated the incriminating document. Her eyes widened, and she looked up at me.

‘Our secret,' I mouthed.

She shook in her chair, ready to burst with her need to talk, but instead, she mimicked zipping up her lips, locking them, and throwing away the key.

I smiled, and she grinned back like I'd given her the world.

See, you are a good person.

Zip it.

I managed to get Aria focused again before watching the wind swirl in front of me to the sound of the lecture. Sister Abby's control was honestly impressive, though a little offensive. She could have just asked me to leave unless she wanted to keep me here. She'd been the one to wake me up; what were the chances she was in on all of this?

My blood chilled.

The bell rang, making me jump in surprise. Aria burst out of her seat. "Let's go! It's free time now."

I looked between Aria and Sister Abby before tearing another page of paper out of Aria's notebook. ‘Go play with your friends. I need to have a word with Sister Abby. I'll find you later, promise.'

Aria wrinkled her nose but joined the flow of her peers streaming out the door like a raging river. The minute the last one left, the energy in the room went still, reminding me how much work kids were. Sister Abby was a saint—unless she wasn't.

Although we were the only two in the room, the sister stood with a stack of papers in front of her, pretending I didn't exist. Her shoulders looked tight under her layers of white, and a single nub of one of her horns pressed against her headdress. I bit my lips together to keep from giggling. She was either as uncomfortable as she looked, or hiding something. I had to know.

I looked around for something to write with and slid to the chalkboard. ‘I'll just be here for a few days.'

Sister Abby's gaze flicked down my body, resting for a heartbeat too long on my chest.

I looked down and realized Tyson's fucking red bra showed through the white button-down. Great, this woman probably thought I was a horrible influence on her students. Honestly, if I could talk, she wouldn't be wrong. I'd never lost my vocabulary from my time as first mate on a pirate ship.

I picked up the chalk. ‘Look, I'm not here to hurt your kids. The guys want me out of the way until we can fix me.'

Sister Abby's perfectly contoured jaw dropped. "There's nothing wrong with you!"

I stepped back and cocked my head to the side. Right. I had all my limbs. How deep was I going to dig this hole? I ducked, trying to convey apology or remorse or, I didn't even know, dig my way back up.

Scales twisted around Sister Abby's eyes once more and her pupils dilated. She took a deep breath as if to say something before biting her lips shut. Her robes crinkled where she gripped them with both hands, one creamy skin and the other metal.

"I mean." She grunted and leaned against her desk. "I don't know you, but we're all so fast to assume the worst of others."

I bit my lower lip and put up a hand. We really were. Even as an immortal enchantress, I was quick to judge. Poor Chad, back at my gym. He couldn't have been dumber than his cereal box. Maybe.

‘We are.' Putting down the chalk, I stepped to the priestess's side and wrapped her shoulders in a one-armed hug, as much to put her at ease as to comfort myself.