Persuading the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons 9)

The same with the videos everyone inside the Knights had been forced to watch.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she wished she could throw something. Not long before she'd fallen into a coma, the world had made sense to Ivy. Everything about dragons had been black and white. She hated and feared them. They deserved to be contained and lose their inner dragons by any nonlethal, humane way necessary.

But now? Now she had dragon doctors fighting to save her life, as well as a muscled dragonman giving her massages with strong yet gentle fingers.

And they didn't—or, according to Dr. Lewis, they couldn't—breathe fire.

The last fact shouldn't make such a difference, but Ivy had always had a thing for threes. And with three things making her doubt her former beliefs, it was enough to make her want to learn more about the dragon clan she was staying with. Maybe armed with more information, she could figure out what was true and what was a lie.

As she tried to think of how the hell she could do that, someone knocked and entered before she could ask who it was.

A tall, dark-haired woman with slightly pale skin whom Ivy had seen on TV before strode inside the room. She was some kind of reporter, although Ivy couldn't remember her name.

The woman stood next to her bed and studied her. Since Ivy was tired, she merely waited to see what the woman would do.

Finally, she spoke, her accent telling Ivy that she was from somewhere down south. "You look exhausted. And whilst normally I'd let you sleep and come back to visit you again later, Zain thought you might need another human to help you understand a few things."

Ivy didn't want another person to merely tell her things. She was done with that. What she needed was to see dragons for herself, in their daily lives.

And since the doctors and Zain were the only ones who could do that, she didn't hide her impatience. "Someone helping me understand a few things is how I eventually ended up here, in a coma, for a year. Just go away and let me sleep."

The woman raised her brows. "You must not recognize me from the telly, so let me tell you. I'm Jane Hartley, a former reporter and one of the most stubborn humans you'll ever meet. And considering my mate can be even stubborner than I—he's in c

harge of security for Stonefire—don't try to outlast me. I'll win in the end. And today? Well, today you're going to listen to me and as many other humans as it takes to start to break through the lies you believe."

Ivy muttered, "I'm already working on that and don't need your help."

Jane tilted her head a second before she sat down. "How is that possible?"

She looked away. "It's not important."

"Of course it is. Especially since your former friends drugged my teenage sister-in-law, imprisoned her alongside children half her age, and silenced her dragon for months."

At that, Ivy met Jane's gaze again. "I didn't want to hurt any children."

Jane studied her a beat before replying, "I think I believe you. But regardless, if you think dragons can breathe fire, then you have a lot to learn, Ivy Passmore. And lucky for you, I have an introductory video series about dragon-shifters. Maybe we should start there."

"No, no videos. Videos lied to me before, so why won't those ones? Until I can get out of this room and see things for myself, I don't trust anyone or anything."

Jane tsked. "And you've just lied to me, Ivy. You trusted Zain with that password and it unlocked more files than just those about the organizational structure of the Dragon Knights. One of the newly accessible files detailed the specifications of a special formula. And thanks to that, our doctors are able to create a vaccine that will protect against most of the chemicals devised before you left the Knights. Now, would you give that information to just anyone? Or, only to someone you marginally trusted?"

She ignored the small thrill at learning Zain had shared the password. "It's not about trust, but quid pro quo. I gave Zain something so he'll want to help me. That's all."

"I see." Jane stood. "Well, me, as well the other humans, will visit you fairly regularly, so prepare yourself."

Her brows knitted together. "I thought you were here to break through lies or some such thing?"

Jane shrugged. "I was, and I'll be back. But I've learned what I needed to know for today. So rest, Ivy. Someone else will probably be by again shortly."

With that, the tall woman exited the room.

Just what had the reporter been up to?

Not that she could care about it for long. Ivy struggled to keep her eyes open and, all too soon, fell back asleep.

Standing in a nearby room, Zain watched Ivy's video feed.

Jane had seemed to get under the human's skin, and he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.