Persuading the Dragon (Stonefire Dragons 9)

Zain cleared his throat, and Ivy was surprised at how his expression turned a touch exasperated. "Right, no mean people. Noted. Now, are you going to give your gift? Otherwise, it's time to leave."

Daisy's face lit up and she bobbed her head. "I forgot." She turned toward Ivy. "I forget a lot, but that's okay. I usually remember later." The little girl reached into her bag and pulled out a scrapbook and held it out to Ivy. "This is from my time at Dragon Camp. It was brilliant, with all the human and dragon kids being together." She lowered her voice. "I even saw Freddie's dragon for the first time then."

Ivy glanced at the little boy, whose cheeks were dark red.

Daisy spoke again, garnering Ivy's attention. "But I wanted to show you how much fun it is to play with dragon-shifters. So I made this scrapbook." Ivy had yet to take it, but the little girl laid it on the bed and opened it, the pictures facing toward Ivy. "See? Here we're making bracelets with our names in the old dragon language. It's a bunch of funny symbols, but no other kids in my school have them." She flipped the page. "And here, they let us slide down the side of an adult dragon! That was the best. Well, tied for the best. Seeing Freddie's dragon was brilliant, too."

As the little girl kept talking, explaining one page after the other, Ivy wondered if all of this was a ruse to make her trust the dragons.

Or, could it be the truth?

Because if it was the truth, and dragon and human children were staying and playing together, all under the supervision of the DDA and with permission from human parents, Ivy's world view would shift a little. After all, according to everything within the Dragon Knights, dragons never befriended humans unless they could get something in return.

And unless the dragon-shifters were grooming children to eventually become dragon mates—which even to Ivy seemed a bit farfetched—they were welcoming humans on their land with little to gain. Sure, maybe there would be some positive PR, but as she watched the little boy move closer to the little girl and help her explain the pictures, Ivy sensed a true friendship between them.

Ivy needed some answers of her own. Maybe the children were extremely talented actors, but given how Daisy flitted from one topic to another and didn't always finish her thought, Ivy doubted it.

Which meant she needed to take advantage of the children—they could be brutally honest, and she needed that. So at the next pause she could pounce on, Ivy asked, "Daisy, whilst I know you like dragon-shifters, does everyone you know accept them, too?"

Daisy sighed. "No. I lost my old best friend, Lucy. Her mum doesn't like dragons and wouldn't let me play with her anymore."

Ivy pushed on. "If you could go back to Lucy tomorrow and be best friends again, would you stop seeing the dragon-shifters?"

Ivy could feel Zain's gaze on her, but she ignored it and waited for Daisy's answer.

Zain waited to see how his nephew's friend would answer.

He didn't have to let Daisy reply, of course. He could tell Daisy and Freddie to go back to the surgery's lobby, where Nikki—another Protector—waited for them. However, he was curious. The question wouldn't harm the child, and Daisy had a way of winning people over without even trying or realizing it. If she could win over Ivy, it could go a long way toward the human female working with Stonefire to eradicate the Dragon Knights.

His dragon spoke up. It might also help Ivy like us instead of hate us.

That doesn't matter to me, only you.

His beast huffed and fell silent as Daisy finally shook her head and answered Ivy's question. "No, I wouldn't go back and do that. I miss Lucy every day, and probably always will. But I've made so many friends here playing with the dragons, both human and dragon. Not to mention Freddie and me have plans to help Stonefire. And to do that, we need lots of time together. Right, Freddie?"

Freddie merely shrugged, which was enough for Daisy because she added, "And besides, my mum says that sometimes we have to make choices about things. It's not always easy, and we might be sad sometimes, but if we pick the one that makes us happy for the future, then we'll be less sad later. I think that's what will happen eventually with me. Picking Freddie and the others here will make me happy for a long time."

Daisy and Freddie shared a look—the pair liked to conspire, which probably didn't bode well for whomever was the target—but Zain let them be. His sister and Daisy's mum could worry about the pair's troublemaking.

Instead, Zain watched Ivy.

The little crease between her brows spoke volumes. He suspected she was starting to doubt more and more what she'd learned inside the Dragon Knights.

Although he needed to do a little poking of his own, to see how far that doubt had settled. So he looked at his nephew. "Freddie, I think it's time for you to take Daisy home for lunch." Daisy opened her mouth to protest—the little girl never cared about dominance or hierarchies and would become a headache when she was older—but Zain beat her to it. "No, Daisy. You promised to leave when it was time. If you break your promise, then Freddie's mum won't let you wander around Stonefire with Alfie and Freddie for the rest of your current visit."

Alfie was Zain's other nephew, who was old enough to watch the pair and keep them out of the worst trouble.

Daisy dropped her head with an exaggerated sigh. But she quickly bounced back and pushed the scrapbook toward Ivy. "Look at all the pictures, and maybe I can come back and tell you some more stories." She lowered her voice dramatically. "We even had special drills during the camp, where we had to wait underground until any danger was gone."

Not wanting the little girl to reveal Stonefire's emergency procedures, Zain moved to the side of the two kids and gently turned them toward the door. "That's enough. Go to Nikki so she can take you home for some lunch."

The pair waved, and then Freddie managed to get Daisy to leave.

How his nephew controlled that bundle of nonstop energy, Zain had no idea.

As soon as the door closed, Ivy's voice filled the room. "Why did you bring them here?"

He turned toward the human, who was holding the scrapbook against her chest. While she was still pale and too thin, it was good to see she'd regained some strength. Otherwise, his volunteering to give her some of his blood would've been pointless.