Torrent chuckled. “Work through it, huh? Whatever you say.” He put his hand in that bag of tricks and pulled out a bottle of water, turning his back to her. She could hear the water trickle onto the grass. “There we go.” He turned back to her, and flexed the hand in question. There wasn’t even a scar or a pink line or anything. It was like the injury had never happened.

“That’s amazing. Truly amazing.”

He pulled out another bottle of water and handed it to her. “Are you feeling better now?”

She nodded, taking the water from him. “Maybe you’re right. I guess I never really thought things through. Maybe being a doctor isn’t the right career choice for me. I want to do something meaningful with my life though, you know. I want to prove that I’m intelligent. That means becoming a doctor or a lawyer or—”

“No it doesn’t. There are many things you can do. It might mean studying and it might not. It sounds like the work you did with your animals was beneficial. It certainly was to them.”

She shrugged. “I guess.” She knew he was right. “I love volunteering at the shelter. It’s extremely fulfilling.”

“What else did you do besides take care of the animals? I know that humans have jobs…” He lifted his eyes in thought. “Just like dragons do. We are also assigned to different tasks. I know you said that you just recently left whatever your job was and I know that you are reluctant to speak of it. I feel that we have grown closer and I’m hoping you will confide in me.”

Oh shit! What now? She needed to come clean. She planned on coming here this afternoon and on telling him everything. Then she chickened out. She couldn’t keep running away though, falling more for this guy every day. Candy needed to tell him right now while she could still walk away. She only prayed that Sky was right and that she wouldn’t have to.

She took a sip of her water but her mouth still felt dry. “Okay.” She nodded once. “I’ll tell you but only if you promise to hear me out before you judge me.”

“Judge you?” His face scrunched up in disbelief. “Of course I will listen to you. Why would you even think such a thing?” Torrent leaned forward and cupped her cheek in his hand. She couldn’t help but to lean into him. “You can tell me anything. I may not have fully claimed you… yet…” The word came out sounding rasping. “But, actually, there are no buts—I feel deeply bonded to you. My feelings are growing by the day.” He traced the tip of his thumb along her lower lip. “You need to know that.”