Christmas sounded too weird and wonderful to be true, and it made everyone feel fuzzy and warm to talk about it.
Gizelle continued to sit through another round of combing and coating and rinsing, trying not to panic as it seemed like she was never going to be released. She reminded herself not to shift, that she was safe, and she would probably break a lot of things if she shifted and she really, really wanted to look pretty for Conall.
She sat, eyes screwed shut, as she thought about not wanting to look weird for him. There wasn’t much she could do about what was in her head, or what wasn’t, but she could at least look normal.
Chapter 12
Not sure what else to do in the meantime, Conall finished his lunch and went to the pool.
It was an impressive bit of architecture, with white marble columns and fancy water features at one end. Palm trees lined the far side; deck chairs were arranged along the near side. Several people were lounging in the shallow end, chatting and taking advantage of the dappled shade.
Conall wasn’t interested in swimming, but he brought a book and found a lounge chair overlooking the beach to pretend to read it in.
A cheerful dark-skinned waitress offered him a bottle of water that he gravely accepted. He supposed it wouldn’t make a good impression on his mate to pass out from dehydration halfway through dinner.
She looked like she might want to talk, but Conall simply went back to his charade of reading.
It wasn’t long before the dragon on the beach noticed him.
Conall knew about dragons theoretically; some of the most prestigious law firms in Boston quietly boasted about the dragon lawyers on their staff. But it was quite different to see a dragon in its shifted form, casually surveying both the beach and the pool with watchful jeweled eyes.
After a moment of unblinking consideration, the dragon got up from where it was curled around the lifeguard’s tower and padded towards the resort, laying one claw on the railing between the pool deck and the beach.
He shifted seamlessly as he moved, and became a human figure, vaulting over the railing as if it had been waist-high instead of ten feet above the sand.
He was also a clothing shifter, and was dressed in a bright lifeguard’s uniform, with a first aid kit at his waist.
Without asking, the lifeguard came to sit on the lounge chair next to Conall, facing him. “You’re Conall,” he said. “Gazelle’s mate.”
Conall put the book down and gave him a challenging look with no spoken answer. This was starting to become tiresome.
The lifeguard looked chagrined. “I’m Bastian,” he introduced himself.
“Conall,” he confirmed briefly in response.
“I don’t know... what you know about gazelle,” Bastian said, running a hand through his short, damp hair.
Not enough, Conall thought, and he sighed and sat up to face Bastian. “A little,” he said. “But I’d like to know more.” Was someone finally going to be able to fill in the many missing pieces of her story?
“You know about the zoo?”
Conall nodded slowly and his elk snorted in anger at the reminder.
“And how she spent the next few months as a gazelle? We weren’t sure if she could shift, or if she ever had.”
The waitress was back, sitting next to Bastian. “I’m Jenny,” she said, looking friendly. “Travis’ mate.”
Conall gave his name in return, but was mostly watching Bastian for more of the story.
“She’s shy and smart and scared,” Bastian said. Or possibly scarred instead of scared; they looked the same and Conall suspected that both applied. “And she’s not like other shifters.”
“I’m not expecting her to be,” Conall said firmly.
She’s better than other shifters, his elk agreed smugly.
“She can... hypnotize people,” Bastian said slowly, probably knowing he sounded ridiculous. He glanced at Jenny for support.
Jenny nodded. “I’ve only had a bit of it... she’ll sort of put you off in a trance when she goes, er, off script.”