[The Dragon Girl's POV]
The world was dark behind her arms.
The dragon girl squeezed her eyes shut. She held her breath.
She waited for the pain. It was the only constant in her life.
But what she felt was the not-so-harmful touch on top of her head.
The hand on her head was heavy. It was warm.
It felt like a trap.
Any second now, the fingers would tighten. They would pull. They would hurt.
But seconds ticked by, but the pain... did not come.
Instead, the thumb moved. It rubbed gentle circles on the top of her head.
It felt... strange.
It sent a shiver down her spine. Not a shiver of fear, but something else.
Something soft.
She slowly unclenched her jaw. She let out a shaky breath.
She carefully opened one eye.
All she could see was her own dirty arm. And the stone floor.
She lowered her arms just a fraction. She peeked over her forearm.
The man was still there.
He was crouching in front of her. He was close. Too close.
