Chapter 10
Edith did not want to open her eyes, and there were several very good reasons for why.
One: her head felt like someone had taken a hammer to it and then politely apologised by doing it again.
Two: her body still didn’t feel like it belonged to her. Everything was too long, too stretched, too human.
And three…
Jessica was in the room, and Jessica was not going to let this go.
“If you start shouting again,” Edith muttered weakly, eyes still firmly shut, “I will simply pass out a second time out of spite.”
Nothing… no shouting, no huffing not even a sigh. Edith cracked one eye open.
Jessica was sitting on the edge of the bed, arms folded, her expression tight. Not angry like Edith had expected. Well, not exactly, it was something far worse… hurt.
Edith winced. “Hi,” she started but stopped when Jessica didn’t smile.
“Explain,” she fired back. “Everything… explain it all.”
Right, No avoiding it then. Edith pushed herself up slowly, immediately regretting the decision as the room tilted slightly.
“Still dizzy,” she muttered.
“Take your time,” Jessica said. It wasn’t gentle, but it wasn’t cold either.
Edith clutched the blanket tighter around herself, pulling it close like armour. Her hair fell forward, purple, bright, and everywhere. There was no hiding behind that now. Not that there ever really had been a chance to hide behind her hair.
“I didn’t mean for you to find out like this,” she said quietly.
Jessica’s jaw tightened and Edith swallowed… hard.
“I was going to tell you,” she added quickly.
Jessica raised an eyebrow. “Were you?”
Edith hesitated and coughed. “Eventually.”
Jessica let out a breath, shaking her head slightly. “Edith,” she said, softer now, but the hurt was still there, threaded through every word, “I’m not even… I’m not even mad that you’re… this.” She gestured vaguely at her. “At any of this.”
Edith blinked. “You’re not?”
“No,” Jessica said firmly. “What I am upset about is that you thought you had to hide it from me.”
That hit harder than Edith would have liked and her grip tightened on the blanket.
“I…” she started, then stopped, she didn’t have an argument, she had hidden every detail, deliberately and carefully, hoping no one would ever find out.
Jessica leaned forward slightly, her voice quieter now, her hands on her lap, fingers interlinked “Why?” she asked. “Why did you think I’d turn you away?”
Edith’s chest tightened. “I didn’t think…” Edith admitted.
Jessica shook her head. “Don’t,” she said. “Don’t brush it off. I need to understand this, Edith.”
Her voice cracked slightly on the name, and it was that that did it. Edith’s carefully held composure fractured.
“I was scared!” she blurted out. The words came out almost raw and yet honest for the first time in a long while as Edith sucked in a shaky breath, her eyes stinging.
“I was scared you’d look at me differently,” she continued, her voice softer now but no less intense.
“That it would change things. That I wouldn’t be… just Edith anymore.”
Jessica’s expression shifted, something pained flickering through it. “You are just Edith,” she answered immediately.
“But I’m not,” Edith whispered, and the words hung there.
“I’m not just some random little dragon you found,” she said, her voice trembling now.
“I’m not harmless. I’m not simple. I come with…
” she gestured vaguely, frustration building, “All of this. A past. A family. Problems that don’t stay neatly tucked away where I left them.
” Her breathing hitched and she almost hiccupped.
“And if they found me, if anyone found out, then it wouldn’t just be me at risk. It would be you. All of you.”
Jessica’s eyes softened. “Edith…”
“No,” Edith shook her head, tears slipping free now, despite her best efforts.
“You don’t understand. The people I ran from don’t just ask nicely.
They take. They decide. They don’t care who gets hurt in the process.
” Her voice broke. “I couldn’t let that touch this place,” she whispered. “I couldn’t let it touch you.”
Jessica’s expression crumpled slightly at that. “Hey,” she said softly, reaching out instinctively.
Edith flinched at first, then stilled. Jessica’s hand rested gently on her arm, her palm warm and her presence steadying.
“You don’t get to make that choice alone,” Jessica said quietly. “You don’t get to decide that I wouldn’t stand with you.”
Edith let out a small, broken laugh. “I know that now,” she said. “But I didn’t then.”
Silence stretched between them, and Jessica squeezed her arm slightly.
“You should have told me,” she said, not accusing, just sad.
“I know,” Edith whispered as another tear slipped down her cheek. “I just.” she swallowed hard. “I finally had something good. Something that was mine. And I didn’t want to risk losing it.”
Jessica’s eyes filled then. “You wouldn’t have lost it,” she said.
“You don’t know that,” Edith replied softly.
“I do.” Jessica pulled her into a hug. Edith froze for half a second and then slowly melted into it.
Because apparently, even in human form, she was still very much a creature who needed to be held when everything got too much. They both cried, a gentle release of pent up emotions that had been a long time coming. Just a quiet mess of tears as the weight of everything settled between them.
After a while, Jessica pulled back slightly, wiping at her face. “Okay,” she said, voice a little steadier. “You need to start from the beginning. Tell me everything.”
Edith let out a long breath. “Alright.” She shifted slightly, still clutching the blanket, grounding herself. “I’m not just a dragon,” she began. “I’m a dragon shifter. From the Smokeclaw clan.”
Jessica’s eyes widened slightly, her knowledge of creatures from throughout the world meant she knew that name.
“Of course you are,” she murmured.
Edith huffed weakly. “Yes. Very on-brand, I know.” Then her expression sobered. “My father is… not a good person,” she said carefully. “He runs the clan like a war strategy. Everything is about power. Alliances. Control.”
Jessica’s jaw tightened. “And you?” she asked.
“I was useful,” Edith said simply. The bluntness of it hung in the air.
“They arranged a marriage,” she continued. “Another clan. Stronger position. More influence. The usual.”
Jessica made a face. “Of course they did.”
“I didn’t want it,” Edith said. “I didn’t want any of it. And when I said no…” She stopped and swallowed hard. “They didn’t care,” she finished quietly.
Jessica’s hand tightened slightly where it still rested on Edith’s arm.
“So you ran,” she said.
Edith nodded. “I ran,” she confirmed. “Shifted. Made myself small. Easy to overlook. Easy to forget.”
A faint, sad smile tugged at her lips. “Then you found me.”
Jessica let out a soft breath. “Yeah,” she said.
“And I stayed,” Edith continued. “Because for the first time in my life, no one expected anything from me. No one tried to control me or decide my future. I just got to… exist.” Her voice softened. “And I didn’t want to lose that.”
Jessica shook her head slightly, emotion flickering across her face again. “You wouldn’t have,” she said.
Edith gave her a small, uncertain look.
“I hope you’re right,” she replied. “But there’s more,” Edith added quietly.
Jessica stilled. “Of course there is.”
Edith nodded. “They’ve sent hunters,” she said.
Jessica’s expression hardened instantly. “What kind of hunters?”
Edith met her gaze. “The kind that don’t fail. And they’re here,” Edith continued.
Jessica’s eyes widened. “In Krakens Hole?”
Edith nodded once. “I saw them last night whilst I was in the pub.”
Jessica stayed silent for a second then straightened, something fierce sparking behind her eyes.
“Right,” she said.
Edith blinked. “Right?”
Jessica nodded, already shifting into something determined.
“Right,” she repeated. “Then we deal with it.”
Edith stared at her. “That’s it?” she asked. “That’s your reaction?”
Jessica gave her a look. “What did you expect? Panic? Running? Dramatic declarations?”
“Yes, actually.”
Jessica snorted softly. “Not happening,” she said. “You’re not facing this alone.”
Something in Edith’s chest loosened. Just a little.
“Are you sure?” she asked quietly.
Jessica didn’t hesitate. “Abso-bloody-lutely.”
Edith let out a shaky breath. “Okay,” she whispered, and for the first time since everything had come crashing down, she believed it might actually be.