Dragon Witch ✔️

18 - Nissa

"Where'd you get that?" I asked.

Avoiding my gaze, Kyton stood with the bag in hand. "It's my salary. We don't trust banks."

"Seriously?" I didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted. Apparently Grandma thought my protection was important enough to pay thousands for--and difficult or enough to warrant paying someone that much.

"Yeah, you're a handful, so she pays me well." He started across the parking lot again.

Why was he bringing that much money here? All of a sudden, I realized what was going on. Someone he knew, someone close to him, had to be in the hospital for some serious illness. He was probably worried that they would die. Not to mention that their hospital bills had to be a ton.

We were almost to the hospital's front doors when he stuck out an arm to stop me. He didn't meet my eyes, but I could tell his were brimming with emotion. "You'll have to stay outside the room."

Instinctively, I opened my mouth to argue. What did he think I was going to do, insult whoever he was visiting? Unplug them? I wasn't a dragon yet. And I definitely wasn't a monster. But I couldn't entirely blame him for wanting me to keep out. Whoever he was visiting was probably an Otherworlder, and they might not trust me.

"I'll-" It wasn't too late to go sit in the car. That was probably a good idea if the alternative was being stuck in a small hospital room with at least two Otherworlders. I almost turned around. But then I caught sight of Kyton's face again.

His glamour was even worse than yesterday. I could see his real eyes, huge blue ones with hardly any whites. And some kind of feathery worms were growing from behind his ears. On second thought, those were probably antennae.

"Are you okay?" I risked touching his arm in an attempt to comfort him.

He gave me a strange look, but at least he didn't move away. "No, I'm not okay. My-"

The hospital doors slid open, and a green blur flew at Kyton. Teeth bared, I jumped in front of him. He grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me back.

"Hey-"

"Calm down," he whispered in my ear. "That's my sister."

Now that the blur wasn't moving, she did look a lot like a female version of Kyton in a green dress. The rush of adrenaline when she ran out made my whole body shake. Even I didn't know what I'd been about to do. She'd just surprised me, and I reacted. Would I have attacked her if Kyton hadn't stopped me?

Yes. I probably would have.

"Sorry." I moved to the side so they could hug.

Kyton's sister was a good half-a-foot shorter than him, but she didn't look any younger. When they pulled apart, her overly large emerald eyes landed on me. Her glamour was slipping; her eyes almost glowed, and they were just as big as Kyton's. She looked like a living manga character. Except for the pale green skin that appeared beneath patches of thin glamour on her face and neck. Oh, and the faint smell of death wafting around her.

"Lilly, right?" There was a melodic tone to her voice, but it didn't hide the disdain laced through the words.

I nodded. "What's your name?"

"Nissa." She cocked her head, and long black curls cascaded over her shoulders. "I'm Ky's twin."

Something about the way she looked at me made me feel uneasy. She didn't like me, for some reason. More than that--she was so upset at me that her magic was coming off her in waves. It smelled awful though, not like Kyton's at all.