reached and held my hand out, waiting to see if he would let me touch him. Irrik inched to the side and brushed my hand against the smooth onyx scales. Come. I want to show you something. Come where? He unfurled his right foreclaw. “You want me to climb inside your razor-sharp talons?” He had to be kidding. I knew the stories. He could cut through trees with those things. And what if he dropped me? I won’t drop you. Come on. You’ll like it. I promise. Right. I climbed into the palm of his upturned claw anyway.
