"You're right," Alex said. "I am a liar. You can't trust what I say. So, why do you trust me when I say I've killed your kin?"
The dragon paused for a moment. "What are you…"
"I never killed anyone. I just lied to get you to fight me."
The dragon was even more confused now. Her thick brows almost became a unibrow as they pressed together.
"I smelled a dragon's blood," she said.
"I was gifted it," Alex said. "Tell me, how long have you been in this place? How many years?"
The dragon frowned. "Some forty years. Why?"
"Have you met the new dragons that arrived from outside?" Alex asked. "Preferably in the last few months."
"Yes. What about it?"
"Did they tell you about the hybrid that was born of two Heavenly Beasts?"
The dragon fell silent. A different glimmer of light seemed to shine in her eyes as she looked at Alex. "You know of the hybrid," she asked. "You're… not the hybrid, are you?"
