Mr. MacLeod turned toward the group of students. "Right then, both sets of students have the same rules. Don't leave your partner, no wandering away, and be respectful. So let's visit our first stop—the student practice landing area."
Daisy gasped next to him, and Freddie glanced over. She whispered, "Do you think we can touch a dragon today? I really want to."
Since they stood at the back of the crowd, Freddie decided to tease Daisy. He poked her arm. "There, you've touched a dragon today."
She frowned. "That's not what I meant. Right now, you're just a human. I want a dragon. Pretty scales, wings, a long tail."
He shrugged. "I don't know. You've seen plenty of dragons today. That should be enough. Maybe you should go home now."
Daisy opened her mouth and then closed it. After a second, she shook her head. "No, you're just teasing. They wouldn't be that mean."
Freddie had heard a lot of things about humans. Some didn't like dragons, some were afraid, and some others were jealous. But Daisy was curious.
And according to Mr. MacLeod, humans curious for curiosity's sake were usually the best kind. Well, as long as they didn't want to try and drain them of blood. Or make money off them. But he didn't think Daisy would do any of those things.
Still, it didn't mean he wouldn't tease her. If he was going to be stuck with a girl all day, then he'd make it fun for himself.
Chapter Three
Daisy tried her best not to get sad. Her dragon-shifter partner was mean, and annoying, and he liked to tease her.
Didn't he know that answering her questions would help everyone? After all, the point of the trip was for humans and dragon-shifters to get to know each other better.
The tall, growly dragon-shifter teacher guided them away from the brick building. They were supposed to stay in the order they'd been called, which meant Daisy was at the back. Again.
Right in front of Miss Fletcher.
Which meant she couldn't sneak off and get away from Freddie.
Good thing the teacher had said his name, because he hadn't bothered to introduce himself. He'd been mean first, so she wasn't going to be super nice to him, either. She'd just have to find a way to talk to some of the other dragon students.
However, she soon forgot about the boy next to her and watched the people walking around. Clan Stonefire reminded her a lot of some human villages in the Lake District. Loads of cottages, tiny shops, and lots of water and mountains everywhere.
Maybe one day the dragons would offer holiday cottages on their lands. That would be brilliant, to stay a few days living among the dragons. Being near them all the time meant she could learn even more. Miss Nikki had been nice to her. So probably some of the other adults would tell her more, too.
But then a dragon flew right over them. Daisy stopped, gasped, and watched as the green dragon slowly got closer and closer to the ground, until they hovered over something in the distance and disappeared behind some rocks.
She forgot all about how she didn't like Freddie and grabbed his arm. "Did you see? The dragon landed! Where is that? Can we go there?"
Freddie dislodged his arm from her grip. "That's the main landing area. I doubt we'll go there. Most of the children aren't allowed unless a parent, guardian, or teacher takes them there."
She looked over her shoulder, but Miss Fletcher must've been afraid of the green dragon flying so close because she was up front, with Mr. MacLeod.
No one else was behind them.
She leaned really close and tried to whisper as quietly as possible. "What if we went over and took a quick peek?"
Freddie frowned. "I don't know. Mr. MacLeod wouldn't like that."
Daisy knew she should agree with Freddie. If she broke the rules, she might never be allowed back.
And yet, the dragons were so, so near. Daisy really, really wanted to see one up close, and maybe even touch it.
Deciding it would be worth the trouble later, she shrugged. "Okay, you can stay here. I'm going."
She dashed over to a tree and hid behind it. Well, she tried to, but Freddie bumped into her and she almost fell over.
She frowned. "Hey, it's not nice to shove."