The Arena novel Chapter 66

“What's that?” I ask, staring at my mate. Did she just say she’s 70 years old? How is that possible?

“I said, I’m nearly 70 years old, Cedric. Dragons live longer than humans and other shifters.”

“But you look like you’re in your 20s. Like me.”

“Dragons stop aging once we get to our mid-20s. So, until I met you, I could have looked like this for centuries. Avani is over 200 years old.”

I feel like my head’s about to explode. When Tana said dragons live longer than other shifters, I thought she meant maybe fifty years, not hundreds of years.

“Wait, you said until you met me. What does that mean?”

“Your lifespan will extend past that of a normal shifter, but my life will only continue as long as yours does. A dragon cannot live without their rider. I don’t actually know, since I’m too young, but I don’t remember hearing stories of dragons living hundreds of years with their riders. So, I assume my lifespan will be shorter than most dragons.”

“How long can you have children?” I ask.

Tana shrugs. “My mother was close to 200 years old when I hatched.”

I feel my mouth opening and closing, but nothing comes out. Tana waits me out.

“So, we could potentially have children for a hundred years?”

She shrugs again. “If you want that many, it’s possible.”

I’m just staring at her. My mind has gone completely blank. I still have so much to learn about being a dragon rider.

“So, back to the original discussion, I am an accomplished swordswoman. I’ve been wielding a sword since I was five, so nearly 65 years. And you don’t have to fight me if you don’t want to. I can still show you my ability without fighting you. But, just so we’re clear, you’d lose if you did fight me.”

I can't help but smile. Goddess, I love my fiery girl.

“Then, show me what you’ve got, beautiful.”

And she does. Her grace and strength make her moves look more like a dance than a fight. She swings her sword over her head, across her body, spinning and slicing the air.

“Okay. Hang on a minute.”?As much as I love watching her, I do want to see if she’s as good as she says she is.

I jog over to our training area and grab a shield and a long knife. I have no intention of using it, but based on the strength she just showed me, I’ll need something more than a shield to block her.