Maybe some of it was from the severed nerves, the adrenaline rushing through his blood, and the shock of it all. Except for some discomfort, he didn't feel anything but a throbbing ache. He wished he could have knocked himself out completely. He didn't like the idea that they would have to hammer the bolts clear through him. He was afraid all the magic in the world wouldn't make that much pain go away. But he didn't understand the healer's claim that he wasn't one of them. Why? Because he was a mage? Because he had turned into a dragon? He couldn't believe Halloran had come to help take him to a healer. Nor that Alton would either. Not after he pummeled him good with his fists. Yet even then, the fight seemed to make Alton see him in a different light. More like he wasn't just a weakling human. He thought Alton and Ena's brother would not like it that he had turned into a dragon like one of them though. Most of all, what helped him to ignore the pain was concentrating on how Ena had been caressing his head.
