Page 4 of Rescued By The Dragon

“Why you go wandering the castle during Dragon Reign will never make sense to me. It’s our Independence Day. We should be celebrating together. Not playing hide-and-seek in search of our grown son."

Tilting my head, I walked over toward my mother and cradled her face, because I knew she hated it, and pinched her cheek. “Honestly, Dorron. Grow up. Maybe you’ll find a bride if you do.”

“Oh Mother, don’t worry, I’ll find a gold digger before you know it, and I can be as happy as you and Father.”

She inhaled sharply, her dark eyes narrowed to slits. “How dare you, Dorron. I suggest you watch your tongue, or I’ll do it for you.”

“Right,” I said, stepping around her. “You’d just hire a maid to do it like you did when I was young.”

I jolted down the steps that would take me into the depths of the castle, following the scent of cigars and my father’s aftershave. I knew he’d be in his big leather chair in our sitting room because it made him feel normal to do so.

My mother’s hurried footsteps followed, but I didn’t wait for her. She knew the way. My brother—Damien—sat on the sectional, staring at the fireworks from the floor-to-ceiling windows across the room.

He looked just like our mother, down to the mole on his upper lip and the stick up his ass. “Late as always,” he said, pushing back his hair.

“Kissing ass, as always,” I said, sitting down beside him.

We were opposites, and not just physically. Damien would make a great King if only he’d been born first.

Dad cleared his throat and glanced up from something on his phone. “Dorran, I’m glad you’re here. We’ve heard from The Eastern Kingdom. They want to introduce you to some of their maidens. We’re having a ball next weekend.”

Damien smiled over at me, and I fought the urge to knock his teeth down his throat. I wouldn't have been surprised if a ball was his idea. The bastard. “A ball? What is this the 1800s? I’m not dancing with a bunch of random gold-diggers out to get our money and title."

Dad sighed and swiped his glasses from his slender nose and placed them on top of his head full of salt-n-pepper hair. “Not this again, Son. You have to marry to get the crown. Why can’t you just find a nice dragon to settle down with?”

“Like you and Mom?” I asked, not trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice.

Dad’s eyes flickered red, and I figured I better not test him. “Okay,” I said, leaning back and letting my head rest against the couch. Then something struck me.

“Can we invite the kingdom?” I asked.

Dad looked confused. “You’ve seen all these dragons ten million times. Why would we invite them again?”

I nibbled on the side of my lip. Because I wanted to see her again. The little blonde troublemaker from the bridge. I’d just landed there because it was a quicker route to my room. I was over the fireworks, it was the same every year, but this time, she waited on me. My dragon was attracted to her. Everything about her. Her scent. The color of her hair. The way her mouth opened in shock at the sight of us.

Was she my mate? She ran off so quickly that I couldn’t be sure.

“Humans, too,” I said.

My mother’s teacup fell to the floor and shattered. “Honestly, Dorran. You want to mate with a human?”

I shrugged. “Are we being racist, Mother?”

“Of course not, Dorran. You know my grandmother was a human—,”

“Then what is the issue?” I asked, standing up and walking toward the stairs. “Make the announcement. I’ll be the dragon all the gold-diggers are tossing themselves at and trying helplessly to live up to my parents' expectations of me.”

Mother hissed something under her breath, as I jogged toward my room. The fireworks were almost over when I slipped out my window and nose-dived into the midnight air.

The cool September breeze blanketed me. There was something about flying at night that fed my soul.

With her scent still fresh with me, I followed it toward the wall and landed with a gentle thud. It led me toward a Victorian house built right against the wall.

She must have leaped from her rooftop to the wall and walked down the path to the bridge. It was a perfect path for her and her friend to break the law.

I leaped toward the roof and stalled when I realized that her scent went toward the attic window. Had she snuck out to see the fireworks? She looked young, but not that young. God, I hoped she wasn't a teenager. That was one rumor we didn't need floating around the kingdom. Me lusting after a child.

Bending down, which was harder than it looked with a dragon’s height, I peered into the darkened window. There was no movement, but I could hear her breathing. It wasn’t even enough for her to be asleep. She was pretending.

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