Page 138 of The Bond That Burns

“In love?” She sounded shocked, as if the idea hadn’t even occurred to her. “He wouldn’t have dared. Not when I was...” She broke off.

“What?” I asked. “Tell me.”

She took a slow breath, then looked up at me. “The Pendragons. My family name.”

“Yes?” I said expectantly.

“It’s the name of the royal family of Pendrath. I lived in Camelot. In the Rose Court.”

I stared at her. “You were a princess?”

She blushed. “Sort of. Well, yes.”

“Damn, Pendragon. Not a farm girl after all.” I shook my head.

“Would you have cared? If I was?”

“I wouldn’t care if you grew up in a swamp.” So, my girl was a princess. It wasn’t that much of a surprise, really. She’d always looked like a queen to me. I looked down at her and suddenly felt that fire again. I wanted to grab her by the waist, press my lips against hers, push her up against the nearest wall and...

“No,” she said warningly. “I mean it, Blake.”

“What?”

“You’ve got that look in your eyes.” She blushed slightly. “We can’t. I must go to Nyxaris. He’s nearly here.”

“Right.” We’d almost reached the classroom.

“Well, what about your first kiss?” she asked, almost shyly.

I smirked. “Regan. She kissed me on a dare. I think she thought I’d kiss her back.”

“And did you?”

“No,” I said, my grin widening. “I tried to push her away. She fell in a puddle and started to cry.”

Pendragon chuckled. “A little bully even then, hmm?”

“No, but we were never suited,” I said softly. “Regan and I. I just want you to know that. It was an arrangement. Nothing more. For a while, I gave it a shot, but...”

She nodded. “You don’t have to explain.”

Right. We didn’t own each other. I didn’t owe her an explanation. She didn’t want what I wanted from her. Possession. Exclusivity. My heart tightened, but I tried to ignore it.

Except for that, the moment was perfect. I could have walked beside her like that forever.

But the classroom lay just ahead. The significance of what she was about to do suddenly dawned on me a second time.

“You’re sure about this?” I asked as we entered the room. The sea stretched out below us, dark and restless. The wind snapped at her hair, sending the flaming strands flying around her face. I couldn’t see the dragon yet, but doubted he’d want me around when he arrived.

“I have to do this,” she said, her voice steady.

I nodded and then leaned down, brushing my lips against hers. “I’m glad I got to know you a little better tonight.”

She seemed surprised, then nodded. I watched her turn and walk towards the perch to wait for her dragon.

CHAPTER 34 - MEDRA

The night air was frigid, as I clung to Nyxaris. We soared over the dark sea, the only sounds the powerful beat of wings and the wind screaming past my ears. I should have been a block of ice. Yet, while the chill was uncomfortable, two things seemed to be keeping me warm—my proximity to Nyxaris and, I suspected, my rider blood. In some ways, I’d been made to fly.

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