Page 65 of The Bond That Burns

As soon as I was out of sight of the training yard, I darted into an empty classroom. I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath. My chest still felt too tight. My pulse was erratic.

The image of Nyxaris was still at the forefront of my mind. The dragon’s eyes had been filled with what looked suspiciously like judgement.

So Pendragon’s dragon didn’t like me. Hell, I didn’t like myself half the time.

I rubbed a hand over my face, heart still pounding like a drum. What was I even doing? Torturing my consort to prove a point? Acting like a petty tyrant in front of my entire house?

Was this who I really was now?

Unexpectedly, I found myself thinking of my older brother. If he were in my situation, Marcus would never have had a moment of self-doubt. He’d have laughed at me for even wondering ifI might be wrong. He’d have encouraged me to take things further.

But Marcus was a loathsome prick who had murdered one of his own consorts.

Was he really the standard I wanted to aspire to?

Why had Nyxaris suddenly shown up? Why then? It meant something. It had to. Had he known what I was doing? Had she told him?

More importantly, was Pendragon closer to bonding with the beast than she’d let on?

The thought made me feel stupidly, irrationally jealous. Now I wasn’t just competing with Kage for her loyalty. I had to fight a fucking dragon for her attention.

And the worst part was, I was pretty sure I’d already lost.

Nyxaris was clearly loyal to her. Protective. Had he come as a warning to me? To remind me I wasn’t in control? Not of Pendragon, not of my house, not even of myself?

I blew out a hot breath and ran my hands through my hair. I wanted to be angry at Pendragon but the truth was, I was impressed. A dragon wouldn’t show loyalty to someone who didn’t deserve it. The creatures were brutal. The Duskdrake had already shown that with Lord Mortis.

I couldn’t deny that my consort had strength. She’d faced down Laurent without a complaint and she might even have won. She’d stood tall under my barbs.

Maybe I was being an idiot, pushing her like this. Maybe there was another way to handle her, to get her on my side.

I thought of how close we’d become last year. How good it had felt to think, just briefly, that she was on my side. The two of us against the world.

Now I was alone again.

Oh, I’d been alone before. Regan had never felt like a true partner.

But this was somehow worse. Much worse. Now I knew what a real partnership could feel like. I’d had a taste of something real.

And I’d destroyed it.

I glanced down at my arm. The fucking scales were still there. They were fading but still unmistakable.

I thought of something—had the dragon done this to me? Maybe it was just about proximity. Maybe I wasn’t the only one it had happened to.

I felt my body sag in relief.

My stomach twisted as I stared at the scales, willing them to disappear. But was that really the explanation? After all, no one had reacted quite like I did.

Nyxaris might have been Pendragon’s problem. But now I had a new one of my own.

CHAPTER 15 - MEDRA

My heart stuttered when I heard the beating of massive wings.

Nyxaris.

The black dragon folded his wings by his side almost casually, as his sharp, luminous eyes scanned the training yard.

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