Page 11 of The Dragon's Emberlinked Mate
I shuddered as I thought about the way Rhythe’s body had been broken, how it had not been able to knit itself back together in time for his heart to beat. How if I’d been there as little as two minutes later, he might not be here to be irritated by the doctor’s comments. It had been close, too fucking close.
“That’s enough,” I said. “I assume all the paperwork is done?”
“It is. Rhythe is free to go. I want to have Vexus check up with him in a few days, maybe as early as tomorrow. He’ll report backto me, and if there’s anything we need to keep an eye on, we will. I think it goes without saying that strenuous activity is out of the question, right?”
“Wait, are you saying—” Rhythe squeaked.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “We will be on our best behavior.”
Rhythe crossed his arms over his chest—the same chest that just thirty-six hours ago had collapsed and broken his heart. That was all the reminder I needed that I would be keeping my hands to myself.
“Let’s get you home,” I said. “It’s a long drive to my house.”
“How? I know where it’s at and that’s not far.”
“Indeed, but it’s only accessible via dragon flight and all-terrain vehicles.”
“Oh… I don’t think I can fly yet.”
I kissed the top of his head. “Let me worry about that. I’ve got you, mate.” Always.
Chapter 7
Rhythe
“This place is huge.” I plopped down on the large sofa in the sitting room Emmen had shown me upon our arrival. Plopping hadn’t been my best move. As much as I wanted to be 100% better, I wasn’t, and the force of my body hitting the cushion sent a bolt of pain through my tailbone.
I grew up well off. There was no denying the privilege that was my upbringing. My house was grand by all accounts. But this place? It was in an entirely different league.
There were no doubt many other sitting rooms and countless other random rooms to see in this massive house. There was probably a whole library or a billiards room or other random room that only existed in mansions. Heck, there might even be multiple indoor pools. I might even need to make a map when I got the grand tour.
I’d flown over it before, so its size wasn’t a surprise, but I had never given much thought to the layout inside. I’d assumed that I’d never see it from any other perspective than from above. Now it was my home. What a difference crashing into a cliff made.
“How many bedrooms are there?” I asked.
“Ten bedrooms. Just as many bathrooms—I think, maybe more… maybe twelve. A library. Several offices. A personal gym. A sauna. A hot tub.” He was listing them off like the were a check list he’d memorized and not the place he actually lived.
My eyes widened with each word. “Why? And how do you manage this all on your own?”
His cheeks reddened as he sat next to me. He pulled my feet into his lap, leaving me no choice but to lean back on the armrest. I groaned when his thumbs dug into the arch of my foot, massaging it just right. It was exactly what I needed.
“I don’t manage it on my own. My position as Commander of the school comes with this house. It doesn’t belong to me.” And that explained the way it was more of a listing than him speaking with knowledge or even pride.
“I’ve made it my own, as many of the Commanders have over the years. In the library, there’s a historical record of the changes that have been made to the house by different Commanders. As for its size… well, it’s rare that I’m here alone.”
My eyes shot open, and I let out a low growl.
“Not like that, dear Rhythe,” he said quickly. “I don’t bring anyone here like that. Visitors to the clan or to the academy often stay with me or Lord Malric. In fact, Lord Malric himself will be here in two weeks.”
“Oh.” I shifted, feeling a little embarrassed for jumping to conclusions the way I did. I knew it was normal for dragons to be extra on edge between the time they found their mates and the moment they mated them, but this bordered on ridiculous. Not that my human side had been any better.
“I should leave before then, right? Go back to my parents’?” Mating was mating, but work was work. If this place was basically a huge-ass office for my mate, that was how it was. We could easily build our own place elsewhere, if it became too much.
He did not like my answer, and it was his turn to growl. He gripped my feet, firm but somehow still gentle. “You will not—unless you want to. This is your home now, as my mate. Or, if you’d rather not live here, we can live anywhere else. I own several properties across the continent and some overseas.”
“But you’re the Commander. You have to live here.” That was the way of things.
He shrugged. “I don’t have to be the Commander.”
