Page 79 of Marked Dragon

“Wait.” Eva’s face lit up, and her attention landed on my mate. “Is that something you can do for Tyson to fix his dragon?”

“No. He’s already a dragon…” Thorn spoke slowly, speaking to her delicately. “I can’t give him another one.”

My stomach swooped alarmingly. She’d made me think of something I hadn’t before.

Something that might prevent everything Drake was killing for.

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

If I hadn’t knownany better, I would have thought I was floating as my breath stuck in my chest. “You said you took Arman’s dragon and gave it back, right?”

Thorn faced me with furrowed brows and nodded.

I didn’t want to jump right to the end, needing to think everything through before I got ahead of myself. “And you mentioned you can use your magic to pull the energy of past dragons from the air to create a new dragon shifter, like you did for me, right?”

He scratched his head. “Yes. I don’t know how, but when that magic pulses from me, I can feel the essence of dragons who’ve passed and the energy of the dragon inside the person as well. They feel the same, just…one is inside a living person.”

That information enthralled me, but that was a discussion for a later time. “Hypothetically, what if you took Tyson’s dragon and gave it back? Maybe whatever injured his dragon could be replenished from the surrounding essences. Maybe you could heal his dragon’s injury.”

Eva smiled, her irises lightening with hope. “Do you think that could work?”

“I… I don’t know.” Thorn rubbed his hands together, his face lined with worry. “My magic is a curse. I don’t see how it could do something good like that.”

My heart panged. I didn’t believe that, but Thorn did. Why wouldn’t he, after his own father tried to kill him for having this ability? If healing Tyson worked, it could convince other dragon shifters that Thorn wasn’t a threat, and he would see the good he could do for his people. “If Tyson is willing, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“I’ll go get him.” Elliott jumped to his feet and jogged to the house. “I’m sick and tired of seeing him mope around.”

I frowned. He sounded similar to Peter with his lack of empathy, but I had to remember he was young, and he’d been raised by his father for the past six years with me visiting only intermittently.

When Elliott went into the barn, Thorn kicked at the grass.I’m not sure this is a good idea. What if I mess him up further?His trepidation weighed on our connection.

Moving closer to him, I placed my hand on his arm and looked into his eyes. I pushed all my love toward him and connected,We’ll be honest with him about the risks, and if he says yes, it won’t be your fault. We warned him. Babe, you changed me, and you’ve taken the king’s dragon and given it back. I don’t think there’s much at risk here, since you’ll be learning to connect with your magic, and potentially relieving a dragon shifter of something that is impacting him.

His sky-blue irises locked on me, and I reveled in them, memorizing each diamond fleck. The next words flowed out before I could even think about them.I believe in you.

His eyes widened, and his breath hitched. Something nebulous crossed his face before strong emotions swirled between us. The sensation was both heartbreaking and joyful.

He wrapped his arms around me, pulled me close, and kissed me.

You don’t know how much that means to me,he connected as his tongue brushed against my lips.

“Uh…” Eva cleared her throat. “I know I’m not usually the mouthy one, but no one else is here to say anything, so it’s on me. I’m pretty sure I just got pregnant watching you two.”

I laughed and took a step back, enjoying the moment. This was what normal felt like: being in love with an amazing man and having my little sister there to rag on me about it. I could only hope there were many more moments like these in our future.

The back door opened, and Saphira, Brenton, Tyson, Cassidy, and Elliott came out. Saphira had an eyebrow arched, while Tyson’s eyes were downcast. Brenton had a curious gaze, and Cassidy scanned the surroundings as if looking for answers. Elliott’s body language was the most unique. He had a bounce in his step and a grin on his face.

When they reached the firepit, Saphira stood behind the chair across from me and crossed her arms. “What exactly do you want to talk to Tyson about?”

At least, Elliott hadn’t run his mouth. There was no telling what would’ve come out. I’d imagined something like,You want a new fucking dragon?or an equally blunt question.

“Well, I—” Thorn bit his lip, our bond cooling as his insecurities filled it.

“I wanted to run something by Tyson.” I’d take the blame so if it didn’t work out, everyone would be mad at me and not Thorn. I refused to let Thorn carry a mistake on his shoulders, when it would be my fault for suggesting we heal Tyson in the first place.

Tyson pursed his lips. “Let me guess. You want me to hide if there’s a fight since I’ll only cause more problems.” The agony on his face broke my heart.

They hadn’t exaggerated the pain he was enduring.

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