Page 80 of Marked Dragon

“No, not at all.” I stepped forward, wanting to be seen as the leader. “I was wondering if you’d be open to Thorn attempting to remove your dragon and give it back to you. It might reverse the injury Drake gave you that day in the clearing when you stood up for Saphira against him.”

“Wait.” Brenton lifted his hands. “Thorn can fix him?”

Tyson flinched.

“Not that you’re broken.” Brenton huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“How else could you mean it?” Tyson glared at his father, his eyes glistening.

Drake had caused so much strife in people’s lives. He’d hurt Tyson, forcing him to feel inadequate.

“Sometimes, people phrase things ignorantly or make mistakes.” Eva rubbed her arms and glanced at me. “They might say the wrong thing or say nothing at all—which could be worse—and act distant because that’s all they’ve known since someone important passed away.”

My breath caught. Was that her way of addressing what our relationship had been like during the last six years since Mom passed?

“What are the risks?” Cassidy asked, changing the direction of the conversation.

That was probably the safest bet.

“The biggest one is that I don’t know what I’m doing.” Thorn’s shoulders were hunched slightly. “I changed Everly from human to dragon shifter, and when I was six, I took King Arman’s dragon and gave it back to him immediately. Other than those two instances, I’ve only recently taken dragons, and that was mainly fueled by my need to save Everly. After making her a dragon shifter by accident, I tried to take her dragon away, and it didn’t work. The risk is that I might not be able to take your dragon if I’m not being fueled by emotion, or I might take it away and not be able to give it back, making you human permanently.”

“Do it,” Tyson said without hesitation. “I’m good with you trying whatever.”

“Hell yeah.” Elliott pumped his fist. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

Saphira scowled and growled, “Let’s not encourage him to act irrationally.”

“I’m with Saphira,” Brenton said as he placed a hand on Tyson’s shoulder. “We need time to think it through.”

“No,wedon’t need time.” Tyson glanced from Brenton to Saphira. “Maybe you two do, but that doesn’t matter. I’m a legal adult now, and I want Thorn to try. I’d rather try and become a human forever than be scared and never have a way to truly fly like I should be able to. At least, if I’m human, there’ll be a reason I’m not like the two of you, and I won’t have a dragon going stir-crazy. I want to try, and that’s my choice.”

Saphira rubbed her chest as Brenton rubbed his temples.

Cassidy exhaled. “I’m not trying to push my opinion, but I’ve had to come to grips with Thorn and his magic. One of the hardest things about caring for someone is knowing when to let go and when to push back. This is a choice between Tyson and his dragon, just as it’s up to Thorn whether he tries to use his magic.”

My vision blurred. I hadn’t considered that Thorn using his magic might impact Cassidy. Maybe this was something he and I should’ve discussed with her. She had given up everything to protect him. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think about what I was suggesting.”

“No reason to apologize, dear,” Cassidy assured me with a sad smile. “You didn’t do anything wrong. If Thorn can use his powers for good, that would be beyond amazing.”

That was the point. I believed that if Thorn got over his fear of using his magic, it could be a blessing and something that could help dragons if they wanted it.

“She’s right.” Brenton clasped his hands. “If Thorn and Tyson want to try this, knowing all the facts, who am I to try to stop them?”

“His dad.” Saphira lifted her hands. “Even if Tyson becomes human, Drake will still hunt him. It’s not like that’s his get-out-of-jail-free card.”

“Why does that sound familiar?” Elliott tapped his chin. “What video game did you take that from?” He snapped his fingers. “It’s fromA Way Out,isn’t it?”

“No, dumbass.” Eva shook her head. “It’s fromMonopoly. We used to play it with Mom and Everly on board game night.”

His mouth dropped open. “Oh, yeah. Back when we were heathens and didn’t own electronics.” He shivered. “Those were hard times.”

“Seriously?” Saphira lifted a brow. “You’re derailing a serious conversation.”

“Saphy, you know I love you.” Tyson gave her puppy-dog eyes. “But if Dad can get behind this, why can’t you? Either way, Thorn is going to try. I’m asking for your blessing, but it’s not required.”

She scoffed, then took a deep breath. “Fine, but only because I love you and you got injured protecting me. I guess it’s the least I can do.”

The dread and fear rolling off Thorn increased, and our connection became heavy and cold.

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