Page 83 of Marked Dragon

Thorn was letting his emotions get the best of him, and I refused to allow it. “Before we assume the worst, maybe you should shift and see what’s different.”

If he can shift,Thorn connected but thankfully had enough clarity not to say it out loud.I might have made his situation worse. Maybe the king was right, and I shouldn’t be around other dragons. All I do is harm them.

I clenched my free hand, allowing my fingernails to bite into my palms. I would not let the king ruin this amazing man. He was spiraling, and it was my fault. I hadn’t realized he’d take it this hard if it didn’t pan out, especially when we’d warned Tyson that we didn’t know whether it would work, and the young man had agreed to try anyway.Thorn, none of this is your fault. Let’s see what happens.

“Yeah, I can do that.” Tyson rolled his shoulders and inhaled. He called toward the house, “Dad, wanna go on a flight with me?”

Part of me wanted to go with him, but I bit my tongue. He hadn’t been comfortable before when he’d known his dragon had issues. The last thing he probably wanted was Thorn and me hovering around, inspecting his dragon. Some insecurities were hard to get over.

The back door opened, and Brenton hurried toward us. His face was tight, and his eyes narrowed as he inspected his son. “Of course. Are you all right?”

“I’m not sure.” Tyson nodded toward the tree line. “But I guess we’re about to find out.”

Brenton nodded. “Let’s go.”

“We’ll be back soon.” Tyson exhaled. “I won’t leave you two hanging.”

The two of them headed off, leaving Thorn and me alone. My mate paced the open grassy area between the barn and the firepit. He ran his hands through his shaggy hair and kept his gaze cast downward.

I’d never seen him like this. “I’m sorry, Thorn.” I took a step toward him and stopped. He might not want me close after what I’d encouraged him to do. Maybe that was why my touch hadn’t calmed him as much as normal. “I understand why you’re upset with me.”

He stopped and turned to me. His face twisted. “I’m not upset withyou. I have no reason to be. You wanted to do something good for someone. That’s one of the reasons I love you—you truly care about others.” He lifted his arms. “And I want to be able to do thatfor you, but almost every time I use my magic, bad things happen.” He hurried a few steps closer to me. “I’m afraid of what might happen when you realize that, and I’m afraid something bad might happen to you because of me.”

My breath caught, and I didn’t hesitate. I closed the distance between us and touched his cheek, enjoying the jolt that thrummed under my hand. “Was changing me a bad thing?”

He flinched. “Of course not, but at first, you weren’t happy about it.”

“I was caught off guard, and there was all the crap with Drake and Eva.” I caressed his skin. “But I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m happy now, all because of you. You need to see that. You need to see that nothing bad has happened because ofyou. Drake was already targeting my family, and I was alreadypromisedto him. The only detail that changed was that I would be his wife, instead of his breeder, which wasn’t that much of a difference.”

A low growl emanated from his chest.I hate hearing about that, and one day, we will get the hell out of here so he can’t breathe down our necks.

If we leave and don’t fight, he’ll always be hunting us.I understood he wanted to believe there was somewhere safe we all could go, but a place like that didn’t exist. Not with someone like Drake, a powerful royal whose ego was more important to him than anything else. We’d embarrassed him in front of his people; he wouldn’t let that go. If anything, every day that hate and resentment festered inside him made the danger worse.

But there were more pressing matters, so I pivoted.You said your magic is a curse, but you made me into a dragon.We stared at each other.I don’t feel cursed. I, for once in my life, feel complete and like I belong.

He leaned down and pressed his forehead against mine.Of course, I don’t feel like changing you into a dragon was a curse, but I did it without your permission. It’s like, whenever I want to do something the right way, I mess up. Remember, you wanted me to take your dragon away, and I couldn’t.

I had forgotten about that. I couldn’t imagine being human again and giving up the amazing connection I had with him. There was nothing in the world more important, not even my promise to Mom.Maybe you couldn’t because we’re fated mates. You took Tyson’s from him, and you gave it back. Maybe your magic changed me because, as you said, your dragon recognized what I was.

Brows furrowing, he straightened.I hadn’t thought of it like that. It would go against everything within me to turn you back to human, but still, you asked, and I couldn’t deliver.

And I’m so damn thankful for it.I tugged at our connection, pushing the magnitude of my feelings toward him.Then we wouldn’t have this, and I will never give it up.

His irises lightened, and some of his turmoil lifted from our bond. Though the feelings were still there, they weren’t as strong.

The back door opened, and Saphira, Vlad, and Cassidy joined us in the backyard.

Saphira chewed on her lip and scanned the trees behind us. “Is Tyson okay? I heard Brenton come out but was trying to give them a few minutes before I barged in to check on him.”

I lifted a brow. “I didn’t realize you were capable of such self-restraint.” I tried schooling my expression because I was teasing her. If she didn’t have self-restraint, she would’ve ratted Thorn out to the cops who had come by the cabin before we’d learned everything.

She scrunched her nose. “I have my moments, and I know how Tyson is struggling. I didn’t want to make things worse for him.” Her lips tipped downward.

Thorn placed an arm around my waist. “We aren’t sure. I took his dragon away and gave it back, but he said something didn’t feel right. He and Brenton went for a flight to see what happened.”

Wings flapped overhead, and our group glanced skyward. Two dragons came into view, flying over the treetops, barreling toward us. They were similar in size, but the one on the left was cream-colored and the other was maroon. Both were flying without issue.

Thorn’s arm tensed around me.

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