Page 72 of The Heart of the Dragon

"About time." I glanced up at Isaac's scowl and sneered at him.

Kitra put a hand on Isaac's arm to stop him before he said anything else. "What he means is that we're glad you're here. We need to get started."

"We need food."

Kitra nodded. "I figured as much. Brunch is being served out on the terrace while we work. I don't know if you've noticed, but we've lost almost the entire day."

"Ugh. I always forget how annoying you are."

A low rumble emitted from Isaac that I ignored. I didn't have time for his ego or his protectiveness of his mate.

I grabbed Rose's hand and followed Isaac and Kitra onto the terrace that overlooked a large wide open grassy space that was more than enough for a couple of dragons to shift and still have plenty of room to move around.

I looked down at Rose. "I hope you're ready for this. You may have met my dragon already, but today is going to be different. Today, you will learn to ride."

At the shocked look on her face, I leaned down and kissed her soundly. While it was fun to shock her, it was even better when I was touching her. By the time I broke the kiss and wandered down the steps to the middle of the open field, my skin was practically burning with the need to make the change.

A glance at my arms showed the translucent green of my scales melting the skin away as the bright, warm flash of magic encompassed my entire body. While a shift to dragon form could be painful in the beginning, I was far from that age and could make the transition both effortlessly and quickly.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that," Rose said, her voice full of awe.

I snorted my response, making sure to blast a little steam from my nose to emphasize my thoughts. Getting into her head wasn't as easy as getting into Isaac or Kitra's, and I could only chalk that up to her lack of active magic and the fact we weren't fully bonded.

I could feel my dragon's displeasure at that thought, and I couldn't agree more. Feeling the possible mate bond calling to me was far more painful than having never found a mate to bond with.

"But the real question is are you ready to ride?"

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

Rose

I letmy gaze travel over Magnus's enormous dragon body as I tried to swallow past a lump in my throat. I didn't even know how I was going to mount him, let alone ride. The sheer idea of trying to hold onto him as he lifted us into the sky both terrified and thrilled me.

"How do I?—"

Kitra giggled over my nervous rambling. I was so distracted by the magnificence of Magnus that I couldn't even finish my question. I walked down the steps and out onto the lawn so I could get a better look. The last time I'd seen him like this he'd been in a rage, and I'd been in pure panic mode. There'd been no time to admire him like this. But if I was expected to climb on and ride, the least I could do was explore everything first.

"Can I touch him?"

He snorted again, nodding his head, and I took that as a yes. I quickly walked across the lawn, only slowing my steps whenI got to within about fifty feet of him. From this distance, I could feel the warmth radiating from him and I wondered if that naturally happened or if he was kind of warming my seat. I slapped my hand over my mouth to hold in another nervous giggle and made my approach.

I started to reach for him and stopped.

“It's okay, little one. You can do this.”

My mouth dropped open. The words I heard in my head sounded just like Magnus.

"Is that you? Are you really in my head?"

When no response came, I rolled my shoulders and shook it off.

Kitra laughed. "Without the mate bond or your magic, it's difficult for him to keep up with the communication. You will have to rely on your instincts and trust his."

I nodded. "Okay then. I'm just going to do this." I'd learned long ago that you could either embrace your fear and accomplish the things you really wanted, or give into the fear and live half the life you hoped for. I always chose to face the fear.

Stepping forward, with my hands up, I stroked down the sides of his scales. The first thing that struck me was how surprisingly soft they were. Not cottony soft, but like a smooth, silky shell that conformed to his body.

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