Page 26 of To Spark a Dragon's Love
I glanced at Lucan who sat with his jacket slung over the back of the chair as he poured himself a glass of whiskey.
“How do you shut off the bond?” I asked.
He choked on the amber liquid, sputtering as he sucked it down. “Why the fuck would you want to do something like that?”
Of course he wouldn’t understand. I knew where he stood when it came to Riley. He’d shun us all and watch the world burn for her. That’s how I liked it—him having the opportunityto choose which path he wanted to take. He was still my kid brother, no matter how old he got, and I wanted the best for him.
Even if that meant he thought me a monster.
I adjusted the constricting tie around my neck. “Just answer the question.”
I shouldn’t have asked, but it was either him or—
“Kieran!” Lucan roared his name out loud. “Get in here and talk some sense into your idiot cousin.”
“I’m coming.”Kieran used our familial mind-link. His footsteps quickened in the hall.
“Why doesn’t he have to wear a suit?” Lucan hitched a thumb over his shoulder as Kieran stepped into my bedroom wearing slacks and a button-up shirt.
“Because I wasn’t stupid enough to have my bonding ceremony at the same time as the guardian.” Kieran leaned against my bedpost. “Now why was my presence requested?”
“I’m rethinking my whole life at this point,” Lucan grumbled as he returned to his whiskey. “And his royal highness wants to sever the mating bond.”
“Goddess, why would you do that?” Kieran gasped.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, already exhausted from the dramatics. It’d been a long time since I was forced to suffer the constant nitpicking of these two. They were as bad as Grace and Agatha when we were hatchlings.
Just tell them the reason.
“I want to know how to stop sharing emotions and feelings through the bond,” I said before they could work themselves up further. “Willow felt my frustration the other day despite me doing my best to hide it. I’m afraid she’ll be forced to experience my pain too as the bond grows and Earth calls.”
“Oh, well now I feel like an asshole.” Lucan spoke to the bottom of his glass.
“I’m not concerned with how you feel, brother.” I snapped on my cufflinks. “I need to know how the bond works.”
A sense of déjà vu came over me and my dragon stilled, leaning into the bond to sense where Willow was. The cabin’s distance felt too far away, but he felt her curiosity. She was asking questions. No doubt to her female friends. Whatever answers she received seemed to strengthen her steely resolve.
She felt ready to face the dragons.
Brave yet foolish woman.
My beast settled down with an angryhmph.
I couldn’t deny he’d been less ornery lately. Having Willow close by helped to ease some of his more restless energy—mostly because he spent so much time trying to sense what she was doing.
After tonight, he’d need to find another hobby.
We’ll see.
What’s that supposed to mean?
“Are you even listening to me?” Kieran said.
I nodded, having no idea what I’d missed.
He knew it too. “As I was saying, there are ways to mute the bond for short times, like when I planned a surprise dinner for Ember, but you wouldn’t be able to hold that up long term or in a weakened state.”
His words hung in the air.Weakened.
