I grinned. “Wow. That’s the first time I’ve seen you act confident. I like it.”
The confidence instantly melted. Mylo blushed again, sputtering, “W-what?”
“I said what I said.”
Mylo huffed, stuffing his hands into his sweatpants pockets. It wasn’t the first time I noticed it, but his clothes were oversized and baggy. Was he trying to hide his body?
Out of nowhere, my dragon stirred. An abrupt thrum of desire pulsed in my blood.
Mylo cleared his throat. “A-anyway, why did you come here? I wasn’t supposed to see you until dinner.”
I completely forgot about the challenge, Mylo’s win, and our promised dinner date. Hope and anticipation fluttered in my belly.
And then it was squashed when I recalled the reason I’d come here—to confront Mylo about his meddling.
I stared blankly at him for a few beats. I couldn’t soothe his crying, then immediately berate him for his uncanny powers. I wouldn’t do that to Mylo.
“All right. I have a question,” I said. “How can you tell me and Saffron apart?”
“Oh.” Mylo tilted his head. He pursed his lips, mulling it over. “I don’t know.”
“Bullshit. That’s not a real answer. And don’t deny it. Iknowyou can.”
Mylo chewed the inside of his cheek. “I mean... You’re obviously different. You’reyou.”
I felt like I’d been punched in the chest, but in a good way.
“And, um...” Mylo shuffled his feet. “There’s something else, too.”
“What?”
His nose twitched. “You... smell different.”
That surprised me. Dragons had decent senses of smell, but not the best. Plenty of mammal shifters had better olfactory senses, including ferrets. Yet none of the wolves or bears or what-have-you differentiated us during the challenge. Why was Mylo unique?
“I do?” I asked, wanting to hear more.
He nodded, avoiding my gaze. His cheeks were dusted pink again. “I mean, Saffron smells fine. He doesn’t smell bad or anything. But you smell...”
He never finished his sentence. Instead, he zipped his lips and his face turned the color of a beet.
Propelled by curiosity, I stepped closer. “What? Tell me what I smell like.”
Mylo gulped. He fiddled with the unnecessarily long edge of his shirt. “I dunno, kind of like... musky. And spicy. And like... lying in a grassy field on a nice sunny day.” He blurted out the last part quickly, then exclaimed, “Gods, that doesn’t make sense, just ignore me.”
But I was floored. That sweet description wasn’t what I expected. It filled my chest with an airy, fluttery sensation.
“Um, it’s getting late,” Mylo fretted. “I’d better get ready for our date—I mean,thedate. Bye!”
He flew into the bathroom and shut the door.
Part of me considered breaking down the door to continue talking to him. But I wasn’t Cobalt, the resident door-destroyer. Unlike my eldest brother, I had a modicum of patience. Although the longer I lingered by Mylo’s bathroom door, the stronger the urge became.
“All right. See you tonight,” I called to Mylo.
“S-see you, Aurum.”
There was that fluffy tingle in my chest again.
