Maurek scowled at him. "Keep in mind, dragons aren't pets. Dragons are partners. They fight, they care, they protect. In battle, they are fierce, and in peace, they are protective. In your life, you'll never have a more loyal companion."
The speech had the sound of something rehearsed, but heartfelt all the same. One question continued to haunt him. "If she's so rare and special, how do you think she got lost?" He scratched the deadly creature under the neck like he would a friendly pet cat.
The dragon trainer shrugged. "Someone might've dropped an egg, or stolen one. Doesn't matter now. Once they've bonded, they have to be trained by their bond-mate."
Jory nodded. With more care than before, he lifted up the dragon and started to hand it over to the dragon trainer. As much as he adored Precious, he knew nothing about dragons and hoped she'd find a good home. "Sounds like you know what you're doing. Make sure she gets a good bond-mate. The dragon turned and looked at him with two sapphire-colored eyes.
Weren't they gold before?
"Please don't tell me that one of the signs of bonding is a change in eye color."
Maurek smiled. "Eye color changes, they'll only respond to one person…"
"Damn." Jory gave Maurek his best pleading look. "Please, please tell me that they can re-bond."
The dragon trainer shook his head. "Never heard of that happening. Once they pick a person to bond with, they stay with them until death."
"Mine or hers?"
Maurek rolled his eyes. "I doubt you can be bound if you're dead. You picked a tough one to bond with, but you'll never have a more loyal friend, and you appear immune to the poison. It's a privilege to bond with not only a rare black dragon but an egg bearer. The gods are blessing your every step. You can get top dollar for a black dragon egg. Not to mention black dragon scales. When she sheds, you'll have more money than you can dream of. Now that she's bonded with you, it's your duty to see she's properly mated."
"Of course it is." Somehow nothing that happened on this planet surprised him any more.
Maurek flashed him a shy smile. "I could help you with your training. If she's going to be around people, you'll have to train her how to behave with others. I doubt once she gets bigger you'll be around to feed and walk her every day."
Jory gave him a grateful look. "I would appreciate that. How do I get her to stop vanishing? It's frustrating. Rai and Val didn't even believe she existed until I was hurt."
Maurek looked at the dragon with a wondrous smile. "She can teleport? I thought that was a myth. Of course, until a little while ago, I thought black dragons were too. We'll have to study how she does it and why. It could be a defense mechanism."
"Huh." Jory scratched the dragon behind her head. "Who has an itchy spot, hmmm?"
Maurek shook his head. "Remember the not pet part."
Jory laughed as Precious gave a loud purr.
Bells sounded through the room.
"You'd best get going."
"Why? What's that sound for?"
"Your mating ceremony. It's to look for mating marks. I'm sure the duke and the king will want you there."
Sighing, Jory petted Precious's head. "Yes, I'm sure they will."
He set her gently on the bed. "Let's leave you here tonight. I don't want you burning anyone or spitting acid." With a final pat on the dragon's head, he bid the trainer goodbye and headed to the enormous meeting room, semi-hoping he'd get lost in the crowd. His heart ached at the thought of having to choose between the men.
* * * *
Jory was nervous. There was no way to hide it as he exchanged small smiles with the others in the group. Z walked up and slapped him on the back. "Today's the big day. Did you look at your mark before coming?"
"I was too nervous," Jory said, shaking his head.
"Can I look?"
"No." A soft hiss alerted him the dragon's presence on his shoulder. "How'd you get here? I told you to stay in the room," he whispered to the little creature.
The dragon purred, but the weight remained around his shoulder.
