“Well, M’alex tried to warn me that Georges was reckless,” Ryse went on. “But I didn’t listen—I thought he was just trying to get attention and the less attention I gave him, the more he would settle down.”
“So what happened to him?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
Ryse shook his head.
“He tried a risky flying maneuver—just like L’eesha did today. He had only bonded with a common Brown, so his dragon wasn’t smart enough to say “no” to him.”
“Did he dive off the Flight Terraces?” I asked.
“No.” Ryse sighed. “He flew straight at the side of the Old Drake. I think he intended to pull up at the last minute and fly straight up. It would have been quite a trick if he could have pulled it off, but you can’t do that kind of thing on a Brown—they’re not smart enough or fast enough.”
“So they…” I trailed off, not sure I wanted to hear the rest.
“They flew right into the side of the mountain at full speed,” Ryse said, and I could hear the sorrow in his voice. “Both died, of course. I should have listened to M’alex—I should have seen that I needed to discipline Georges before it was too late—not just ignored his antics thinking he would settle down on his own.”
“That’s why you were so strict with L’eesha today,” I said softly.
“And it’s why you’re going to have to be strict with her, too,” he said. “She’s the smartest dragon I’ve ever seen, and she has the loudest mental voice—I really do believe she could direct every dragon in the Academy at once if she wanted to. You have to set limits now or she’ll be uncontrollable by the time she reaches her full growth.”
“Do you really think she could command every dragon in all the Wings at once?” I asked curiously.
He shrugged.
“Who knows? Maybe. The point is, she has to learn to behave or there will be consequences—maybe even fatal ones!”
He pulled me close again and kissed my forehead tenderly.
“I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you, little one,” he murmured. “I can’t even think about it.”
But it seemed he had been thinking about it—ever since L’eesha had dived off the cliff with me on her back, it had been on his mind.
I nuzzled against him, breathing in his warm, masculine spice and taking comfort from his big body pressed against mine. I didn’t feel any sweet grass effects tonight—apparently L’eesha wasn’t having any growing pains at the moment, which was good. But I still wanted to be close to Ryse—wanted to touch him and let him touch me.
From the way he shifted against me and the hard ridge I felt branding my hip, he must feel the same way, I thought.
“Ryse,” I said, allowing my fingers to drift down to where he was pressing against me. “Can I…could I touch you the way you touched me last night?”
He gave a soft laugh and then a groan as I continued to stroke him through his uniform trousers.
“Curious are you, little one?”
“Well…yes,” I admitted. “I mean, I had never seen a man’s, er, equipment until I came here and I’ve spent the past six months trying not to see it all around me—especially at the Cook-pot. But, well…I’ve never seen one up close. Would you mind showing me?”
“I don’t mind, but I have to warn you, I don’t look the same as most of the males here,” he told me seriously.
“You don’t? Why not?” I was more curious than ever.
“Well…let’s just say that my shaft is another place where my dragon-blood shows,” he told me. “Where most males have hair, I have scales.”
This was immediately intriguing to me, since all the males I’d seen naked so far had patches of wiry hair around their male parts that I had to confess I found off-putting. I liked the idea of him having scales instead.
“I want to see it,” I said. “Please?”
He frowned, his golden eyes holding mine.
“You’re sure? It won’t… frighten you?”
“Nothing about you frightens me, Ryse,” I said, and I meant it. After last night with the sweet grass, I knew I was safe with him. He could easily have taken advantage of me but instead he had protected me. Now all I felt was a thrumming curiosity and a deep, steady trust.
