“Well, good luck with your research,” I told him. “I’m going to class.”
“All right, I’ll see you later. Oh, and don’t bother going back to your dorm afterwards,” he remarked. “I’ve already moved all your things into my room.”
“What?” I exclaimed, stopping dead in the middle of the hallway, which made other cadets curse and go around me.
Ryse stopped too.
“I said, I’ve moved your things into my room,” he said. “I did it right before lunch—it was easy—you don’t have much.”
I wondered if he’d seen the wide bandages I’d wrapped around my breasts before I knew the Dragon Glass pendant would hide my identity.
“You can’t just decide to move me into your room!” I protested.
Ryse frowned.
“Yes, I can. I’m your Wing Leader and you’re under my protection. You’ll be safer with me.”
“But…but you didn’t even ask anyone!” I sputtered.
He shrugged.
“Didn’t have to. I can choose to have a roommate if I want—that’s one of the privileges of being a Wing Leader.”
“But you didn’t ask me!” I pointed out.
“Look, Auri, let’s talk.” Ryse took me by the shoulder and steered me to an alcove. There were a few curious glances from the other cadets passing by, but most of them probably just assumed we were hashing out something that had happened during the Mating Flight.
I put my back against the stone wall, crossed my arms, and frowned up at him belligerently.
“You can’t just decide I’m moving in with you,” I said. “I should get a say about where I stay.”
Though I had longed to be in a two-person room at the start of the semester, it felt dangerous now. I couldn’t shake the feeling that, of all the people at the Academy, Ryse was the most likely to pierce the glamour the Dragon Glass pendant shielded me with and discover my secret.
“I need to keep you with me to keep you safe.” Ryse put a hand on the wall above my head and leaned over me. He looked down into my eyes, his golden gaze intense. “I can’t risk you getting hurt like you almost were last night.”
“After what you did to Larson, I doubt he’ll come near me again,” I said, trying not to notice how close he was. The way he was leaning over me it was almost like he was going to kiss me again.
A memory from the night before flashed though my mind—me straddling his lap, kissing him, and rubbing against him while something hot and hard rubbed against my core…
No! I pushed the thought away.
“If you think that, you don’t know Larson,” Ryse said, frowning. “We both know the Head Master won’t kick him out. As soon as he heals up, he’ll be after you again. But even if he isn’t, I want to keep you close in case we have another Mating Flight like the one last night.”
“But…there’s only one bed in your room,” I pointed out, wishing my voice didn’t come out sounding so breathless.
Ryse frowned.
“Are you worried I’ll try something?” he asked bluntly.
I could feel my cheeks burning.
“I never said that!”
“But I can tell you’re thinking it—look at how you’re blushing.” He brushed his knuckles against my hot cheek and looked into my eyes. “I told you, Auri—I don’t like other men. Last night was a one-off—just an effect of the Mating Flight.”
“What if there’s another Mating Flight like that one, though?” I asked in a small voice. I didn’t want to say that I wasn’t sure I could control myself with him if another intense Flight happened. It wasn’t that I was afraid he would hurt me—it was more like I was worried I would blow my own disguise if I got too overcome by the dragons’ emotions to think rationally.
“I’ll make sure to lay in a double dose of the calming tea I usually have on hand—some for both of us,” Ryse promised.
