Page 39 of Dark Dragon’s Mate

And then Emon’s dragon took control and… licked him? WTF?

Brock went into a fit of giggles, wiping his cheek with his hand.

the dragon said loftily.

That just made Brock giggle harder. And then he freaking patted the Darkwing Dragon’s nose, like he was a pony.

And he still did not get eaten.

“I knew you were a good dragon,” Brock said. “I have to go. Thank you for showing yourself to me.”

He ran off toward the stairs. Halfway there, he turned and called out, “Good hunting!”

Emon shook his head, and then jumped off the roof into the cool morning air.

Chapter 20

Emon flew out over his domain, still thinking about Brock. He’d never met anyone like him; he seemed to glow from the inside with a pure, bright light. Just being next to him had made Emon feel like everything might somehow work out okay.

Even though it probably wouldn’t.

But he couldn’t stop replaying what Brock had said, no matter how hard he tried not to.

Because even if Trish wanted to live as long as a dragon, it was impossible. Flynn was descended from the Lion Guard of Al-Maddeiri, and had Draken DNA. Israel Jonas had been gifted with Draken health and longevity by the king of House Akkabi.

This wasn’t the same.

his dragon said.

That wasn’t as encouraging as it might have been; his dragon was convinced he could do anything, whether it was possible or not.

And it was stupid to make life decisions based on the advice of a six-year-old.

his dragon said.

You do?

Emon sighed.

He strained his wings, feeling the burn of the wound in his side but ignoring it. Instead, he climbed higher and higher, as if he could escape into the sun.

For the hundredth time, or maybe the thousandth, he wished he was the one who’d gotten to kill Ragnor the Evil Fucking Bastard, instead of Flynn. He’d still be wounded, but at least he’d feel better about it.

Yes, it would.

He could see almost to the edges of his domain now—the ring of mountains that surrounded his territory, the atherias mine, the gold mine, the iron mines. The castle, and the river, the long line of the cliffs with their waterfalls and fertile valley at the bottom, the meadows where sheep and cattle grazed. The farms that provided food and grain and cloth fibers and leather, the forests where they harvested timber.

It was a good domain, and a prosperous one. From this height, all the buildings looked like toys, and the people looked like tiny insects.

his dragon said.

Bloodthirsty beast.

You can have a sheep.