Page 74 of Connor and the Dragons

Connor looked at the sky, where you could still see a subtle glint of Kessrin’s wings in the distance. “You let your feelings rule you. It worked out in the end, but you know how Kess loves logic and a good plan.”

“Yeah.”

“We need to have a calm discussion. Figure out what he’s so angry about. Maybe he’s just crashing after the adrenaline of the escape.”

I chewed my bottom lip. “It seemed like more.”

“It did. But we won’t know until we talk to him. And we can’t do that here.” He tilted his head up and kissed my cheeks, and my lips.

“What did he mean about you and the flirtation?”

Connor blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I thought it was about me offering him to Harrowgate, but he says that was the mission.”

“You still shouldn’t have.”

“I know. I didn’t mean to go through with it, I was just using Kess as bait.”

“I don’t like using Kess as bait. I should apologize too, and hopefully he’ll forgive us. Right?”

“Hopefully.” Connor didn’t sound any more confident than I felt.

“He’s quite magnificent when he’s angry. Did you see? He didn’t even care that he was walking around naked.”

Connor smiled a little. “Quite immodest. But we have to be careful with him. He needs more than he says he does, and he’s not the best at communicating.”

“No. He holds it in until the frost leaks out. That’s why I did it for him.” My voice cracked in the middle and I let it crack. “I want you to know that. Not for the hoard. Not for Vyranthos, and not because I wanted to break something, although I did want to break something, because Harrowgate was very irritating. I looked at him in that chair, going all frosty, and I went up through the roof.”

“I believe you. And he does too. You know that, right? He’s just scared.”

“So we should go make him less scared, right?” I asked.

“Right. But first you’re going to tell me about that wing. The truth, this time.”

“I told you. Magnificent.”

“Oallian.”

I blew out a breath. “It hurts, but it is not fatal. We can make it across the sea. It’s well within my healing capabilities.”

Connor narrowed his eyes like he didn’t quite trust this to be true.

“Connor, I’m made of magic. I’m okay.”

“You will rest, for at least an hour,” Connor said, and when I started to argue, he held up a hand. “Be a good boy and listen.”

I listened. I lay on the rock with my head in his lap for an hour while he combed his fingers through my hair and watched the sky where Kessrin had gone, and it was the longest I had held still since I met him.

“Can you fly?” he asked, when the hour was up.

“I can fly.”

“Good. If we ever do something like that again, don’t get shot. I almost lost it.”

“Noted.”

“Okay then. Get us home, sweetheart.” He took hold of the edge of the basket with the mirror in it, and climbed in. “And don’t do whatever it was you did that made Moerrven kiss the ground like a long lost lover.”

“That was so rude,” I grumped.