32. Chapter 32
Chapter 32
T he following day, I have another date with Dryden. I’ve been feeling confused about not getting any closer to him, so I try to speed up the process.
I try to share.
I try to get him to share.
I even try to find something he’s prickly about to pick a fight.
Nothing makes me feel any closer to him.
So by the time we’re wrapping the date up and he’s walking me back to my room, my mind is buzzing in search of more things I could try.
“Maybe we could elope next time,” he says, smiling, when we come to a stop in front of my door.
“Um, sure.”
He squints at me. “What’s wrong?”
I raise my eyebrows at him, my heart starting to pound at the very thought that this might be that moment of connection. “What do you mean?” I whisper.
“There’s obviously something distracting you,” he replies, tilting his head at me with this soft look in his eyes.
And he’s just shown that he sees me, so why do I still feel so… disappointed?
Then the thought occurs to me and I don’t hesitate. “It wasn’t my intention to do this so soon, but… I have something for you.”
I take the lighter out of my pocket and hand it to him, eagerly soaking up his reaction.
His eyebrows shoot up. “Wow, that’s… really nice.”
Hope floods me. “You think so?”
He smiles. “Yes, thank you.”
I bite the bullet. “What would you say if I told you you were my mate?”
To my surprise, he lets out a laugh. “I suspected as much.”
Smiling widely, I breathe a sigh of relief. So he feels the same. “Did you?” I ask teasingly.
He grins. “I did. Why else would I be getting this much attention from the Aurora?” And he leans in for a kiss.
Turning my head away, I let out a slightly awkward laugh. “I’m sorry, I—”
“No no,” he whispers. Pulling away a little, he just tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear and gives me a warm smile.
I smile back.
“After all the work you did today,” he says, obviously but very sweetly changing the subject, “I’m pretty certain it’s a good night’s sleep you’re in for.”
I laugh. “Don’t even mention it. It’s ridiculous, that we’re not making any progress whatsoever.”
“What about the books you found?” he asks, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “At least we’ve lifted the stones long enough to get those .”
I let out a sigh. “Useless. They do mention some kind of artifact that can be used to track anything down, which could definitely be of help, were it not for the fact that they go on to refer to it as the dragon’s eye ,” I intone theatrically.
This makes the smile slide off his face. “Dragon’s eye?”
I turn serious as well. “Yes.”
Something flashes through his eyes. “There’s a compass with a dragon’s eye embedded into it,” he tells me in a low, excited voice, “right here at the Academy.”