Page 78 of Taste of Thorns

“I’m sorry, but I can’t miss a lesson. This is really important to me.”

“Then can we come and watch?” Clare says, sliding her glasses up her nose. “I think it would help take our minds off things.”

“Errr,” I say, “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

Fly rolls his eyes and turns to Clare. “Because there’s canoodling involved.”

“There is not!”

“Good. Then that’s decided. We’ll come watch.”

I open my mouth to give another reason why the two of them can’t come but I don’t have one. The truth is, I’ve been enjoying my one-on-one time with Fox and I’m not keen to have that interrupted, but I realize that makes me a shitty friend, especially when they’re both feeling so sad, so I bite my tongue and decide to lump it.

Half an hour later, as we trudge through the forest, I’m regretting my life choices because Fly is once again moaning about the cold and Clare is monologuing about the facts she learned in Professor Cornelius’ lesson that day.

I can feel a headache brewing behind my eyeballs, a feeling that lifts miraculously as we step out of the trees and into theclearing. Fox is already there, lingering in the shadows, his eyes glowing. He glances at my two friends, then back to me, lifting an eyebrow.

“We have a couple of spectators,” I say, then whisper silently, “sorry.”

I half expect him to order them away, or to descend into a grump.

Instead, he nods, swiping his cloak off his shoulders and rolling up his sleeves.

“As long as they are silent spectators who don’t interrupt, that’s fine.”

Right on cue, Clare screams her lungs out and when I spin to see what’s wrong, I find Blaze has appeared out of nowhere and is once again pawing all over her, his long tongue slurping up her cheeks.

“Oh my goodness,” Fly cries, “this dragon is totally in love with you!”

“Blaze stop that!” I tell him.

It doesn’t work. The dragon acts like he hasn’t heard me at all.

I march over to them both and with my arms wrapped around his neck, attempt to pull him away. He whines and struggles in my arms.

“Sheesh,” Fly shakes his head, “he must have a thing for smart girls.”

“Trust me,” Clare wipes the slobber from her cheeks, grimacing as she does. “That is not a quality the male species is searching for. In fact, most boys run in the other direction when they find out you’re smarter than they are.”

“Boys might do,” Fox says, eyes locked on me. “Men do not.”

“Oh,” Clare says, flushing so hard it’s visible even in the darkness.

“I’ve always found smart women incredibly attractive,” Fox says in his deep growl of a voice causing Clare to erupt into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

Fly looks at her cautiously like she might have become possessed.

“You all right there, Clare Bear?”

“Yes,” she finally manages to squeak, but she continues to hiccup, unable to look the professor in the eye.

Blaze makes an attempt to escape my hold and launch himself at her again.

If I’m meant to have a connection with this dragon, it definitely isn’t working. He ignores my instructions to leave Clare alone and in the end my friend settles on a log and beckons him over.

“You can come here for strokes and tummy rubs,” she warns him, “but no getting overexcited.”

Blaze’s tail thumps the ground but he does as he’s told and settles at Clare’s feet.