And enjoy he did, because save for what Riley carefully set aside for Kael—who would later raise a brow to another planet upon realizing he had not been given a single bite of whatever snack had just been prepared—Orien had eaten every last available kernel.
Every single one.
Including the piece that had almost flown off the table and had been dramatically rescued by the dragonling’s maw mid-air.
Riley could only watch in mild amazement.
Clearly, the somehow immortal aide had observed the truth correctly. If it was golden or yellow or even vaguely reminiscent of either, then it was something the baby dragon would adore without hesitation.
Riley silently hoped that turning into a black dragon would not suddenly make him crave things like black beans.
Ahem.
That, however, was not the priority at the moment.
There were more important matters to attend to.
Like retrieving a very small bone from the space crack.
Apparently, now that he was no longer safely sealed inside a hardy eggshell, Riley could not simply bask in concentrated mana like he used to.
Thyrran said that because his mana now had its own signature, he couldn’t just siphon as freely as he did when he was considered neutral as an egg.
But no matter, because according to the familiar, the sustenance package left behind by his clan would still do wonders for him, just a lot slower, so his admittedly tiny mana pool wouldn’t get overridden.
So before doing anything reckless, Riley turned serious.
"Okay," he said, clapping his hands once. "Everyone stand back."
Liam obediently scrambled toward the wall at once. Orien followed, though he did so with clear reluctance, craning his neck to keep Riley in sight the entire time. Thyrran slithered after them, positioning himself protectively in front of the children despite his size.
Riley took a breath.
Then another.
He raised his hand and focused, carefully opening a space crack no larger than necessary. Just enough for his arm to fit through. No more.
The air warped.
The pressure shifted.
Riley winced.
He briefly thought that he should probably be wearing a hazmat suit, or at least several layers of something, but there was no practical way to insulate himself from something like that unless he planned on waiting for his golden dragon to get back from work.
So he went for speed instead.
As if reaching blindly into the dark, Riley plunged his arm through the opening, grabbed the first solid thing he could find, and yanked his hand back out immediately.
The crack snapped shut with a sharp distortion as he used the fang as fast as possible.
Riley staggered back a step, waving his arm around as if he’d submerged it somewhere hot.
Only after a moment did he look down.
In his hand was a small bone.
Whoa.
"...I think," he said slowly, "This would definitely be considered a fossil."
It was the kind of thing his professors would have sold their souls to witness, and then very likely murdered him for the way he was handling it.
But in reality, Riley was simply doing his absolute best to ignore the uncomfortable possibility that he might currently be holding the bone of someone’s extremely ancient grand-uncle.
Who knows?
He just hoped they wouldn’t get mad at him.
__
Well, maybe not. Because since that fateful day Orien had taken over as their instructor, both Riley and Liam had shown considerable improvement.
Riley, however, paid for it dearly.
He practically passed out every night from exhaustion, sometimes right on the floor where they had been practicing. The head of the MBE, who begrudgingly still had to go to work, would forcibly return to the estate just to retrieve his unconscious mate like an abandoned branch left behind after a storm.
Which was really because the last time the children tried to move Riley, Kael complained about it being his task.
The children stared at the dragon lord, but he just stared back and they realized Kael was serious.
But it wasn’t as if that was his only complaint. The golden dragon had many grievances. Chief among them was the simple fact that he never had enough time with Riley. Closely followed by the deeply unacceptable habit his mate had developed of wandering around in search of mana that wasn’t Kael’s.
But it was difficult to voice those grievances when said mate would wake up far too early in the morning to use him as a training dummy.
And to Kael’s private shame, he enjoyed that far more than he should have.
One morning, he woke to warmth pressed against him.
Riley’s face was buried at the crook of his neck, breath shallow and intent, nose brushing lightly against his skin as if he were trying to scent him.
Kael blinked once.
Then twice.
For a split second, he wondered if something was wrong with the twig. Was he cold?
But no. This was worse. Or better. Depending on one’s perspective.
__
Riley wasn’t particularly cuddling.
He was scanning.
Ever since he had learned how to sense mana, Riley had become quietly obsessed with it. He tested everything. Rooms. Objects. People. He traced the faintest impressions left behind, cataloging sensations like a scholar drunk on discovery.
And his favorite subject was Kael.
Just like Orien had said, every mana signature felt different. Some were sharp. Some were heavy. Some prickled. Others pressed like a weight.
Kael’s mana felt warm. Dense.
And Riley liked it far too much.
The only problem which really shouldn’t have been a problem was how great Kael’s control was. It was to the point of being polished. Thrice over.
Riley pressed closer, breath fanning against Kael’s throat, fingers hovering as if waiting for something to give. He was searching for a flaw. A leak. Any place where Kael’s mana might slip while he slept and his guard was down.
There was nothing.
Even unconscious, Kael’s control was absolute.
Riley huffed softly in disappointment and shifted closer, one hand sliding to Kael’s chest, then lower, tracing with deliberate care.
That was when the excitable black dragon felt it.
A faint bloom of mana responded instinctively.
Just a little.
Riley’s wandering hand froze.
Then slowly, very slowly, his fingers followed the warmth.
There it was.
His green eyes lit up with triumph.