bess when James stopped him.
‘Perhaps you shouldn’t rush into the unknown?’ The blacksmith seemed to know exactly what was on his friend’s mind. ‘You’ve heard how much a mount like that costs.’ Draco nodded reluctantly. ‘So perhaps you shouldn’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.’ He gave the dragon a sidelong glance. ‘Do you know when your master is coming back?’
‘No, he didn’t even know himself when he left.’ The dragon shook his head.
‘So perhaps it’s better to wait for his return and his help?’ suggested the blacksmith. ‘Especially financial help, because that’s a mountain of money.’
‘That's the least of my worries,’ Draco blurted out, paying less attention to the conversation and more to the beast staring at him. ‘I can handle that on my own.’
All four froze and stared at the dragon in surprise. Clearly, they hadn’t expected such a statement, and even less the calm and indifference with which the reptile said it.
‘After all your talk about Dagos, I didn’t think you were a tycoon.’ James tilted his head as if wondering whether such a term suited a dragon.
‘I'm not,’ Draco snapped, but immediately a thought struck him from the back of his mind that he had just lied. ‘Well, at least I wasn’t until I visited the Emerald Pagoda,’ he admitted openly.
‘It wasn’t that long ago you went there. It seemed as though Master Vittoro had practically forced you.’ The elf laughed. ‘In my opinion, he was pleased that, incidentally, Madame Gizel had distracted you from all of this by inviting you to that wretched ball. Well, the result was… surprising for everyone.’
‘Don't remind me,’ the dragon shook his head. ‘It was nice until someone decided to ruin everything,’ he sighed heavily. He still couldn’t get over how the party had ended and how bitter the memories were.
‘Back to the present,’ Forth interjected. ‘James is right, there’s no need to rush. If you’re set on it, it’ll be cheaper to buy a bess first and then see if the beast chooses you as its rider.’
