The drake's expression froze, its mouth opening, closing, then opening again as though it were going to explain what Noah had "overlooked," only to come up with nothing.
The drake's eyes shifted back from Amara, then to Noah, its mouth moving suspiciously fast as if it were replaying the entire conversation in its head to see where it had gone wrong.
Its internal dialogue didn't escape Noah's notice. It was then that Noah realized that the drake actually believed its own nonsense.
For a moment, he just stared, unsure whether to be irritated or impressed. It genuinely thought this was a fair deal.
Noah's eyes reflected all of his emotions. It shifted through disbelief, exhaustion, and finally, something close to resignation. He couldn't even be upset; he was convinced this drake had been dropped on its head as a hatchling.
