“Well.That’snever happened before.” He looks back up at me, bitterand apologetic. “Might just take a few minutes. Probably just too much battling today.”
“Ström. You’re beat.” I cup his cheek in my hand, saying what we both already know. “Maybe not as much as Bjorn, but satisfying my power day in and day out is taking its toll on you. Let’s just take a break tonight. I can deal with going to sleep without remembering…” I take a moment, as I blink, “Sweden.”
“I suppose that every day, multiple times a day and night, is even wearing me out,” Ström concedes at last, giving a sad chuckle. “Maybe we should take a walk? It’s early still. Hey, there’s that thing happening at the amphitheater tonight, thataurumglowevent Rhennic stopped our fight for. Think we’d be allowed to go check it out?”
“I don’t see why not.” I consider it as I cock my head. “If it’s not something for us Blood Dragons to attend, I’m sure the guards would simply turn us away. I’m game. We’ve got nothing else to do, and I could use a break.”
“Then let’s go,” Ström says with more perkiness as he grins. “Let’s go crash a Storm Dragon party.”
“Hey. We don’t even know it’s a party,” I snort, though something inside me has lifted as well, thinking about having a nice distraction.
It’s more excitement than I’ve felt in days; as Ström and I stuff our faces from the food in our room, then head to our bags from the Old Palace, rummaging through them, we find some decent party-going outfits that aren’t too risqué, just in case the event at the amphitheater isn’t a party.
In fifteen minutes, we’re dressed and ready. My long Swedish-blonde hair is braided back from my crown in a Blood Dragon updo that leaves my peripheral vision clear. I’m wearing a dark plum mini dress with black heeled boots, comfortable but sexy.
The dress has a nice amount of crisscrossing straps up top, to cover Aesa’s stone on my chest so it won’t draw attention. I add simple silver hoops and chunky bracelets, and I’m good to go.
Ström wears a tight black t-shirt tonight with strategically ripped and decorated spots that makes him sexily metro, plus tight charcoal pleather pants with low black men’s boots. He’s the essence of Euroclub chic as he riffles his short, tawny hair up into a renegade mess.
Ström’s hair looks darker tonight as the sun sets, as it sometimes does; the consummate chameleon, he’s spent his whole life hiding what he truly is behind his blithe demeanor and chatty friendliness.
With one hot, piercing look, he asks me if I’m ready to go, and I see the intense darkness of his true Bone Magic come out. As he extends a hand, I take it; moving into him, I almost can’t resist the alluring combination of his natural river-water scent plus whatever lovely citrus-sandalwood cologne he’s got on, with just a hint of musk.
I inhale at his neck, then subtly bite. Ström shudders; inside, I feel the dark sensuality of his drake roar.
His magic is up for the game, but his body isn’t yet. I’m hoping a night of unwinding with a bit of fun can change all that for us.
“Ready to go?” he asks as he finds my lips, kissing me.
“Ready, set… party.” I grin back, looking forward to having a night of just Ström, all to myself. It’s rare I get to spend time with just one of my drakes. This feels special now as Ström takes my hand, kisses me, and we head out.
We walk through the nighttime palace hand-in-hand, back towards the amphitheater beyond the southern entrance. We get looks in our sexy club-gear; good looks, because Ström and I are just naturally hot, and when we get dressed up, we’re extra spicy.
Plus, Blood Dragons are a good-lookin’ lot, if I say so myself; the French Storm Dragons make way now as we move confidently through their corridors and halls.
Lots of people are dressed up tonight, however, and the migration of Storm Dragons gets thicker as we come to the palace’s southern entrance. It’s a big event happening in the amphitheater, apparently; my eyebrows lift as we come around a stand of trees and see the amphitheater proper.
Rhennic wasn’t kidding when he said they needed to set some things up for tonight. The whole damn place is lit from stem to stern now with enormous floodlights blazing up into the clear nighttime sky. With intense, pounding music issuing from within and a flood of a crowd assembling at the entrances, it looks like a fucking rave or rock concert as Ström and I approach, astounded.
As we get to the entrance, we get a look from the guards, who are all dressed up tonight in black t-shirts and jeans like bouncers, rather than their more typical Guardsman attire. They give us a nod and wave us in, however, along with the rest of the crowd; apparently, our presence here isn’t restricted.
It’s a massive party happening all around. The main floor is packed to the nines with Storm Dragons dancing, crazy magical lights flooding the space like a dark candy wonderland, and enormous speakers lofted all around on every towering archway, pounding the night with music.
I laugh as we gain entrance, and Ström chuckles eagerly. As we come into the main space now, I see the upper tiers are flooded with Storm Dragons dancing, including quite a few letting loose as their dragons.
Magical dampeners all around the space are absorbing the furious rush and swagger of dragon-energy pummeling the night, so the party doesn’t get too crazy and cause the biggest tornado the French countryside has ever seen.
But it’s hot in here, flooded with power, passion, and fun as everyone all around us wears gregarious smiles and roars along to the music like they’re fucking high.
I finally see the music is coming from a DJ tower, erected up beneath the furthest main floor archway, where a trio of Storm Dragon DJs work their magic. As Ström and I descend the stairs towards the main floor, Storm Dragon servers in shiny silver-blue cocktail dresses hand us small golden cups of something bubbly and shimmery gold in color.
“What is this?!” I shout over the music at the nearest server, a prettyStorm Dragon girl with masses of sleek auburn hair that cascades to her butt, as she offers me a drink.
“Aurumglow!” she yells back at me, blinking to see two Blood Dragons in the mix tonight. “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you! It’s a liquor distilled from ouraurumpears that we use to celebrate the firstaurumharvests of the summer coming ripe!”
“With a big party, apparently!” Ström laughs as he takes the proffered beverage. Shooting it back, he gasps, then coughs.
And I feel his libido roar.
