I usher them through the massive doors and into the entrance hall, watching their faces as they take in the soaring ceilings and elegant furnishings. I lead them through the ground floor, pointing out the library with its thousands of books, the dining room where we take our meals, the various salons where we can sit and talk, and finally, the kitchen where the cook is already preparing a feast for tonight.
As we walk through one of the salons, Alana touches my arm.
“Tressa, I wanted to ask you something. Could I have a job here? I don’t want to just sit around doing nothing, and two of my sisters are old enough to work as well.”
I stop so abruptly that she nearly runs into me.
“Absolutely not. You are not here to work.”
“But Tressa–”
“No.” I take both her hands in mine and hold them firmly. “You will not work. You are my guest, and while you and your sisters live under my roof, you will not lift a finger. Do you understand?”
Her cheeks flush, and she looks down at our joined hands.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“Let me show you your rooms,” I say, and lead them up the grand staircase.
I take them to the south wing and push open the door to their new sitting room. The girls pour inside, exclaiming over the beautiful furniture and the view from the windows.
Before I can follow them in, there’s a rush of wind and a heavy thud on the balcony. Altair lands in his wyvern form, his golden scales gleaming in the sunlight.
Alana and her sisters gasp and stare at him in wonder, frozen in place.
I laugh at their expressions.
“You’ll get used to it.”
Alana shakes her head, her eyes fixed on Altair.
“I don’t know, it’s hard to get used to seeing all those dragons flying in the sky. I think it will be nearly impossible to get used to one landing on the palace’s balconies.”
I laugh again and motion for them to follow me.
“Come, he doesn’t bite.”
Alana rolls her eyes.
I approach Altair and gently touch his snout. His breath is warm on my palm.
“This is Alana, my best friend, and these are her sisters,” I whisper to him.
He looks at the women and inclines his massive head respectfully.
“Welcome. My home is your home.”
“Thank you,” Alana says, taking a little bow while her sisters giggle nervously behind her.
Altair turns to me and nudges my side with his head, his blue eyes bright with mischief.
“Ride me?”
I smile at him, my heart racing. He lowers himself to the floor, pressing his body flat, and I move around to his side. I grip his larger scales and hoist myself up, settling between his wings. The scales are smooth and warm beneath me, and I can feel the power in his body as he shifts his weight.
He launches into the air, and my stomach drops as we rise. The wind whips my hair back and steals my breath. Thetemperature drops as we climb higher. I’m not afraid; we’ve done this a few times now.
I grip his scales tightly and lean into the movement, feeling his massive muscles shift and bunch underneath me as he flaps his wings. We circle over the palace, and I look down at the ground below. Everything looks so small from up here, the palace like a toy, the gardens like painted miniatures.
