He shrugs off his jacket, shirt, and shoes, handing them to a waiting servant. And I can’t help but admire the way the pattern of scaly stripes extends over his muscular arms and chest.
As I watch, he seems to grow, shoulders stretching wider, wings sprouting from his back. His face extends slightly into the snout I saw when he first transformed in front of me. When he has stretched out his leathery wings and flapped them a few times, he drops onto one knee before me. “Climb onto my back.”
I have a moment’s hesitation when I realize this is real. He is truly going to take me up into the air. I glance over at Noreth, who is watching on with concern. That decides me. Let him worry. If he would have been honest with me, we could have dismissed Aurelion already. If I knew I could trust him, I would already be planning our wedding.
Though perhaps that would not be smart. To anger a powerful neighbor in favor of a prince who is not a prince and has no kingdom is probably a foolish move.
I walk behind Aurelion and reach around his neck. He keeps perfectly still, waiting as I take my place.
His skin is hot to the touch beneath my fingers. It is softer than I expected, the scales giving a little as I touch them. I climbawkwardly onto his back, and he stands. My legs are wrapped around his waist, and he holds me there with both hands.
Noreth’s brows draw down into a frown. “Be careful—”
Then Aurelion leaps into the air, beating his wings, and whatever else he meant to say is lost in whirl of wind and dragon laughter. Soon we are high above the palace.
I cling tightly to him. The wind pushes my hair into my face, but I’m not cold. His body under me keeps me warm. It’s strangely intimate to ride on his back like this. To feel him move beneath me, to feel his heat.
When he speaks, his low voice rumbles through my chest. “What do you think, Solha?”
I look down on the palace, so tiny beneath us, on the streets and buildings of the city, and the river below. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re not afraid?”
“No!”
I regret my words almost instantly when Aurelion tucks his wings close to his body and spins us as we drop through the air. The wind rushes past my ears. I let out a long scream.
A moment later he spreads them wide and we steady out again, drifting slowly nowhere near the ground. My scream turns to laughter. “Do it again.”
He growls, but it’s a sound of satisfaction rather than irritation. Beating his wings he gains some height, and this time when he tucks his wings, I’m ready. I lean into him, pressing my face against his neck and enjoying the swooping sensation of my stomach staying in the air above us as we fall. This time he twists us over and over, rolling us in the air so that I have to squeeze him tight with my legs. But I don’t think he will drop me.
When he rights us, I’m breathless with laughter and delight. “I think you are testing me.”
He chuckles softly. “My wife cannot be scared of flying.”
No, how could his mate miss this side of him? This is the first time I have spent a moment with him when I did not resent his company. But here in the air he is different somehow. More relaxed and less predatory. Lighthearted.
I lose track of time while we are in the air. I cannot get enough of the sensation of being spun and dropped, of drifting gently through the air, weightless and high above it all. It’s like I left all my cares below us at the palace.
I’m not ready to go back, so as the sun dips low on the horizon, I’m glad when he descends toward the palace roof and alights above a balcony. He kneels to let me clamber off, and I’m glad he’s not watching because I’m sure I do it clumsily. “That was amazing.” I cannot wipe the smile off my face.
He turns and steps close, and suddenly the predatory look is back. “You were made to be mine.”
I frown. “I belong to no one.”
“You could belong to me,” he presses, intruding on my space. His breath is hot and sweet on my cheek. “You would make the perfect dragon’s mate.” His gaze is on my lips, and he leans in as if to kiss me. I plant my hands on his chest and push. I’m not expecting much, but we’re standing so close to the edge of the roof. His eyes widen, and he topples backward into thin air.
I gasp, but a moment later he spreads his wings and flaps back to land in front of me. I step back, expecting anger. Retaliation.
“You are fierce.”
“You have no manners!” I’m a little lost for words.
He only laughs. “Then teach me manners, mate.”
I let out a little huff of exasperation. But really, he makes me laugh too. I’ve never been able to show my true feelings to anyone. I’m suddenly imagining a life with a husband who treats outbursts as a sparring match and likes it when I fight back.
I shake my head. It’s too much. How would it work? “You are impossible.”
