“That,” I said, “ismyhome.”
I tipped my wings and banked downwards. Gabriel clutched my arms tightly but didn’t yelp this time - already showing improvement about theflying.
My home was a beautiful white tower, erected from stone and gold and magic. In the dying sunlight the tip of the tower turned a spectacular color - red and orange, likeflames.
Flaring my wings, I landed on the balcony and let Gabriel gently slide down to his feet. He let out a relieved sigh and stood on shaky knees, leaning on thebanister.
“Oh, thank gods,” he muttered. “Please tell me there’s no more flyingtoday.”
I chuckled and ruffled his hair with my claws. “Not tonight,Gabriel.”
Ruby flew in and landed on the handrail. “Well, here we are. The Drakinusresidence.”
“One of them,” I added with a shrug. “It’s a bigfamily.”
“There’s more than you and your brother?” Gabrielasked.
“Yes. But you don’t have to worry about them now,” I said, waving my claws. “Tonight, you need to rest. You’ve been throughalot.”
Ruby nodded. “I agree. Take some time to get acquainted with your surroundings. We can help you figure everything out after that. Goodnight,Gabriel.”
“Goodnight, Ruby,” Gabriel said. “Andthanks.”
Her feathers fluffed up. “You’re welcome. And Dante - be nice to him,willyou?”
“I’m always nice!” Iprotested.
She rolled her eyes, then took off into the earlyeveningsky.
It was the first time since Glimmering Lake that Gabriel and I had been alone together. I shook off my dragon form, returning into a shape he was more comfortable with. I put my hand on his shoulder and gestured into thedoorway.
“Shall we head inside? I’ll show you around,” Ioffered.
When Gabriel stepped inside my room, he gasped. “Oh… Wow. This placeishuge.”
“Do you like it?” I asked. It might have been large, but it was no good if Gabriel was overwhelmedbyit.
“I do,” he said. “Is thisyourroom?”
“Sureis.”
I walked behind him as he looked around curiously, like a puppy in a place he’d never been before. He stopped before one of my many bookshelves and craned his neck back to see the topofit.
“You have a lot of books,” hecommented.
I shrugged. “I liketoread.”
At that, he turned to me with a smile. “Yeah? I like a man whoreads.”
I’d seen Gabriel blush many times up until now, but this was the first time I feltmycheeks burn up. His twinkling gaze on me ignited that fire in my chest again. I cleared my throat. “You do, huh? I’ll keep thatinmind.”
He turned back to the books and picked one at random, skimming through its pages. “Have you read allthese?”
“I have. Although it’s been a while with someofthem.”
“A while?” He shot me a curious look. “That reminds me, you never mentioned how old you are. You’re not some hundred-year-old dragon,areyou?”
I laughed. “No, definitely not. Do I look a hundredyearsold?”
