I hummed in response. “I don’t think we mind it. Some dragons prefer it more than others, I assume. Dragons with an elemental affinity for water would probably enjoy it the most.”
Raja peeked one eye open. “An elemental what now?”
I realized I hadn’t explained the whole magic thing to him yet. I never thought our fake relationship would get this far. I didn’t feel uncomfortable letting him know about it, so I explained.
“Dragons who are skilled in magic have at least one elemental affinity, which is the element they feel most comfortable using. For example, my brother Dante leans towards fire. My friend Ryu is best at water magic, and so on.”
Raja’s eyes went wide with awe and excitement. He sat up suddenly, splashing both of us. “No way! Are you making this up?”
I laughed. “No, it’s all real.”
“Show me something!” he cried. “Make a fireball and throw it in the water!”
I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly. “Well, I actually can’t make a fireball… Fire isn’t my magic specialty.”
Raja seemed slightly disappointed, but perked up again quickly. “Okay, what can you do, then?”
“My elemental affinity is clear magic, which, unfortunately, is a bit difficult to explain,” I said.
“I’m listening.” Raja’s eyes twinkled with interest.
“I’ll try my best to clarify,” I began. “With the other elements, they exist in nature. Water, fire, earth, air… But clear magic is a type of pure magic, so to speak. You either can wield it from birth, or not. Does that make sense?”
“I guess so. As much sense as magic makes in the first place, anyway.” Raja shrugged. “But then again, my father has visions, so I guess magic isn’t too far-fetched. So what can you do with it?”
“I can do many things. What you can do with clear magic essentially boils down to the caster’s imagination.” I chuckled. “I’m not terribly imaginative, though. Others can do more interesting spells than I could.”
“I don’t care about other dragons,” Raja protested. “I want to seeyourmagic!”
I couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. “Alright. I’ll show you a small spell. Close your eyes and put your head under water, okay?”
Raja raised a brow. “Are you really showing me a magic spell or asking me to give you an underwater blowjob?”
My entire face turned red. “No!”
Raja laughed and slapped the water. “Okay, okay, sorry. I’m going.”
He shut his eyes and submersed himself under the water’s surface like I asked. I did the same. Water surrounded us and rushed my ears, loud and strangely silent at the same time except for the cries of gulls overhead in the sky.
As Raja kept his eyes closed, I cast a small, quick spell - a clear magic barrier around both of our heads. It would act like a snorkel, allowing us to breathe underwater. When it was finished, I tapped his shoulder. He opened one eye, then was startled by the hum and shimmer of the translucent silver bubble.
“It’s okay,” I said out loud. My voice echoed slightly inside the bubble. “You can breathe.”
He blinked, then let go of the breath he was holding. It took him a few breaths to realize it was real. “Holy shit.” He started laughing. “You seriously did this?”
“Yes.”
“This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, Lorenzo,” Raja said, grinning ear to ear. “I know there was a lot I hadn’t seen outside of the village, but honestly, this one beats them all by a mile.”
My cheeks warmed from his praise. It was worth it just to hear his laugh and see his smile.
Even though the other beachgoers were a good distance away, I didn’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves by spending a long time underwater. I broke the spell and we both made a big show of coming up for air. Raja wanted to keep swimming, so we spent another hour or so in the water before returning to the beach.
As we approached the sand, a sharp high-pitched cry broke the serenity.
Our heads whipped in the direction of the noise. It came from a ways down the beach. A woman strode as fast as she could through the knee-high water, her face twisted in horror, screaming and flailing her arms.
Then I immediately saw why.
