Suddenly, I felt a long, cool sensation brush against me. I glanced down to see the tip of Cobalt’s tail curling against my legs. His eyes blazed with emotion as he stared me down. The intensity of his gaze sent a shiver across my skin. It was like Gaius, the crew, and the other contestants didn’t even exist. I was the only thing in Cobalt’s whole world.
I put the snail safely back in the bucket. Gaius was saying something about a winner’s date in the background, but I wasn’t really paying attention because Cobalt reached his large paw towards me. A second later, I was gently clutched within it.
His booming command rang out: “Everybody back up.”
Everybody stumbled out of the way as Cobalt pumped his wings and pushed against the ground at the same time. He heaved upward with grace I’d never expect from such a huge body. Once he cleared the tops of the trees, he flapped his wings. The gusts born from his wing beats whooshed across the canopy, making all the leaves dance.
The wind whipped my face as Cobalt soared higher. I cried out in unabashed laughter.
We were freakingflying.
“Whoo!” I screamed with joy. Then, remembering the precious cargo, I clutched the bucket closer to my chest, the same way Cobalt held me to his chest. Thankfully, the snail was stuck to the bottom.
Cobalt was one with the sky. I eagerly looked around. Everything, everywhere, as far as I could see was blue. The sky, the ocean, and Cobalt’s scales. I relaxed in his grip as I enjoyed the view. Whoever said blue was a calming color wasn’t lying.
It wasn’t a long flight. Soon Cobalt landed in front of a beautiful castle, then placed me gently on my feet. He patted me on the head with his paw and smoothed out the windswept explosion that was my hair.
“We’re home,” Cobalt stated, already walking ahead.
That specific word caught me off guard. I stopped. “Home?”
He looked over his shoulder. “Yes. Our home.”
For one wild second, I wondered if he meant me and him, but then I figured he meant his brothers—his actual blood family.
I followed him inside the yawning front doors. It shouldn’t have surprised me that everything was dragon-sized. Here, away from humans, the dragon shifters could live however they wanted. That sounded so freeing. Nobody could evictthemfrom their house because of any pet clauses.
I craned my neck back to stare at all the ceiling details. The castle was a bit overwhelming.
“Are you all right, Muzo?” Cobalt asked when I hadn’t moved.
“Yeah,” I said. “Just thinking about how you could fit, like, a million of my apartment in the front hallway alone.” I paused, then corrected myself. “Uh, former apartment.”
Cobalt’s mane bristled like icicle shards before settling again. He reached his paw towards me. “Come. I want to show you something.”
I stepped closer, letting Cobalt hold me like he’d done in the sky. I had to say, being snuggled against a dragon’s chest was truly the superior way to travel. It was so relaxing that my eyes lulled shut.
When Cobalt suddenly paused at the top of the stairs, I opened my eyes to an unexpected sight. A tall alpha dressed in dark leather blocked our path. His hair was a deep shade of purple, almost iridescent black. He sat on the final step, as if waiting for Cobalt’s arrival. His piercing eyes flashed upon seeing me.
Math was never my strong suit, but I tried calculating it in my head. How many colors were there in a rainbow again? If there were seven alpha dragons, and this purple guy clearly wasn’t theotherpurple alpha Thystle, then who was he?
The alpha nodded at me. “That him?” he asked Cobalt roughly.
“Yes,” Cobalt replied. His deep dragon voice filled the stairwell. As he spoke, his paw clutched tighter around me. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough that I noticed it.
The purple alpha grunted and stood up. “Good,” he muttered. “Congrats.”
Despite the alpha’s gruff tone, I noticed he sounded oddly relieved. I glanced up at Cobalt. “Are you two having a fight or something?” I asked.
Cobalt’s paw relaxed. “No,” he said after a moment.
The alpha snorted. “That’s a nice way of saying wehada fight, but we’re cool now. And since he won’t introduce me, I’ll do it myself. I’m Viol. You must be Muzo.”
“Viol!” I said in a eureka moment. “Like violet, right? That’s the color I couldn’t figure out.”
Viol’s mouth curved into a wry smirk. “No, not like violet.” As he grinned, dragon fangs filled his human mouth. “Likeviolence.”
“Whoa,” I murmured. “Cool.”
