“Do you think he knows where the egg lies?”
A scoffing puff comes from the dragon beside me.
Coming to grip the reins dangling down Saff’s back, I wait for my new friend to give me her front leg to hoist my body up into the seat.
“Do you have enough energy to take me to the wolf?” I ask as I straighten myself, gripping the reins firmly in case of any sudden actions.
She continues to puff out her dislike at the situation. “Let’s just talk to him, and if he tries anything, we fly out of there. I will not leave my seat.”
Saff ignores me, stewing in her indignation. “Please, Saff. He could have the information we need. He was alive during that time, wasn’t he?”
“Yes,”is the only response I get.
“Okay, then. If he does anything suspicious, we fly,” I respond, patting her scales soothingly.
A purr comes from her lips.
“We fly,”she repeats.
Stalling after her words, we sit in silence for several moments, and a howl continues to ring out, tinkling along the lines of dragon-made crystal. As I listen to the sound, it wedges inside my body, burying deep, leaving me feeling like I almost need to run to the wolf and answer his call.
He must be close.
Palms slippery on the reins, I whisper, “Please.”
Letting out one last long puff, Saff starts to move her legs, bringing us to the edge of the tunnel we initially flew through to reach the dragon lair, overlooking the endless seascape. Not taking a moment topause, we are falling, and I grip on tight as Saff spreads her wings out just before we hit the crashing waves against the cliffs below. “Some warning next time,” I screech, my whole body tensing up.
Rumbling comes from the dragon beneath me. “Let’s find the wolf.”
It’s smooth sailing until Saff dips at the vision of the obnoxiously large dyre wolf on the sandy coastline next to the mountain range. His tufts of black and silver fur stand on end at the sight of us. Dark amber eyes swallow the earth around him, everything drawn into the depths of his immortality.
Saff circles the patch of coast where the wolf waits for us, settling on the sand a whole two dragon’s lengths away. I urge her to move forward, but she refuses to budge.
“We need to go closer.”
Saff breathes smoke in front of us, creating a mini sandstorm. “The wolf has better hearing than I. We stay.”
I can’t argue with that. If there’s anything I don’t understand, I’ll have to get Saff to translate.
“I have questions, Gideon.” I don’t bother projecting my voice, knowing he will catch any minute creak of the saddle beneath me.
Before my eyes, the large beast starts to shift, bones breaking, fur smoothing to a soft brown skin and tufts of black hair frame a gruff face. Muscles ripple through every inch of the man that is Gideon, standing bare on the coastline in front of us.
Looking down is not an option, and I keep my eyes on his top half.
“What are your questions, Songbird?” His voice stretches towards me effortlessly.
Nonplussed by the dragon I’m riding, his jaw snaps with the change of the new form. He rubs his hands over his scruffy, silver-speckledbeard, a habit I’ve seen him complete a few times now, especially after his change.
Heat travels through my limbs, not from the dragon beneath me but from the gruff words of the large man now before me. My body faintly shudders as I continue to speak. “We need to find Saff’s egg. Do you know where her mate hid it? Saff was told it is in the mountains?”
“Any other questions for me?” He almost looks smug as he replies.
“No.” There’s nothing else I need from Gideon. If he finds out our plans after finding the egg, he will see me as a threat to his king, and that’s the last thing we need.
My eyes flick over a muscled, broad chest, and I gulp, my stomach doing little flips at seeing Gideon again. A secret I will take to my grave, as my bonded is more than enough to keep me stir-crazy.
“Well, how about we strike a truce, Songbird?” his gravelly voice vibrates over my body.
