Draco shifted, his dragon form appearing seconds after Sawyer requested it.
“Are you sure about this?” Andvari asked. “It will put you beyond the safety of the wards.”
“I’m not going to hide behind the wards forever. We’ve got to figure this out, and I know it’s important for me to be safe, but I’m going to have to take some risks too. That’s why I have guardians, I think. Maybe?”
Andvari ceded the point, then cupped his hands in front of him. “Let me give you a leg up.”
Sawyer glanced at his hands, unsure of what exactly Andvari wanted him to do.
“Use my hands like they are a stirrup on a saddle.”
“Um, I’ve never exactly ridden a horse before.”
Andvari sighed. “Left foot in my hands.”
Sawyer stepped closer to him and put his foot where he was told.
“I’m going to give you a boost. So step in my hand, then I’ll push you up so you can reach Draco’s back.”
Draco huffed, laughing at Sawyer even in his dragon form, then lowered one leg so it would be easier for Sawyer to reach. He kept his wings folded against his sides, so Sawyer put his left foot into Andvari’s hand and pushed up. Andvari was strong enough to lift Sawyer most of the way up and he swung his right leg over Draco’s back. He settled in with a nervous laugh.
Andvari jumped up, catching his balance on the wide expanse of Draco’s back, before pulling himself up further and flipping his leg over. He moved forward so his front was pressed tightly to Sawyer’s back and wrapped his arms around Sawyer’s waist.
“You sure about this?”
“Yes. I don’t know why, but I feel like there’s something out there I need to see. The Goddess chased after something, then Henry said he saw something too. It’s like… if something is out there watching us, I want it to know we know. Does that make sense?”
“It does. You can’t fight what you can’t see.”
“Exactly. I need for this to be a safe place for me. For us. If we have to make it safe, then we will.”
Andvari hugged Sawyer close hooking his chin over his shoulder. “Then let your dragon fly.”
Draco huffed, then unfurled his wings. Sawyer couldn’t believe how beautiful they were. His dragon skin was mostly dark, a sooty black that showed some hints of color beneath it. But his wings, they were the color of flames, reds, oranges, yellows, and even hints of blue. The sun bounced off of them, and the scales shimmered as Draco moved them up, down, and they lifted into the air.
Sawyer clung onto Andvari’s arms, his thighs squeezing Draco’s back tightly. He laughed nervously. “Don’t let me fall.”
“I won’t,” Andvari promised. “Just hold onto me.”
Draco took them higher until the house was below them and the land all around was clear to his view. Sawyer couldn’t believe it. He was flying on a dragon’s back with a vampire holding him in his arms. What even was his life?
“Circle the property,” Andvari suggested.
Draco made a slight turn, easing his way further away from the house. They passed the first ward and seconds later they crossed the second. Sawyer couldn’t see anything. He’d hoped something would be obvious. Some neon orange sign saying Bad Guy Here. With a couple big arrows pointing at him for good measure.
No such luck, though. It was simply the area where he’d grown up. A few houses, but only his house, Draco’s and the new house were on their road. A couple fields were nearby but absolutely nothing looked out of place.
They flew in a circle around the entire area, the cool wind flowing over them. Sawyer flung out his arms, knowing he was safely held by Andvari, then dropped his head back onto Andvari’s shoulder.
“Faster, Draco!”
Sawyer laughed as Draco coughed out a flame, but complied, his wings flapping, then folding in as he shot downward in a dive. Andvari held him tight and Sawyer couldn’t hold back his joy. He called it out for everyone far and wide to hear. He wasflying.
He heard an answering call and turned to see a crow circling behind them. It landed on one of the electric lines, screeching out its caw. “One for sadness,” Sawyer muttered. But he wasn’t feeling sad at all. He wasalive.
Draco pulled them out of the dive and pushed up again. Sawyer began to get the hang of it, feeling Draco’s muscles bunching and releasing between his legs as his wings worked to keep them in the air. He understood why people loved riding horses so much. There was something so amazing about this power, knowing he could be thrown into the air in a moment, but that Draco would never let him fall. That a creature as powerful as Draco would even allow him on his back. Sawyer shivered, then reached down to pet one of the hardened scales that covered Draco’s back.
He heard another caw, then another. Several crows made noise as they circled and landed beside their buddy on the phone lines. Draco continued his circle, but the crows now had Sawyer’s attention. Another landed. Another. Their caws become louder, a cry that beat at Sawyer’s ears even louder than the whistling of the wind around him.
