The walk through the forest and back roads passes in a blur as I get lost in my thoughts. The guys are similarly lost in their own minds as we complete the trek in relative silence.
Azrael stops our procession when we come to an unassuming gray-stone outcropping.
Instead of pressing a button or something to open it, he pulls a wickedly sharp knife out of the waistband of his slacks and slices his hand. He lets a few drops of blood trickle down his palm and onto the rocks before putting the blade away.
I manage to swallow down my gasp at the unexpected blood ritual that doesn’t seem to do anything for a moment. Then the stones creak and groan before they start moving and reveal a small opening.
Ducking his head, Azrael walks into the pitch-black abyss without any hesitation. Hal follows him, and Colt nudges me to go in next. Blowing out a breath and hoping I’m not going to get murdered or eaten by a cave monster, I reluctantly follow after them.
Stepping over the rocks and into what I assume is a cave, I’m surprised to see a clean, open cavern. It has to be at least a couple of stories tall, and it’s dimly lit by some torches ringing the roughly circular space. Gray stone forms the walls, ceiling, and floor, and symbols of some sort are carved into it and scattered throughout.
Once all six of us are through the doorway, Azrael places his still-bloody palm against a symbol etched into the wall, and the stones grind closed, sealing us in.
I don’t love being trapped in here with no way to get out, but at least it’s free of spiders, millipedes, and other creepy crawlies. That’s something, I guess.
Colt takes the lead and starts walking down one of the many tunnels that branches off the main cavern. “So, which one of us is going to show her?”
“I will!” Remy excitedly volunteers before anyone else can.
Hal snorts. “He is probably the least intimidating out of all of us, so that’s not a bad plan.”
“Hey,” Remy objects. “I’m plenty intimidating when I want to be.”
Colt rolls his eyes as he glances over his shoulder at his twin. “If you’re so intimidating, then you shouldn’t be the one to shift for her.”
Remy groans. “I’m not saying that. Hal already agreed that I’m the best choice, so we’re going with that. We can argue about how badass I am at another time.”
We then walk into another cavern, this one taller and wider than the last. It has to be at least four stories tall and is wide enough to fit a couple of houses in it. In the center of the space is a pool that glows a soft blue in the dim light. The surface ripples with a gentle current, so the water must be trickling in from somewhere.
Remy jogs over to the other side of the cave, unbuttoning and unzipping his jeans as he does so. I idly wonder why he’s getting so far away as I watch him come to a stop on a rock platform. Once he’s facing us, he strips off his black hoodie and undershirt.
I feel like I should be getting used to seeing muscular shirtless men, with how often the guys strip in front of me, but I’m not. I still about swallow my tongue in surprise when I see Remy’s eight-pack, toned pecs, and colorful tattoos winding playfully along his chest and arms.
“You ready, love?” he calls across the cavern once he’s standing in front of me in his birthday suit. It takes everything I have not to let my gaze dip below his waist to see if he’s really as endowed as I think he is.
I give him a small smile as my heart pounds loudly in my chest from the anticipation. “I’m ready when you are.”
He returns my grin before closing his eyes and letting the change wash over him. It takes a long moment before Remy is fully shifted into his magnificent other form.
I have to blink a few times, not really believing what I’m seeing, before I blurt, “Holy shit. You’re a dragon.”
CHAPTER 32
LARK
Igape at what used to be Remy.
He’s now at least a couple of stories tall and has massive wings folded against his back. Brown, shimmery scales cover the entirety of his body, with silvery scales decorating his underbelly.
His wings aren’t covered in scales. Instead, they look almost gossamer and delicate between the strong tendons running through them.
Two curving black horns sit on the top of his head, with three smaller horns protruding on either side of his face. His eyes are a neon light blue that illuminate the dim cave as he watches me with what looks like amusement. Although I’m not sure, since I’m far from an expert in dragon facial expressions.
That’s not a sentence I ever imagined myself thinking, yet here I am. Every time I think my life can’t possibly get any weirder, it does.
Hal chuckles next to me. “Yep. He’s a dragon. A mud dragon, to be specific.”
“What? How?” I ask, my eyes wide as I look between Hal and Remy. “Dragons aren’t real.”
