Suddenly, the thunderous beats of massive wings fill the air, and something enormous blocks out the sun. A shadow falls over the fieldlike a dark cloud, and I don’t hear the dragon land, but I feel the intense heat radiating from its body behind us.
‘I told you my Raven would come,’Titan says smugly, his mental voice carrying satisfaction and relief.
I tilt my head back and see her—a massive black dragon with silver horns that catch the sunlight like polished metal. She’s magnificent and terrifying, easily twice the size of any dragon I’ve ever seen. She stands over us protectively, looking down at the drakes with sapphire eyes that burn with fury. When she rumbles deep in her chest, it sounds like a thunderstorm gathering overhead, making the very ground vibrate beneath our hooves.
One brazen ambush drake rushes forward, either too stupid or too arrogant to recognize the death sentence he’s just signed. Raven moves faster than I thought possible for a creature her size, her neck striking like a serpent as she snatches the drake up in her massive jaws. In a move that shocks me to my core, she swallows it whole, the bulge visible as it slides down her throat.
She lowers her enormous head and roars at the remaining drakes, the sound splitting the air and making my ears ring. Those that survived scatter quickly, disappearing into the forest like the cowards they are.
The sound of approaching hooves catches my attention, and I see Leander’s nightmare galloping toward us, its red eyes glowing and fire writhing around its hooves. He offers to escort Titan to the nest lands while I go flying with Raven. Leander explains that it’s just as important for her to fly with me as it was for my stallion to carry her—a bonding ritual between mates.
Raven lays down gracefully after Leander and Titan leave, and she tilts her huge, horned head to look at me. I notice several white scales scattered across her muzzle like stars against the night sky. As far as I know, only wyrm-level black dragons develop white scales, and she’s far too young for that kind of power.
She sniffs at my unicorn form with gentle curiosity, her breath warm against my armored hide, before shifting back to human form. The transformation is fluid poetry, shadows, and starlight condensing into the woman I love.
“I got here as fast as I could.” Raven looks radiant with the way the afternoon sun catches in her obsidian hair, creating highlights that shimmer like oil on water.
Laughing to myself with relief, I shift back to human form and look around the field where scattered drake scales glitter in the grass. “Hopefully, they won’t be back anytime soon.”
She looks around us and breathes in deeply through her nose, testing the air for lingering threats. “I don’t believe they will come back. That is, if they want to live.” She says it so calmly, with such quiet confidence, before stepping closer to me. She hesitates for a moment, uncertainty flickering across her beautiful features, before reaching out and touching my arm. Her fingers are warm against my skin. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
Her sapphire eyes scan every inch of me for injuries, then she looks up into my face with such concern that my heart clenches.
“I’m safe because of you.” Leaning forward, I press my lips to her forehead, and she purrs—a deep, rumbling sound that vibrates through both our bodies. It’s interesting how safe I feel next to an apex predator like her. Other dragons set my nerves on edge with their barely contained violence, but my mate makes me feel protected.
“Where would you like to go?” she asks, looking up at the white clouds drifting across the blue sky like ships on a calm sea.
“The plains to the west. I want you to see the wildflowers in bloom this time of year.” They are the lands I ran as a child with my herd, my happy place where memories of freedom and joy still linger in every blade of grass.
Raven nods slowly, then shifts her eyes to look directly into mine. The sapphire blue transforms into something deeper, more intense — a brilliant crystalline sapphire. It’s now that I remember what Leander told me—across species, we have to shift our eyes for the bond to ignite fully for the dragon side.
I shift my eyes to my unicorn’s magenta gaze, and the most beautiful smile crosses Raven’s lips like sunrise breaking over the horizon. She leans forward and kisses me, her lips as soft as the velvet on my nose when I’m shifted. There’s a warmth to her touch, and I swear I can feel the scales moving just beneath her human skin, ready to emerge at a moment’s notice.
She breaks the kiss and steps away, smiling at me with such joy it takes my breath away, before shifting into that massive beast of hers. Her scent is magnified when she’s in dragon form—all I smell is sea salt and jasmine coming off her scales in intoxicating waves. Interestingly enough, her scales look like basilisk scales in some places, while others resemble her mother’s but rendered in deepest black.
“Where do you want me to sit?” I ask, studying her enormous form and trying to figure out the safest position.
She brings her foreleg up gracefully and turns her head, pointing with her talon behind the scale plate that connects her curled horns. She lies down flat against the grass and extends her front leg like a ramp for me to walk up.
Ever so carefully, I walk up her leg, feeling the warmth of her scales through my boots, then continue up her neck to sit behind the skull plate. The position gives me something solid to hold on to while keeping me away from the dangerous edges of her horns.
Raven stands slowly, testing my balance, then looks around the field one last time before launching us into the air. The ground falls away beneath us with breathtaking speed, and every powerful beat of her wings carries us higher into the sky.
Looking down was probably a mistake on my part. We’re so high up the trees look like tiny green dots scattered across a brown carpet. My stomach lurches slightly at the dizzying height, but I force myself to trust in her skill.
She catches a thermal and we glide smoothly, the air currents supporting her massive wings as she turns toward the water. The ocean looks beautiful from this height—an endless expanse of blue-green that stretches to the horizon. A pod of dolphins swims far below us, their sleek forms cutting through the waves in perfect formation.
I watch other, smaller dragons land and take flight when they see Raven approaching, as if they instinctively fear her without even knowing who she is. She follows the coastline, and I understand why now—her scent is similar to sea salt, and the ocean will help hide her presence from any enemies who might track us.
We glide for what feels like hours, the sun warm on my back and the wind cool against my face, until I see a familiar sight below: a herd of black unicorns running across the golden plains like living shadows. “We’re here!” I yell over the wind, and Raven banks toward the north, away from the herd to give them space.
She circles a small hill several times before landing with surprising gentleness for such a massive creature. My eyes scan the area as she lays down, checking for any threats, before I climb down into the hip-deep grass that sways in the afternoon breeze like waves on a golden sea.
Raven shifts back to human form and looks around slowly, taking in the vast expanse of wildflowers and grass. She adjusts her wing positions several times until they rest comfortably tight against her back. “It looks like a sea of gold,” she says softly, wonder clear in her voice.
The herd we saw from the air starts running toward us, and I recognize the familiar patterns of movement immediately. I’ll be damned—it’s my parents and extended family. I swear my mother has supernatural radar when it comes to finding me, no matter where I am.
Shaking my head with fond exasperation, I look back at Raven. “I am so sorry.” I glance over my shoulder as my herd closes in fast, their hooves thundering against the earth.
