We laughed on the way out of the cave, the echoes of Ionus’ complaints trailing us until I felt like we were hopelessly lost.
“Now do you see why it took so long to reach you?” Odem remarked as he illuminated the way.
“I’d just like to thank whoever sent the lava bomb, their timing was perfect.”
“You may want to thank yourself then,” Odem replied. “None of our elements allows us to control lava. I think your clothes were the casualty of you discovering your element.”
“Are you saying I burned them off,” I asked, wanting to be certain that I was hearing him correctly, “and melted my kidnapper?”
“Yes.”
“Not possible.”
“Please try a different answer.”
I huffed and pinched his ass.
“Owe, damn, if you wanna play like that, at least wait until the tunnel isn’t so narrow,” he grumbled as he rubbed the spot I’d pinched.
“What are you, a gameshow host now?” I hissed. “There is no other answer. None. There is absolutely no way that I threw thatlava bomb. Do you know how many people I’d have fried by now if I’d known I could do that?”
“Then we’ll all thank the Goddess that you didn’t,” Odem declared. “Thinking about charring the people who piss you off is acceptable, doing it is not.”
“What about threatening to do it?” I asked.
“Only in extreme cases,” he said. “Not because someone asks you to refill their soda.”
“Sure, just take away all of my fun.”
“After today I hope you will reconsider your decision to continue working at the diner,” he said, every word feeling forced, like he was struggling to choke down the urge to inform me that I wouldn’t be returning to work there.
Oh, my Goddess, he was.
Snarly echoes in my head turned out to be a whispered conversation between two growly voices arguing over whether letting me make that decision was a good idea. At least one of them was standing up for me, telling the other that we hated to be told what to do. Where that thought had come from I didn’t know. I was just grateful to see light when we squeezed through a narrow opening.
“Finally. I am more than ready to go home,” I said as stepped from the cave somewhere deep in a mountain range I’d seen more than enough of, thank you very much. “Please tell me that my dragon chariot awaits?”
“Dragon chariot, huh? I can get used to that.”
He grinned and in a flash his dragon sat taking up far more space than his human form, claws as big as my body extending to scoop me into his palm.
Holy shit.
I could peer through them and watch the world whizz past in a blur beneath us. Once, a very long time ago, I’d spent thewhole day running from one roller coaster to the next, constantly looking over my shoulder, calling out for…
It dawned on me that I didn’t remember what he looked like anymore. Just the sound of his voice arguing with someone the night before he’d left.
I’d been too young to look for him, but I’d asked when he was coming back until someone backhanded me enough times that I finally gave up on getting the truth out of them. I shook off the memories as we landed. Sometimes I wondered if he’d ever really existed or if I’d created an imaginary friend I couldn’t fully let go of. Imaginary, I hoped, otherwise why hadn’t he ever come back to check on me?
It wasn’t something I wanted to dwell on right now. Showering off the grime followed by a good soak in the tub and food in my growling belly were the only things that mattered as he carefully set me down, shifted back, and immediately snatched my hand in his like he was afraid to let go of me.
“Thank you for coming to get me,” I said.
“You never have to thank me for doing that,” he replied. “I’ll always come, even when you’re angry with me.”
I was not gonna tear up.
Dammit!
