“And you can create this?”
“With magic, yes.” She looked up at me, and her earnest expression made my heart stutter. “I’ll need your help. I can collect the seeding material, but I need to distribute it through the cloud formations in a specific pattern. I can’t fly.”
The implication settled over me.
“You need me to carry you through theclouds.”
“While I work weather magic from your back, yes.” She bit her lip, suddenly uncertain. “I know it’s asking a lot. It could take hours, and maintaining steady flight while I’m manipulating atmospheric conditions won’t be easy?—”
I stepped closer. “Adele.”
She looked up at me, and snow began to drift around us.
“You don’t have to convince me,” I said. “These are my people. If you can help them, I’ll fly through every cloud in the territory.”
“It might be dangerous. Weather magic on that scale, while in motion, plus the energy fluctuations?—”
“I trust you. You won’t let me get hurt.”
Her eyes widened, and the snow turned to gentle rain, drops falling around us.
“We’re stronger together,” I said softly. “You with your knowledge and magic. Me with strength and flight. We can fix this.”
“Partnership,” she breathed.
“Partnership.”
The urge to kiss her was overwhelming. I needed to taste the rain on her lips. But this wasn’t the time. We had work to do, people depending on us.
I reached out and tucked a strand of wind-whipped hair behind her ear, letting my fingers linger on her cheek.
“Tell me what you need,” I said.
She swallowed hard, her gaze dropping to my mouth before snapping back up. “I need to gather materials first. Certain mineral compounds that will serve as crystallization points. Then we’ll need to identify the optimal cloud formations and plan our flight pattern.”
“How long will that take?”
“The rest of today for preparation. We can start theseeding run at dawn tomorrow.” She stepped back, breaking the charged moment, and turned to survey the valley again. “We should tell the villagers. Give them hope. Is there somewhere we can stay tonight?”
That’s when I realized why my sister had laughed.
Adele and I were married.
I couldn’t ask for two accommodations, and there would be no sofa with a snoring Fletcher for me to stretch out on.
We’d have to share a bed.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ADELE
Raoul landed in the village square with barely a jolt, and I slid from his back with considerably more grace than I’d managed earlier. My legs had gotten used to the rhythm of his flight, the powerful beats of his wings, and the way his muscles moved beneath his scales.
I was definitely not thinking about his muscles.
A crowd had gathered while we were gone, more villagers than before, their faces drawn with worry and hope. Children clung to their parents’ sides. Elderly dragon shifters leaned on canes or each other. Everyone watched us with an intensity that made my chest tighten.
Raoul shifted back to his usual form, the transformation as mesmerizing as always, and came to stand beside me. Close enough that I could feel his heat, but not quite touching.
