“Yes, you are.” I glanced up at Raoul. “My companion will be coming with me.”
Raoul’s gaze dropped to Fletcher, who attempted to look dignified despite his droopy eyes and floppy ears. “Naturally. I would not separate a witch from her friend.”
With farewells completed, Raoul led me to an open section of the garden. “Stand back.” He turned to me. “I assume you prefer flight to a long carriage journey with your possessions?”
“Flight would be amazing.” Scientific interest was overriding any nervousness.
He nodded and stepped away from me. His form began to change. It wasn’t a violent transformation, more like watching water flow from one container to another. His shoulders broadened impossibly, his height doubled, then tripled. Copper scales rippled across his expanding form, gleaming in the faelights like newly minted coins.
Within moments, a magnificent dragon stood in front of me, easily the size of a small house. His wings, folded against his sides, looked like they might span at least thirty feet when extended. Spines ran down his back, and his long tail curled around his clawed feet. His head was huge, with elaborate horns crowning it, and those same amber eyes, now much larger, regarded me steadily.
Fletcher let out a yelp and darted behind my skirts.
That’s… That’s a very large dragon,he said.
May I?a deep, rumbling voice asked in my mind. It took me a moment to realize Raoul was communicating telepathically.
“Oh! Yes. Sure.”
He extended one big foreclaw, and, with surprising gentleness, scooped me up. A moment later, I found myself deposited on his broad back, behind where his neck joinedhis shoulders. Fletcher was carefully placed in front of me, trembling but trying to appear brave.
The spines along Raoul’s back were smooth and warm and provided convenient handholds. I grabbed one, keeping an arm wrapped snugly around Fletcher. My heart pounded with a mixture of scientific excitement and basic terror.
Hold tight,Raoul said in my mind.And try not to change the weather while we’re airborne.
Did I hear humor in his voice? I had to be mistaken. So far, my new husband hadn’t given any indication that hehada sense of humor.
Powerful muscles bunched beneath me, and we launched into the twilight sky.
“Goodbye!” Grandmother called out, waving.
Sasha and Veronica had locked their arms across their chests and were frowning.
It was all I could do to give them a quick wave.
My stomach dropped as we surged upward, the force of our ascent pushing me against his spine ridge. Fletcher yelped and scrambled halfway up my chest, nearly knocking me backward.
I wrapped both arms around him.Hold on, love. We’ll land before you know it.
Don’t like this,he growled, his eyes tightly closed.
The gardens shrank below us. I caught one last glimpse of Grandmother, Sasha, and Victoria waving, then we banked toward the distant mountains that marked the dragon territories.
Wind rushed past me, tangling my hair, but I barely noticed. As we climbed higher, I was mesmerized by the air currents streaming around Raoul’s wings, creating perfect vortices that his big body utilized for maximum efficiency.The thermal patterns were unlike anything I’d ever observed, and my mind was already calculating formulas for how dragon flight could affect weather systems.
Fletcher snuggled closer, his eyes pinched closed.Tell me when it’s over.
I was entranced by the aerial view and what it meant for my research. Clouds passed close enough to touch, and I could feel the different temperature layers as we ascended. If I could take measurements at this altitude regularly, who knew what theories I could come up with?
“This wasn’t how I planned to conduct my high-altitude research,” I whispered into the wind, a smile spreading across my face, “but I can work with it.”
CHAPTER FOUR
RAOUL
The wind currents over the Emberforge Mountain Range were always predictable, steady thermals rising from the volcanic vents below, cool downdrafts from the glacial peaks above. I’d flown this route thousands of times and could navigate it in my sleep.
Tonight, nothing was predictable.
