The rest of us land, sweaty and in need of a good shower. I slide my helmet off and wipe strands of wet hair from my face. Atlas is already waiting for me on the ground. I slide down Seraxes' side and into his awaiting arms.
"I need a shower," I say between kisses. "Bad."
"I think you look great," he winks.
"I didn't say I was ugly," I shoot, teasing in my tone. "I said I need a shower. I smell like sweat and dragon. No offense," I appease Seraxes before she huffs at me.
"I know you're tired, but I was hoping you'd be up for an adventure."
There's a sparkle in his eyes that causes me to rethink immediately declining his offer. Typically, I would ask him what he's up to or demand we wait until I'm presentable, but what the hell. Let's be spontaneous.
I nod with a smile. "What did you have in mind?"
A dragon race wasn't what I had in mind when Atlas asked me to join him on an adventure. But here we are, zipping through the sky as the sun sets.
Seraxes is the fastest of her kin, but even she struggles to keep up with Vidarr. His size is deceiving. He's the largest dragon in the bunch but his speed is unmatched. I'm exceptionally curious to see Vidarr use his purple fire and turn creatures into pillars of salt. I've never seen or heard of such a power until Atlas shared the lore with me. But his display of power will have to wait until we have something or someone for target practice.
Atlas and Vidarr circle around to fly beside us. "I would challenge you to another race but that seems unfair." He teases, and my competitiveness flares.
"We may not be able to keep up with you, but Seraxes and I have plenty of tricks up our sleeve."
"Is that so?" he arches a playful brow. "Like what?"
As if Seraxes detects disbelief in his tone, she spears straight up into the clouds. Thrane and my mother haven't caught us practicing this because if they knew what we were doing, we'd get an earful for sure. When Seraxes finds herself in a horizontal position, I stand and run the length of Seraxes' spine to the tip of her tail and dive off. Free falling no longer scares me and I trust Seraxes will catch me.
And without fail, my dragon dives after me and snags me. My upper body has gotten stronger so I'm able to climb up to reclaim my seat on her back.
Atlas' mouth drops open. "When did you learn to do that?"
I shrug. "During a few unsanctioned flying sessions." I blink. "Are you going to tell my mother?"
He shakes his head. "No, but I have a feeling she's going to find out sooner or later." A smile appears on his face. "We're here."
Vidarr zips ahead, beelining for the tiny islet Atlas and I practiced our Nox and Lumos forms. That seems like a lifetime ago. But this isn't much of an adventure. As we land, I steel my features, so he doesn't see the gleam of disappointment.
He slides off Vidarr's back with ease, landing on his feet.
My heart flutters at how sexy he looked dismounting his dragon. He notices. "You ride well."
"I had a good trainer," he smirks.
"I'm sure Thrane will be happy to hear that," I slip my gloves off and shove them in my pockets.
Atlas meets me between our dragons. "Not Thrane. Although he did help quite a bit." He slips his hand around my waist and tugs me close. "I meant you."
"Me?"
"I was learning to ride a dragon long before I had one just by watching you and Seraxes." He kisses the tip of my nose.
"Well, I'm flattered," I run my fingers up and down his back. "I suppose you can call me Professor Basilius-Sol."
His eyes brighten, as if the most wonderful idea just popped into his head. "What if I want to call you Professor Harland instead?"
I click my teeth. "Then I suppose you'd have to marry me."
"I intend to," he whispers, sliding down on one knee.
My mouth drops and a small gasp escapes me. "What are you doing?"
