Page 32 of Sapphire Seas

It truly was. Our small city was thriving as tiny artisan shops began cropping up in the front rooms of dragons who’d opted to work from home and craft beautiful treasures as a means of supporting themselves. We had an ice cream parlor now, three doors down from the diner, and rumor had it that there would be a bakery soon too. I couldn’t wait to see what else the industrious dragons of our fair city created next.

Banking left, we flew them past the park, where someone sat playing their guitar for a group of teenaged dragons sprawled out on the lawn. My wings, able to produce great gusts of wind or waves of water if we clapped them together too hard, barely made a sound as we dipped low enough to listen to the chorus of the song before flying away. We circled the library, so they could see the fountain out front of three dragonets holding books, while another sat listening with his book on his head. The colorful LED lights made the water change colors, and my dragon and I delighted in the sound of our mates oohing and ahhing at the sight.

I flew them past the theater, which was up to two screens now. They still played classic movies on the first Wednesday of every month, something my mates might be interested in viewing one day, though to be honest, I preferred my den and had considered turning it into an in-home theater, with how much the two of them enjoyed the moving pictures. As far as surprises went, the idea certainly had merit and would be something to look into in the morning.

Right now, we had more sightseeing to do before we moved on to phase two.

I flew them past the small but thriving marketplace, as well as the shop Ronan had raided for baby clothes the moment he discovered he was having girls.

Look at all the tiny baby things, Caspian cooed.

We get to shop there, right? Kes asked.

Absolutely.

That’s going to be so exciting! Caspian declared.

There was a home goods shop and hardware store, a pottery studio and one that sold beautiful stained glass sun catchers, plant stakes, wind chimes and other garden accessories. As we passed the submarine sandwich shop, my dragon remembered what else was out this way and flew past the end of the street, skimming the treetops to reach the frozen pond on the other side of Dragon City. The full moon reflected off the pristine ice, so perfect that I knew only another ice dragon, like Kes, could have made it so. Dragons of all ages ice skated here, not that my dragon needed skates to gracefully glide across the ice with our mates clinging to our back, giggling before we took to the skies again.

By the time my dragon and I had shown them everything there was to see of Dragon City and cooled off a few volatile tempers by ‘accidentally’ using my tail to knock the snow off the roof of a building onto the heads of two bickering dragons, it was time for phase two. At least the arguing idiots had been laughing by the time they’d dug themselves out, their voices following us across the sky as one of them declared that the Goddess must have decided that they needed a time out. My mates had found the whole thing amusing and laughed right along with me as we flew back to the house.

Instead of landing by our door, I landed near the cave entrance and shifted, gathering them in my arms to hug them in the moonlight. My nakedness didn’t phase Caspian one bit as he went up on tiptoes, rubbing his body against mine as he stretched to kiss me.

“Thank you for such a lovely tour,” Caspian said. “Dragon City is magnificent. There are so many places I long to see the inside of that I think a daytime tour will be in order once we’ve finished with the seaside village.”

Before I could answer he kissed me again, melting against me until I lifted him and rocked our bodies together.

“Your wish is my command,” I murmured when I set him back on his feet.

“All of them, or just that one?” the cheeky Seadragon dared to ask.

“Beware of what you ask for,” I replied, pressing a kiss to his forehead, “my dragon is mischievous and full of naughty ideas.”

Kes snickered, while Caspian dissolved into a fit of giggles.

“Are you ready to see the second half of tonight’s surprise?” I asked, hoping that Odem had followed the instructions I’d given him while simultaneously wishing I could have entrusted the task to anyone else but the brother most likely to give me shit about it later.

I guided them through the twisting maze of caverns to the hot springs to see that Odem had laid everything out exactly the way I’d requested. Tall pillar candles with wildflower scents flickered, their tiny flames dancing along the wall and across the water. Three robes lay folded neatly on a nearby ledge and the battery-operated movie projector I’d ordered and left for him to set up, was waiting on a tall, flat rock near the steaming spring.

“Whoa,” Kes breathed.

“Double whoa,” Caspian said, squeezing my hand as he drank in the sight.

“Why don’t we get these clothes off you now so we can get in,” I said, turning so I could unzip the heavy hoodie he’d pulled on.

Kes immediately started giggling, not that I had the faintest idea of why. Neither did Caspian it seems.

“You have to share the joke if you’re going to laugh like that,” Caspian insisted.

“There’s no joke,” Kes explained, flames heightening the faint blush that crept over his cheeks. “Just giggling about the way you fussed at him to dress warm only so you could turn around and strip him naked.”

“He’s not even close to naked yet,” I grumbled.

“Soon enough,” Kes said as he gracefully slid to his knees in front of Caspian, fingers catching his fuzzy sweatpants on the way down, so they wound up around Caspian’s ankles.

“Only because you are double teaming me now,” Caspian said, even as he raised his foot so Kes could tug his pant leg free.

“So.”