His expression darkened. “I don’t know. That conversation is still tabled as the evidence mounts and information about Solomon and his growing band of miscreants comes in. We’re looking at all the angles. And no one can seem to agree. Ah, politics. Gotta love em.” He finished.
“What do we know about him so far?”
He shook his head in disgust. “Not as much as we need to and a lot more than I wish I did.” He gritted. “He’s dangerous, and he’s coming. It will be our job to be ready when he does.” I could tell that Solomon was not his favorite topic of conversation. Truth be told, I liked to talk about him about as much as I did about Will Bennett. I figured on that score we were even.
“Well, anyway. Think about it. Returning next summer.” He got up.
I nodded. “I will. Even if I don’t come back for camp, I’d like to think I could return for a visit? You are my uncle, like fifty gazillion times removed...”
He chuckled. “Not near that Sadie Cross. Remember, we’re dragons, and we live a spell longer than humans.”
He sent me a parting nod and I watched as he walked away. Was there a stoop to his shoulders that had been missing before?
Nick slid in across from me, his eyes on Franz's retreating back. “I don’t envy him. Not with the council breathing down his neck. They’ve been arguing for like a solid week.”
I smiled sadly. “Yeah. He invited us back, you know. Next year?” I tucked into my breakfast and Nick followed suit. We were both trying to replenish calories lost in everything that had happened.
Nick looked up at me finally. I felt the weight of his brooding stare and my heart tripped before I could stop it. “Not sure that’s a smart move on his part. I’m thinking we’re all rotten luck. I mean, it seems trouble follows us wherever we are.”
I chuckled. He wasn’t wrong.
He continued, “Wanna take a walk along the rim after breakfast. Franz lifted the no fly ban for a few hours this morning. Said we all needed to let off some steam. I won’t be flying, but I thought it would be neat to see everyone else by the light of day reflected against the sun. I’ve only ever seen them at night.”
My heart sped up and a familiar excitement filled me. And fear, there was some of that. I hadn’t forgotten my first change. It Hurt! But I still wondered what it felt like to fly. I hadn’t done that yet. I was still just a fledgling. I stared at Nick and grinned suddenly, feeling a familiar teasing meanness.
“Ah, Seul, you just wanna see me naked.”
He sputtered and choked on his milk. “What? No, I...” then he caught my expression and his eyes darkened.
“I’ll be getting you for that. Promise.” He groaned.
I giggled. It felt good to let go. “Gotta catch me first, Nicholas.” I teased.
His smile returned. “Is that a challenge, Cross?” he asked, a sardonic grin on his dark face.
“Or something.” I agreed.
We got up together and I agreed to meet him out front by the fire pit in ten. I needed to get something from my tent.
IT WAS LATE MORNING by the time we made the edge of the valley. The sun had burnt off most of the late night dew, but it still sparkled in spots, reflecting the rising sun, sharp in our eyes. We weren’t the first to arrive. Several others had come ahead of us. Even as we made the edge, a black shape farther down fell away from the side of the valley wall and rose, a dark silhouette against the brilliant light that outlined it as the black dragon’s wings spread and it took flight.
Others along the rim were changing at will, the joy in the air contagious as hearts lightened and the immense freedom flying lent them cut loose.
I stood with Nick, suddenly nervous. I’d been desperate and afraid the last time I’d called her up—my dragon. Now I was afraid for a different reason, and it had nothing to do with shifting. I turned to stare at the tall boy by my side. Our relationship had never been what I would call easy. We were both too obstinate and pig-headed for that.
“I’m not like you Nick. We’re different, you and I.” I blurted.
He interrupted my self-deprecatory speech. And I scowled. He didn’t let me finish.
“Shut up. I’m well aware of that. I envy you; you know. I’m a decent enough wizard, I suppose. Dad says that if I keep up, I may be as good as he is someday. But no matter how good I get; I will never know what it’s like to fly. That’s incredible, Sadie. I’m relying on you to come back down and tell me what it’s like.”
I nodded. At a loss for words. It was just the right thing to say.
“One more thing Cross.” He reached out and cupped the back of my head with one firm hand and pulled me in. “I’m not kissing the dragon, so I’d better get this in before you aren’t wholly you.” His lips were soft on mine and a shudder of reaction moved through me, my heart jack hammering in my chest as the kiss deepened for just a moment.
He was wrong. I didn’t need wings to fly.
He stepped back, and I met his light eyes with my own, deep with wonder. I called my dragon, a moan leaving my lips as I stepped back further, tossing him the bag I’d grabbed from the cabin before we left. “Keep that handy Seul, I’m gonna need it.”
A ripple of pain shivered along my spine and I felt the rip and tear of reforming tissues and bone as the change came over me. I took longer than most. I was new to this, but it might have been mere moments before my dragon’s consciousness invaded my own, nudging my human self aside, the predatory ancient edging in. I turned away from the human on the ledge and stared out over the open space of the valley spread before me.
The sky was alive with dragons of every color, shape, and size. I glanced down at my own bronze scales, the reddish hue glittering like a new penny in the bright sun. I moved my legs, muscles rippling, my tail swishing around in a wide arc. Somebody screamed from behind me, avoiding the spiked end. And I would have smiled if my dragon had permitted it. Instead, she spread her wings wide, and I felt them unfurl to their impressive length. A shiver of yearning filled me and the joy bubbled up.
My wings began to move, the wind catching beneath them, and I felt the power in their leathery span. My mouth opened wide, a roar of emotion issuing from deep inside. And then I was falling forward, catching the breeze and harnessing it as air rushed past my nose, whistling through my teeth. My wings moved and pushed me upwards as the world fell away below me.
I was flying...
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Valley of the Dragons (Rule 9 Academy, #3) Page 25