by Zoe Chant
He imagined that it was all a lot to take in for a human—but surely, once she saw Dragon Springs, his small hometown with the community of shifters that were a second family to him, she’d realize that they weren’t so different.
“I’d love that,” Autumn said with audible longing in her voice. “I’ve always wanted to travel and see exciting things—I didn’t know then that I wouldn’t even have to leave the country to get to see a dragon’s home.”
The dragon inside Damon was already happily running through a list of his most prized jewels, wondering what first to gift her. The diamond tiara his great-great-grandmother, a dragon and a duchess, had worn at her wedding? The sapphire Damon himself had found during one of his retreats into the mountains? The simple bracelet of gold that was the first jewelry he’d been given for his hoard as a tiny dragonet?
Autumn had turned away from him to look out of the window.
Sunlight glinted on the lake. The ponies that had grazed in the distance had wandered closer, and Autumn made a delighted sound when one of the ponies looked up and shook its mane. Then the entire herd broke into a gallop and came racing into their direction, manes flying and hooves thundering.
Damon joined Autumn by the window. He wrapped an arm around her waist, and she immediately leaned back against his chest with a sigh. Her eyes were still on the half-wild herd of ponies.
The sight was glorious, the dragon within Damon spreading his own wings as he thought of the joy of soaring through clouds, wild and free. But for the first time in his life, Damon paid him no attention. He’d found something even better than a dragon’s freedom.
And he had it right here in his arms. Autumn was warm and soft against him, and he couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to her nape.
“Mmm,” Autumn sighed in pleasure. “I want to go out and say hello to the ponies...”
“We could,” Damon said huskily, making no move to release her.
“But I also want to stay inside with you all day,” she murmured, the same heat in her voice that was already rushing through Damon’s blood once more.
Now that he’d found his mate, all of his dragon’s instinct were focused on the mating.
They could even do it right here. If Autumn was willing, it wouldn’t matter that he had none of his hoard to truly claim her. The bracelet or one of the rings he wore would suffice, and he’d spread her thighs and kiss her until her thighs trembled, making her come for him again and again until the room was filled with his gorgeous mate’s sounds of pleasure...
Autumn shivered against him, the fragile bond between them vibrating with heat. Damon was rock-hard already, his erection aching as it pressed unmistakably against her hip.
His lips trailed up her throat as she moaned and tilted her head to give him access. A moment later, his hand slowly trailed up her side, cupping one of her generous breasts as she sighed and pressed against him.
His dragon was on fire. His body was on fire.
And Damon Drago, the most sensible and down-to-earth council member, who’d never made a rash decision in his life, was overwhelmed by the all-consuming desire that had spread tendrils of heat through his body.
A groan escaped him as he touched the tip of his tongue to her throat, tasting the salt of her skin. His shaft throbbed in his trousers, painfully hard.
And then there was a loud whinny outside, filled with such terror that all desire drained from his blood.
A heartbeat later he felt it, even before he’d had time to look up.
Dragon. Fire dragon.
The awareness pulsed through him, his dragon’s rage at being attacked mixing with the overwhelming need to keep his mate safe.
Autumn had frozen against him. They were both staring out of the window, where the herd of ponies was now racing past their cabin with eyes rolling with fear. And there, in the sky, distant specs had appeared, which were rapidly coming closer.
“Are those... your friends?” Autumn asked, her voice trembling.
“Fire dragons.” Damon tightened his arm around her in reassurance.
His dragon, outraged at being continuously attacked, wanted to meet them in the sky, ending this threat to his mate once and for all.
But at the same time the instinct to protect his mate was too strong. He knew that he couldn’t bear leaving her here all alone, without a protector.
If he’d had at least one of the other dragons of the council here, he’d been glad to spread his wings and challenge the fire dragons. But right now, Autumn came first.
“If we’re quick, I can outfly them again,” he said hastily. “They’ll probably track us down eventually, but it should give us enough time for my friends to arrive. I can bring you to your friend’s farm in the north, if you want. Or...”
“No,” Autumn said immediately, even though he could feel her fear through the bond. “I can’t. If they’ll track us to her farm—I couldn’t do that to her.”
Damon exhaled, the dragon within him roaring as he eyed the sky. The distant specs had become larger. Five fire dragons this time. More than they’d ever seen before.
Just how many of them are there? Someone needs to have a stern talk with our captive fire dragon...
“I know you’ve been looking forward to this trip,” he then said. “But if you trust me—trust me enough to cross the ocean on my back—I can take you away from here. I’ll fly you back home. You’ll be safe in Dragon Springs, and my friends can deal with these dragons.”
In the distance, there was a sound almost like the faint roll of thunder.
Autumn shuddered in his arms. They both knew that it was the roar of a dragon echoing in the sky.
Then Autumn turned in his embrace. Her lips were pressed together, and her eyes filled with determination.
“Let’s go,” she said.
By the time they were outside, Damon shifting immediately and lifting Autumn onto his back with a clawed hand, the dragons were so close that they could see their shadows on the ground, racing towards them like angry storm clouds.
Damon dug his claws deep into the earth. He parted his jaw and inhaled, calling on the power of his element.
Strength came rushing into him, the centuries-old rocks beneath him readily giving their support. The song of life roared in his ears as everything that was green and growing sang out for him.
Fire was strong. Fire was destructive.
But nothing was as strong as the force of life that made grass grow and trees flower, year after year.
With the power of the earth itself thrumming through him, he gathered his strength and then took off into the air, effortlessly beating his wings while the fire dragons roared in anger behind him. They’d come close enough that he could feel the heat of the fire they belched after him, but another beat of his wings took them out of the danger zone.
And then they were above the clouds.
The sun was shining. The cover of white beneath them was undisturbed, and everything was shockingly peaceful and quiet, as if the dragons hunting them had suddenly ceased to exist.
Nevertheless, Damon continued to fly as quickly as he could, drawing on the power of his element to magically increase his speed.
No ordinary dragon could fly so fast. There were only two other dragons in the world who could match his speed, and both sat on the council together with him.
Still, even at this pace, it would take a few hours to make it back to Dragon Springs from Iceland—but Autumn would be safe on his back, and that was what counted.
And once he knew that his mate was safe in his own home—then he’d deal with the dragons that had dared to threaten her.
Chapter Eleven: Autumn
Once they were above the clouds, Autumn dared to relax. For the first quarter of an hour, she’d kept looking back, but there was no sign of the dragons.
They’d outraced them before, after all. And here, on the back of Damon’s powerful dragon form, she had no doubt at all that every beat of the strong wings put more di
stance between them.
Eventually, the cloud cover beneath them began to thin. To her surprise, she saw that they were already above the ocean.
This time, there were no seat belts, no security instructions and no flight attendants bringing her water and snacks—but she felt safer on Damon’s back than she’d felt inside the plane. Despite their height, his body gave off enough warmth that she was more comfortable than inside the air-conditioned jet.
Dragon travel. Better than a first-class upgrade.
A wave of amusement filled her, coming from the dragon beneath her.
With a sigh, she relaxed, her eyes on the horizon. Fire dragons or no, with Damon on her side, no one would be able to harm her.
She couldn’t wait to see this new world he’d promised her.
Several hours later, they’d successfully crossed the ocean. Currently, they were flying across a hilly countryside, green forest sprawling beneath them. In the distance, she could see towering mountains, but Damon made no sign of swerving towards them.
Instead, he seemed to be descending now, the green hills beneath them coming closer and closer, until Autumn could make out single trees.
But hadn’t he promised her a town?
Here and there, she could see roads winding around hills, crossing rivers. Every now and then, there was a car. But where was this fabulous shifter town he’d promised?
All of a sudden, Damon folded his wings. They dropped rapidly, heading straight towards yet another hill covered by nothing but an impenetrable forest.
Autumn gasped, clutching at Damon’s neck, even though she was still perfectly secure on his back. Still, for as tiny as the hills had looked from above, now that they had descended and were rapidly heading right towards a collision with one of them, she felt her stomach drop.
The trees were coming closer and closer. There was no settlement that she could see, not even a house. She didn’t doubt that Damon would be able to pull up in time and take them over the hill—but where was he headed?
Then his left wing rose, and they took a sharp turn towards the right.
Autumn’s eyes widened. They were right above one of the rivers now—and before them, the river curved gently around the hill, a cliff rising on the other side of the stream.
For a minute or two, they soared along the river, so close that every now and then, the tips of Damon’s claws would touch the water.
Autumn giggled at the sudden spray of water, raising one hand to shield her eyes from the sun that was now right in front of them. For a moment, she couldn’t make out what was before them. The glare of the sun on the water turned everything a blinding white.
And then Damon tilted his wings again, taking them further to the right and out of the blinding sun, and Autumn could see again.
A loud gasp escaped her.
There, before her, a valley spread, surrounded by hills. A river ran through it—a river with an antique mill, she noted as they soared past it. Everywhere she looked she saw green. Verdant grass covered the valley for as far as she could see, and the sides of the hills were covered in trees. To their right, two horses were running: one a bay, the other white as snow. The white horse whinnied, its tail raised high—and from their left, Autumn could swear that she’d hear the sound of a lion roaring, echoing from the hills.
Were these animals shifters?
Beneath her, Damon seemed to suddenly stretch—and then he roared as well. It wasn’t the challenging sound she’d heard before, when he’d faced the fire dragons. This had sounded like—like a greeting.
When she turned back again to watch where they were headed, the shifter town had finally appeared. There, at the end of the valley, with the river running through it, houses stood, each with a garden, some surrounded by wooden fences, others by large stone walls. Small bridges spanned the river, connecting the houses on either side of the water. Someone was standing on one of the bridges, fishing, while further ahead, she could see children paddling in a canoe.
There were people out in the streets as well—and not a single one of them seemed particularly concerned to see a large dragon flying right above their heads.
Instead, many of them looked up and waved. A few shouted a greeting, to which Damon dipped his wings briefly.
Further ahead, she could now see an open space. It was a large square surrounded by houses, and behind it, a road that led halfway up the hill. And there, gleaming in the sunlight, stood a mansion, which had been built from white stones. It was surrounded by a beautiful garden. At its back, a creek made its way down the hill, feeding a small lake.
The mansion had a tower as well, which rose from the back of the house. It was the sort of tower she’d expect to see in a movie about knights and dragons—but then, given that she was on the back of a dragon right now, that made a certain sense.
And she soon found out just why Damon’s home had a tower. As soon as they’d crossed the town, Damon beat his wings again so that they rose a little. Then he took them straight up the hill, landing at last on the top of the tower.
The stones were sturdy granite, marked by the scratches of large claws—as if generations of dragons had landed and taken off from here.
Which they probably had, Autumn realized as she slid down one of Damon’s wings with wide eyes.
A heartbeat later, his form shimmered. Instead of the large dragon, the no less impressive human form of Damon stood by her side.
“Welcome to Dragon Springs,” he said proudly, moving to her side to wrap his arm around her. Together, they looked down from the tower at the small town sprawling in the valley below. “There’s no safer place on earth. And no place I love more.”
***
The first thing she did was calling Tilly. During the long journey back home, she’d come with an explanation that wasn’t a complete lie.
Tilly had of course heard about the strange earthquakes that had happened at Iceland’s busiest tourist sites.
“I’m so sorry you were hurt,” she said through the phone Autumn clutched. “Really. Don’t worry about me. Just get better quickly.”
“I’m so sorry,” Autumn said miserably. “It’s nothing bad, but walking is a little difficult and my mom was so anxious...”
“I completely understand.” Tilly still sounded worried. “I hope you’ll still come back. But I’ll understand if this left a terrible impression—”
“Oh no, I loved it!” Autumn grimaced, hating the lies—but she couldn’t very well tell Tilly that they’d been hunted by fire dragons. “And I will be back as quickly as possible. I promise! I still want you to teach me to ride on your ponies. I’m really sorry I had to postpone our plans.”
“I’m the one who’s sorry,” Damon said earnestly when she ended the call a few minutes later. “And I promise that I’ll personally fly you over to your friend, as soon as this is over.”
Autumn gave him a small smile. Then she took a deep breath, trying to change the subject. “Do you have a kitchen in this mansion of yours?”
Damon grinned in reply, leading her into large, light-filled kitchen.
After long hours on dragonback, and their nerve-wracking escape from the fire dragons the day before, Autumn was ravenous—and Damon no less so.
“My dragon usually gets a snack or two while flying,” he explained as he expertly used a giant, fancy espresso machine to make Autumn a latte. “Just dip down, wait for the perfect moment, and grab a nice, juicy tuna right out of the ocean. But we were in a hurry—and also, the water’s very cold and I didn’t want to splash you by accident.”
“Dragon sushi,” Autumn said and laughed, a bit surprised by how much at home she felt in the large, light-filled kitchen.
She was sitting in a dragon shifter’s mansion, in a small town hidden between hills many miles from the next highway, filled with all sorts of shifters and a doctor who was also a crocodile—but for some reason it felt like the most normal thing in the world right now.
Maybe because the latte
she was clutching in her hands was just really damn good.
But also, there was something incredibly reassuring about the way Damon moved, a smile warming his entire face every time he turned to look at her.
He made her feel right at home, just by the way he looked at her. Maybe that was dragon magic, too. Or maybe that was just because he was Damon.
She got a cursory tour of the mansion—a place that really seemed too big for one person alone, with so many bedrooms and bathrooms that one could probably raise an entire horde of dragons there. Then Damon took her hand and led her outside. And although he’d been excited before, by the smile that covered his face it was clear that this was what he considered the real highlight of his tour.
“We’re a bit early for the rhododendrons to flower,” he said as he led her into a maze of large, green bushes that seemed to stretch all around them. “And I usually don’t do this—there’s nothing quite as rewarding as watching nature do its magic in its own time. But I’ve never wanted to show off for a visitor quite as much before, so...”
Before Autumn could ask what he was talking about, Damon took a deep breath. His eyes took on the by now familiar metallic sheen again. Power seemed to concentrate around him, and Autumn gasped as she saw daisies pop up from the grass all around them.
Then he knelt and touched his hand to the ground, and a moment later, Autumn felt something incredibly powerful and alive vibrate through her.
As she watched, wide-eyed and breathless, the green bush to her right suddenly blossoming until it was covered all over with large, yellow flowers. Every single flower was bigger than her hand, giving of a sweet smell.
Then another bush sprouted buds that unfurled into orange blossoms. Another followed, and another, until Autumn found herself turning and turning again, nearly dizzy from the scent of flowers and the incredible sight of an ocean of color stretching all around her.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Damon said softly. “That’s a part of the earth as well. Not just rock and stone and metal—as precious as gold and jewels are to us dragons. But this is a part of my dragon’s power as well. Fertile soil, everything green and growing. Everything fire can destroy. But what those fire dragons don’t realize is that even if you burn down a forest, shoots will sprout and trees will grow again. The earth is more powerful than fire. It’s always been that way, and it will always be.”