by Zoe Chant
“Ugh.” Braeden grimaced. “No thanks. I’d rather stay here. Maybe I can check out that coffee shop of yours and give all your friends a good view of the terrible monster you’re dragging around with you in chains—”
“Nope,” Timothy said cheerfully, “you’re coming with us. I’m not leaving you alone here for a full day. You’ll scare the neighbors, and I don’t want the werewolves to move out. The quietest neighbors I’ve ever had.”
“Except for the full moon?” Liana said with a grin.
Timothy grinned back. “You got it.”
***
Inside, the air was cool. The sensation was welcome after the long afternoon out in the ocean.
While Liana vanished to shower, Timothy started the coffee. The large grouper was waiting safely in the spare fridge in the pantry, and despite Mrs. Grimes’ worry, they had all the essentials they needed for a barbecue on the beach.
Which meant that Timothy now had some time left to deal with the more unpleasant facts of life.
Like fire dragons. And the chimera.
Timothy sighed when his phone showed a missed call from Ginny. Then he opened his emails—and yep, there it was.
Just as he’d suspected, the chimera wanted to see him and his mate. Not just him, apparently. Ginny had also been told to summon the dragon of earth and air with their mates.
I hope nothing has happened with that damn plinth of fire. We should just tear it down.
The thought of how the fourth plinth had just suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the hall of the council still made him feel grumpy. The element of fire had no right to join the council of elements.
For one thing, there hadn’t been a master of the fire for many centuries.
For another, the fire dragons who’d suddenly returned from where they’d hidden underground since the Middle Ages were hell-bent on destruction, and on conquering all of humanity, if Braeden was to be believed.
Timothy still didn’t quite believe that. From what he’d seen of fire dragons, they really weren’t smart enough to establish a dragon empire, or whatever it was they were going for.
But Timothy could believe that they wanted revenge and destruction. And they didn’t care who got harmed.
Timothy could hear that the shower was still running. Liana would be a while...
He took his phone and then wandered out along the wooden pathway that ran around the house over the water. Then he thumbed through his contacts until he found the dragon of the storm, Gregory.
Gregory answered almost immediately.
“Everything okay?” the other dragon shifter said. “Ginny called an hour ago.”
“I was out in the ocean,” Timothy said. “Everything’s fine. Fire dragons attacked early this morning, but Ginny probably gave you all the news.”
“About your mate, you mean?” He could hear the smirk in Gregory’s voice. “Congratulations! I didn’t think we’d see you settle down at last. I bet she’s one of your supermodels—or a movie star? Or maybe reality TV, knowing you... Ooh, wait.”
Gregory lowered his voice. “She’s not that famous porn starlet you told me about who presumably has been hounding you with calls—”
“Hey!” Timothy said sharply as annoyance rose up in him. “I won’t have you speculate about my mate in such a way—show some goddamn manners! What the hell is wrong with you?”
It took a moment until he realized that Gregory was laughing at the other end. “Just teasing. This time it’s not one of your outrageous tales then, hmm?”
There was something strangely knowing about the way Gregory said it.
Timothy had to bite back a sound of disgruntled annoyance. Apparently, he hadn’t been able to fool Gregory with the tales he’d made up about all of his past conquests.
“She’s real,” Timothy said, still annoyed. “And you’ll be polite when you meet her, do you understand me? She didn’t know anything about shifters, and she nearly died because of me. I won’t have you scare or insult her.”
“Sorry,” Gregory said. “I’m looking forward to meeting her.” Then he paused. “And I’m glad you found someone who brings out that protective instinct in you. It suits you... better than those old, outrageous tales.”
Now Timothy was the one who sputtered.
“Whatever,” he said after a moment, trying hard to keep his composure. It really wasn’t fair that a powerful dragon like him should feel so out of his depth—but he’d never met a woman like Liana before.
And he’d never felt for someone so intensely before. The mere thought of those fire dragons coming close to her again...
Timothy took a deep breath. “Back to business. We’re all to meet in Sky Home, I hear. Want to meet up before we get there? We can fly the rest of the way together, which means more safety for our mates. And Liana will have a chance to meet everyone, before that damn chimera can scare her out of her wits.”
Gregory was silent for a moment.
“You know what?” he then said. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you speak actual sense. Your mate must be a good influence. But yeah, let’s meet. Now that Naomi is pregnant, I hate the thought of fire dragons coming anywhere close to her. Safety in numbers.”
“Not that we need it,” Timothy said, feeling the same wave of protectiveness for Liana rise up in him. “But still, we’d be foolish to risk anything. After that thing they pulled last time...”
“I’ll call Damon,” Gregory said. “It’s not quite on the way for him, but I bet he’ll be curious about your mate as well. How does 10 a.m. sound? Do you remember that hill where you and I used to race each other as teenagers?”
“Good choice,” Timothy said. “Out of sight from any cities—and with a good view of our surroundings.”
“No fire dragon will sneak up on us there,” Gregory agreed cheerfully. “And if they do—what can fire do against the three elements combined?”
“Let’s not jinx it.”
Timothy looked out at the ocean. He hated flying away from his natural element—here, he truly felt at the height of his strength. With the ocean all around them, he’d be able to keep Liana perfectly safe from any fire dragon attack.
Still, it was true that as the master of the water, he had a duty. A duty to all shifters and all humans.
He might not like it, but he couldn’t hide with such a threat out there. He had to answer the council summons.
Chapter Fifteen: Liana
The next morning, Timothy woke her early.
They’d stayed up late, sitting arm in arm by the fire as it burned down. They’d watched the moon rise over the calm, dark water of the ocean before them, and Liana had felt completely, utterly at peace.
Still, she didn’t feel tired this morning. She was too excited. Today, she’d get to fly on dragonback again—and then, she’d meet other dragon shifters.
Other dragon shifters with human mates.
Maybe it’ll be like going out with Clairice’s friends. I like those women well enough, but I’ll never be a part of them...
Or perhaps the other women would be just like her—completely new to the world of shifters, and excited about the freedom and adventure that their shifter mates had brought them. Perhaps, for the first time in her life, she’d find a small community of people just like her.
“Ready?” Timothy asked, pulling on a shirt that stretched deliciously over the hard planes of his pecs.
Liana swallowed as she watched his muscles move beneath the fabric.
Timothy had been a perfect gentleman tonight, and she’d never felt as safe and as protected as when she’d fallen asleep with her head resting on his chest.
Still, wanting to take it slow because it was all new to her didn’t mean that she didn’t want him.
Because she did. More than she’d ever wanted anything.
The mating. Not just our bodies touching, but also our souls.
Perhaps, after they’d returned from the trip, they’d have some privacy...
/> “As ready as you can be for a meet-up with a group of dragon shifters and their mates.” She found herself smiling, despite her nerves.
It would be all right. Timothy would be by her side. And if the other dragons were anything like him, they’d all get along just fine.
“About time,” Braeden said when they joined him in the kitchen.
Liana grinned and snatched one of the pancakes from his plate while he glowered at her.
“Don’t think I’ll let you carry me like that again,” he told Timothy. “That’s horribly undignified.”
Timothy smirked. “So?”
Braeden sputtered. Before another round of bickering could begin, Liana intervened.
“Let him ride on your back,” she said. “I don’t mind. And he knows you can just let him drop if he doesn’t behave.”
Braeden clenched his teeth. “I’ve got perfectly suitable wings of my own, you know. If you’d take off those bracelets...”
“Nope, sorry,” Timothy said cheerfully. “Chimera’s orders. We’ll see him soon enough, so feel free to argue with him and see where that gets you.”
Then Timothy stole the last pancake from Braeden’s plate, who glared at them in disgust.
“Anyway, it’s getting late. Time to head out.” Timothy nodded towards the beach stretching in front of the house.
The beach was completely deserted and quiet, the sand gleaming white in the light of the morning sun. Liana gave the gentle waves a longing look—but there’d be time for further trips to the sandbank when they returned.
Five minutes later, they were up in the air.
Braeden was indeed perfectly behaved. For all that he liked to complain, Liana realized that he was mostly all bark and no bite.
Of course, with his powers locked away, it wasn’t as if he had much of a chance to act up. Still, despite the way he and Timothy squabbled, Braeden wasn’t all bad.
And unlike certain other fire dragons, he’d never tried to kill her.
The sprawling mansion on the beach grew smaller and smaller below them as they kept rising.
For a moment, she had a perfect view of the entire peninsula. It really looked more like a tiny island, linked only by the one narrow road to the mainland. There were tiny houses dotted all over the peninsula, all with lots of space around them, and in the center, she could see the small town with its perfect little coffee shop.
Maybe, when they got back, they could take Braeden out for a coffee. Company might do him well. No wonder he was grumpy. He’d spent all of yesterday hiding in the house.
Then Timothy dipped a wing and they swerved to the left, steadily rising higher and higher until at last, they broke through the clouds that had begun to appear further inland.
The experience was amazing.
Liana had flown before—but sitting on a plane couldn’t compare to the feeling of clouds surrounding her. Wisps of white trailed from Timothy’s wings until they were right inside the clouds and she couldn’t see anymore.
For several long moments, everything around her was white. All sound was muffled. All she could hear was the thunder of her own excited heartbeat in her ears.
Timothy’s body was reassuringly hot beneath her, keeping her warm despite how high they were flying.
And then they broke through the clouds and soared right into brilliant sunlight.
Liana gasped in amazement. The clouds beneath them shimmered golden, so that it looked as if they were crossing yet another ocean. An ocean of light and billowing clouds.
When she turned around, an overwhelmed smile on her face, she saw that Braeden was smiling, too. There was a distant look in his eyes, and he was rubbing the black bracelets encircling his wrists.
Was he dreaming of flying?
Liana hastily turned back around. She didn’t want to embarrass him. From what she’d learned about the prickly fire dragon, he didn’t like to show any weakness.
Still—maybe there was a reason for dragging Braeden around with them. Maybe he’d learn that it wasn’t enough to simply not harm humans, and that it wasn’t possible to just sit back and watch.
If he thought that the other fire dragons were making a mistake, then eventually he’d have to go out there and do something. Otherwise, he’d be a coward. And no matter what she thought of Braeden, she was starting to think that beneath that annoying mask, there was a decent human hiding after all.
Or a decent dragon, she supposed.
They were soaring in the sunlight above the clouds for around an hour. Liana wasn’t quite sure how Timothy knew where they were, but after a while, he began to descend again. The clouds had given them short glimpses of the land below every now and then as the cloud cover grew less dense.
Now, she could see fields and hills and forest stretching below them.
Timothy landed on top of a small hill. There wasn’t any house or road nearby that she could see—which must be why they’d chosen this spot.
“We’re a bit early,” Timothy said as he checked his phone, looking pleased. “That was perfect weather for a flight. I can’t wait to get back up into the air again.”
“I wish I could say the same.” Braeden settled down on the ground, leaning against the trunk of a tree that grew there.
“It was amazing,” Liana said, looking back up at the sky and the clouds above them. She still couldn’t believe that they’d soared straight through them.
Real dragons are so much better than virtual ones!
Together with Timothy, she walked around the hill, climbing a small rock that gave them a perfect view of the valley stretching below. A river was running through it, and they could hear the distant, musical tinkle of a waterfall. Birds were singing, and a gentle breeze was cooling her face.
It was a perfect summer morning, and Liana wished all of a sudden that she’d thought to bring food along. They could have had a romantic picnic out here.
Of course, having Braeden around kept it from getting too romantic. Still, the area was beautiful. And coming from her, who preferred to curl up with her laptop or a book instead of going camping, that was saying a lot.
Suddenly, she realized that to their right, a dark spot had appeared in the sky. It was rapidly coming closer.
She nudged Timothy’s shoulder. “I think your friends are arriving.”
“About time,” he said and slung his arm around her, following her pointed finger.
And then he froze.
“Is something wrong?” Liana asked, worry rising up in her.
“I don’t know.” Timothy sounded strangely tense.
The spot in the sky had become larger. It didn’t quite look like a dragon. The wings looked wrong—and where was its tail?
“That’s not a dragon,” Timothy said a moment later, as if he knew what she’d thought. “That’s a griffin.”
“A griffin?” Liana repeated in amazement.
She’d played enough games to know about griffins—in theory.
Griffins were weird creatures that were half lion, half eagle. But they weren’t real. They were just a myth.
But then, I thought the same about dragons...
“What is he doing here?” Timothy murmured, still sounding tense. “I hope nothing’s wrong...”
“You know him?” she asked.
“His name is Jared. He’s a friend—he works for the council of elements. But there’s no reason for him to be here.” Timothy kept watching the sky.
“Maybe he just wanted to meet us as well?” Liana suggested.
“Maybe,” Timothy said, although he didn’t sound convinced. “He’d have called though. And he’s flying very fast, almost as if—”
He broke off. But even though he hadn’t finished the sentence, Liana found herself watching the sky with renewed worry.
She knew what Timothy hadn’t wanted to say.
Almost as if he’s being pursued.
A heartbeat later, Timothy stiffened.
“Shit,” he said very softly.
When Liana stared at the sky, her heart pounding in terror, she saw that in the distance, further tiny black dots had appeared.
“Your friends?” she said in a small voice.
Silently, Timothy shook his head.
It was difficult to make out how many dots were approaching. For all she knew, it could be a group of small birds.
But then, birds wouldn’t have Timothy so tense...
There was a sudden roar in the air, at first soft, then growing louder. The griffin was very close now, his giant eagle’s wings beating the air with powerful strokes.
Instinctively, Liana gasped and pressed closer to Timothy.
Playing with griffins in a game was quite different to the reality of meeting one.
Even though the shifter was smaller than a dragon, he was just as intimidating. He had the head and the wings of an eagle, while the back half of his body was that of a lion, covered with smooth, golden fur.
When he landed, she could feel the wind caused by his wings on her face. A second later, the griffin’s form shimmered and vanished. Instead, a man about Timothy’s age stood in front of them.
And he didn’t waste a minute.
“Hurry,” he gasped. “They’ve been hunting me for half an hour.”
“Fire dragons?” Timothy asked in a low voice.
“Seven or more of them. I don’t know where they came from.”
“Shit,” Timothy swore quietly, then stared at the sky again. “We should have a few minutes before they get here.”
“But if we just leave, what about your friends?” Liana asked worriedly.
“Damn it!” The griffin shifter had turned away from them and was now staring at the sky to their west.
Even before she’d followed his gaze, Liana knew what she’d see.
More tiny dots had appeared in the sky.
Swallowing, she turned.
To the north of them, clouds were covering the sky. Even as she watched, a handful of tiny, dark shapes broke through the clouds, rapidly flying towards them.
“I can outrace them,” Timothy said. “And so can my friends. I can fly higher than them, and I’m faster. And water will shield us from their fire breath.”