11. ~Vorzyr~ #3
“The Spellbreaking one. The Apex Magic Theory course is something I’m not permitted to take until I’ve experienced the other one.”
“Wow, they must be really concerned about you if you can’t take that course before learning about the Spellbreaking aspect.” She smiled. “The same thing happened to me the first couple of years that I was here. Control issues and all that.”
“Huh. Another thing we have in common. Except I don’t consider them issues like you do—and those around us who hold authority over us do.”
She frowned. “If you’re losing control, it is an issue.”
“The loss of control is their interpretation.”
She pulled up short at my take on it. “Interesting way of looking at it.”
“Where did your stance on it come from? Like, how did it start?”
“I guess with my tantrums when I was a toddler.”
“All perfectly normal. That’s definitely the time for tantrums.”
“Tantrums that resulted in mass destruction all around me, and me needing to be basically tied at the hip to Pops because his defensive magic was the only thing that could counter my explosions.”
“I burned down an entire village.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, I mean, no one was actually killed, because they evacuated in time, but the destruction was severe. But at the time it was more revered as a demonstration of my strength and power than what happened to you. You were stopped and restrained, right? Probably got a shitload of talks about controlling yourself and your emotions, reigning in and leashing your abilities.”
“And talk warning of magical corruption because of the great power I possess. The stronger you are, the more susceptible you are to it.” She shifted and moved closer to me, seemingly subconsciously in her haste to hear my story and ask her questions.
“So, what changed? If your power was revered when you were a kid, why were you sent here now?”
“On the surface and the official reason? I didn’t have permission from House Titanus to engage in a certain battle, but I went ahead with it anyway and… demonstrated my fortitude, shall we say?”
“And the unofficial reason?” she asked, all cute and curious.
“It unnerves my father that I’m stronger than him.”
She grimaced, reading between the lines well. “I’m sorry, Vorzyr.”
“Like you say, it is what it is.”
“And that’s something you keep advising me to challenge.”
“Maybe I will if you will.”
“Let me think on it.”
In the next second, she abruptly sprung to her feet and asked, “Do you want to do something really freeing with me right now?”
“ Really freeing ? What exactly are we talking about here?”
“Why? Worried?” she teased.
“Nah, gorgeous, I’m up for anything. I’m just concerned that you’re not.”
“You think I could be biting off more than I could chew?”
“I guess we’ll see. What’s your idea?”
She gestured around the space, the roof, the turrets, an entranced, faraway expression taking her over. “I come up here to fly every now and then. But I’ve never flown with somebody else before. With you being a dragon, that’s now on the table.”
“Have you ever flown with anybody else outside of the Academy setting?”
“My mom and my grandfather.”
“All right, but we do this under one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Relax into it. Toss all your hangups and worries aside. Just while we’re in flight. I swear to you, you’ve never experienced anything so liberating and peaceful, if you can employ that aspect while you’re doing it.”
“Okay,” she said, brightly, basically bouncing on the balls of her feet with anticipation.
It was clear that this was a big moment for her, to be approaching her flying this way.
“I’ll meet you back up here in a few moments,” I told her, stepping toward the roof’s edge.
“What? Where are you going?”
“I can’t shift up here. I’ll decimate everything.”
“Oh, right. Of course.” She looked me over in my white henley and maroon leather pants. “How big are you exactly?”
I couldn’t help smirking at the unwitting innuendo she’d just thrown out there.
Screw it, I wasn’t the perfect gentleman, or unflinchingly mature in every single moment.
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”
I winked. “You’ll see.”
In the very next second I had her gasping as I dropped off the rooftop without any warning.
She rushed to the edge and peered over frantically, and I laughed heartily at her cute stunned reaction, her first time witnessing a dragon shifter do their thing.
Her eyes shot wide as I brought myself to a stop just before hitting the ground, my magical dragon flame glowing a vibrant red beneath my feet and enabling me to levitate there about a foot off the ground, before I swiped it away and my boots touched down on the stone path.
I lowered myself to one knee and brought my fist in front of my face and bowed my head. Then I focused and let the magic of the shift take me.
Red magical flames radiated out, encompassing me, and the sensation of the change rolled through me, infusing every part of me, the magnificent power surging in its incredible intoxicating way.
Obsidian-black scales took the place of my skin, a sleek metallic sheen to them with red runes and gold-etched patterns.
My eyes took on their reptilian nature, piercing and fiery gold with an air of menace.
Twisted, razor-sharp thorns formed a crown upon my head, marking me as House Titanus.
I grew significantly, my shoulders exceeding the height of the second floor of the Academy building.
I unfurled my wings, their span one hundred feet and covering a significant portion of courtyard.
They were a striking onyx color, the webbing covered in glowing blood-red patterns.
I swished my serpentine tail with the jagged spikes.
My muscular legs were armored with razor-tipped talons.
A guttural rumble reverberated from my chest as the change completed and I stood there in a dominant stance in full dragon form, watching as Ariana unfurled her own wings and rose up on the rooftop, her gaze fixed on me.
Her wings were stunning, rich gold feathers with the edges dipped in the silver of her power.
I pushed off the ground and soared up toward her, flapping my wings, the force of it causing a rush of violent wind all around us.
“Amazing,” she breathed as I reached her, hovering right beside her.
I cocked my head toward the sky and her eyes lit with understanding.
In the next moment, she shot up toward the crescent moon casting an eerie yet soft light through the darkened night.
I followed, giving chase.
Excitement thrummed through me.
And something more.
Something primal, as I chased her, knowing she was far from prey. That she was so beyond that.
Not an outcast or an abomination.
Not to me.
Never to me.
In this moment, we weren’t standing on the periphery.
No one else mattered. Nothing else did.
In this moment together, we belonged.
With each other.
Two powerhouses soaring above the rooftops and even the age-old trees lining the Maven Academy grounds.
There was just us, just this moment of utter exaltation between us.
Her shrill cries of excitement and breathless giggles echoed through the night as she wove in and out of the trees as I chased her.
She spun in the air, executing impressive somersaults and using her wings to their fullest as she managed to evade me, somebody so skilled and unmatched in my flight abilities and skills.
It was wondrous and amazingly intense.
A thrill unlike any other.
And I was living for every second of it.
With a surge of speed and power, I reached her.
I was just an inch from touching her, when she spun and threw out her hands, a glowing silver film erupting between us, and she grinned as it kept me at bay.
I puffed out some smoke at her, forming a word, because it was the only way to communicate without her understanding dragon tongue, aside from mind-linking, which was too early to attempt with her.
Cheater.
She chuckled as she read the smoky word I’d created.
Then she surprised me as she drew something in the air with her magic. It wasn’t a word, but at picture.
Her on my back with a question mark beside it.
I puffed out some more smoke.
With pleasure, goddess.
I could feel the excitement thrumming through her then. She dropped her magic and I dipped my head for her, and she flew closer until she had a hold on my shoulder, then used it to settle on my back.
The feel of her on me, especially in dragon form… it was exquisitely overwhelming.
She held on, grasping my scales, as I soared up into the dark clouds, taking us higher and higher until the air noticeably thinned.
We were so far above that the Academy was barely a flicker of light and form beneath us.
So far away from all of them, from the world back down there.
It was still and wonderful and fucking perfect.
Freeing and invigorating.
I felt her clutch me tightly to her as she took it all in and breathed it down, just like I was.
She relaxed fully on me, then curled up on my back and nuzzled against me, taking the comfort that she obviously needed for whatever had gotten her down when I’d first come to her earlier on the rooftop.
“Thank you for doing this for me,” she spoke softly and so quietly. But with my dragon hearing I was able to hear every heartfelt word.
I turned my head and she reached a hand out to stroke my scaly chin.
The intimacy of it—fuck, everything—overtook me, and the next thing I knew, I was darting my tongue out and licking her hand. She didn’t flinch. Instead, she held it steady, while her eyes shone at me.
Moments passed where we reveled in the moment.
And then she got to her feet on my back, grinned at me, then leapt off me with a backward flip.
“Race you back down!” she cried out, as she brought her stunning wings into play and took off through the dark sky, weaving in and out wildly and impressively skillfully.
I chased her down, but she bested me with both her speed and skill.