Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
RAOUL
Iwoke to Fletcher snoring directly in my ear after spending another night on the sofa.
The basset hound had sprawled across my chest sometime during the night, his weight pinning me in place. One of his ears draped over my face, and his breath smelled like the meat he’d stolen from dinner.
“Fletcher,” I muttered, trying to shift him off me.
He snored louder.
Morning light streamed through the windows, and I could hear movement. Adele was already awake.
I managed to extract myself from beneath the hound, who grumbled in his sleep and immediately claimed the entire sofa.
When I emerged into the sitting room after bathing and getting dressed, I found Adele wearing practical traveling clothes—sturdy boots, fitted pants, and a tunic in deep green that made her eyes luminous.
She’d braided her hair back from her face, and she was arranging breakfast on the table.
“Good morning.” She glanced up with a smile that did dangerous things to my pulse. “We can eat before we leave. How long do you think we’ll be gone?”
“I’m not sure. A few days, potentially. We’ll need to investigate Brightmore, then visit both Silvervale and Goldwing territories. You should pack a bag.”
“Already done.” She gestured to a leather satchel sitting by the door, stuffed full, looking ready to burst. “I brought three notebooks, extra ink, a few changes of clothing like what I’m wearing, my thermal mapping crystals, and some bread and cheese in case we get hungry along the way.”
“Very thorough.” I’d pack quickly myself.
“I like to be prepared.” She poured tea into two cups. “Will we be flying the entire way?”
“It’s the fastest method, and we’re working against time if there’s a drought in Brightmore.”
Fletcher slid off the couch and lumbered over to sit beside Adele, looking up.
“Good morning,” Adele said, rubbing his ears. “I packed you some dried meat strips for the trip.”
He grunted.
Her eyebrows lifted before she looked my way. “He says he’s not coming.” She frowned down at him. “What do you mean?”
Her sigh rang out as she relayed his side of the conversation. He was refusing to ride on a dragon’s back again.
“Last time,” she said. “He thought his stomach was going to exit through his throat. And do we know how terrifying it is to be thousands of feet in the air with nothing but scales between him and certain death?”
“You were perfectly safe,” I said. “I wouldn’t have allowed anything to happen to you.”
“You say that now,” she said, telling me what the hound said. “But what if you sneeze or get distracted? Or decide to do one of those barrel roll things dragons do for fun?”
I huffed. “I would never—”
“He says he’s staying here,” she said.
Fletcher’s jowls set in stubborn lines.
“He says he can visit with Demi,” Adele said. “She’ll give him lots of honeycakes and meat. He says she’s not stingy.”
He shot Adele a pointed look.
“She won’t give you lots of honeycakes, though probably lots of meat,” Adele pointed out. She shook her head, and a rueful smile rose on her face. “He says I should watch and see.”
Fletcher waddled toward the door.
“Are you sure?” Adele called after him. “I imagine there will be lots of meat and maybe a bite or two of honeycake during this journey.”
I nodded confirmation.
Fletcher paused at the door, looking back at her with droopy, soulful eyes.
“He’s telling me to be safe.” Laughter bubbled through her words. “And he said to tell you not to fly through any storms.”
Fletcher turned his gaze to me.
Adele’s eyebrows lifted as she relayed Fletcher’s thoughts.
“You’re to take good care of me. If anything happens to your…
Aw, Fletch. I’m your girl? That’s so sweet.
Anyway, he says he’ll find a way to make your life miserable if you don’t.
He says he has an extremely loud bark, and he’s not afraid to use it in the middle of the night. Let alone fart on command.”
“It was horrible,” I said.
Her head tilted. “He actually farted near you?”
“On purpose,” I growled.
“Fletcher!” She shook her head.
“As for taking care of “his girl,” I won’t allow anyone or anything to hurt her.”
Fletcher nodded and scratched at the door. Adele opened it, and he trotted out without a backward glance, his tail wagging.
“He really does hate flying,” Adele said, closing the door.
“Can you blame him? He’s built low to the ground. Heights probably feel unnatural.”
She laughed, the sound filling the room with warmth. “That’s very diplomatic of you.”
We ate quickly.
“I’ve been plotting the most efficient route,” she said, speaking around a bite of egg.
“If we fly to Brightmore first, we can investigate, then continue east to Silvervale territory. Goldwing is in the general direction as Silvervale and less than a day’s travel.
I had to guess a bit, extrapolating how long it took for you to fly from my grandmother’s estate to this mountain range, using time and wind variables…
” Her smile rose. “Anyway, accounting for the mountainous wind currents and potential storms, we should be able to take care of things and be back here within a few days.”
She’d marked a hand-drawn map with small notations, distances and landmarks, her handwriting neat.
“I wasn’t sure about wind patterns at higher altitudes,” she said, tracing a route with her finger. “I assume dragon flight operates differently depending on atmospheric currents, but I thought—”
“Adele.”
She looked up, blinking.
“It’s brilliant,” I said. “All of it.”
Pink colored her cheeks, and a light breeze swirled through the room, carrying the scent of rain. “It’s just logistics.”
“It’s smart logistics.” I caught her hand, threading my fingers through hers. “Thank you.”
“For making a map?”
“For caring enough to make a map.” For caring about my people and this mission. For being exactly who she was without a bit of pretense.
The breeze picked up, and snowflakes started drifting down from above us.
“We should go,” I said, releasing her hand before I forgot all my carefully constructed reasons for maintaining professional distance. “Before you create a blizzard in here.”
She waved away the snow with a laugh and grabbed her bag.
The launching platform was at the highest point of the palace, accessible through a series of spiraling stairs that opened onto a wide courtyard made of smooth stone.
The space had been designed for dragon takeoffs and landings and was large enough to accommodate even the biggest of our kind, with a spectacular view of the mountain range stretching in every direction.
We took the stairs and finally reached the top.
The air was thin and cold up here, crisp enough to make Adele’s breath visible in small puffs.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, turning in a slow circle to take it all in.
“This is one of my favorite places in the palace.” I set down our bags. “The view changes with every season and even depending on the time of day. I used to come up here when my parents were alive, watch them take off together.”
“Together?”
“Dragon mates often fly in formation. It’s…” I paused, not sure how to explain. “It’s a form of communication. Intimacy. My parents were spectacular fliers.”
I caught the expression on her face, curiosity mixed with a softness that made my lungs ache.
“I’m going to shift now,” I said. “Then you can climb onto my back. I’ll drop low to help.”
“I’ll try not to stare.” A smile came through in her voice.
The shift always started deep in my core, a gathering of heat and magic that spread outward through every nerve.
At my command, my bones lengthened and reshaped, and my skin hardened into scales.
Wings erupted from my back in a rush of power that never got old.
The world shifted as I grew, colors becoming sharper, scents more distinct, and sounds clearer.
In seconds, I stood in my dragon form, my scales catching the early light.
I found Adele staring up at me with wonder.
“You’re magnificent,” she breathed.
The words settled into my dragon heart with a warmth that had nothing to do with my internal fire. I lowered my head, bringing it close enough that she could touch my snout if she wanted.
She did, reaching out to place both hands on my scales, her touch cool and gentle.
“Hello,” she said softly.
I rumbled a greeting, the sound vibrating through my chest.
“Perspective changes everything,” she said, stroking along the ridge above my eye. “When I first saw you at the wedding, you were terrifying. This enormous creature who could incinerate me with a sneeze. But now…” Her smile turned tender. “Now I see you, Raoul, and you’re beautiful.”
If I’d been in my usual form, I would’ve kissed her. Since I wasn’t, I settled for nuzzling her belly and memorizing the feel of her hands on my scales.
“I need to climb on your back now, don’t I?” she asked.
I lowered myself to the ground, making it as easy as possible for her to mount. She grabbed our bags and approached my shoulder, studying the best way up.
There are ridges between the scales, I said in her mind. Use them like handholds.
With the bags looped over her shoulders, she placed one foot on my foreleg, testing her weight, then pulled herself up. Her hands found the ridges I’d mentioned, and she climbed carefully until she could settle at the base of my neck, in front of my wings. She looped the bag handles over one spike.
The sensation of her on my back was indescribable.
Every point where her body contacted mine created a connection, a loop of awareness.
I could feel her heartbeat, quick with excitement.
Could sense her nervousness mixed with exhilaration.
Her thighs pressed against my scales as she shifted her position, and her hands gripped the spine ridge in front of her.
“Is this right?” she called.
I sent her an image of agreement, and she laughed, the sound making my dragon side rumble with pleasure.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” she said.