Chapter 20
Butterflies—in the air and in my stomach. I’ve never experienced either, and it’s terrifying.
I’ve spent most of my life trying to stay grounded.
Only now do I realize what I’ve been missing.
The butterflies fluttering around us are bright blue, almost electrified.
With every brush of their wings, a spark alights across my skin.
It reminds me of Dimitri’s magic, and I wonder if they come from the same source.
I never gave much thought about where magic comes from—my own included.
It was just something I was born with. My aunt made it seem like it was a disease that needed to be eradicated.
Yet she still used her own magic whenever it fit her needs.
It wasn’t until Lark and I got out of the house and away from her that we truly learned anything.
Without a mentor, it was slow going. Lark was always better at finding answers.
Most of the time, I waited until she knew things and she’d teach me.
It must have been annoying for her. When we got a little older, I honed the skills I needed and left the rest. When she disappeared, I had to deep-dive into a lot of magic I wasn’t used to.
Maybe I did summon Dimitri and didn’t know it.
I never claimed to be a competent witch.
“Why does this whole world feel like seven different dimensions mishmashed together?”
He shrugs as another butterfly lands on his shoulder.
He’s covered in them, little blue lightning strikes illuminating his rugged face.
His wings pop from his back and he winces.
Whether that’s from the butterflies taking flight or his wings coming out, I don’t know.
And I’m too afraid to ask. I’d lie and say it’s because I don’t want to pry into his life, but it’s more than that. I’m already getting attached.
The rollercoaster my emotions have been on ever since he tumbled into my life doesn’t help. One minute I want him, the next I want to kick him in the shin, after that I want him to vanish. Except there’s this need sitting right below the surface, desperate to know more about him.
“Okay, now we really need to go,” he mutters, checking an invisible watch on his wrist.
“Where do your wings go?” I blurt out as we walk through the forest. It’s not quite the question I want to ask, but it’ll have to do.
“Where does your magic go when you’re not using it?” He raises an eyebrow and smirks.
“Okay, but…never mind.”
“Saw the scars, huh?”
I clamp my mouth shut and stare straight ahead at the path carving its way through the trees. I knew I should have shut the fuck up.
“Sorry,” I mutter. “How much farther? My feet are starting to hurt.”
I pick up my pace, though why I think I can outrun a demon is beyond me.
In two steps he’s snared my wrist and yanked me to his side.
I don’t try to pull away. Mostly because I like the feel of his skin on mine.
I could definitely blame it on basically being a recluse since I moved into my sister’s house. I’d be lying.
“I used to have actual wings. Now I have to settle for ones formed from storm clouds—my magic, basically.” He doesn’t elaborate how he lost them, and I’m not going to demand he tell me.
“How did they carry both of us to the wall?”
He laces our fingers together and presses our palms together. “I can fly for a bit before they either disappear or give out. That was easy, especially since I haven’t used them in a while. Also, I haven’t been as fatigued since I slept at your house.”
“You don’t look like you’re about to pass out, at least.” I give him a half-hearted smile, and he grins.
“Keep it up, spitfire, and I just might think you want to keep me around.”
I glance around as we step from the trees. Dense fog blocks any view I might have had. I wonder if he can see something I can’t. Apparently being a witch puts me at a disadvantage.
“Pretty sure I’m stuck with you until you get me back home. Doubt I’d be able to find my way back alone.”
We would not keep you here, young one.
Dimitri’s grin stretches wider as he watches my shocked face. He leans closer and whispers, “Be rude not to answer, Mari.”
“Um, that’s not what I was saying?”
Dimitri’s shoulders shake, and he tucks his chin to his chest. Bastard.
You do not need to speak out loud, though if you’re more comfortable doing so, proceed.
“Dimitri, stop,” I hiss.
He gestures toward me, but I have no idea what the fuck he’s trying to get me to do. I can’t see a dragon, and I certainly don’t know how to address them. He really gave me nothing. I totally wanted to come, I just wish I had more information.
“I’m sorry. The demon didn’t tell me what—that is, I have something that belongs to you.” I hold out the dragon egg, and it glows from within. The dragon makes a humming sound I feel in my soul.
The fog clears just enough to reveal a huge dragon.
I don’t know what Dimitri was talking about.
It looks like every other dragon I’ve seen in movies, though it’s glowing a soft orange.
Not under their scales, more like their entire body shimmers when it moves, much like the egg I’m clutching.
I didn’t realize how large they’d be. This one has to be as tall as two of my sister’s houses stacked on top of each other.
Maybe more. I was never good at dimensions.
I’d wondered where they got to. Thank you for returning them to our domain. Their giver will be grateful.
“I don’t believe the p-person who took it understood.”
A booming laugh echoes inside my head, and I wince. I can guarantee the demon had no clue. The whelp you’re holding did, though. I imagine they thought it was a grand adventure. They’ll hatch soon and regale us with their tales of other dimensions.
“Okay, well, where do I…” How the fuck do I ask a dragon to hold out his hand? Is it a paw? A claw? Dropping it on the ground and nudging it over with my toe seems uncouth, and I doubt they’d appreciate that.
I pull from Dimitri’s grasp and elbow him in the side. He glances at me from the corner of his eye, humor still twinkling in them. I swear if he makes me figure this out alone, I’m going to steal his dagger and poke him with it.
Dimitri cocks his head, his eyes turning glassy, then presses his lips together. “I’d rather keep all my organs on the inside, so why don’t you just go put it in the nest, hmm?”
He points to a spot within the fog I can’t see.
A whimper leaves me, and the thought seriously crosses my mind to stomp my foot.
Then the smoke clears and an entire landscape of dragons appears.
Lava flowers grow everywhere, including on top of what looks to be large caves.
They sway softly in the warm breeze, infusing their song into the air.
Some dragons lounge outside the caves while others fly overhead.
It stretches on for miles. We could stay here for years and probably never see all of it.
A peace settles around me as I watch a dragon poke their nose directly into a bonfire.
Ringing the flames are stones. They’re the same dark rocks that make up the wall—obsidian, I’m pretty sure.
Unless they’re some type we don’t have in my world.
I suppose it doesn’t matter, but I have the need to know everything.
I swallow hard, then shuffle closer to the surprisingly small nest made of grey coal.
I nestle in the dragon egg between two others, and it pulses, setting off the rest. Crouching next to them, I stare as they surge in a pattern only they can understand.
It’s as if they’re saying hello. Or perhaps asking what happened, where they went, and what of the other worlds they visited. It’s mesmerizing.
I don’t know how long I stay there, but my legs have gone numb and my neck has a cramp.
Dimitri’s warm hand lands on the sore spot and I moan, tipping my head forward.
As he massages my muscles, my knees hit the rocky ground, digging into the leather.
He chuckles, yet instead of annoyance rising within me, warmth gathers in my chest.
The middle of a dragon realm isn’t the place to get enamored with a demon. After today and what he’s shown me, I don’t know if I’ll be able to resist him. I can’t even remember why I wanted to in the first place.
“Time to go, spitfire,” he murmurs, the deep rumble of his voice echoing through my body.
I glance up and find the fog firmly back in place. “I should have said goodbye. And thank them.”
“Having you be mesmerized enough not to know they were walking away is enough. They know. Besides, I can bring you back whenever you’d like.”
With that promise, I struggle to my feet.
He grips me under my arms and lifts me. Heat filters through my veins and settles on my cheeks.
I was so caught up in the dragon eggs I forgot Dimitri was here.
I’m sure he would have just handed it over and left.
Instead, he was stuck here watching me cry over them.
When I’m upright, I let out a heavy sigh. My worries have disappeared, or at least quieted while I was here. They stay in the corners of my mind, allowing me this small moment.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
He smiles softly, and I turn to go back the way we came. He wraps his arm around my waist, his fingers splaying across my hip. Within seconds, the world goes dark and my ears pop, then we’re…right back at the lava flower field.
“Whoops,” he mutters. “Was shooting for your living room.”
He drops his hold on me, stepping back, and I mourn the loss of his touch, his warmth.
When I face him, he’s looking at everything but me.
Then I realize he’s naked. Very fucking naked.
When I glance down, I notice I am too. My first instinct usually would be to cover up—ask where my clothes went.
Unless I sew some flowers together, I’m going naked and, I don’t know how to sew.
At least I don’t have to tell him to avert his eyes.
I can’t pull my gaze away from his body—his very chiseled, perfectly proportioned body.
It’s as if he were formed as an aphrodisiac for the human gaze.
From the dips near his hips to his defined collarbones, every inch seems to send my heart into an apoplectic rhythm.
And I haven’t even really looked at his cock.
My gaze shies away from that area in a belated sense of chivalry.
When his eyes finally meet mine, I realize I’m not much better than the assholes in the club leering at women showing a bit of shoulder. I tip my head up and fixate on the glittering sky. I should apologize, but I’m afraid I’ll drool if I open my mouth.
He chuckles, and I can feel him shaking his head. “Didn’t realize the clothes would disappear in the void this time around.”
“It’s fine. I…uh…” I swallow hard, grasping at my words. Telling him I want to climb him like a tree…no, he’s not a tree. He’s a mountain. Climb him like a mountain doesn’t have the same ring to it, though. Either way, I probably shouldn’t confess all the dirty thoughts running through my mind.
He snaps his fingers, and I glance down. Nothing happens and he cringes. Apparently we’re just going to do this whole thing naked. I don’t know what this whole thing is, but that’s fine.
I clear my throat. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
His face comes into view, and he grips my chin to tip my head down. “Want to try that again?”
Gazing into his eyes where twin purple flames dance, my mind blanks.
I stutter out something unintelligible, and his grin widens.
I scowl, digging deep for something other than the want to melt into him.
It doesn’t come. I’ve spent a good while fighting against my feelings, pretending they don’t exist. Pushing him away meant I could focus on what I needed to do.
At least, that’s what I thought. I’m not so convinced this whole thing wasn’t inevitable.
“Thank you for bringing me. It was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”
He raises an eyebrow. “The best?”
I press my lips together and nod, though he’s still gripping my chin. “Well, you did show me dragons. That’s pretty spectacular. Although…”
I pull from his grip and step back. I don’t really know what the hell I’m doing. Is this how people flirt? Maybe this is totally normal for demons—having conversations while buck naked. He could be messing with me, laughing at how far I’ll go to gain his attention.
Yet when I meet his gaze, he has the same look in his eyes after we flew—like I hung the moon and hold all his dreams in my hands. As if I’m someone to cherish. Like I was worthy enough to be brought to the world of dragons.
“Gonna finish that sentence, spitfire, or keep me in suspense?”
“Would have been better if we saw some baby dragons.”