Kelos came toward her, his arm snaking around her waist as he lowered his head and whispered against her ear, “I wasn’t expecting you to walk. I thought this time we could fly.”
“Fly.” She jerked her head backward and looked up at his face. “Are you teasing me now?”
“Nope, my dragon wants to meet you and there is something we really need to show you.” He grinned as her cheeks flushed pink with excitement. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes. A million times yes.” She nodded like a fool. Who would say no to a ride on the back of a dragon?
Chapter Thirteen – Kelos
“What do I do?” Amber asked nervously. After dinner, Margie had taken the kids upstairs to get them ready for bed and Amber and Kelos had said they were going for a walk to look at the stars. Kelos had promised to keep a look out for anyone approaching the house, although it all seemed quiet along the mountain roads.
“When I shift…” He watched her for any indication she might turn around and run as soon as she was confronted with a dragon.
“When you change into a dragon.” She inhaled deeply and then let the breath out slowly.
“Yes, when I change into my dragon, I’ll lower myself toward the ground and you need to climb onto my foreleg and then onto my back.” He nodded, hoping her response would be positive when he asked, “Can you do that?”
“Yeah.” She nodded in time with him. “Absolutely. Nothing to it.”
“I won’t hurt you,” he promised for the third time.
“I know you won’t hurt me but it’s not you who breathes fire, is it?” she asked lightly but he could see fear flash across her eyes.
“No, it’s not. But since you are our mate, you’ll be just fine.” He took her hand and led her through the broken gate at the end of the back yard. They walked a little way along the trail before he stopped, turned left and ducked under an old oak tree. Ten feet beyond the ancient oak there was a clearing that was large enough for a fully grown dragon to land.
“This is it?” Amber asked nervously.
“This is it.” Kelos let go of her hand and turned to face her. “Please, don’t run.”
“I won’t.” She shook her head. “I promise.”
He smiled, his top lip stuck to his upper teeth as nerves made his mouth dry. “Mates can’t lie to each other.”
“I thought that was just for shifters,” she replied lightly. “I didn’t know it applied to me, too.”
He grinned. “I just made a new rule.”
“I am not good at following rules.” Amber clasped her hands in front of her and nodded. “Do it now before I change my mind.” She puffed the air out of her lungs.
He nodded and took a couple of quick steps away from her but didn’t drop his gaze. “It’s still me. We’re one and the same.”
“Except you walk on two legs and the other part of you flies on two wings.” She shivered and he caught her scent on the breeze as her hair ruffled around her shoulders.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he focused, trying to control his own nerves. He had so much to lose if this went badly.
If this goes badly, we have everything to lose, his dragon told him. But we won’t lose her. Nothing can go wrong.
Famous last words, Kelos said. We have had plenty of things go wrong that should never have gone wrong.
Stop babbling and let her see me, his dragon said bluntly.
Letting go of his breath, Kelos also let go of his hold on the world. As he faded away, he fixed his eyes on his mate, hoping she would still be there when he came back. For a split second there was nothing. Then the world came into focus once more. Only this time he could see his mate through the eyes of his dragon.
“Wow.” She staggered back, putting her hand out to stop her from falling. The old oak tree was there to support her as she stared at him on shaky legs.
I think it’s going well, his dragon said. But since we have never shown ourselves to our mate before, I have no idea.
Now who is babbling? Kelos told his dragon with a nervous laugh. Lower yourself down. Amber knows what to do.
His dragon bent his legs and lowered himself down to the ground. Turning his head, he nudged his nose toward his foreleg, then he turned to look at Amber. She didn’t move, her hands covered her mouth as if she were covering a scream.
Amber stared at him, her eyes wide as she fought with the idea that dragons were real. Kelos had seen this reaction before. Even when he was free to roam the skies, before men invented planes or their looking glasses that could magnify distant objects, he’d seldom shared the truth of what he was with people.
No matter how well he prepared humans, and some shifters, for what they were about to see, they were still shocked to see an actual living, fire-breathing dragon.
I am that magnificent, his dragon said drily.
Let’s hope our mate thinks so. Their mate hadn’t moved and seemed to be barely breathing as she stared at the dragon before her.
What do I do? Kelos’s dragon had never asked that before. He was normally confident and self-assured.
Overconfident, Kelos would say.
No one is asking you, the dragon responded.
Kelos chuckled. You just asked me, ‘what do you do.’
I was talking to myself. The dragon huffed and smoke drifted lazily from his nostrils, floating away on the night air.
Amber took a step forward, her hand raised as she tried to catch the smoke in her hands. A smile spread across her face as the smoke evaded her, vanishing as if it had never been there. Dropping her hands to her sides, she shyly glanced at the dragon before ducking her head.
She’s scared of me. His dragon sounded pitiful,
