Would you have ever stepped off that ledge?Tyrez asked.
No. No, she would not have. But no way she’d admit that to him. She twisted her head to glare at him.
Trust me, Dani. As long as I am here, nothing can hurt you.
The words thrummed through her, as though they were an oath. It released a part of the cage she’d kept locked around her heart. She felt the bars crack, and miracle of miracles, let it happen.
She covered for it in her usual way. With snark.Dammit Tyrez. When I yell, you are supposed to listen.
I did listen.
Listen, and obey,she insisted. He was carrying her so high...This is way too high. I want to go down.
Okay,he said, and released her.
Curses scorched through their link as she panicked. But Tyrez fell with her, wound his presence through hers, showing her how to move her wings, to spread them as she pulled them down, and fold them as she pushed them up. Not just a straight up and down motion, there was a graceful twist and flick, a forward and back component that she’d never appreciated until now.
She leveled out well above the forest, and he showed her how to angle them to catch a thermal. And fold them, to drop.
That’s it,encouraged Ash from below.You are doing great, Dragonfly.
The air cooled as she climbed again, gaining confidence with every beat. Tyrez moved to take the lead, keeping his tail tip near her face as he vanished into the clouds. It reassured her as the vapor closed in on them, obscuring the lush rainforest and mountains below, and the sky above.
Raindrops pearled against her skin, and dripped off the tips of her wings. She couldn’t see Ash behind her, but his mental presence never left. A part of her was aware of his body as almost an extension of her own.
She couldn’t sense Tyrez the same way as Ash. It wasn’t the big Dragon holding back, it was her reluctance to let them into that part of her she’d caged to keep protected. The bond she had with Ash had cracked those bars. But she’d always accepted Ash in a way she hadn’t yet done with Tyrez.
Why?
Shedidtrust Tyrez. More than anyone else, except maybe Ash. The golden Dragon shared a vulnerability with her—they understood each other on a deep, visceral level that Tyrez couldn’t share. As a prince, he’d lived a privileged life.
At least, until he’d met Dani.
Her reticence troubled her. If they were going to make this work, she needed to break through those bars and let Tyrez in.
At that moment, the Dragon in question led them above the clouds.
Dani gasped. The air was so still, so clear. The rising sun painted the clouds below in brilliant color, and burgundy rays chased the night’s indigos across the horizon.
Then Tyrez began to dance. The turquoise Dragon twisted and turned, flipped and rolled, ducked into the clouds, and back out again. The movements were powerful and yet incredibly graceful, and they showed Dani just what was possible when you were a Dragon.
Vapor trailed off the tips of his wings and tail, and he spun it into spirals around their flying forms that glowed with all the colors of the sunrise. It was so stunning Dani almost forgot to fly. Ash came up beneath her, bumping her gently with his wings, trailing them along her legs.
He’s such a show off,he complained.If I tried that, he’d have to rescue me. Again.
With a final roll, Tyrez came up alongside Dani. He synced his wings with hers, the membranes whispering over her own.
Come with me.
She rose with him, and Ash came up on her other side. The three flew higher and higher, until the fading moon almost seemed within reach, and their breath condensed as ice on their jaws.
Tyrez paused, hovering before her.Do you trust me?he asked.
Sensing the power within the question, her heart accelerated. But there could only be one answer.
Yes.
He darted in close, grasping her with his powerful talons. Ash moved in from the other side, winding his limbs around both of theirs.
