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I tilted my head to the side and furrowed my brow a little. Could it be true? Kadie giggled and playfully nudged me.
“Don’t act like it’s so hard to believe,” she said. I was about to try and deny it again, but then I noticed that Brett and the other dragons were emerging from the tomb we called a home. They were all coming towards me. They all looked towards me for guidance, and when they bowed their knees, it wasn’t to Zeke or Buck or anyone else, it was to me.
I may not have intended it, but I had become their leader whether I liked it or not. And, as it happened, I did actually like it. I felt proud, I felt brave, and I felt strong. I felt as though I had just put on a glove that fit snugly. It seemed natural to be in this position, especially with Brett, Buck, and Kadie beside me. I knew it couldn’t have happened without all of them though. It only went to show that we made each other better. If wemanaged to survive this ordeal, then we might be able to make a success of this harem after all.
“This is the time we have been waiting for, dragons. We have been hiding for a long time. Now we must show ourselves. We will display our strength and we will show Ilvar and his kind that they cannot use this planet as fuel. This is not their world to destroy, it is ours to protect. Drakon lives on in each of us, and only by honoring life can we find it again. Let us fly,” as I said the words I looked up to the sky and began my ascent. I felt the wind beneath my wings. I turned my sleek, serpent body and one by one the other dragons followed. Our scales were all different colors and we looked like a tapestry as we took to the skies. It was a rare sight to see so many dragons in flight at the same time, as we had been taught to never expose ourselves like this, but there was a need for drastic measures and, if the humans saw us, then it didn’t really matter, because if we failed them, they would all be dead anyway. We flew off into the distance, ready for our trek across the land. I gritted my teeth as I thought about Ilvar, wishing doom upon him for twisting our beliefs.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Buck
I watched as the other dragons took flight. One by one they arched their bodies and leaped in the air, their puny human forms expanding into the wide and majestic form of dragons. I had never seen them in flight like this before, so many of them like specks of paint that had been flung about the night sky. It was wondrous and my mouth was agape, my eyes wide. I would join them soon enough of course, but for a moment I just wanted to enjoy the scenery.
It seemed as though Kadie was of a similar mind.
“I didn’t think I would ever see a day like this. Even Ilvar would not have sent his dragons out in the world like this,” she said.
“No, and it’s just a shame that we have to hide ourselves. Sometimes, I wonder whether things would really be so bad if we exposed ourselves to humans, but then certain things happen and I know that it would.”
“Humans have seen you?”
“Now and then,” I said, and then chuckled. “If Dad had ever found out, he would have had a fit. When I was younger, the first thing he made me learn was that I should never let humans see me. At least, I don’t have to disappoint him anymore,” I said, sighing heavily as I let my gaze fall from the sky.
“I still have to disappoint mine,” Kadie said. Since I knew what it was like to have many difficult conversations with my father, I had a sense that she had had one recently.
“You saw him when you went back home, didn’t you?” I asked.
She nodded. “I didn’t plan to. I didn’t even know he was there. I thought he might have gone off with Ilvar. But he saw the candlelight in the window and thought he had better check. We spoke a little. I tried to make him understand why he needs to stop listening to Ilvar, but I don’t think he does. He told me where Ilvar is though. But I’m worried I’m never going to see him again. I told him that I’m not going with him.”
“That must have been hard.”
She pursed her lips and let out a heavy breath. “It is, but it’s the right decision. I wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt if I just left with Ilvar.”
“You’re an example to us all, Kadie,” I said. She turned around, looking hurt. She must have assumed I was making fun of her. “I mean it. You’re such a good person. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with as good a heart as you. I mean, you left home because you wanted to protect people. I left home because I was afraid of letting everyone down.”
“You did what you had to. Sometimes, I think you have to leave in order to find yourself,” she reached out and touched my arm, squeezing it gently. I gazed into her eyes and turned to face her directly. I brushed away an errant strand of her hair. The stars were reflected in her gaze, and I lost myself to the glory of her vision. Her skin was warm compared to the coolness of the night. A smile twitched upon her lips as my fingers brushed her cheeks. My breaths became deeper, and my body bristled with tension. The beautiful, vivid sight of the dragons in flight was far from my mind now. We might have been entering our last days, and if so, I wanted to eke out whatever fragments of pleasure I could from the world.
“Do you think it would be awfully bad of me to kiss you right now? I mean, given that Mason and Brett aren’t here?” I asked in a soft whisper.
Delight sparkled in her eyes, and she spoke through a smile. “I think that ultimately what happens between us all is my decision, right? Besides, I’m sure I can find a way to make it up to them,” she rolled forward on her tiptoes and then, suddenly, we were kissing. My arms were around her, my fingers running through her hair. My mouth was awash with the sweet taste of her warm breath, and I went weak at the knees. The weight of her body felt perfect in my arms, and I couldn’t help but feel as though I was already ascending through the sky.
When we broke apart, I was breathless, and aching for more. She wetted her lip and rolled it under her teeth. She looked coy and tempting, innocent and devilish simultaneously. My heart trembled as I held her hand, tempted to run down into the underground chambers with her so that we could make mad, wild love.
Kadie was wiser than I.
“We should join them, otherwise they’re going to wonder where we’ve been,” she said. I took a rueful gaze at the ruins, but then followed her lead. We shifted together, the tips of our wings touching as we took flight, our crimson and purple scales caressing each other before the wind surged underneath us and carried us forward. I tilted my head towards her and saw the delight in the dark orbs of her eyes. She flapped her wings and surged forward, seeking to join the other dragons, taunting me into a race. I felt exhilaration flood my bones and blood as I chased her through the night sky, and although doom was waiting for us, I could feel nothing but elation as I flew after the most beautiful woman in the world.
*
We flew over plains and forests and lakes. We flew through valleys and mountain ranges. In the distance, I could see the cities, sprawling lights that looked as though the stars had fallen from the heavens. They flickered and flashed withlife as unassuming humans went about their business, falling in love, getting drunk, indulging their vices. Many a night, I had veered from my path and descended to one of these cities, inviting myself for a while. I would get drunk, cause trouble, and then move on before anyone could think there was anything different about me.
But tonight was different. Tonight, I was flying with my own kind, surrounded by other winged creatures, each majestic in their own right. At the head of our thunder was Mason, a man who was proving himself to be the true successor to my father. I wondered whether Dad had known that Mason had this in him, or whether he had been blinded into believing that only I could be his successor. Now that Mason had found this role, I felt greatly relieved. It was the first time I was ever around dragons that I didn’t feel the pressure of having to be someone that I wasn’t. I could just be me.
And Ilvar was threatening to take that all away.
As we flew across the land, we kept our distance from the human settlements. It was not an easy task considering that they had spread out everywhere, but we managed to avoid the major clusters. Their roads spread out like strands of a spiderweb, and the cars crawled over them like dying flies. There were probably odd humans who were looking at the sky and seeing us, but as they rubbed their eyes in disbelief we would disappear from view. Most of them were only concerned with what was directly in front of them anyway. They could be so self-absorbed.
Unfortunately, the flight was so long that we had to rest. We knew that time was of the essence, but we also knew that we would have no chance of defeating Ilvar if we were exhausted when we arrived. We set down on a mountain in order to gather our strength and resources for the coming fight. The dragons splintered off and found various caves and other areas in which to rest. I joined Mason, Kadie, and Brett near the top of themountain where a cavern reached into the peak. A plateau opened out to the world, providing a landing platform for us. I descended and shifted back into a man as the wind whipped around us.
