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“How’s the training been today,” I asked, standing next to Caleb with a hand on his shoulder.
“Pretty solid. Today was more of a book-work kind of day,” Claire said and continued off my inquisitive look. “We were discussing the different types of mana, focusing mainly on the two forbidden ones. White and black.”
I cocked my head. “Those are the ones that…”
“Black severs another Marvel from their mana, and white is used to control someone. Body snatching, basically.” Caleb tapped his notebook with the back of his pen. “Enforcers always have access to black and are the only ones authorized to use it. If a regular Marvel finds they have access to the threads, then they have to register themselves with the Department of Marvel Control and vow never to use them. Wild stuff, huh?”
“What if someone’s found using them?” I asked.
“Death penalty,” Claire replied nonchalantly. She kicked her chair back and stood up, gathering the violet robe around her, trimmed in expensive gold. “Anyone want something from Starbucks? We’re all done with the lesson for today.”
“I’m good,” Ashley replied and went back to scrolling through her phone.
“Actually, I’m stealing Caleb away.” I gave the back of his neck a squeeze. “I have something special planned.”
“A surprise?” Caleb asked. “This is new.”
“What’s new is Maddox taking someone on a date,” Claire teased. “You two have fun. Meet again tomorrow at the same time?”
“Perfect,” Caleb said as he closed his notebook and placed it down on top of the rest of the books. I couldn’t resist stealing another kiss from him before we headed out of the shop.
“So where are we headed?” Caleb asked as we stepped outside, the bright California sun beaming down on us.
“I wanted to do something fun with you, so I got us a reservation for a gondola ride down the Venice Canals. Wine and cheese included.”
Caleb’s grin stretched from ear to ear. “That’s so sweet, thank you, Madds. Let’s go. Did you drive here?”
“Nope,” I said. I shot him a wink before I stepped out into the street. I shifted to my dragon form in moments, my body painlessly changing from a two-legged and six-foot-three human into a tank-sized ice dragon. My eyes, sharper when I was a dragon, locked on Caleb, picking up on every freckle, every birthmark, every tiny movement he made. He climbed onto my back and got himself comfortable, his legs holding tight around my neck and his hands having a good hold on my horns.
With that, I took off, flying up toward the sky, feeling a freedom I hadn’t felt in a long, long, long fucking time. I followed the Pacific Coast Highway, flying low enough to make out all the cars zooming by, the restaurants that had their seaside dining, the homes with their rooftop gardens that would make the Amazon jungle blush. I wished I could talk to Caleb while we flew so I could point out all my favorite sights, and he could do the same. But even just getting to do this with him was memorable enough.
The flight didn’t last too long, especially since we didn’t have to deal with any traffic. One of the many perks of being (or dating) a dragon.
I made a smooth landing in a public park just next to the canals. A group of teenagers playing basketball nearby left their game and came running across the field, so I stayed in my dragon form and blew a couple of inches of snow to impress them and give them all something to talk about. Caleb watched with the most amused smile on his face. We ended up leaving them having a snowball fight in the middle of spring, their laughter following us as we left the park.
“You didn’t tell me you were so great with kids,” he said.
“I didn’t know until just now.”
Caleb laughed at that. I reached for his hand, his fitting effortlessly in mine.
The Venice Canals was a famous spot known for the six canals that snaked through the neighborhood and connected out to the ocean. It was named after very similar canals in Venice, Italy, although not nearly as expansive. Still just as beautiful, though.
The canals were lined with tall, skinny palm trees that had a gentle sway to them, mimicking the relaxing lap of the water onto stone. There were rows and rows of homes, all different styles and eras. There were modern glass and stone homes that looked like art galleries from the outside, tucked next to a craftsman bungalow covered in a cloak of vibrant green ivy. Neighbors to that was a Spanish-style cottage with an infinity-edge pool that tempted me to jump the fence and hop in.
We reached the dock, where our smiling rabbit shifter captain waited for us. She had floppy brown ears that fell with her long brown hair onto the striped red-and-white shirt she wore. With her help, we both got into the gondola. I somehow managed not to flip it over with my bulk, although the wobble when I first stepped on didn’t exactly have me feeling confident we were staying afloat. Caleb came in after me, far more awkward than I was, his leaner legs apparently not as graceful as mine.
