“Oh, thanks.” I put the bag in my pocket, not really in the mood to reminisce about my time with Graham, and paced to the edge of the cliff.
My gaze snagged on a familiar profile with a strong jaw and a flashing smile on the beach, and I cursed myself. How could I recognize Riley from this far away? But I was glad he’d finished his other assignment and come. Since things with Jaxon hadn’t panned out, we needed to go over the details again. I yanked my attention from himand focused on the water as it crashed against the cliff a hundred feet below, trying to piece together everything I’d learned.
The tall grasses behind me rustled in the breeze, and I pulled my coat tighter.
According to Riley, the police confirmed Graham was killed by poison in something he ate or drank, but it couldn’t have been Eve. She hardly even knew Graham and had no reason to want him dead. Even if she’d tried to poison his drink, the anti-malady spell on the dishes at the Tea and Tarot would’ve negated it. And Jaxon had confirmed that it wasn’t him, which just left—
Someone shoved me from behind.
The ground disappeared from beneath me, and for a heartbeat, I was weightless, suspended against the night sky. Then I was tumbling toward the jagged rocks below.
Chapter 11
Ascreamrippedfromme as I hurtled through the darkness toward the thrashing waves and sharp rocks. The wind snatched the sound and pulled at my clothes as if trying to stop my fall. Air rushed past, the roar of it deafening. It almost sounded like someone calling my name. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable.
I should have been more careful. I should have—
A warm gust of air slowed my fall, then something smooth and hard appeared beneath me. Forcing my eyes open, I took in the expanse of black between my legs. Unlike the ocean’s surface, which was rough and frothy, the creature under me was hard and smooth, with shiningobsidian scales that looked like someone had trapped the night sky in them and then polished them to perfection.
My breath hitched in my chest. I was on a dragon, a real live dragon, sitting behind
the curve of its shoulders and straddling the base of its neck.
And from the way my magic hummed contentedly, it was no random dragon. It was Riley. He snaked his head around and appraised me with one large amber eye.
My mouth fell open.
Riley was a dragon shifter.
He winked, then faced forward again, his wings beating gently on either side of me.
Riley had saved me, which was no surprise. He was always saving me with his words, his playful gestures, his unshakeable confidence, but how had I missed that he was a shifter?
Looking back, there were so many clues: his flame magic, the thermal scales for my costume, his tendency to hoard random things like pen caps. Even the fact that he’d told me he was drawn to my magic should’ve given it away,but I hadn’t realized it affected shifters the same way it affected animals. The truth had been right in front of me.
I braced myself by planting both palms on the smooth, slippery scales and sucked in a few deep breaths to calm my racing heart. Even though I should’ve been freaking out, it was hard to feel anything but relief with Riley here. He’d come for me.
His large, leathery wings beat rhythmically on either side of me, a lulling, comforting sound that belied the power stored in his body. We skimmed across the top of the water, close enough to the ocean that the spray misted against my face. The wind tangled my hair and clothes, so I leaned closer, soaking in the warmth that emanated from Riley and breathing in his smokey, coffee scent. Riley’s presence wrapped around me like a protective amulet, and my racing pulse slowed.
I slipped my arms around his neck, soaking in his warmth, then glanced over my shoulder at the ridges running down his spine and his sinuous tail that flicked behind us. It was the same shape as that tattoo I’d seen on his arm. Another clue I’d missed.
Riley was as long as the small delivery truck that brought our supplies for the bakery, and his movements as a dragon were as smooth and confident as when he was a human.
Seconds later, we were back at the beach, but at an isolated section around a bend from the bonfire bash. Riley landed on a stretch of sand surrounded by dunes and twisted driftwood, the gusts from his wings flattening the surrounding beach grass.
His claws gouged giant marks in the sand, and some of the grains hit my skin, reminding me that this was real.
Someone had just tried to kill me, but I was alive. And Riley was a dragon shifter.
I slid off his back and staggered on the uneven sand, my legs shaky.
Moments later, Riley was in front of me in nothing but a pair of pants. His eyes flared with gold as if a fire burned in them. He grabbed my shoulders, his grip tight. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I-I’m fine.” My teeth chattered as if to contradict me.
His hands slid down my arms, his touch frantic, like my words alone weren’t enough to calm his racing heart andhe had to do everything in his power to prove I was okay. He crushed me against him, the warmth of his bare chest enveloping me. “I promised not to let anything happen to you.”
“You didn’t.” I shook my head, and though I should’ve pushed away to look Riley in the face, I couldn't make myself leave the security of his arms.
