Jonah gave apshand waved his hand. “We already got through one war, Jakey. What’s another? Besides, I amnotwasting my airline points. We’re here now, so might as well make the best of it. What’s a romantic getaway without a little danger?”
Jake grumbled under his breath, and Kiara peeked around his large frame. “What are your Familiars?” Kiara asked curiously. “I was always fascinated by the idea that elementals bond with magical creatures.”
“We have hippogriffs!” Jonah exclaimed happily. “We left them at home, because they’re busy taking care of their babies.”
“They have babies?” Odette’s eyelashes fluttered.
“Yes! Their eggs hatched this spring!” Jonah crooned. “You girls look fabulous, by the way.Lovethe gowns. They’re made for running through the fields, and castles and shit like that. I wish I had one. I’msojealous.”
“Do you want a dress? We can conjure you one,” I asked.
Jonah gave a girly squeal. “Really? That’d be ah-mazing.”
“Jonah,” Jake warned. He was worried Jonah was making some sort of deal with us.
“Don’t worry about it, big guy. This isn’t a bad contract, just a way to ward off our boredom,” Delmare said. “We skipped class today. Nothing better to do, so might as well entertain an Elementai.”
“Ooh, you girls are in school. I’ve heard so much about Arcanea University, and how beautiful it is,” Jonah gushed.
“It really is incredible,” I said in a small voice. I missed it very much.
I waved my hand, and before my eyes conjured the illusion of a mannequin. I began fashioning an aquamarine dress, one with large, billowing sleeves and a skirt that would skim the ground. I had to guess Jonah’s size, so I hope it fit. The dress settled on the mannequin, sparkles and all.
Jonah leaned in and whispered, “Actually, purple’s my favorite color.”
My mouth went flat, and I turned the color of the dress to purple. Jonah let out a squeal and ripped it off the mannequin. “Oh my gosh, you’re like, my own personal faerie godmother!”
I thought Jonah would throw it over his clothes, but he ripped off his shirt and yanked at his shorts, throwing his clothes to the wind until he was in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. I thought it was a bit weird, but Odette giggled, like she found him funny. Jake didn’t even flinch as he gathered Jonah’s clothes, as if he was used to this type of behavior from his husband.
Jonah slipped the dress over his head, and it stretched across his massive chest. His cheeks immediately warmed with joy as he spun around, swishing the skirt around him. “Eek! This is better than Prada!”
“You look like quite the royal,” Kiara complimented.
“I’m a bit of a lord myself, back home,” Jonah cooed, fluffing his hair. “We’re rebuilding my palace. My bestie Imogen is working on the interior decorating.”
Jake smiled and shook his head. Jonah jumped into the air and gave a spin as he squealed, “Yay! Follow me, my beautiful princesses!”
Jonah gathered his skirts and started running through the long grass, like this was some sort of Regency film. We laughed as we picked up our skirts and darted after Jonah. Our dresses billowed out behind us in the wind like beautiful capes. Jonah used his Air magic to levitate himself off the ground, so he could twirl in mid-air like he was a faerie himself.
He was so carefree and fun. It was nice to have someone like that around, in the middle of a war. His joy was absolutely infectious.
Jonah came down from the skies, but he wobbled in the air and ended up falling flat on his face. The four of us were going too fast to stop, so we tripped over him, falling in a heap of skirts and fabric. My hair splayed out behind me as I lay in the soft grass, gasping for breath and laughing so hard my belly hurt.
“Oh my gods,” Kiara gasped, blowing a curl out of her eyes. “I haven’t done that since I was a child!”
“Honey, if I lived in a magical kingdom like Malovia, I’d be doing royal shit like this every day,” Jonah said, waving his hand.
Jake had already caught up to us. He was so tall that his huge strides enabled him to catch up in no time flat.
“Uh oh.” Odette’s voice got small as she looked in the distance.
I sat up and pushed my red hair back. “What is it?”
Odette pointed. My heart sank as I saw a line of soldiers. Spies scouting the area, I was sure, and they were wearing Gabby’s colors. They hadn’t seen us yet, but if they got any closer, we’d certainly be in trouble.
“Oh, no,” I complained. “I didn’t think they’d be this far out.”
“I take it they’re not friends of yours,” Jake offered.
