“Shift? As in, as in you actually become a dragon?”
“Yes, little one.”
Archer’s eyes danced over his body. “A full dragon?”
“Yes, little one.” Romilly had to contain his smirk at the disbelief in his mate’s tone. “Wings. Scales. All of it. We also have increased senses compared to humans.”
“The night you found me you’d shifted. You flew there, didn’t you? There wasn’t a car or anything. And you carried me.”
“That is right. My dragon demanded I come to your aide. The shift was natural.”
His mate absorbed what he said with care. There was no hysteria to be found. Romilly couldn’t help but think Fate had truly given him his perfect match.
“Show me.” Archer’s demanding tone swept over Romilly.
He lifted his chin, eyes meeting the little human head on. “What did you say?”
Archer’s gaze was steady. “Show me. You don’t have to do a full shift. Just… something. I want to see what you’ve been keeping from me.”
Romilly considered denying the request. He thought it too soon. That maybe they should talk about it more to really give his human more time to accept the truth.
He could already tell delaying things wouldn’t do. Archer’s jaw was firm, his body coiled, as if ready to rush away at any moment. Somehow, Romilly knew a denial would be more likely to send him fleeing than the act itself.
Focusing on his dragon, he allowed himself to sink back as that part of him eased forward. Romilly pulled his hands awayfrom Archer, turning his palms up to give a perfect view of what was to come.
The scales began at his wrists. His human-like skin faded away as the soft azure color appeared in overlapping rows up his forearms. Romilly kept his gaze on Archer while the transformation took place. He needed to know how his mate truly felt.
At first, Archer didn’t move. His eyes were wide, but nothing else about him gave way to show his emotions.
In a blink, the hesitation in his mate shifted. Archer expressed a look of unguarded, bright fascination.
“Wow,”the little human breathed out.
Leaning forward, Archer ran his fingers over the scales. Romilly held his breath, careful not to interrupt.
The touch of his mate's hand against his scales sent a wave through Romilly that he couldn’t describe in any language he’d been taught. The dragon went utterly silent inside him. Every cell of his body was focused on that point of contact, on the warmth of those small human fingers pressed gently against what he was.
What hetrulywas.
"They're warm," Archer said softly, like he was talking to himself. His thumb traced the edge of one scale, following the overlap to its neighbor. "I thought they'd be cold. Like a fish or something. But they're warm."
"Yes," Romilly managed.
"And they're the same color as the picture I drew. But, I didn't know. I was just — I chose blue because it seemed right. And now that I’ve said that out loud I realize that's a strange thing to say."
Romilly chuckled softly. “Not to me. Fate works in mysterious ways.”
Archer grinned at him, his lips curving in a tempting manner Romilly found hard to resist. His mate turned his attention back to the scales. He turned Romilly's arm over, looking at the way the scales caught the fading light from different angles.
“Can everyone in the horde do this?” Archer asked while continuing his inspection.
"In varying forms. Dragons are not all the same. Colors and sizes differ. Some of my family are larger in their shifted form than others."
"Soren too?"
"Yes."
Archer bit his lip before asking, "Is that what happened yesterday? When I heard the sound outside the window, and everyone in the room looked at each other?"
