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“We have to go,” she urged, taking something I hadn’t noticed next to her, and tugging at my T-shirt.
I let her take my shirt off, glancing at the armor-looking sleeve she held.
“You need to put this on,” she instructed, proceeding to place it on my right arm.
It’s thick brown leather base curved along my shoulder and bicep naturally, covered by two silver plates that followed the curves of my arm. They were engraved with delicate details that made them seem regal. The contrast between the natural leather and the almost elegant plates was strange to me, but it all fit me like a glove.
Guiding the rest of it over my head, she pulled the thick leather straps that came from the shoulder taught against my chest and back, closing the belt it all connected to around my waist. Tightly buckling everything together, she proceeded to place what looked like a gauntlet on my right hand, except it matched the rest of the armor with leather and delicate engraving on the plates.
Lastly, she tightened the buckles that were loose on my bicep and along my forearm, making sure it was all secure. Stepping back to look at me, a certain look entered her eyes and she bit her lower lip—as though the sight of me in the get-up was enticing to her. That made two of us, her outfit was driving me insane.
Clearing her throat, she briefly glanced at my friends, silently telling me it was time to say goodbye. “We must go.”
My chest constricted when I turned to look at Josh and Rebecca.
She threw her arms around me, squeezing the life out of me. “I’m going to miss you, handsome.” Winking at me, she kissed my cheek and hugged me again. I hugged her too. “Promise you’ll come back after you are fully well and the dust settles. Don’t stay away forever.”
“I won’t.” I vowed, even though I had no idea where I was going, or where my life would take me.
“What she said. Minus the handsome part,” Josh added, walking closer while throwing sly glances at the green Dragon. The creature licked his lips, and it looked like he was planning to have my best friend as a snack.
“Vyper, stop scaring Josh. We all know you don’t eat people,” Evie chided while Josh and I exchanged a bro hug.
“I’ll come back; I promise.”
“Good, cause this bromance can’t end like this.”
Chuckling, we patted each other’s back and stepped away. “Please say bye to Nick and the others. I’m going to miss you guys.”
“You better.”
“I’m sorry about your dress,” Evie added, handing the sand-covered garment to Rebecca, and they hugged.
“Don’t worry about it. Josh will buy me a new one.”
Snorting, my friend took his girl’s hand in his and stepped back, just as the two Dragons extended to their full length, leaving us all dumbfounded. All except Evie.
“You’re riding Vyper. I’ll take Draco,” she informed, walking to the greyish-blue one.
“What?” I glanced at the green one cautiously, the mischievous smirk that stretched his mouth left something to be desired.
“Come on, you’ll be fine. Just think of it as mounting a wild horse.”
Sure. Except I had never ridden a horse before.
Stepping onto the talon on her ride’s wing, she let him lift her onto his back, and settled on his neck, gripping a leather harness on the back of it. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized she had the same armor she placed on me on her right arm. The one holding onto the Dragon.
“Vyper, you wanted a rider, I got you a rider,” Evie scolded. “Now stop being an ass, and let Braxton climb onto your wing. And be gentle, he’s never ridden a Dragon before.” Turning to look at me while he huffed, she motioned to my arm. “After you sit down, use the arm with the shield to hold on to him.”
Glancing back at my friends, I took a deep breath and walked towards Vyper. “Let’s be friends, okay?” His eyes narrowed with my words, but as I watched him, his demeanor changed, and a trusting feeling entered my chest.
Vyper lowered his wing, just like Draco had done, and I stepped onto the big talon, following Evie’s example. My body wobbled when the wing began to lift, and I had to crouch so I wouldn’t fall from it. Once I crawled off his wing and onto his neck, chuckles danced around me, but I was too busy feeling the excitement capturing my being to care. I straddled Vyper’s neck like I saw Evie do, and held onto the harness he wore.
“You don’t have to do anything but hold on,” she called over to me. “Vyper knows what to do.”
“Bye, guys,” I waved at my friends, seeing them wave too, but soon, gasps replaced their goodbyes.
When my gaze flew to Evie, I saw her Dragon slowly disappear from my sight, until she was fully gone. “Evie!” I called, suddenly worried, and heard her chuckle.
