igued, she opened her mouth wide, trying to catch a bit of cloud on her tongue.
What are you doing? Gregory asked, laughing in her mind.
“Trying to see what clouds taste like,” she called out, giggling at the way wisps of clouds trailed from the ridges and horns on Gregory’s neck as they continued to dive upwards.
And then, suddenly, the clouds were gone and everything was dark.
A heartbeat later, she whooped in joy. They’d broken through the cloud cover, and were now soaring above what looked like a plain of freshly fallen snow—only that the hills of snow were very fluffy and kept shifting as she watched. Most importantly, above them, the stars shone more brilliantly than Naomi had ever observed before. She could see the Milky Way stretch above them, so close that for a moment, she wondered if a dragon’s wings could carry her right into that gleaming band of stars...
“I think we lost your friend,” she said in sudden worry, craning her head.
A second later, one of the hills of fluffy, white clouds seemed to explode, and the griffin shot upwards, his eagle’s wings beating rapidly, trailing a long tail of wisps of cloud.
It takes more than a few clouds to defeat Jared, Gregory said. Now hold on tight.
There was one last surprise waiting for Naomi—and that surprise was the fact that apparently, they hadn’t even come close to a dragon’s top speed. But now, with the clouds spreading below them and the stars lighting their way above, Gregory doubled his speed, the griffin effortlessly keeping pace.
So far above the earth, everything was silent. Naomi settled back to watch the stars with quiet awe, warm and comfortable on the back of her storm dragon.
The flight lasted maybe for an hour, but Naomi felt like no time had passed at all as she began to notice Gregory beginning to descend. Before them, she now saw with sudden surprise something breaking through the surface of the moonlit clouds. A moment later, she realized that it was a mountain top.
How far had they traveled?
It’s not a real mountain, Gregory murmured in her mind.
At least, not a mountain you would know. The same magic that hides a dragon from human eyes cloaks this mountain. If a human encounters it and tries to make his way upward, he’ll get turned around and find himself back where he began. A car would find all roads closed. Planes avoid it because flight control sees dangerous currents of air in the area. But in truth... In truth, this is the seat of the council of elements.
Welcome, Naomi. Welcome to Sky Home!
***
Their steps echoed ominously as Naomi walked through what looked like a very large cave, Gregory and Jared by her side. They’d landed where the cave opened to the cool night air, hidden from all human sight by the cover of clouds that lapped on the rocky mountain side below them like an ocean of white.
The cavern was lit by flickering lights and torches. Naomi tried to hide her sudden apprehension.
On the dragon’s back, soaring through the air, it all had seemed like an incredible adventure. But now that she was walking deeper and deeper into a giant cave, she began to become aware of a strange feeling tingling along her spine.
The feeling didn’t so much say danger as be careful. The same way she’d been able to feel Gregory’s power when he shifted into a dragon, she could now feel the same sensation of something powerful and ancient brushing against her senses.
She might know nothing about dragons, but she knew that she was walking into the home of someone—or several someones—far more powerful than anything she could dream of.
As if he’d read her thoughts, Gregory took hold of her hand. Naomi took as deep breath as their fingers intertwined, giving him a grateful look.
I made the decision to come here. It was my decision. And I’d much rather know what’s going on than be bait again.
She straightened. It was the truth; she had a right to be here, since she was the one who’d been attacked. And she had no reason to be afraid, because Gregory was here with her.
Before her, a light seemed to spring up. As they kept walking, it was joined by further lights—until she realized that they were walking past two large plinths, one showing a crude symbol of what looked like mountain tops, the other showing a similar symbol, although this one looked like the waves of the ocean. The symbols seemed to be lit by a strange light.
As they continued forward, the light gradually grew brighter, until the symbols glowed in the darkness surrounding the plinths.
And then, as though she’d stepped out from the darkness into a room filled by light, the darkness drew back—and Naomi saw what had been waiting atop those plinths all this time.
Dragons.
Two large dragons, feral and intimidating, watching her quietly from eyes that glowed with the same inner fire she’d seen in Gregory’s gaze.
For one moment, terror filled her mind as she remembered the giant, claw-studded dragon’s paw that had burst through the window and grabbed her.