“I did promise you grilled fish for the evening,” he murmured, tilting his head at the water.
“You mean you want to—to turn into a dragon again?”
“To shift,” he said, then nodded. “I’m the ocean dragon, remember? Hold this for a moment. I’ll be back in a minute or two, I promise.”
Liana took hold of the cardboard box, watching with wide eyes as he stepped towards the water.
He smiled at her. Then he took a deep breath and gave himself over to his element.
Energy rippled through him. He could hear the song of the ocean loud and clear. When he raised his arms, they had already turned to wings, the senses of his dragon picking up the alluring sound of fishes swimming where the water was deep and blue.
He beat his wings to slowly rise into the air. Then he wrapped his wings tightly around his body and dived headfirst like an arrow into the ocean.
The water swallowed him, muting all sound. Immediately, much of the energy that had thrummed nervously through his body faded away.
He floated in the water, weightless, utterly at peace in his element.
The ocean was cool against the scales of his dragon. It whispered to him of sunken ships and forests of algae, of sharks hunting and dolphins playing. There was the song of sea shells at the bottom of the ocean, deep below the surface, who’d offer up a perfect, glistening pearl...
But there was no time to explore and play today.
Later, he whispered.
Today, he had a different task to fulfill. Today, his dragon wanted to hunt for his mate. He wanted to bring her the largest, juiciest fish he could find, to show her that he could provide for her and impress her with his strength.
Timothy opened his jaws, laughing soundlessly at his dragon’s eagerness to woo their mate.
A few bubbles of air escaped him. They rose up to the surface far above him, where the sunlight formed a shimmering, rippling pattern on the waves.
Fortunately, as the dragon of the ocean, he did not need to come up for air in this form. Sometimes, he’d stay below water all day, singing with the whales in the deep of the ocean or playing with schools of dolphins.
Today, there was no time for that.
Soon, he promised his dragon.
For now, he hovered motionless in the water, listening to the song of the ocean and the slow, muted sounds carried by the current.
It did not take long until he heard what he’d been waiting for.
With his wings still tightly pressed against his body, he shot forward through the water like an arrow.
A heartbeat later, he closed his claws around the body of a huge black grouper. Then he propelled himself back upwards, shooting straight out of the water and scattering drops everywhere.
He stretched his wings. Water ran from them in rivulets, and for a moment, he could see the sunlight form a rainbow.
Gently, he soared back down to the ground, setting down the grouper before he shifted back.
“Wow.” Liana was staring at him with wide eyes. “That was incredible.”
Timothy grabbed hold of the slippery fish.
“That’s our romantic dinner on the beach all settled,” he said, new heat rising up in him at the way Liana watched him.
Maybe his dragon had been right. Maybe the proper way to woo their human mate was with good food.
“Let’s hope that our fire dragon behaved while we were gone,” he then said. “If he set the kitchen on fire, I’m not going to share our donuts.”
***