“That sounds perfect,” Alyx said with a content sigh. “Shower first?”
“Swim first,” Braeden said, laughing as he sat up and grabbed her hand.
The sun was still low in the sky, the ocean gleaming like molten gold before them.
Alyx had never felt happier as she clambered down the rocks hand in hand with Braeden, the warm glow of the mate bond all around them now.
Chapter Sixteen: Braeden
When they returned to meet up with Timothy and Liana, taking the scenic walk along the beach, the ocean dragon and his mate were already waiting.
“What happened?” Timothy said. “I could feel a flare of your power.”
“Sorry,” Braeden said. “I had to—uh, there's no good way of phrasing this. Burn a few memories out of several cops.”
“What?” Timothy didn't look pleased. “We get along pretty well with our neighboring human communities here. I really don't want that to change.”
“Well, for one thing, they won't remember anything about it, so I don't see why it should,” Braeden said defensively.
Then Alyx came to his rescue. “Don't blame him. It was all
my fault. He was just trying to protect you—and me.”
“How about we all sit down?” Liana suggested. “And Ginny sent an email. We were just about to come and visit you to tell you the good news. You've been summoned to Sky Home. The chimera wants to see both of you. The griffin's coming to pick you up.”
“After what happened last time, the chimera doesn't want you flying on your own,” Timothy said, then added, “I think he's just worried. Remember what happened when I tried to take Liana to Sky Home?”
Braeden didn't like the thought of having to wait for the griffin to appear. But on the other hand, he couldn't argue with the chimera's reasoning.
And given the fact that some of Steele's darkness was still inside him, perhaps he should be glad that Alyx wouldn't be alone with him on the flight.
“Now talk. What's that about burning cops' memories?” Liana sounded a little nervous.
And no wonder. She and Timothy had built a beautiful home. Braeden would feel just as ruffled if someone endangered the peace of his own home.
If I had one.
Braeden took a deep breath. “Alyx and I... had an argument. A misunderstanding,” he said hastily. “Forget it, it's all cleared up now. But I upset her, so she called her best friend—which is only natural.”
“I should have known better,” Alyx said morosely. “But I was upset, so I didn't think. Sarah obviously called the cops as soon as I ended the call. She didn't believe a word I said. I guess it sounded pretty crazy if you don't know that dragons are real.”
“And instead of Sarah showing up to comfort her this morning, a couple of patrol cars showed up. They were all ready to send a SWAT team to Wing Island if it turned out that Alyx, who vanished weeks ago, was really held prisoner here.” Braeden gave Timothy an apologetic look. “Don't worry. I arrived in time and burned the encounter out of their mind.”
“You can do that?” Liana asked curiously, then grabbed her phone to hastily take notes. A moment later she looked up, chagrined. “Sorry! It's just that I've been looking for a cool new feature for our in-game fire dragons...”
Despite himself, Braeden had to laugh. “It's all right. I don't mind. I'm glad I'm inspiring. Anyway, it’s been dealt with. They drove away thinking it was a prank call and that they didn’t see anything out of the ordinary here.”
“I do feel bad for Sarah,” Alyx admitted. “As soon as this is over, I'll apologize in person and introduce her to Braeden. Hopefully she'll forgive me if she sees that I didn't just make it all up.”
“When will the griffin arrive?” Braeden asked.
Griffins couldn't fly quite as fast as an elemental dragon, but he supposed it would be worth it to have backup, just in case Steele tried anything.
“Ginny said he left right when she sent the email. So I assume he'll show up in an hour or two,” Timothy said.
“Just enough time to get changed and grab our things.” Alyx frowned. “I know what griffins are—but what's a chimera anyway?”
“His name is Gareth, and he's the master of the council of elements,” Braeden explained. “He's old and very powerful.”