Jared chuckled, even as Braeden grimaced.
“I can promise you one thing,” he said. “Wherever we're going to end up, it won't be in a cave deep inside a mountain.”
Alyx grinned at him. “Aren't you going to miss all the excitement of streams of lava all around your home?”
“I think I'll be able to make do with a nice fire in our fireplace,” Braeden said dryly. “Maybe roast some steaks in dragon fire every now and then.”
“We'll need a big kitchen,” Alyx said. “Fireproofed walls. Granite floors and countertops. I get to choose the colors.”
Amused, Braeden laughed.
“Obviously.” After yesterday's shopping trip, he was more than happy to defer to Alyx's expertise in all areas connected to style and color. “But I'll get to build the fireplace.”
“Knock yourself out.” Alyx grinned at him, her eyes alight.
Braeden could already see her, elegant even in a paint-stained coverall as she bent over plans in a half-constructed house, bringing the vision in her mind to life around them.
He had no idea where their home would be, or when they'd be able to settle down. It couldn't happen while Steele was still a danger. It would be too dangerous with the shadow inside Braeden's mind.
But it would happen. He could see it all so clearly now.
They'd make it happen, no matter what.
Chapter Seventeen: Alyx
Alyx kept her arms wrapped around Braeden's neck as they rose high up into the sky.
She could see Wing Island below them, tiny now, a spot of green surrounded by white beaches. Beneath, the ocean spread towards the horizon—but Braeden swerved, taking them away from it. Soon, all Alyx could see below was the green of meadows and the gold of fields.
Every now and then, they passed larger cities, all connected by a web of roads. But no one ever looked up—and even if they did, the sky would appear empty.
Alyx smiled to herself, pressing her cheek against Braeden's neck, his scales smooth and warm against her skin.
It was a bit like a childhood dream come to life. She was invisible—and she had a dragon of her own to command.
Unlike in her childhood fantasies, unfortunately, she also had a mountain of adult problems to deal with.
Like her best friend thinking she'd been abducted and gone mad. Like having been gone from her coveted spot as her magazine's top columnist for so long that she probably wouldn't get it back.
And last but not least, there was the problem of a dragon war taking place, and she was right at the center of it.
No one ever told me that having a dragon of your own would be so stressful.
In the back of her mind, she could feel his amusement coming through the mate bond.
She rested a hand against his
neck, smiling as she looked up at the blue sky above her.
She wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.
By the time a mountain range rose up before them, it must have been past noon. The sun stood high in the sky, gleaming on the stark rock and the clouds that surrounded the jagged mountaintop.
Alyx took a deep breath as the clouds came closer and closer.
And then they flew straight into them.
For a moment all she could see was white. The sun was no longer glaring into her eyes. Instead, she couldn't even see her own hands clutching at Braeden's neck anymore. But she could still feel his powerful body beneath her, reassuringly warm.