Page 126 of Gift from the Tree

He flaps his gigantic wings a few times, causing my hair to go flying everywhere, then he’s off. I jump up and down, cheering as he turns, flips, and glides through the air, putting on a show just for me. His auburn tones take on a lively quality, changing from deep, rich reds to brilliant, burnished oranges. It’s as if he’s the living embodiment of the sun. It’s fucking incredible.

He only stays up there for a few minutes, then lands way more gracefully than I thought possible for his size.

“You were incredible. That looks like so much fun. I’m so jealous.” He turns his huge head to look at me for a second, then I swear, he smiles. Nudging me with his head, I step back, not sure what he wants me to do, but he shakes his head, nudging me again, and nods toward his back.

“You want me to get on?” I ask, wide-eyed. Bobbing his head up and down, I squeal and instantly begin to climb on. It’s a little difficult not knowing where to put my foot, not wanting to hurt him, but I manage and finally seat myself between his shoulder blades and give him a pat to know I’m ready.

My heart beats uncontrollably, adrenaline coursing through me. This is so fucking dangerous, and I can’t believe I’m about to ride a dragon. Crazily and unexplainably, though, I don’t feel an ounce of fear. The whole interaction I’ve had so far with his dragon feels completely natural. I knew I wasn’t going to be afraid of him, I’d told him that, but I didn’t expect myself to be so open and excited as I am.

He starts flapping his wings and I squirm around, making sure I have a good grip and won’t go tumbling off before we even leave the ground. As soon as his talons are off the grass, he takes off at breakneck speed. I laugh manically, gripping him tighter as we burst through the clouds. My eyes are watering, and my hair’s flying everywhere, blinding me to the sights, so I call on my air and put up a shield like Gaster taught me.

When he showed me how to do that, he said it was to protect me from the weather. I’m sure he meant rain, snow, sleet, that kind of thing. Not incredible winds caused by flying in the air on a dragon’s back.

“This is the best day of my life. I could stay up here forever,” I yell over the winds to Draken. He lets out a small roar, his power vibrating through his massive body and into me, causing a mouthwatering shudder to roll over my skin. I tilt my head back and open my arms, enjoying every moment of freedom he’s brought me with this experience.

We soar for hours. Every now and then, he’ll blow smoke rings that he dashes in and out of, making me laugh as I run my hands through them as they circle me. I can tell we didn’t leave the property, but the mansion and all the acres of forest that accompany it stretch on for miles. And all I see below me is green.

After a while, my stomach begins to growl and he must hear it because he lets out a soft roar, turning us around, and begins our descent back to the mansion.

As we grow closer to the back lawn, I see four figures waiting there. One who’s pacing back and forth—Corentin. One who stands with his arms crossed over his chest—Tillman. One covered in shadows—Caspian. And another standing off to the side, tapping his foot—Gaster.

“Uh-oh. I think we’re in trouble, big guy,” I say, patting Draken on the side. He snorts and blows smoke out of his nostrils. I guess he doesn’t give a fuck.

Landing just as gently as he did earlier, Draken lowers himself to his belly, and I swing my leg over, preparing to slide off his side, but I don’t get the chance to as my lower body is encased in air, and I’m floated down, my feet touching gently on the ground. Corentin’s on me in a second.

“What were you thinking riding on him?” he yells, throwing his hands in the air as he approaches me. “Do you know how dangerous that is? What if you had slipped off him? You could’ve gotten yourself killed, Willow.”

Draken lets out a threatening growl that makes chill bumps break out all over my body.

“Corentin, stop. I was perfectly fine. I’m perfectly fine, completely unharmed. Draken would’ve never allowed that to happen. Don’t ruin this for us. That was amazing and I’ll be doing that again.” I stomp my foot and cross my arms over my chest, mimicking Tillman’s stance and holding Corentin’s intense gaze. The second Draken shifts back, there’s a change in the energy and the magic in the air.

“I never would’ve let anything happen to her, Corentin. You know that,” Draken states calmly but firmly.

Corentin swings his dark look to him for a moment before sighing and shaking his head.

“I know. I’m sorry. But we all tried to call you both multiple times and when neither of you answered for hours. I panicked,” he confesses. By his tense posture and subtle sheen around him, I know he’s struggling with his gift right now. We went MIA for hours, not telling any of them what we were doing, so they thought the worst.

Stepping forward, I wrap my arms around his waist and lay my head on his chest, listening to the erratic beat of his heart. He’s scared and he’s lashing out because of it.

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you beforehand we were going flying. It just all kind of happened quickly. I didn’t mean to worry any of you.”

He lets out a long, slow breath, then finally wraps me in his arms and lays his chin on top of my head.

“Just let us know if you are running off with any of us, so we’ll know where each other are.”

“I will. I’m sorry,” I repeat.

Suddenly, I’m pulled away from Corentin and lifted off my feet. I’m shocked immobile briefly because Tillman never embraces me like this, but I quickly shake myself out of it. I relax in his grip, slinging my arms around him, tucking my face into his neck. I swear I feel all of their panic in my chest now that they’re so close to me, and I just follow the instincts urging me to calm them all down.

“Don’t scare me like that again, Will,” he growls low, causing heat to pool in my lower belly.

“I won’t,” I whisper against his neck. The tension leaks out of him, and he slowly slides me down his body, making me ache in all kinds of places.

A haze of shadows to my right catches my eyes, and I look to see Caspian staring at me with a blank face, but his eyes betray the anger simmering below the surface. I don’t know if he’s mad I scared him or his brothers or because of both, but I know he won’t approach me. I’ll have to go to him.

Walking up to him slowly, I stop a few feet in front of him and he stands straighter, then circles me in shadows. They caress every inch of me, as if they’re checking me over for any injuries.

Taking a step closer to me, he speaks low, “Naughty Primary. You were supposed to be good today.”

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