Page 24 of Wynter and the Stone Dragon

He didn’t hear Dhat-Badan leave. His focus was on Wynter. He entered his bedroom and glanced around. A breeze fluttered the curtains, and he saw her standing on the balcony overlooking the private courtyard.

He joined her. She turned her head and smiled at him. Without thinking, he opened his arms to her, and she flowed into them. Peace flooded him the moment she was in his arms.

This feels right,he thought.

He bowed his head and captured her lips. She urgently buried her hands in his hair. His groan mixed with hers. He wanted her to do that magic-thing she did to make all their clothes disappear.

“I want you,” he said, peppering her jaw with kisses.

Her breathless laugh drove him wild. He fumbled with her robes, trying to remove them. Her own hands were busy working on his clothes.

“One of these days we will take it slow, I promise.”

She laughed again. The sound of her happiness warmed his soul as he scooped her up and carried her to his bedroom.

* * *

Several hours later, replete from lovemaking, stomach full from their meal, and wrapped comfortably in each other’s arms, they stood on the balcony once more. The stars were brilliant in the night sky. Power was still intermittent in the city. Khalid wondered if perhaps a change in the lighting might be wise, so his people could see the stars that had guided their ancestors for centuries. They had guided him.

“What about there? Is there any life in that part of the sky?” he asked, pointing toward the west.

Wynter tilted her head and thought before she nodded. “Yes, Isotope. The Glacians live there. It is a frozen world, but it thrives with life. The people there can control ice. Technically, I shouldn’t be telling you this. Worlds that have not mastered space travel should not be… visited. But, I know for a fact that they have violated their own rules.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Wynter shook her head. “Perhaps I can tell you one day. I think it best to not tell you too much yet. I wish you could talk to Father. He knows all about each of the worlds and how the multiverse works.”

“Multiverse?” he repeated.

“Worlds are layered within each other. Think of it as an onion. You have one onion with many separate layers, but they are still part of that one onion. In this case, it is your world but layered so that it has many levels that exist on their own, yet are still connected. The concept can be… quite headache-inducing,” she confessed.

Khalid shook his head.Humans really aren’t ready for these concepts,he realized.

A shadow passed overhead, and he looked up at the sky. The only way he knew something was there was because of the blackness blocking the stars. He followed the movement and realized that it was Wynter’s dragon.

“Will you trust me?” she asked, turning to him with a smile.

He frowned and nodded. “Of course I’ll trust you.”

She pulled out of his arms, grasped his hand, and pulled him closer to the railing. His eyes widened when she lifted the hem of her robe, climbed up onto the railing, and stood on its narrow surface.

“Follow me,” she said.

“Anywhere.”

He climbed up beside her, and held onto her waist as they stood on the edge. His breath caught when she twisted and jumped off, pulling him with her. Their plunge to the ground nearly twenty feet below never happened. Instead, they fell only a couple of feet before landing on something hard and smooth.

“Hang on to me,” she instructed with a laugh.

Fly, Pow-pow!

“Can I talk in front of him, or am I supposed to keep my thoughts to myself?” Pow-pow dryly inquired.

Khalid stiffened with shock. “It can talk?”

Wynter laughed again. “Yes,hecan talk. Sometimes he never shuts up,” she teased.

“Ha-ha,” Pow-pow replied sardonically. “Your planet has lots of yummy rocks and sand—lots and lots of sand,” Pow-pow rumbled with pleasure.

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