Page 34 of Fire in Stone

“How fast are we flying?” I asked.

“Fast enough,” he replied evasively.

“It doesn’t feel that way.”

“My speed doesn’t come solely from the mechanical movement of my wings,” he explained.

“Oh, let me guess. Magic, right?”

“Right.” I sensed a smile in his voice. “I can also bend space if I need to travel faster.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I can fold the distance we need to travel. So our current point would become our destination.”

“So, we’d be there already?” I perked up.

He didn’t seem to share my enthusiasm, however. “Greater distances require a bigger effort, which takes a toll on the body. So, if you don’t mind, I’ll use it only if there is no other option left. As long as you’re comfortable as we are…” He paused as if considering something. “Are you comfortable, Amber?”

He rolled a shoulder back, then stretched, his neck gripped in the vise of my arms.

“Yes. I’m fine.” I made an effort to relax my muscles a little, giving him some room to breathe.

No matter what, though, we remained close. It just couldn’t be helped in this situation. The wind ruffled his thick, wavy hair. Our heads were so close, my copper-colored tresses tangled with his mahogany-brown. The air was cool up here, cold even. But the heat from his body wrapped around me like a blanket.

I pressed my palm to the back of his shoulder. It was like touching a furnace.

“You’re hot.”

He gave me a cocky grin. “Thanks. I’ve been told that before.”

“I mean your body temperature, not your looks.” I rolled my eyes.

He kept grinning, obviously knowing exactly what I’d meant. At least in this case, his confidence was well-founded—he certainly wasn’t lacking in the good-looks department.

“Gargoyles can regulate their body temperature,” he explained. “We have fire in our veins.”

He said it so matter-of-factly, I had to clarify, “Like…literally?”

“Hmm.” He nodded.

He’d spewed fire while in his dragon form. The flame must’ve come from somewhere. Apparently, it came from his veins.

“Can you tell me more about your world, Elex? About your people?”

“What exactly do you want to know?”

Anything. I was never going to visit Dakath. But now that I knew it existed, I wanted to have a clearer picture of it in my mind.

“Where do you live? Do you have houses?”

“Yes. My father’s castle is carved into the peak of a mountain, just like many dwellings up in the mountains. People in the valleys build their homes from slabs of granite and river rocks.”

“You probably don’t even have bedrooms, do you? Do you use beds at all?”

“We have beds.” He grinned with a naughty squint at me. “We just don’t use them for sleeping.”

“Oh…” My cheeks grew warm, and not fromhisbody heat but from my own.

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