Page 56 of The Iron Flower

Lukas. Astride a military dragon.

The dragon wings over the wilds, skimming the treetops. Lukas comes into view on its back as the creature swoops down toward the field before me. The dragon lands with a piercing shriek and a dull, heavy thump that reverberates under my feet.

Lukas firmly calls out a command, and the dragon collapses flat on the snow, wings spread over the ground like colossal fans.

He smiles and holds out his hand to me.

My heart thuds against my chest as I look at the monstrous dragon with its knifelike feathers, huge talons and opaque, dead eyes. Both fear and pity rise within me.

Broken. Like they tried to break Naga.

“Why are you here on a dragon?” I call out to him, stunned.

“Dragonflight is fast. And private,” Lukas calmly replies.

“You want me to ride onthat? Over the Spine?”

Lukas arches a black brow. He glances over his shoulder at the Spine, then turns back to me, an amused tilt to his mouth. “Did you imagine us taking a carriage over it instead?”

“If that’s what you’ve got planned, then why didn’t you just fly right to the North Tower?”

His tone takes a sardonic turn. “Because doing so would be an unforgivable and outlawed incursion into Vu Trin sky domain. I wasn’t in the mood for getting shot down in a churning ball of rune fire.” He gives me a smoky look. “Unless that was how you wanted our evening to play out.”

His suggestive look sparks a tremor of heat in my lines. “So, the Vu Trin let you come here instead?”

“I obtained permission, yes,” Lukas says smoothly. “Which is why I am currently alive and not on fire.”

A jittery fear pulls through me as I contemplate climbing up onto the dragon’s back. “I really don’t like heights, Lukas.”

He seems surprised by this. His gaze sharpens on me, serious now. “I’ll bolster you with my earth lines and ground you to me. It will help dampen your fear, Elloren.”

I glance up at the impossibly high, jagged Spine and picture myself hurtling to my death on its knifelike edge. It rises higher than the clouds, and I imagine it would take hours to completely tumble down from its top to the base of the gargantuan landmass.

A shiver of both fear and cold ripples through me. Stubbornly ignoring both, I trudge over the crunchy snow and around the dragon’s flattened wing, then reach up and take Lukas’s proffered hand, bracing my foot on the dragon’s scaled side as he pulls me up in front of himself.

My skirt rides clear up as I throw my leg over the dragon and slide myself down against the front of Lukas’s body. Flushing, I hastily tug my skirt down as low as I can, careful to keep the white wand that’s pushed into the top of my boot concealed.

“I’m not exactly dressed in dragon-riding attire,” I note defensively, my nerves making me jumpy, “since someone made absolutely no mention of a dragon.”

Lukas gives a low laugh, and I can feel his warm breath on my ear. He pulls out his wand and gives it a casual flick. Vines fly out its tip to wrap around both us and the dragon, securing us to the beast. I beat back the claustrophobic alarm that is suddenly swelling up in me and threatening to burst into full-blown panic.

Lukas murmurs another spell and presses his wand gently to the side of my leg. Diaphanous, shimmering gold flows out of the wand and washes over both me and Lukas. Lukas sounds out another spell and the sparkling cloud fuses to our skin, replacing our emerald Gardnerian glitter with a golden sheen. My fire lines kindle, warmth surging through them in response to Lukas’s magic, and just like that, the wintry chill is gone.

Lukas’s arm slides around my waist and pulls me firmly against him. Then he taps his wand against the dragon’s side.

The dragon rises to its feet, wings folding back, and I can feel powerful muscles at work beneath me. My fear kicks up to a jagged roar, my pulse hammering in my ears, and I fidget against Lukas in silent, panicked protest.

“Shhh.” Lukas brings his lips softly to my neck, his hand splayed out over my waist, holding me to him.

I gasp as he murmurs another spell and dark branches of his earth magic curl into me, fanning out and spreading through my affinity lines in a rippling tingle, twining and spiraling tight.

I take a deep breath, my terror lessening until it’s all but disappeared. “Where do you want to go, Elloren?” Lukas asks, his voice an enticing thrum.

I swallow, getting hold of myself. “Somewhere completely private.”

“I have quite a few private rooms.” His voice is thick with suggestion, and I can feel his smirk.

“I don’t care if it’s your bedroom, Lukas,” I say tersely, desperate to speak freely to him. “I need to talk to you.Alone.”

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