Page 30 of The Dragon's Warlock

10

Diem

She’d had a hard time sleeping in the bed next to Gideon. He kept telling her they had to wait until after the first ceremony. She wondered how sex could affect a journey to find answers. But she listened.

Now it was seven o'clock in the morning, and her body was wound tight. She could see the yoga mat on the back balcony. Gideon had gotten them a private villa on the water. The deck was clear, and she could see fish swimming below.

Her mind made up, she threw the covers to the side and walked out onto the patio. The sound of the waves was soothing. She hadn’t changed in two days, and her dragon pushed at her skin. The shaman, Ethno, had asked her to change before the ceremony that night. He reminded her of a surfer who’d turned into a monk.

But if he would help her get one step closer to finding her sister, she would do it. She laid the mat down on the floor. Behind her, she heard soft footsteps. She looked over her shoulder to find Gideon standing with a cup of coffee in his hands, watching her.

His tousled hair added to his appeal. The previous two nights, the man had slept without a shirt on. She didn’t know how many more she could take before she jumped him.

She was in the sphinx pose when Gideon took a seat on the chair outside. His eyes heated with each movement she did. Fucking hell. He was making it hard for her to concentrate on what she was doing. Her eyes flicked to his shorts then back to his face, and he smirked. The man knew what she was thinking.

“I know he said to eat something, but I’m so nervous.” Diem was supposed to have breakfast, change into her dragon, and meet Ethno at noon.

“I ordered some fruit. It should be here soon. You’re going to need your energy. The first day is the longest and hardest.”

He told her he’d done this a few hundred years ago, and it wasn’t that bad. She wasn’t so sure she was going to go off with an old memory.

“It’s crazy we have to do this twice.” She stretched her front leg forward into lizard pose. “If we don’t see it the first time, how are we going to see it the second time?”

“The first time gets you grounded, and the next time helps guide you. And there’s a possibility of a third time.”

She rolled her neck, trying to get the tension out of her body. The yoga wasn’t helping. “What are you going to do while I go change into my dragon?”

“I’m coming with you.”

She hadn’t expected that. “Why?”

“I’ve spent time with you but not much with your dragon. And the time I did spend with your dragon was quick because we were fighting someone. This is part of the mating thing.”

They hadn’t talked about the mating thing at all. She’d tried to bring it up on the plane, and he kept saying they would discuss it later.

Someone knocked on the door before opening it and wheeling in a cart of food. Gideon hadn’t only ordered fruit—he must have ordered everything on the menu. She’d told him she didn’t know if she could eat, but her stomach growled at the sight of the food.

“Thank you,” Gideon said to the butler and handed him some cash.

Her eyes were on the food as Gideon put one of everything on a plate and handed it to her. When her teeth bit through a juicy strawberry, her early thought of not being able to eat went away. For the next thirty minutes, they ate in peace until everything was gone. She wasn’t the only one who could eat a lot of food. Gideon picked on her for always being hungry, but he joined her each time, and sometimes he ate more than she did.

She leaned back in the chair and patted her stomach. “I’m not sure my dragon’s going to be able to fly after eating that much,” she groaned. “Speaking of my dragon, I don’t remember where he said I had to go so I could shift.”

The shaman had walked them around when they got there, but she was so busy taking in her surroundings that she only caught half of what the man said. Hopefully, she hadn’t missed the information she would need to know before the ritual started.

“We’re on the side of the resort protected by magic. You can shift on the back balcony and go from there.”

“My dragon can swim in the water out there?”

“Yes.” Gideon walked over and wrapped her in his arms. “But I would like to come along with you for your flight.”

“You want to ride on my back?”

“Yes, but if you don’t want me to—”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to. I’m worried. What happens if I drop you?”

“I’m sure you won’t drop me. Are you ready, or do you want to eat some more?”

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