Page 47 of The Storm of the Empire

“Excuse me?” I choked.

“You can take me with you. I’ve ridden before. Jaxus once brought me all the way back from the Second Kingdom.”

I side-eyed him, but he was right. Besides, it would be better to have him there since he was the one who could blend so seamlessly. “Do you still have the priest’s robes on you?”

He pulled the bag off his shoulder. “Of course. I didn’t know if we’d need them. Or if you’d want me to put them back on for other reasons…”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine then. Get changed—we need to go.”

He changed into the robes, then put my clothes in his bag before turning to me and swallowing hard.

“Don’t look at me like you’ve never seen a naked female before.”

“I’ve seen you naked, but am I not allowed to still enjoy it?” He was tenting his robes.

“Goddess.” I looked to the sky before I let my dragon form take me.

His eyes didn’t leave me as I shifted and shook out my wings. It felt good to let my dragon free in the warm air of my home. It always felt better here.

“Wow,” he whispered, stepping closer to reach out his hand. I allowed the touch and stood while he trailed his fingers down my flank. “I’ve never seen a dragon this color before.”

Well, he hadn’t seen a storm dragon before. We were all shades of the turbulent skies. I was the deep magenta of an evening sky over our land, warning of worse storms to come. Unusual, yes, but I would rather stand out than blend in. I took after my mother, and her colors were known and respected throughout the Twelve Kingdoms.

“It suits you.”

He wasn’t intimidated by my dragon—I guessed I should have expected that.

“You’re smaller than Nyx and Jaxus, but I bet that helps you in the storms.”

I dipped my head in agreement, unable to speak to him like this, but he’d know. I lowered down so he could climb on my back.

He climbed onto my back like a natural. “Is it wrong I’m turned on?”

I huffed out a blast of smoke, and he laughed.

“Sorry."

I took off suddenly to shut him up, and he whooped, keeping his seat perfectly. I was impressed.

I followed the spot I held in my mind and kept low to the ground, flying in the valleys between the mountains, skimming the trees. I didn’t want to alert them we were coming if I could help it.

I landed far off from a tiny temple at the base of the Wild Mountains I didn’t even know existed.

“They’ve got to be in there,” I said after shifting back.

“What are the chances they are easy to get at?” Luka tossed me the bag with my clothes, then tried to tame his hair.

I held back a laugh. “You’re fighting a losing battle.”

“Whatever.” He dropped his hands. “Do you think you can lead me to where they are? Or maybe give me a location to search? It might be better for me to go in alone.”

“Let me try.” I walked to the edge of the tree line, the closest I could get to the temple without maybe being seen, and focused in again. “Not far inside the walls. It’s murky because of the stone, but I know it’s there. In the south, southeast. That corner.” I pointed out the vague location where I could sense the opal.

“Stay here so I can find you again.”

I grabbed his arm before he could leave. “Be careful please.”

“I will. I promise.”

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