Page 10 of Surprise Me

Yvaine shoved him toward the front door, out into the hall, and shut the door behind him. He chuckled when he heard her squeal at whatever she and Ciara were talking about. She was definitely having more fun planning his birthday than he was hers.

He stepped into the shadow and headed for the castle. This time he decided to spend a little time in the dark to investigate the area around their new home. All was as he expected. Several rich veins of gold that would help fund the Wyr for years to come, a good number of underground caverns he could use for his treasure hoard, and no signs of demon wyrms at all.

Hopefully the elements had helped clean up the mess in the courtyard. The ashy remains of the wyrms should blow away easily, but he would probably have to get a cleaning crew in to scrub the black oily stains from the cobblestones. He appeared out of the shadow and into the courtyard right near his own front door.

Hanging from the doorknocker was a glass ornament in the shape of a dragon that had a note hanging from its neck with his name scrawled across the front. It sparkled and gleamed, even though there wasn't any light shining on it. Jett gently lifted the ornament off and opened the note.

~Hope you enjoyed my gift. I know your unicorn wouldn't have liked to be taken by the wyrms so I brought them to you instead.

"Fallyn," he growled and looked around the courtyard and into the windows of the house. He didn't sense her presence or see any other signs of her simple spells. She had brought the demon wyrms. But why? Everything Fallyn did was a mystery, but she always had a purpose. She was a crafty one.

Jett spent most of the day searching every nook and cranny of the castle to make sure it was secure and wyrm free. There were some interesting relics hidden in the oldest parts of the structure, but no evil. He used his own power over the shadow to create a maze of misdirection for anyone trying to use it to travel to the castle or the surrounding forest, save for the one spot where he'd appeared in the courtyard. That way if any uninvited guests did decide to show up for the party, they would be instantly under the eye of everyone there.

When he was satisfied that he'd done all he could to make the castle the safest place he could for his Wyr and his mate, he shifted and called to all of his brethren to invite them home. Pride coursed through his veins like the hottest fire and the strongest shadow. The only time he'd ever felt prouder than today was when he and Yvaine and declared their love for each other and she'd agreed to be his.

Some of his Demon Dragon Warriors appeared out of the shadow in the courtyard right away and he welcomed each and every one. More would arrive over the coming days. Just in time for Yvaine's party. He encouraged them to explore their new home and claim spaces of their own. Some would choose rooms, but he knew most would prefer to remain outside where they felt free to come and go. That had become an important part of their freedom for many of his Warriors, and a big reason why he'd like this particular property in the first place.

One of the Warriors from the party crew popped in. "Ready for us to come in and decorate, boss?"

"I am. I'm looking forward to showing off your efforts to Yvaine this weekend." He patted the Warrior on the back.

The man straightened up to his full height and his fire glowed in his eyes. "Thank you, sir. We won't let you down."

No. They wouldn’t. Jett had no doubt this party would be, as Yvaine might say, supercaliunicornicallyexpidocispectacular.

Surprise

The evening of Yvaine's party bloomed with a brilliant full moon. Several times Yvaine came into his office, stared at him like she was going to say something and then would turn and run out. She'd been fidgety and nervous most of the day, but he couldn't figure out why. Probably because she hated keeping secrets and this had something to do with his birthday party. He hadn't told her that her party was tonight. He wanted her to be surprised and he didn’t mind keeping those kinds of secrets from her.

This last time, she came in, he grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap. The party would be ready to start, and not only would his Demon Dragons be arriving, but so would the Wyverns of the other Wyrs. Ciara assured him they would want to be there. "Sweetheart. How would you like to go see our new home with me?"

Her eyes went wide. "The castle?"

"Yes. I'd like to show it to you, make sure it's a place you'll want to call home. There is a nice big forest all around for you to run free in. He knew she was going to love it, but he couldn’t help but worry just a little since he hadn’t actually shown it to her before buying it.

He had to trust his gut because his gut was always right when it came to Yvaine. He should have learned to trust it a lot sooner.

She wiggled like a little kid waiting to open a present. “Like you want to go right now?"

He tipped his head at her and frowned. "Unless you have somewhere else you need to be."

She grabbed his face and planted a big old kiss on his lips. "Mmm-mmm. Yes. Let's go. Right now. Yay!"

“You’re being weird.” Secrets did not agree with her. He should have let her make his birthday a week ago like she wanted to. He’d remember that for future birthdays.

She jumped up. “Am not. Come on. Let’s go. No, wait. Let me get something first.”

Yvaine sprinted into their bedroom and came back with a box wrapped in brown paper under her arm. “Now I’m ready. Shadow or flying?”

He eyed the box. Maybe something she’d bought for the new house. “Whichever you prefer. It’s not far, so we can fly if you prefer.”

“Yeah. I don’t want to hurl my cookies. They were too delicious to waste that way.” She licked her lips and he almost called the party off to take advantage of that tongue.

He led her out to the rooftop of their little apartment building and shifted into his dragon form. Yvaine crawled into one of his big claws and wrapped one arm around her box and the other around his leg. “Ready or not, here we come.”

Jett took to the sky and headed toward the Rhineland. He used small shadows created by the clouds and the moon to keep them hidden from prying human eyes. It didn’t take more than a few minutes until the rivers and forests around their new home came into view.

The tower of the castle was lit up with pink searchlights and the disco ball was in full swing, sending lights and sparkles all across the tower’s stone walls and into the courtyard. Cripes. Not like he could keep that a surprise.

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