Page 34 of Phoenix Burn

The muscles in his arms twitched. “He is something,” Matt agreed.

I wondered at the note in his voice and wrote it off to the wind. Tyrez skimmed through some clouds, and I shivered at the cool dampness against my skin. Matt slid further forward on the muscular neck, bringing his naked thighs up alongside mine and pulling me against him until only the spikes separated us. I was hyperaware of his heat cradling me. And when an errant gust blew his musky scent toward me, my heart accelerated.

Distraction. I needed it, badly. I gazed down at the forest below and saw the road Sebastian and I had traveled. Not quite the refocus I sought—my face flushed as I remembered what had happened as we flew along it.

Matt’s nose moved close to nuzzle the side of my face. “What ya thinkin’, Angel?” His voice had a growl running through it, and his thighs squeezed mine against the Dragon’s scaled neck.

Damn his Dire nose. No way I would ever confess it to anyone, let alone Matt. “Nothing,” I replied.

“Doesn’t smell like nothing,” he rumbled, pushing his nose into my hair.

Geez. Couldn’t a girl have sexy Unicorn thoughts without being sniffed out? I slapped the arm folded around me. “Keep your nose to yourself, Wolfie.”

He chuckled, long and low, just as Tyrez tilted his wings and banked sharply. I gasped and clutched at the spikes, and Matt’s chuckle became a laugh.

How could he hate walking through a gate and be so damned easy about being carried hundreds of feet above the ground?

Through the morning haze, I saw what must be the city of Latak ahead of us. The Dragon dropped until he swooped just over the buildings. The early morning streets were already quite busy, and I saw hooded heads lift as we soared over them.

“Betcha they haven’t seen many Dragons this big,” Matt stated.

Tyrez was indeed huge, much larger than the other underworld Dragons had been, and larger than Talakai, too. His size meant landing on the street below would be difficult—instead, he aimed for a large flat roof. The air crackled against his wings as he halted to a hover, and then dropped to a landing.

Matt took a few minutes to let me go, holding me until Cara, Kitani, and Cody all slid off. Until, in fact, Cara handed her twin to her father, and looked back up at us.

“Time to go home,” she said.

Home? I guess the academy was that, at least for now. Matt finally removed his arms, sliding his cheek along my hair like a caress.

Cara looked, of all things, amused as I used the Dragon’s forelimb to clamber down. Matt flashed me a full cheek as he swung down—the bastard did it on purpose, too. His eyes were alight as he hit ground.

The ladder was in slightly better shape than the ones I’d used before, and I made sure I got to use it before Tyrez. Figured he could use his wings if it broke beneath him. I noticed he didn’t fully shift them until his feet were firmly on the ground.

I managed to not look up at Matt’s bare butt as we descended. Most of the time.

Cara pushed her hood back as we approached the gate, and the guardians took one look at her and retreated, bowing their heads with respect.

The Watcher marched straight up to the gate and raised glowing hands to it. This time, to my surprise, I sensed the interplay of energy as it sprang to life. How it danced and swirled around her. Little wisps of it traveled to me, tickling my skin.

I smiled.

“What ya grinning at, Angel?” Matt looked around us, and then tweaked an eyebrow at me.

“The energy is tickling me. Can’t you feel it?” I asked.

Cara shot me a look, and her mouth straightened as the entire arch lit up. Through it, I saw a familiar forest.

And a reddish-skinned ogre, waiting to welcome us home.

“Okay, crew,” Cara said. “Here we go.”

“Take my hand, Angel.” Matt extended it toward me and wiggled his fingers invitingly.

I swallowed and took it. We stepped through the gate, and the crystal in the cuff on my ear burned as we did so.

We emerged into a morning not much further advanced than what we’d just left, and before I could even blink, I had white paws planted on me.

Trix. Matt let me go as I bent to say hello to my dog. My eyes filled with tears—I’d never been so happy to see her. Her fur was wet where someone had washed away the blood, and her skin whole. As she laved my face with her tongue, I sensed her relief to see me.

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