Page 58 of Stolen
I guide her toward the open expanse of rooftop, where the wind howls in greeting.
The sky above is streaked with violet clouds, the sun in this realm a burnished gold.
The moment she steps up to the ledge, she gasps.
“Oh wow! It’s—it’s beautiful!”
The view is staggering. And I haven’t even shown her me yet.
“Don’t move,” I say, and she looks at me curiously, but nods.
The wind answers my call before I give it voice.
The illusion I wore when I met her on Earth has already been done away with.
But now, it’s this version of me that melts away in strips of light, revealing my other form.
This me is enormous, claws, scales, curling black horns, and the runes glowing down my skin like living fire.
My wings unfurl in one sweeping motion—dark as obsidian, laced with streaks of lightning.
My shift is painless, and fast. But I slow it down for her. So she may see.
The power of it shakes the stones beneath our feet.
My form expands exponentially—muscle, magic, scale, and sinew—until I am towering and magnificent, a great winged beast forged from air and shadow.
I glance down at her and see her awe.
No fear. Just wonder.
My heart thunders.
With great care, I lower myself, revealing the enchanted seat I conjured for her.
It’s cradled between the ridges of my spine, secured by elemental binds no wind can loosen.
“Climb on,my viyella,” I say, my draconian voice rumbling with a low, swirling growl that vibrates the air around us.
I could speak straight into her mind—our bond allows that now—but I resist.
She’s still new to this world, new to me.
I don’t want to overwhelm her more than I already have.
Still, the sight of her—standing with the wind pulling at her dark hair, her cheeks flushed from the mountain air and what we shared last night—nearly undoes me.
She pauses, just for a breath. Then her lips lift into a grin that lights up the storm brewing in my chest. That smile could shatter kingdoms.
It could unravel me.
She approaches without fear, her eyes wide with wonder.
“Okay,” she murmurs, more to herself than to me. “Let’s do this.”
Her hands brush along the curve of my scaled hide, reverent and curious, and I shiver beneath her touch.
Carefully, she climbs into the enchanted saddle I conjured between my wings, her weight settling onto me like a brand.
