Page 60 of Prince of Tides
As the liquid splashed across the grayness, it turned a vibrant turquoise-like tropical seawater, brightening the room immensely.
“Whatisthat?” Laurie asked breathlessly.
“The Rift,” I explained. “It joins this world with my home.”
“Like a portal?” she asked nervously.
“Yes. The dragon realm is beyond. Come, it’s perfectly safe. You won’t feel a thing.”
Laurie hesitated, tugging back against my hand. “This is … You’re not from Earth?”
“We’re from another realm,” I explained. “Adjacent to Earth, but not Earth itself. Think of it as akin to your Heaven or Hell. Various religions had their own realms. Olympus, the Underworld, Faerie, etc. Dragondom is just another.”
“Oh. Okay, that makes sense,” she said in a tiny voice. “In a really unbelievable sort of way.”
I grinned. “Come on, let’s go.”
She shuffled along after me, looking very unsure.
“You can still turn back,” I said as we stopped on the precipice of the Rift, the greeny-blue glowing wall a foot in front of us. “But I have to go through. I can’t sit around and wait for you to make up your mind. My people need me.”
Laurie looked up sharply at that. “Okay,” she said with sudden conviction. “Let’s go. I won’t be the one who delays you and results in harm coming to them.”
“You would make a fine princess,” I said, catching her eyes before tugging her through the Rift.
She stepped through, taking the spot next to me in the bowels of Mount Drakonus, the giant mountain that sat at the very center of the dragon realm. The enormous cavern defied comprehension with its size. High above us in the ceiling, four giant holes marked the secondary compass points, each leading toward the heart of the four dragon clans.
From where we stood, it looked like my dragon would fit with a bit of room to spare. Distance was deceiving, however, because several skyscrapers could fit lengthwise across each of them.
“Holy shit,” Laurie said. “Holy fucking shit. That really is a portal. What the fuck?”
I smirked as she continued to swear for a handful of seconds. It was cute, in a weird sort of way, to hear her be so blunt, all filters dropped. I liked it.
“Now what?” she eventually asked.
“We fly,” I said.
“Fly?” she asked. “I can’t fly. I don’t see any planes … You’re not talking about that kind of flight, are you, ‘cause you’re a dragon?”
I nodded slowly.
“You expect me to what? Sit on your back like you’re a horse? I suck at horseback riding. I fall off ponies. You know, the tiny ones that barely move when someone else guides them? Yeah, I fall off those. There’s no way inhellI can hold on to your back while you’reflying!”
“I’m going to shift now, okay?” I said, ignoring her protests. “We don’t have time for this.”
“Right. Frig. Okay. Um, sure. Flying, yeah. I can, uh, no, I don’t think I can.”
I took several steps away and shifted, which led to a wholenewset of curses and shocked responses. That time I did chuckle. The deep thump of dragon laughter set her off again.
“Okay,” I said, extending a wing. “Climb on up. We have to go.”
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she said, moving back and forth with short hop-steps, clearly antsy.
I didn’t blame her, but as I’d said, there simply wasn’t time to indulge her and give her a chance to get used to it.
“Use my wing. Climb to the base of my neck. There’s a horn there. Hold on to it,” I ordered. “Or go back through the Rift. Either is fine. Eb will take care of you and drive you home. Or come with me and get the answers you want.”
“I’m just as crazy as all of you,” she said, then launched herself up my wing, running fast. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. This is nuts. I’m going to ride a dragon.”
