Page 45 of Hera

They walked hand in hand to a secluded hilltop overlooking the beach. Augustine put down the backpack and started to pull his shirt over his head and toed off his shoes.

“Here?” Hera asked in surprise. “There are so many people around, they could look up at any second.”

He slipped his pants down to his ankles and Hera felt her face flush with heat as she tried to avoid looking below his waist. He stretched one arm and then the other.

“Another thing about humanity,” Augustine said, a twinkle in his eye, “they never look up, either.” As he spoke, purple scales and ridges rippled over his skin, a long tail popped from his lower back, thick sharp claws replaced his hands and feet, and then his body grew and expanded, and suddenly standing before her was a large violet colored dragon.

Hera’s jaw dropped. “Oh, my Goddess,” she whispered, one hand rising instinctively to stroke along one pronounced eye ridge. When human, Augustine had clear blue eyes, his dragon form’s eyes were a deep, dark purple, and seemed to be endless in their depths. Hera could see herself reflected in the wide pupil. “You’re beautiful,” she breathed.

“I need you to seat yourself above my wings,” Augustine’s deep voice rumbled through the air, vibrating in her chest. He offered her a bent front leg to scramble up.

Hera stuffed his clothing in a side pocket of the backpack and then tugged over her shoulders. She climbed quickly up his leg, finding it easy to mount him, and settled on his shoulders. She held onto the horns that stuck out a bit more than the rest, and squeezed her knees slightly. “Ready.”

“Hang on,” Augustine said, his body vibrating between her legs.

And then, they were off.

He launched forward, powerful muscles throwing them into the air, wings catching the closest updraft and forcing them up, up, up at a rate that had Hera struggling against gravity.

Eventually, they evened out, and Augustine beat his wings, gliding forward as smoothly as a boat through water. Hera recovered enough to sit up slightly, gazing around at the unbelievable view. The land was receding rapidly behind them, only the ocean visible on all sides. The sun was glaringly bright in her eyes, preventing her from seeing the island Augustine had mentioned.

They flew for a while. Augustine’s warmth between her legs wasn’t enough to keep the rest of her from feeling the chill in the air, so Hera called a thick shawl into existence between her skin and the backpack. Next, warm woolen mittens wrapped around her hands so that she wouldn’t have to let go of Augustine.

The sun had almost set by the time Augustine dropped altitude. He changed the angle to go slightly to the south and dropped even more.

Hera peered ahead eagerly, seeing a tall, dark shape on the water. “Is that it?”

“Yes.”

The landing on the beach was quite graceful, in Hera’s opinion. Augustine’s wings caught the air and slowed them down until his feet touched the sand.

She reluctantly slid from his back, banishing her warmer garments as the tropical heat hit her face. The instant she was on the ground, Augustine transformed back into his human form and she handed him his clothes from the bag. He hastily pulled on his clothing and then, taking her hand in his, he pulled her toward the trees.

“I want to show you something,” he said, a bright smile on his face and excitement making his eyes twinkle. “We can eat there.”

Hera’s heart thumped giddily in her chest, following him through the tropical forest and ducking under low hanging vines until he stopped abruptly.

“Close your eyes,” he said. “No peeking.”

She followed his instructions, anticipation taking hold in her chest. He grasped both her hands in his, walking with her slower, now. After a few minutes, he told her, “Open them.”

“Ohh!” she gasped, looking around the tropical oasis with awe. The first thing that drew her eye was a waterfall, the water dropping into a pool surrounded by palms and night-blooming flowers. Beside that was a stretch of rocky beach, with stones big enough to sit on. “August, this is beautiful! I can see why you love it here.” Hera threw her arms out and spun, taking it all in. “I can’t decide what I want to do first; go for a swim, eat, or examine your dragon more leisurely now that there’s nobody around to interrupt us.”

Augustine coughed. “How about we eat first?”

* * *

The Chinese foodhad remained the perfect temperature in the insulated backpack and they ate heartily.

Hera put her chopsticks in an empty container and got to her feet, stretching her arms over her head. She looked up at the almost full moon, which illuminated the little oasis almost as clearly as if it was day, and smirked. “I think I’m ready for a swim, now,” she said coyly. “But I didn’t bring a bathing suit. Whatever will I do?” She played with the tie at the back of her neck.

“You could make one—” Augustine’s voice cracked. “What are you—”

Hera shimmied out of the rest of her dress, dark blue material pooling at her feet. Her underwear joined it a second later, leaving her wearing only moonlight. “I am going for a swim. You’re more than welcome to join me.” The way to the pool passed by Augustine’s seat, and she trailed one hand over his chest and up into his thick hair as she made her way to it. “In fact, I would be very disappointed if you don’t,” she said over her shoulder. Encouraged by the fact that he had twisted around to keep his gaze on her, she emphasized the swing of her hips a little more than usual, and at the water’s edge, she bent to test it with her fingertips.

A low groan met her ears and she smirked to herself. “The water’s beautifully warm,” she announced, stepping into it. It was the perfect depth; shallow with a slow drop off until the water would have been over her head at the base of the waterfall. She stayed away from the pounding water, not wanting to get caught underneath it in case of trouble, and ducked her head under to get her hair wet. She came up, smoothing her hair back, to see that Augustine had decided to join her, after all.

She swam back over to the shallows, walking up the slope to greet him, and held out her hand.

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