Page 44 of Radiant Shadows

I gasped at the stunning display, admiring the fact that this was a skill no other dragon had. But my moment of affectionate reverence completely shattered as his scales began to rescind, exposing smooth flesh.

“Catch me!” he called as he flipped over and spread his arms and legs wide in free fall.

My heart just about exploded in my chest with terror. I didn’t think. I just dove after him. I tucked my wings in to reach top speed, begging gravity to pull me closer to him before we reached the earth.

Every second that I stretched toward him felt like an eternity, driving my pulse to breaking point. Twenty meters. Ten meters. Two feet. Two inches.

Finally, my outstretched hands reached his chest, and I grabbed him, wrapping my arms around him under his arms.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I shrieked at the playful smirk on his face.

“This.”

And then his lips were on mine, delicious and warm with that tantalizing hint of cinnamon. For an instant, I almost forgot we were still falling.

Tobias broke the spell as he pulled away from our kiss. “Spread your wings.”

“What if I can’t hold on?” I called above the howling wind. Tobias easily weighed seventy pounds more than me, and I wasn’t so confident I could carry him.

Tobias smirked. “Then I’ll fly.”

Holding on as tight as I could, I fanned out my wings. The action was like pulling the chord on a parachute, our fall slowing instantly. Gravity jerked Tobias downward, but my hold was so desperate that not even the force of the earth’s pull could take him from my embrace.

“I did it!” I squealed with excitement.

“Yeah, and you’re crushing my ribs,” he grunted. “Let go.”

“Oh!”

I reluctantly released him, my eyes widening as I finally saw just how close to the ground we’d gotten. He twisted in the air, bursting back into his dragon form and pulling into a glide barely a tree’s-height from the frozen earth. I hoped I hadn’t hurt him too badly with my new ursa strength.

Tobias banked to the side and pulled up into the air again, hovering over a specific spot.

“What is it?” I asked as I came up beside him.

“Aw, it’s gone already,” he lamented, looking down at the ground.

“What?”

I followed his gaze, trying to figure out what he was looking for. After a few moments of staring at the snow, she could see the faint traces of a giant heart. But that wasn’t it. There was something in the middle.

I blinked a few times, squinting as the letters KD + MF became slightly more visible. And then its meaning hit me, warming my chest with so much joy.

“You did this?” I asked, grinning.

Tobias nodded, and I couldn’t decipher the lingering look he was giving me in his dragon form.

“You’re not thinking of taking another dive, are you?” The thrill of that trick was a dead match for the terror he’d put me through, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try it again or punch him in the arm for it.

“No. We’re too close to the ground. Hey, that was some strength back there.”

Arya shrugged, ignoring the bear in the room. “It was probably the adrenaline. You scared me half to death, asshole.”

A chuckle rattled up his dragon throat. “Just trying to keep you on your toes.”

“Uh-huh. Well, just know that if you ever try something like that again, Iwillget you back,” I threatened.

A devilish glint sparked in his large dragon eye. “Don’t tease me with a good time.”

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