Page 42 of The Black Dragon
Hell, he even let her drive. Justin’s dominant he-man gene had fallen dormant under herspell.
He wanted her to be happy. Empowered. His life was messed up, but these past two days with Ariel had given him more happiness than he’d felt in years. So he let her drive to wherever she wished, wincing only a few timeswhen she braked too hard on the corners. The elderly Ford pickup rattled along the dirt road. They bounced up and down like bobble headdolls.
“Good thing my bottom has lots of padding,” she muttered as she shifted into a lower gear to climb ahill.
Giving her an appreciative look, he grinned. “Sweetheart I love your padding. Especially beneath myhands.”
Ariel pinked. Heloved the way she flushed, responding to his compliments. Justin suspected she’d received few in herlife.
They came to a dirt road and she turned off, heading toward a clump of trees near the cliffwalls.
Sometime later, she stopped at a dead end. Red sandstone cliffs soared upward toward the bluesky.
The hike they took seemed forever, in an area that was dry and dusty.Clusters of trees provided scantshade.
“If you’re trying to show me Sedona’s desert side, I’m not impressed.” He paused to take a swig out of his waterbottle.
Ariel grinned. “Hush. Trustme.”
Trust me. Few he did trust, but Ariel was one. He wanted her to trust him as well. She’d trusted that he would not hurt her. Abandonher.
That little prick of guilt tinged again.Justin focused on the hike as they entered a canyon. Rust-colored rock walls soared to the sky on either side. The sun began to set. He didn’t worry. If something threatened Ariel, he could shift and clear this place, getting her free fromdanger.
But he sensed no danger layahead.
A few minutes later, they entered a clearing. He stopped, staring in awestruckwonder.
Duskhad fallen, streaking the blue sky in striations of purple, gold and rose. But it wasn’t the sunset that captivatedhim.
Oak and pine trees ringed a quiet pool. A sparkling waterfall spilled over rock walls, but it was so quiet, he barely heard it. Though it was the desert, a carpet of verdant grass grew around thewater.
“Take off your boots,” she toldhim.
In their barefeet, they padded across the grass. It felt thick and luxurious beneath hissoles.
“This is a place of Fae enchantment. The Fae lived here long ago, and when they left, they warded it with magick so no Skins would find it. They gave the secret of its location to the Mage colony in Sedona. My people have guarded its secret forcenturies.”
In the water, neon blue lightstwinkled.
The same blue lights he’d seen when Caderyn, the Shadow Wizard, had taken him on a magick carpet ride to warn him of mending hisways.
Justin’s delight turned toanxiety.
Had the Shadow Wizard shown him the pool because it was in Justin’s future? Connected toAriel?
It’s not as secret as youbelieve.
Tugging his hand, Ariel led him over to the water. “They’recalled lumina. I read about them in one of the books Father bought forme.”
He squatted down, but did not join her in dipping his hand into thewater.
We already know how that ended. I don’t feel like killing these tiny creaturestoday.
“How did you find thisplace?”
Ariel swirled her hand and the lights changed to passionate red. “It’s written in one of the ancientMage books of magick. The book said there are a few places in the world of tremendous energy and Sedona isone. ”
Beneath her long, dark lashes, she looked up at him. “Try it. Put your hand into the water. The lumina absorb your energy, but it doesn’thurt.”
