Page 4 of The Silent Mountain
My dragon hisses as an answer. We do. It’s the only time I truly feel free.
two
The New Order
*FAVIAN*
Whenwereturnandpass by the forest, I can see some of my fellow shifters running alongside my shadow reflected on the ground. Then, some of them shift too, following me in their dragon form. They see it as their sense of duty to follow their king and protect him. I fly an extra round for Alana, this time showing her more of the country, before I land safely close to the castle again.
I wait for Alana to climb down before shifting back to my human form. I notice how her cheeks are tinted in a warm red now, from being outside in the cold but also from excitement. She beams at me. “That was amazing,” she exclaims. “The ocean! This is nothing compared to what I have seen before. And the mountains too! I could have never reached them on foot.”
“That’s the perks of having a dragon mate,” I tease.
She looks flustered, and I almost think I have overstepped, until- “I think there are more perks to being mated to you than just the flying.” She smiles. “But flying is certainly a plus.”
“We can repeat it anytime.”
“It’s a bit unsafe, though,” she muses. “We need something better for the next time I fly on your back.”
“You want to put me on a leash?” I joke lamely.
She laughs at my stupid joke. “As long as I have something to hold onto, in case I drop off your back, I should be fine.”
“I wouldn’t allow that to happen,” I promise. “I will catch you before you hit the ground. Dragons have pretty good reflexes.”
“Yes, but I am still wary. In a way, you are just a really huge lizard,” she teases.
“Does this make you just a really huge puppy then?” I tease right back.
She narrows her eyes at me before grabbing some snow, forming it into a snowball and tossing it right at me. I dodge it before forming a snowball myself and throwing it back at her. Soon, we are engulfed in a silly little snowball fight. In comparison to me, though, Alana is used to running through the snow, while I recently woke up from my coma and am still adapting to everything.
“I give up,” I smile. “You win.”
I don’t remember the last time I had fun or played in the snow. It must have been forever.
“May I escort the princess back to the castle?” I ask.
Alana gracefully takes my arm. “You may,” she says seriously before bursting into laughter. “I hope you are aware I will probably never be that kind of dignified princess.”
“I am very aware,” I say. “And my kingdom doesn’t need a princess who is nothing more than an ornament. We need all the help we can get.”
She smiles at me. Something about my words must have made her happy.
*ALANA*
I was furious at first, for the goddess mating me to someone who wasn’t the person I loved. I was so deeply in love with my best friend, Ita, who fell in battle, but we never were fated mates, and then the goddess presented me with Favian and his deity counterpart, Favia.
I wanted nothing more than to run, but something about Favian just struck a chord within me. I knew who he was. His existence alone was a miracle, and in a way, my fate has always been tied to the dragons, from when I was just a child.
I know how much trauma he has faced.
I know he wasn’t ready for a mate, just like I wasn’t ready for one.
That’s the reason why I agreed to accompany him back to his kingdom. I am here to help and see where the mate bond takes me, but not to jump into a relationship immediately. And he respects that about me. He just respectsme.
I steal a glance at him, noticing the perfectly chiseled face once more. His features are almost androgynous. He is lean and elegant, and everything about him is graceful. I never had a preference in gender. It just so happened that my first love was another woman.
Favian is really attractive, and so is Favia. It’s fascinating how she has her own human form too. When she takes over, it’s like Favian’s female twin wakes up, and he turns into a beautiful woman. Both of them are interesting, intriguing, and good people.
