Page 20 of Dragons & Dumplings
“Let’s try the other one, then.” I was happy to turn tail and soar in the opposite direction of that mound, and felt relieved when its wrongness faded behind me.
The briny scent of the sea soon teased my nose, and the cliffs that bordered the beach soon came into view. The waves glittered a deep sapphire blue, and it was hard to imagine that a kraken had once claimed this hidden bay as its territory. Though I had never been beneath the waves myself, I knew a pod of mermaids and selkies lived there now.
“This looks promising,” Yuri called over the wind.
“To you, maybe.” I shivered as the breeze picked up. “A fire drake wouldn’t last a week this close to the water.”
“Good point. But I bet the vampires wouldn’t have come here either—no cover from direct sunlight, except at night. And their smaller wings would have struggled in the nighttime wind that rolls off the ocean.” Yuri dipped low on the other side of the cliff, flying close enough to the rocks that I started to worry a sudden gust might smash him against them.
“Be careful!” I called, hovering in place a safe distance back.
His slitted eyes dilated. “These winds are nothing compared to what I’m used to.”
Yuri returned to scouring the cliffs that made up the crescent moon-shaped bay, but even with my superior dragon sight, I didn’t see anything large enough to house a dragon.
“I think I found something!” Yuri cried excitedly.
He landed on a sand dune at the base of the cliff about a third of the way down the beach. Sunlight bounced off bits of sea glass that were scattered in the sand, but I ignored their alluring shine as I carefully landed beside him and tucked in my wings.
But the sand beneath my foot gave way, and I lurched forward. Yuri lunged to catch me, and for the second time, I found myself in his arms. My breath caught at his nearness, and my gaze fluttered between his eyes and his lips.
He chuckled, the low sound rumbling in his chest. “I’m getting a bit of déjà vu here.”
I flushed scarlet. “Thank you for catching me…again.”
“Anytime.” His lips curved up in a smile before he seemed to remember himself, and his cool expression slid back into place.
He helped me to my feet, and I finally noticed what he had. The part of the cliff face directly in front us was a slightly different color than the rest of it. Not only that, but the air in front of it seemed to shimmer, as if the sand beneath it were burning hot. It was definitely warm, but far from hot enough to cause that sort of effect.
Yuri stepped forward and reached one scale-covered hand towards the cliff face…and went right through it. My jaw dropped at the sight of Yuri standing with half his arm submerged in solid rock.
“It’s a mirage, a glamour. There must be a sea cave here where Glacius stayed while he competed with the vampires,” Yuri explained.
I furrowed my brow. “Ice dragons can use illusion magic?”
“No. I have a feeling Glacius had acquired a grand warlock-made scroll, which allowed the holder to cast a certain number of glamours. He must have felt fairly threatened if he used one here.” Yuri stepped back out of the mirage, and then walked straight through the cliff face. “Come on, Mei!”
I hesitated, my fingers hovering just shy of the magic-laden air. I didn’t like the idea of walking into the den of an ice dragon, whether he was heroic or not. “What if Glacius left traps for intruders? For non-ice dragon intruders?”
“I doubt it. Should I be calling you a chicken instead of a dragon?” Yuri’s voice echoed, as if he really were standing inside a cave.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Never one to back down from a challenge, I took a deep breath and stepped inside.
My eyes quickly adjusted to the dim interior, which was indeed a large, dragon-sized sea cave. It appeared to extend a fair distance back into the cliff, and towards the far wall I could see a giant nest of sticks and sand. I even spotted a glint or two of silver from its depths.
“See? That wasn’t so hard.” Yuri propped a hand on his hip.
No sooner had the words left his lips, than a sharptwangfilled the air, and before I had time to react, I was pelted with projectiles.
Yuri blanched, scales covering his skin as he threw himself in front of me protectively. A few more bounced off his tough scales before the attacks fizzled out. When they did, he turned to me with panicky, slitted eyes.
He grabbed my face in his hands and demanded, “Mei, are you hurt anywhere?”
I was momentarily taken aback by the intensity of his reaction, which he took to mean I was mortally wounded. Without preamble, he tore off my top to reveal…a torso covered in ruby scales.
“Yuri!” I shrieked, coming back to my senses and covering myself. “What are you doing?!”
“You’re not…hurt?” he asked dumbly, his eyes riveted to mine even as his cheeks colored.
