Page 24 of Realm of Flames (Reborn 3)
“Show-off,” Anani claimed behind me as my smile grew. I couldn’t deny it anymore—I was starting to believe that Marco was exactly as dangerous as everyone insisted he was. Especially ifthiswas what was constantly moving about in his subconscious. I had seen Atlas and Sai shift, and I had briefly seen my mates shift the night that I had, but it was nothing compared to seeing it in the light of day where I could fully focus on how perfect they were.
Where Atlas had been a smoky color and Sai a vibrant crimson mixed with ruby, Marco’s scales that covered his massive frame were a dark onyx shade that reminded me of a hard-edged sword in their shape. It almost appeared like he had battle armor on, everything about him dangerous and lethal. His large eyes were completely black and watched me with a predatory interest as he easily floated alongside the ledge, his snout dipping to smell me as my hand hesitantly reached forward to brush against him.
I found myself fascinated by the bright streak of orange that went up his snout and over his head, down his back, past the dangerous spikes that covered the area. His wings moved with an easy grace and left a smoky texture in their wake, filling the space with a dark, ashy magic. My hand finally grazed him, and a low rumble broke from his throat, shaking the land I was on as his tail whipped forward, wrapping around my waist before pulling me onto his back.
I let out a small giggle as I instantly tightened my legs to hold onto where I was placed near his neck, my fingers sliding against his scales to secure myself like I had with Sai. I placed my cheek against the hot texture as a low purr broke from his chest, making me smile, a lazy haziness crowding over me. A weird mix, considering the exhilaration I was feeling at the concept of flying.
“Be careful and do not let go,” Henry said, his voice hard and demanding my attention. I nodded, offering all of them a small, excited smile. One that only grew as Marco suddenly turned from the land we were on and took off, speeding through the clouds at a pace that had me letting out a surprised laugh.
I wasn’t positive how I could tell exactly, but the air here was different than on Earth. It not only smelled amazing, but it felt almost more dense and rich in texture, making me wish I was soaring through it myself. The clouds breezed over my skin as I turned my head but kept my cheek pressed to Marco, his magic wrapping around me as I began to notice objects forming through the cloud cover that we were soaring through. More specifically, a large, gleaming piece of land that appeared below us, a sense of excitement growing in my chest at its appearance. When Marco let out a savage roar, the sound vibrating the air around us, I leaned forward and held on as he made it clear that was exactly where we were going.
Holy crap, he was fast.
Yet despite how fast he was going, I found myself able to categorize certain elements of the land, from the massive centerpiece to the broken off islands that seemed to float around the outside of it. Despite it being daytime, large columns of fire shot up towards the sky on the perimeter of the gleaming city, and a massive marble-like castle stood tall and regal in the center of it. The entire place seemed to almost blend in with the sky, outside of the fiery columns, the rest a pale and almost cloud-like color that glinted off the sunlight much the same as the clouds. It was blinding and beautiful. Hints of gold and sandstone started to make themselves known as we neared closer, and a vibrant surge of magic seemed to ripple across us as we hit an invisible border.
A surprised sound left my throat as Marco suddenly pulled back sharply, circling around the space briefly before approaching another ledge. I frowned, noticing that there were people waiting for us, all of them seeming to be men, and from what I could tell, dressed similarly to my mates’ uniforms. A small string of anxiety filled my chest, which felt silly in retrospect, becauseof coursewe would be meeting new people. I just… I suppose I had gotten used to how insulated we were as a group. I loved that.
As Marco neared the edge, he shifted in midair, my body free-falling until I felt his solid arms catch me, making sure that both of us landed on the ledge with ease. His body straightened from the crouched position he had stabilized himself with, and I looked over his slightly flushed expression, his eyes dark and wild but smile breathtaking, making me return the expression. Then I was scowling at the fact that he was back in his uniform.
What happened to shifting back naked? I thought that was a thing. I mean, I was glad he was wearing clothes around other people, but how was I supposed to see them naked again if they were always shifting back from their dragon forms in clothes?!
“Commander Moretti.” A deeper voice filled the space in greeting, but it wasn’t enough to distract me from the way that Marco was looking at me. It was both possessive and filled with heat, but even more so, I could tell from the color of his eyes and the sound coming from his chest that his dragon was very much still present.
My phoenix surged forward a bit in greeting as my hands tightened on his shirt, letting my head fall back slightly in hopes that he would kiss me. When his nose brushed mine and his lips grazed mine gently, I let out a soft hum of pleasure, both my phoenix and I glad to know that neither Marco nor his dragon were mad at us from earlier. I knew he had said so, but I’d still been a bit cautious.
“Next time, little mate,” he said, his voice a deep rumble and containing none of the normal smoothness it usually did. “Be a good girl and listen.”
Oh, this was one hundred percent his dragon, that much was obvious. Instead of arguing with him, despite the real possibility it could happen again, I pressed a light kiss to his lips after a small nod. Seeming satisfied with my answer, he gently set me down as his eyes began to streak with mint green before lightening completely and making me offer a small sigh at how handsome he was. It really didn’t seem very fair, now did it?
Suddenly, a sound from the sky had my chest fluttering in excitement as I broke away from Marco. I moved towards the edge, someone saying something behind us, as I focused in on a stunning, pearl white dragon that broke through the clouds, shooting down towards us and making my smile grow.Henry.Croy as well, his smile amused as Henry neared the ledge and practically dislodged my wolf, causing him to chuckle. Croy landed gracefully and stretched to his full height before approaching me, his messy blonde hair and amused green eyes making me blush. When he kissed me lightly, I sighed into it before the low, frustrated growl from Henry’s dragon had me looking back to the ledge. I could feel pretty clearly through our bond that his dragon was upset with the lack of attention we were paying him, so I walked closer, running my hand over his stunning scales.
“Henry,” I murmured in shock, examining his almost opalescent scales, “you are magnificent.”
I didn’t think the others could hear us, but I meant that fully. He was gorgeous, and I found myself almost hypnotized by the way his entire large frame seemed to shimmer different shades in the sunlight. A flash of pride ran through our bond before a pop sounded in the air and Henry shifted, his muscular frame landing in front of me as I stepped back quickly so he didn’t fall off the edge. Instead, he pulled me towards him and pressed a hot kiss to my lips, causing me to run my fingers down his uniform as a small needy sound left my throat.
Also, I was finding that I sort of hated these uniforms, because it was clear it allowed them to shift back with clothes on. Something I was very much not a fan of as I’d stated before.
“I’ve been called a lot of different things, but not beautiful. I’ll take it.” His voice was deeper and rougher than normal as I saw his dragon slink back underneath his fine control despite the dangerous grin Henry offered me. Croy chuckled at his words as I looked between the two of them, realizing that they were, in fact, friendly. I suppose I always knew that, but the more time I spent around them, the more I realized there was an authentic friendship there.
“We didn’t realize that you were returning,” a male voice said, catching my attention as Croy and Henry followed my gaze to the large man talking to Marco. I mean, he was larger than me, but Marco was still taller than him. Or maybe it was just that his magic was noticeably weaker than Marco’s? I frowned, wondering if that was rude of me to think? I nibbled my lip, feeling guilty despite the man not being able to hear me.
The sound of wings moving through the air had me snapping around as a crimson dragon, followed by a smoky dark one, filled the air and shot down towards us. I knew these dragons well and found myself eager for both Sai and Atlas to land. The latter shifted easily, silently, as Bella let out a meow in greeting that was much louder than normal. Her fur bristled with black glitter as she hopped off of Atlas’s shoulder and came to rub up against my leg.
How had she not been scared? I figured Atlas had been able to keep her asleep via magic, but it was still impressive. Easily lifting her up, I kissed her nose gently.
“You were so brave,” I cooed softly as she purred and bumped her head with mine. Atlas approached and I kissed him in greeting, letting out a happy sigh and hoping to portray how thankful I was that he had kept her safe. Bella tucked herself under my hair and against my shoulder as warm air from a somewhat frustrated huff had me looking over to find Sai’s dragon watching me. Walking over, I pressed a kiss to his large snout, and I felt a surge of warmth between us before his entire frame seemed to shimmer and shift as well.
“Kitten, you look so annoyed with our uniforms,” Sai purred, his amused laugh and knowing gaze at the way I examined his uniform making me smile. The man knew me well, and I couldn’t lie, I was a bit frustrated with this uniform situation.
“These uniforms allow you to shift back and forth with clothes?” I asked, needing confirmation. I mean, it made sense. From what I gathered, these were military clothes, and if you were mid-battle, being naked was probably not very smart when shifting back and forth. It didn’t make me any more okay with it, though.
Sai stepped into me as Bella jumped from my shoulder to his, ignoring the way he gripped my hips and dipped his head down.
“Yes,” he mused, “Why? Were you hoping not?”
Offering a small shrug, I blushed. “Wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world.”
More like the best.
