ided, she’d let go of him, fully trusting that Damon would never let her fall.
Her fingers quickly reached out to latch on to him once more when he dove straight into the center of the clouds.
Damon’s wings parted them with powerful beats. Even though he could see nothing but white as well, his dragon senses knew where the rock and stone of the mountain was waiting.
Another beat of his wings—and then he spread them again, soaring out of the clouds and into brilliant sunlight.
Autumn gasped in delight, then surprise when the rough side of the mountain loomed immediately before them. Her fingers clenched tightly around his scales.
Damon simply folded his wings, and a heartbeat later, instead of smashing into the rock, he landed on the outcropping, the cave opening up before him.
“We’re here,” he said when he’d shifted back. “Welcome to Sky Home.”
Autumn was pale, but she gave him a smile when he reached out for her hand.
“Don’t let the chimera scare you. You’re my mate, remember?” he said softly. “He’s got no power over you.”
“Should I be worried?” she asked a little nervously.
Damon thought about how the chimera had tested the storm dragon’s mate. But that had been different. They’d been afraid that Gregory had found his mate too late, and that his unbound power had already driven him mad.
Damon, on the other hand, had found his mate before that would become a problem. There was absolutely no reason for the chimera to be distrustful of either him or his mate.
“It’ll be fine,” he said. “The chimera is cursed, and, if he lets you see him, he might look like a monster to you. But remember that he’s on our side.”
“Oh, good,” she said faintly. “And what side would that be? Shifters? Or humans?”
“Both.” Damon could hear the roar of the griffin’s wings behind them. Any moment, Jared would land next to them.
Quickly, he cupped Autumn’s face in his hand, kissing her until she relaxed against him. “Both. They’re one and the same. Never doubt that. That’s what the council is for. For peace for all of us.”
Autumn took a deep breath when he drew back, and then she nodded. He could still feel her anxiety through the bond, but all the same, there was a layer of determination beneath it.
She’d trusted him enough to follow him when the fire dragons had first attacked. She might think that she hadn’t seen enough of the world, but that decision had been the action of a born adventurer.
Surely the chimera would see the brilliance and strength of her heart as well.
Chapter Fifteen: Autumn
Their steps echoed eerily when they entered the large cave. It was much bigger than Autumn had expected—not that she had much experience with caves. Still, she’d always assumed she’d hate caves. That it would feel like getting crushed, unable to breathe in a narrow space with heavy stone on top of her.
Instead, the feeling wasn’t quite unlike walking into an old cathedral. It was very quiet, and something about the echoing sound made her feel like she was walking into a huge, open space, even though it was completely dark.
Then, little by little, the darkness began to lift.
Before them, torches were lit at the side of the walls of the cave. She still couldn’t make out anything else. And perhaps there was nothing to see. Perhaps the cave was empty, and this chimera she was supposed to meet had flown out.
She couldn’t say that she’d be disappointed by that. Despite the brave mask she’d put on, a shifter who’d been cursed sounded even scarier than fire dragons out to kill her.
Then, in front of her, she began being able to make out shapes.
When they kept walking on into the cave, she soon saw that the shapes were giant plinths of stone. A weird gleam surrounded them. It wasn’t the light coming from the torches. Instead of the warm shine of fire, there was something off about the illumination.
They’d nearly reached the plinths when she finally realized why. There were no torches here. Instead, there were strange symbols engraved into the plinths.
One looked a little like the jagged tops of mountains, the other like waves. The third held curved lines which could be anything.
Then the symbols began to gleam, and in the eerie illumination, she finally realized what they were for.