Chapter Nine: Liana
The journey was amazing. The first time a dragon had snatched her up into the sky, she’d nearly died of terror.
But this was something different. As much as a part of her had been a little wary of dragons after being nearly killed by them, riding on a dragon’s back was the most amazing adventure she’d ever had.
Not that she’d had that many adventures to compare this to, outside of video games and playing Dungeons & Dragons at college.
Still, to ride on Timothy’s back was incredible. No book or game came close to it. It was all real—she could taste the wind on her tongue, see the city get smaller and smaller below her, the ocean spreading blue and mysterious on the horizon.
Every time Timothy beat his wings, she could feel the dragon’s muscles shifting beneath her. Now, for the first time, she could truly appreciate his strength.
The feeling was incredible. She’d never felt anything like it before. It wasn’t like being on a plane at all—this was raw power, keeping them aloft with every powerful beat of the dragon’s large wings. Beneath her, blue-green scales shimmered in the sunlight. The wind teased at her hair. They were so high up that she could no longer make out single cars—just the dark lines of roads leading out of the city, and the blue stream of the river winding its way towards the coast.
Even though Timothy had to be flying very fast, she didn’t feel scared at all. It was remarkably comfortable on his back. The scales weren’t pointy or cold; instead, his body gave off a warmth that surrounded her. It felt quite cozy on his back, despite the wind, and after a while, she loosened her grip on his ridges.
The sun was shining into her face now. The ocean had come closer. She could see it stretch in front of her, with large ships in the distance and the white dots of smaller yachts close to the shore.
She took a deep breath. She could almost smell it now: the salt of the water, the warm sand, sun lotion and ice cream that melted faster than you could eat it...
Timothy swerved to the right.
For a while, they followed the curve of the shore, soaring far above the vacation homes and sprawling hotels.
At last, something seemed to come up in front of them.
The beach curved out into the ocean—no, it was a peninsula, she saw when they came closer.
Timothy was flying lower now, and she could see that only one small road led onto the peninsula. All around, it was surrounded by the deep blue water of the ocean.
She could see generous beaches, white in the sunlight. The center of the peninsula was green—and there were houses everywhere, from small bungalows to the sort of large family home she’d expect to find in a suburb.
There were houses near the beaches too, here and there, a few of them built on wooden stakes directly above the water.
Timothy was flying so low now that she could make out single leaves in the trees right below them.
In front of them, the western tip of the peninsula was coming up. And there, on the white sand and over the bright, blue water, someone had built a mansion sprawling into all directions, with generous balconies equipped with wooden ladders that led straight into the tempting water.
Timothy tilted his wings. They slowed down even more, until it seemed as if they were hanging motionless in the air. And then, he landed, so gently that she didn’t even feel the impact.
Excited, she leaned forward, staring at the sprawling house over the dragon’s neck. Timothy went to his knees again, spreading his left wing for her.
When she descended, she found that Braeden had been released from Timothy’s claws as well. He was standing next to the dragon, looking decidedly pissed off.
Liana felt almost sorry for him—she’d definitely not enjoyed her first experience of being swept up into the sky by a dragon’s large, clawed hand.
On the other hand, he was a dragon, too, so it was probably less scary for him.
Next to her, the large body of the dragon began to shimmer. A second later, Timothy stood by her side again, a smile on his face as he took a deep breath.
“I’ve missed the ocean,” he said quietly, his eyes shining with the intense blue of a sapphire once more.
“Why don’t you live here all the time?” Liana asked curiously. “If you’re the dragon of water...”
“I like rivers and lakes just as much.” Timothy grinned at her. “And as much as I love this town we’ve built, I co
uldn’t live here all the time, or I’d go crazy. I need my city breaks once in a while. But I always come back. Without the ocean, I think I’d go mad, too.”
Liana turned towards where waves were gently lapping at the shore.