Amara – Reunion

Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

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My eyes widened in surprise when Graike took a few steps away from me. Green scales rippled over his body, glistening in golden hues under the morning sun. His form enlarged rapidly and reshaped in a huge four-legged creature with a tail and massive wings.

I gasped as the reality hit me. A dragon!

In a matter of seconds, I was facing a huge green dragon whose scales shined with rich golden light. A low growl shook the ground as Graike extended his massive leathery wings and flapped them, creating gusts of wind that lifted the dust and small pebbles.

I stared at his reptilian yellow eyes that had a narrow black vertical slit focused on me.

He extended his front leg toward me.

"Hop on.", I heard Graike's voice in my head.

"Wh-What?", I stuttered, unsure how I was able to hear him.

"Use my leg to climb on my back, so I can take you up. The aerial view, remember?"

My eyes darted nervously from his sharp claws to his eyes and then I noticed two long horns protruding from the top of his head.

"How can I hear you?"

"I can speak directly to your mind, sweetheart. It's a perk of being a dragon. Hop on, or did you change your mind?"

I realized that I am not in front of Graike, a handsome half-naked man, but in front of an ancient and majestic one-ton creature that can crush me with ease and probably breathes fire.

I gulped softly. "Is it safe?"

"It is, as long as you hold on tightly.", he responded with amusement in his voice.

I hesitated for a moment before deciding to go for it. So many things happened since I'm with Aldus, and a ride on the dragon's back sounded like not the craziest thing to do.

Graike shifted his massive body, adjusting his angles so that it's easy for me to climb and sit at the base of his neck.

Surprisingly, his scales were warm with a slick texture.

"Hold on tightly…", I heard him say before his wings flapped, propelling us up.

I cursed internally while trying to find something to hold onto. After a second, I spotted a row of palm-sized spikes trailing at the back of his neck, and is clasped my fingers around two.

"Serina! NO!", Lazarus shouted from the ground. "Get off him!"

What does Lazarus mean by, get off him? I might be immortal, but I'm not suicidal. There is no way I'm jumping down, we were already above the villa!

"It's OK!", I shouted back, assuming that he is concerned I will fall down. "We will be back in a minute!"

Lazarus was yelling something else, but it was drowned in the swishing of winds around me.

My attention got on the roof of the villa that was obviously new and then I saw the flat ground that used to be the sunroom and the garden.

Graike circled slowly above the mansion while I confirmed that I destroyed or damaged most of the south wing.

As if he can hear my thoughts, Graike spoke into my mind, "Damage to the walls in the South of the villa went all the way to the foundations. The external wall was ripped away, and the surrounding ones cracked. Impressive…"

The only thing impressive I saw in all that was that Aldus didn't punish me for causing all this mess.

I couldn't believe that I destroyed all this, it must be a fortune in damages. Priceless, probably, and Aldus didn't say a word. He was concerned about me and it only made me feel more guilty. Or maybe he will punish me later.   

"OK. I've seen enough…", I told Graike. "Can we go down now?"

"Sure."

"Where are we going?", I asked in horror, when I realized that Graike is flying away from the villa.

He chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't kidnap you, but I was hoping for some time with you without disturbances."

A few seconds later, Graike landed on a nearby hill. We were still within Aldus's property.

I slid from Graike's back and was happy when my legs touched the ground. He said that he will not kidnap me, but one can never be too sure.

Now that I was safe on the ground, I regretted that we didn't do a few more circles. I could pretend that I'm a dragon rider, going on a mission to save my kingdom, and maybe Graike could breathe fire. Or as a lightning dragon, would he breathe electricity?

I admired his majestic appearance and I quickly turned around when I realized that he was shifting back into his human form.

Wait! Was he naked now?

"Did you enjoy the flight?", he asked, and I could hear that he was smiling.

Sure, sure… it was an interesting experience, but I can't focus on that now when there is a naked man next to me.

Sheepishly, I looked down and I was surprised to see that he had shoes on his feet and black fabric covered his legs.

I didn't pay attention, but I assumed that his shift into dragon form tore the pants he was wearing.

I turned toward Graike and eyed him questionably. He was still topless, but his bottom half was covered up.

"How come you have pants on?", I asked, unable to conceal my curiosity.

A mischievous smirk danced at the corner of his lips. "Would you like me to take them off?"

"No, no, no…", I said quickly.

He shot me a smug smile and the green-golden scales rippled over his torso, leaving behind dark gray color that I realized became a t-shirt that snugly hugged his body.

"You can create your clothes…", I said breathlessly, in awe of the sight in front of me. I wanted to touch the t-shirt and inspect the fabric, but I feared that it wouldn't be appropriate.

"Technically, it's my skin, but I can make it take different appearances.", Graike clarified.

I was not sure how to process this information. Does this mean Graike is naked? I reminded myself not to touch him. Just in case.

Ah! Isn't it too late for no touching? I was riding on him a minute ago!

Graike's smile faltered for a moment as he looked at the trees ahead, but it was back on when Lazarus emerged from the foliage.

Lazarus reached us at full speed, and he placed himself between me and Graike. Lazarus's back was facing me, but I heard him panting, and I craned my neck to see his face. How come Lazarus is out of breath? As a werewolf, this run should be nothing for him.

It took me a moment to realize that Lazarus is panting because he is furious. What happened?

"You are too late.", Graike said with a grin.

I didn't get it, but I saw Lazarus stiffening.

Lazarus snorted. "I am not."

"She already rode on my back.", Graike stated a fact.

"It doesn't count.", Lazarus squeezed through his teeth.

"It was consensual. I offered, and she accepted."

I could feel the anger roll across Lazarus as he was ready to let Alex out. 

Just what is going on here?

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