Page 27 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

“Possibly. It will depend on where we fly. The winds will be less forceful the lower we fly. We cannot fly that low until we are over the open water though. Then we will have to be careful we are going in the right direction always, or we could miss the land. It is easier to see from higher up. No matter what, we have to watch for the water. It has creatures in it that are larger than us, and every so often, there are high waves that could hit us if we fly too low.”

Konrad sighed as he repacked his satchel.

“That all makes sense. My dragon is pushing at me to get back to it. Perhaps if I fly a bit closer to you, I might not tire as quickly.”

“My dragon will not complain about that. Fly as close as you need.” I helped Konrad to his feet, pulling him into my arms before he could walk away. “I am so very proud of you already, Konrad. You honor me with your acceptance of me as your alpha and mate. I know we are fated, but you did not have to accept me. I am relieved you have.”

Konrad smiled, and this time, it reached his eyes.

“That means a lot to me, Aleric. I will always wish to please you and make you proud.”

“I cannot see you as doing anything but. Shall we set out to find our cave?”

Konrad nodded, then stepped away. As he shifted, I got a good look at his gorgeous scales.

“You are truly magnificent.”

When his head lowered to me, I ran my hand down the center before kissing his snout. I walked back to my satchel and called for my dragon. He pushed forth, and after my satchel was once again secure in my claws, I jumped and opened my wings.

I heard flapping behind me and knew Konrad was with me, so I climbed back to the height we needed to be. In general, most humans did not look too high in the sky. But I was not taking any chances with my mate, and we flew upward until the land was a miniature version of what it was.

I continued flying with the sun to our left. The days were getting shorter now, and although it was still ideal to fly at night, it made it much more difficult to find the land we would be seeking.

When the ocean started glistening on the horizon, I flew lower, knowing the coast would be coming soon and I would find our cave somewhere nearby.

After circling around only twice, I located it and landed in the grass that surrounded the rocky cave. Needing the ability to talk to my mate, I shifted, knowing we would spend the night in our dragon forms inside the cave as it was safer.

“It is beautiful here. I can smell the ocean,” Konrad said behind me.

“It is. There did not appear to be anyone living nearby all those years ago when I was through here with my fathers. I have not seen any signs of that having changed. Shall we go see what the state of our accommodations is for the night?”

Konrad laughed, stopping my movement. I looked back at my mate. He looked tired still, but he also looked happier than I had ever seen him. I knew the tiredness would turn to exhaustion before we reached our final destination, but I hoped to be able to one day erase almost all sadness from his expression. I knew he would always mourn his family, but hopefully, starting one with me would fill that hole that I was sure he had in his heart.

“Come,” I said, holding out my hand. Konrad placed his in mine, and I slowly walked up to the mouth of the cave. I was looking forward to simply spending the evening alone with my mate and not having to worry about being surrounded by others. It was just us, and we could finally just be.

Chapter 10

Konrad

October 1768

Ithought I knew what exhaustion was. I had been weak and tired after being held captive for however long. I was wrong. We ended up not making it as far as Aleric had hoped. At first, I thought it was because I was smaller and not nearly as powerful of a flyer, but Aleric reassured me it was because of the winds and how harshly they were blowing. The winds were brutal, and I couldn’t imagine trying to cross the ocean while hanging on to Aleric’s neck while in my human form. My mate had been right. It was cold, and this was certainly no place for a human.

The second day in, I had already decided that if I never saw the ocean again, I would be a very happy person. It was never-ending, and although I was fascinated with it at first, that ended by midday when we first started over it. Days upon days of flying over nothing but water. It was dark and mysterious. More than once, I looked down and saw what was probably what Aleric had mentioned when he told me about things in the water that were larger than us. I was a dragon, but even I did not wish to meet whatever was in the water.

The longer we flew, the stronger the winds. I wasn’t sure if it was because my body was tiring or if they were simply picking up. Either way, I was not a fan of them. The weather had turned colder, telling me we were coming into a season change. I wasn’t sure what time of year it was, but I was more than ready for a warm bed. I would even take another cave where I could curl up with my alpha and just sleep. I was tired and ready for it all to end. I would never tell my mate that though. I wanted to make him proud and prove to him that I could do this. So I pushed on without complaint.

Now there was nothing but land, and Aleric had reassured me that we were close. But the winds were not cooperating, and with them came dark clouds and snow.

I was flying as close to Aleric as I could, but even with my enhanced sight, it was difficult to see in the storm we were caught in.

Aleric bellowed out, signaling to me we were going downward. I followed, the wind and swirling snow picking up as we descended. When Aleric suddenly dropped from what little sight I had, I called out, worried something devastating had happened to my mate. A replying call sounded, and I dove down, suddenly finding myself in a deep gorge where the snow was still heavy, but the winds were now almost nonexistent. Here, the snow just seemed to float downward.

I spotted Aleric, flying toward falling water. Realization hit me suddenly. We were here. He had spoken often of his sanctuary behind the waterfall. I flapped my wings harder, determined to catch up, but I needn’t have worried. Aleric circled around, coming up beside me, then dropping a bit more. He tucked his wings back and disappeared inside the waterfall.

It was scary to think about, but he reassured me that once you were in front of it, you could see the cave through the water and that it was large enough for him to fit comfortably in his dragon form.

I took a chance, completely trusting my mate. I circled around, my roundabout smaller, then aimed for where I saw Aleric disappear. I didn’t need to worry though. A sudden burst of dragon’s flame came from within the waterfall, and I called out before I dove down, tucked my wings, and passed through the water. I barely remembered to put my feet forward to land but managed to catch myself.