“And no peeking!” I called.
No reply, but his wings opened, flaring out to either side, a leathery curtain separating us. Triumphant, I kicked off my sandals and stripped out of my shorts and top, placing them in a neat, folded pile under a bush. Shivering with excitement, I walked to the middle of the bluff, sparing a quick glance at the rogue to make sure he wasn’t cheating. His back was facing me, dark wings outstretched, so he was still behaving himself. Now it was my turn.
The wind hissed over the bluff, cold sea spray hitting my bare skin as I closed my eyes, breathing deep once more. As I bowed my head, all the doubts, fears, apprehension—everything—melted away, and I was aware only of the heat rising to the surface, the dragon finally breaking free.
Oh man, it’s been way too long.
With a ripple and a snarl of pain, I shed my weak human body at last, letting my real form uncoil like a spring. My spine lengthened, stretching out with tiny pops and cracks, as if trying to shake off the stiffness. My face tightened as human skin and teeth melted away, forming a narrow muzzle with razor-sharp fangs, bony eye ridges, and pale horns twisting back from my skull. Scales covered my body, overlapping miniature shields, the color of flame and sunset and as hard as steel. Rearing onto my hind legs, I gave a defiant roar as my wings finally unfurled, snapping open in the wind like crimson sails.
A fierce, savage joy filled me as I gave them a few practice flaps, lifting myself off the ground to hover on the wind. Yes, this was what I’d been missing! I felt like I’d been stuffed into a box for far too long and had finally broken free.
Dropping to the cliff, I shook myself and turned to the rogue, surprised to see him still facing the ocean. “Done yet?” he asked, the tip of his tail thumping the ground impatiently. “I would hate to offend your human sensibilities, after all. Oh, and in case you’ve forgotten, those things in the center of your back are called wings. You use them for flying, in the event that we actually get off the ground tonight.”
I would’ve answered, but a blast of salt-laced wind buffeted said wings, teasing them open, and I couldn’t stand there any longer.
Bounding forward, I leaped the railing, passed the still sitting rogue, and launched myself off the cliff. “Keep up if you can!” I bellowed over my shoulder, as the wind filled my wings and I shot skyward.
Waves crashed below me, sending up fountains of foam and spray as they churned against the rocks. Intimidating from the ground, perhaps, but not from the sky. I climbed quickly, rising into the night, until I flew higher than even the gulls dared to soar. Stars hung like diamonds overhead, and the air up here was thin and cold. Below me, the vast, endless expanse of the ocean stretched on forever, as did the glittering lights of the towns and cities spreading out from the beach. I’d never flown over a vastly populated area before, and was amazed at the amount of lights, buildings, cars, and of course, people. So many humans. And none had any idea that, far, far above, a dragon was soaring over their heads, watching them all.
Something shot by me with a screech and a blast of wind, disrupting my flight and making me wobble in the current. Catching myself, I looked up to where a sleek winged form wheeled lazily around and glided back, eyes glowing like yellow stars.
“Not bad, hatchling.” Cobalt spun and dropped beside me, shockingly graceful. His grin was challenging. “But let’s see if you can keep up now!”
Tucking his wings, he dove toward the water, leaving a blast of cold wind in his wake. With a determined flap, I plunged after him, and we fell from the sky like rocks, the air shrieking around me. As we neared the ocean, my third membrane slid across my eyes, protecting me from spray and salt, but Cobalt still didn’t slow down.
We were seconds from hitting the water when a swell rose up behind us, a wall of water nearly fifteen feet high. Cobalt’s wings finally opened a few feet from the water, pulling him up at the last second, skimming the surface. I snapped mine open too, barely managing to keep from diving snout first into the churning sea. But we were both in the shadow of the huge wave, and it was starting to curl, an avalanche of foam and seawater and pounding surf, descending right on us.
Cobalt gave a screech of defiance and pumped his wings, shooting ahead of the wave. I flapped after him, keeping ahead of the swell just like I did when surfing, skimming the surface of the wall. As the wave began to break, we banked to the left, following the curl of the wave, and suddenly, I was flying in the pipe. Thrilled, I stuck out a claw and traced the wall of water, letting it slide through my Talons just as I did while surfing. I could see the end of the tunnel, starting to collapse with water and foam, and gave my wings a final push.
Cobalt broke from the pipe, rocketing into the air with a triumphant bugle. I was right behind him, shooting through the curtain of white just as the wave collapsed with a roar, churning furiously as it pounded at nothing. I howled in pure glee, spiraling into the air after the rogue, every fiber of my being surging with adrenaline.
“That. Was. Awesome!” I panted, switching to English for the last word, as there was nothing in Draconic that actually meant awesome.
Cobalt, grinning as he hovered in the air, beating his wings in rapid, downward sweeps, didn’t argue or even taunt me. “Why hasn’t anyone ever tried that before?”
The rogue laughed. “I don’t think Talon wants it catching on, Firebrand. They’d have a coronary if they knew we were out here tonight.” He snorted, rolling his golden eyes. “But screw what Talon thinks. This night is ours. Ready for another go?”
I flashed him a toothy smile. “Race you to the water!”
We “wing surfed” for the rest of the night, cruising above the ocean until a wave rose up behind us and we raced it to shore, breaking away just before it collapsed into pounding foam and surf. It was amazing. It was just like surfing, only better, because now I was flying. Cobalt stayed right with me, even through the waves where I thought I’d wipe out. He was shockingly graceful, twisting and loop-ing through water as easily as air, and some of his aerial stunts were pretty impressive, though I didn’t tell him that. He’d obviously been doing this a long time.
Still, I was no slacker when it came to flying, either, and didn’t wipe out once, though I came really close a few times. It helped that I wasn’t bound to a surfboard when racing monster waves in dragon form and could always fly away when I thought I might eat it.
Finally Cobalt broke away to perch on a boulder jutting up from the water, beckoning me over with a claw. Reluctantly, I flapped up to join him, digging my Talons into the jagged stone and sinking to my haunches, facing the rogue.