Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
His reaction wasn’t unusual. The Blackthornes had spared no expense in building this sleek and modern mansion against—and on occasion into—the large rock formation behind it. The hard angles of the pale white wood and walls of glass balanced themselves well with the sloping soft ridges of the rock, nearly the same color as the wood. Hearty cacti bloomed with pink and purple roses by the waterfall next to the entrance. Through the all-glass wall of the living room, I could see most of my family gathered.
When my family built this home, they had wanted something that blended in with the landscape while also bringing something new to it. There were windows that reflected back the bright blue sky against columns and walls of imported Dawn Oak. It had the effect of making it seem like parts of the rock formation itself were made of chunks from the sky.
“Want a tour?” I asked him.
“Obviously,” Blake said as he gave another stretch. “But is it okay if it’s after my morning run? I can’t think straight until I have it.”
“Of course,” I said. I had picked up on that pretty quickly. Blake was a regime kind of guy. He stuck to a schedule, especially when it came to his body. He liked to run when he woke up, enjoyed a thirty-minute nap every day at twelve, and always sat down for his dinner at six. “There’s a treadmill in the gym.”
“I was thinking I could just run through the desert?”
“Fine with me,” I said. “I’ll follow from the sky.”
“You don’t have to. If you want to go hang out with your family, you’re more than welcome to.”
I shot him a look. “Pretty sure that breaks all the rules in bodyguarding.”
“Not all of them,” Blake quickly answered. He began to shift before I could ask him to elaborate.
A thick white mist surrounded his body, concealing the transformation that happened underneath. It was similar to mine, except when the mist cleared, instead of a winged beast left behind, there was an amber-eyed timber wolf with soft white and black fur. He gave another stretch, bending his front legs and keeping his hind legs straight. His tail gave a little shake.
“Cute,” I said.
Blake growled. He turned and flexed his claws into the dirt.
My turn. I took a few steps away and began my shift, claiming my form as a dragon. Armor made of golden scales glittered where once was skin. Two swirling horns and a mane of snow-white hair grew from my scalp. My lips and mouth were a snout with lethal teeth jutting from the sides.
I flashed those teeth in a grin as Blake took off in a run. I followed behind him, gaining momentum, gaining speed, and then gaining altitude.
No part of me would ever grow tired of the rush that came from taking flight. There was a freedom to it that made my pulse pound. Taking to the skies gave the world an entirely new perspective. It reframed whatever issue or problem I had into something manageable, solvable. There was a shift that happened when suddenly the sky no longer felt like a ceiling and more like a goalpost.
The desert sprawled out below me. All around were the Joshua trees, with their thick and bent limbs and their crowning of leaves. They were peculiar-looking things. I loved them. Their uniqueness was what drew me to them. I loved when something was a little odd, a little unusual.
Blake looked just as much at ease as he ran across the parched earth. He jumped over a slithering stream, climbed a stack of rocks, and vaulted off them, then continued to run and run and run. We passed a few RVs and campsites, their surprise at seeing a wolf being eclipsed by their surprise of seeing a dragon once my shadow fell across them. I wasn’t high, only barely skimming the clouds above me with the tips of my wings, so I could clearly make out their dropped jaws and “holy shit” expressions.
Once we drew close to the more populated area of Joshua Tree, Blake looped back around and headed to the house. I dipped my wings to the left and turned with him, the woosh of air cradling my body as I smoothly leveled back out.
This felt right. I’d been down lately. With our mother’s first birthday coming up since we lost her, it felt like some distant storm rumbled toward us. Lightning strong enough to burn us to crisps. She’d zap us sometimes, as children. When we did something that went beyond a simple time-out, she’d hold two fingers out and poke our sides.
The jolts turned into jokes as we grew older. She’d sometimes sneak up and give us a little shock when we least expected it.
Three distant figures caught my attention. Shadows against the dirt. Running. Not away, but toward. I tipped my head downward. They grew closer, and their forms were clear.