Blaze and I took the south wall. We headed down one of the two side alleys leading to the base of the mountain. Tree crowns stretched overhead in crude shades of green, but this part of the city was no longer protected by awnings, so there were no Exiled Maras around. We passed a few Imen on the way down, and they all gave us curious looks, but we kept moving.

The alley became narrower toward the bottom, carved into the limestone wall, which grew taller on both sides as we descended and turned the road into a tunnel. A small, wrought-iron fence stood at the end.

“This leads nowhere,” Blaze said as we reached the fence, overlooking the strips of pebbled beach and rocky shore that cut through the middle of the landscape, with green fields to the right and a dark blue ocean to the left

I looked around, craning my neck to take in the full height of the mountain’s limestone walls, along with the curved ceiling. The Exiled Maras had probably spent some time carving this out in the early days of their city.

“I wonder why they left it like this,” I muttered, then bent over the fence to get a better look at what was below.

“Careful, Caia.” Blaze held my arm, and, despite the layer of leather between his fingers and my skin, I still felt tiny electric currents flowing through me.

“I’m okay,” I replied, pointing at the view below. “Look… I think that’s why they stopped carving.”

We both glanced down and saw a very steep trail leading toward the base of the mountain, with nothing but shrubs and the occasional small tree scattered around. The wall ended abruptly with the fence, and there was nothing but the stony ridge on this part of Azure Heights.

“We need to get down there, huh?” Blaze said.

I nodded, and he took his backpack off. The actual base of the mountain was about seven hundred feet down from where we were. If we wanted to make sure Patrik’s spell worked, we had to put his satchel in there. I heard a zipper go down and glanced at Blaze, then immediately turned my back on him, my face flushed.

“What… What are you doing?” I stammered, as Blaze took his clothes off and shoved them into the backpack, which he handed over to me. I took it, struggling not to look over my shoulder and see him in all his naked splendor.

“Sorry, but I need to go into dragon mode,” Blaze replied, matter-of-factly. “It’s too steep to climb down. I can fly us there.”

“Oh… right.” I tried to sound casual, but my cheeks were on fire, my heart galloping and kicking my ribs like a tempestuous mare... I was going to literally ride Blaze.

“Unless you want to wait for me here?” he added.

“Oh, no,” I said quickly. “I’m not staying here by myself.”

“Okay, then hop on my back once I’ve shifted,” he replied. I heard him skip the fence and move forward on the ridge, enough to give himself the space he probably needed to shift without breaking anything. I put his backpack on, then waited for him to shift.

The sounds of deep breathing and low grunts stretched out for several moments, and once the grunts grew deeper and became closer to growls, I turned around, to find myself standing before a stunning fire dragon. He was massive, a gorgeous specimen with dark orange and black scales, a long neck, and a spike the length of a street lamp extending from the tip of his tail. His wings were huge as they extended, the skin membrane shimmering in a warm shade of amber and his arms ending in large, sharp claws that could easily tear a wall down. His back legs were strong and muscular, ending in another pair of claws that were perfect for climbing.

I had difficulty breathing as I tried to take in the vision of him. He was one of the most beautiful dragons in The Shade, in my eyes, and this was the first time I was seeing him up close. He growled and looked at me, and I recognized his eyes, huge pools of midnight blue in which I could see my reflection.

He brought his head closer to me, and made a sound akin to deep, rumbling purring, his gaze gentle despite his ferocious design. No wonder the Exiled Maras feared him. This entire city was a tinderbox with Blaze around. I put my hand out, not surprised to see it trembling before him—not so much out of natural fear, but genuine awe. I touched the hard, warm scales on his face, his jaw slowly opening as I ran my fingers down his thick neck.

“Let’s go,” he murmured.

I withdrew my hand as he lowered himself farther down the ridge. He held out one large clawed hand, and my heart skipped a beat before I climbed onto it. He lifted me off the rocks I’d been standing on and positioned me on the base of his neck. I held onto the hard scales and mounted him, settling in behind his neck as if riding a giant, fire-spitting horse.

I felt his body move beneath me, his muscles jerking as he took off. His wings stretched out, and I had to grab at his shoulders, my fingers hurting, just so I wouldn’t fall off. We soared out over the beach, the cool air hitting me hard, making it difficult to breathe.

He flapped his wings, then did a gentle turn and drop, headed straight for the base of the mountain beneath the open-ended alley. He landed with a thud on the rocky ridge, right before it spread into the pebbled beach and the bumpy border of the plains. He used his front claws to hold onto the rough mountain wall. It was too steep for us to just walk around, but with Blaze clinging to the base, I was able to get off and reach a clean strip of limestone.

I took the satchel out of his backpack, along with a metal pick, which we’d gotten along the way from an Iman blacksmith. I carved a hole into the wall and stuffed the satchel inside. The ground beneath shook, as if already responding to the spell.

I yelped and lost my footing on the narrow ledge. I slipped and fell backward, but didn’t have time to scream, as Blaze’s clawed hand caught me. He helped me climb onto his back, then flew back out. He brought me down to the very bottom of the mountain, landing on the rough stones of the ocean shore. I got off, my knees weak and my legs shaking from the experience. He shook his back and brought his face closer to me. I touched the tip of his nose while his giant blue eyes scanned me. I couldn’t help but smile.

“That was ridiculously cool,” I said.

He huffed, then shook his body, and I turned to face the other way as he morphed back into his gloriously naked self, that entire mass of scales and claws withdrawn beneath ropes of muscle and tanned, smooth skin… I could hear him breathing heavily from the effort of the transformation.

“Does it hurt?” I asked, handing over his backpack while determinedly keeping my face turned away.

He took it, and I heard the zipper being pulled and the shuffling of fabric as he got dressed. I distracted myself with the stunning ocean view—an endless layer of restless, dark blue waters, and black cliffs poking out from the horizon beneath a perfect, clear sky.

“Nah,” he replied. “I’m not sure I can describe it properly, but it feels like everything inside you moves around. It’s uncomfortable and always weird to experience, but no, not painful… I’m done.”

I breathed out, then looked at him. He wore a playful smile, his hands resting on his hips, back in his two-piece GASP uniform.

“So you enjoyed the ride?” He winked.

“Yes, sir.” I grinned.

He chuckled, then walked over to the limestone base of the mountain, sprinkled with grass, weeds, and a colorful variety of wild flowers. He took a linen bag out of his backpack and gave it to me, his gaze fixed on the pink, red, and purple blossoms poking out from green patches all over the stone wall.

“I’ll pick. You can hold them,” he said, and plucked several flowers.

He handed them over, and I carefully placed them in the bag, our fingers touching in the process and causing my arm to tingle.

We walked through the plains, close to the mountain, looking for more species of flowers before taking another route back up. I spotted a small staircase carved into the wall up ahead.

“I think that’ll take us back up on the south side,” I said, pointing at it.

Blaze followed my gaze, then nodded.

“I thought you did well last night, by the way,” I murmured, picking a small yellow blossom from the ground. I brought it up to my nose and inhaled its sweet fragrance. It reminded me of Hawaiian summers by the beach. “With Rewa, I mean. The whole dance and questioning thing. I didn’t get to mention that. I’m sure you’ll handle rejecting her just as well.”

“Thanks,” he muttered, focused on the tall grass and whatever flowers he could find as we got closer to the carved stairs. “My celibacy oath does come in handy at times…”

“Yeah…” I paused, swallowing. “Speaking of… Why did you take it in the first place?”

“Well, my dad took his when he was my age. It’s a tradition in my family, on my father’s side. They’ve done it for centuries before me. It’s meant to strengthen a dragon’s character. You keep your distance, hold your physical instincts under control during several of your formative years, and you come out stronger, more resilient.”

I had wondered on more than one occasion what the limits were, regarding dragon celibacy. From what I remembered, as far as definitions went, being celibate meant you abstained from any… intimate contact. But I wasn’t sure about the specifics, i.e. the exact extent of such an oath. As I mulled it over, I forgot to stop talking.

“I get that celibacy means you can’t have sex, but does it mean you can’t kiss, either? Like nothing? Nada? No kissy, no touchy?”

Blaze’s head turned in an instant, his eyes wide.

I immediately brought my hand up to my mouth, realizing I’d voiced a very intimate thought, a question I’d asked myself before, in the privacy of my room back at our GASP base, while watching Blaze spar with Field a week earlier.

I must’ve looked horrified by my own loose tongue, but he seemed to find it funny. A huge grin bloomed on his face while I prayed for the earth to swallow me whole.

“So sorry,” I gasped. “I… I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

“It’s okay.” He laughed lightly, handing me another wildflower. “But to answer your question, yes—basically. Celibacy refers to abstaining from intercourse, but it’s pretty much assumed that a dragon will abstain from the other things too. It’s not written anywhere that kissing, for example, isn’t allowed, but personally, I hold back from everything. There’s no point in opening the door to temptation when you’ve sworn an oath to keep your distance from it, is there?”

“Right… I see you take your celibacy oath quite seriously…”

“I do. It’s very important to me,” he replied, but his gaze was telling me something else, as it settled on my face and softened. He then looked out, watching the ocean lapping at the rocky shore. “I know I’ll come out stronger when it’s over. That lasts a lifetime, and I can’t set that aside…”

“Makes sense.” I sighed, feeling deflated for no obvious reason.

You were thinking of kissing him, weren’t you?

Before I could pummel my mouthy inner fire fae, I noticed movement above us. I looked up, squinting against the morning sun, and saw two dark figures watching us from the first level of the city, at the top of the carved stairs.

They wore dark gray outfits, with hoods, smoky goggles and masks. Blaze noticed me still and frown, and glanced up the mountain. I caught a glimpse of something blue on both their arms.

“I think they’re Correction Officers,” Blaze muttered, moving closer to me. “They’re not wearing uniforms but the blue insignia is a giveaway…”

“What do you think they want?” I wondered. “They must have followed us down here. They sure are determined, tracking us in the sun like this…”

“They’re probably just watching. They’ll report back to Lord Kifo and tell him where we’ve been.”

“Good for them,” I said, gritting my teeth, then continued scanning the grass around me. Blaze walked by my side, occasionally throwing them a sideways glance.

We headed up the stairs, picking a couple more flowers along the way, and further discussing the disappearances and our role in untangling this whole mess. By the time we reached the first level, the Correction Officers were gone. The awnings had been pulled out, and several Exiled Maras were out and about.

Part of me was still reeling from my flight on Blaze’s back. I’d ridden dragons before, but something about Blaze’s ride had left me with a permanent tingle in my limbs, and a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. With his majestic dragon form imprinted on my mind… I couldn’t help but feel extra safe around him.

No Mara in their right mind would dare to come close or even try something against us. That would be suicidal. Whoever those Correction Officers were and whatever they wanted, they were no match for Blaze. They weren’t even a match for me. As long as I had my lighters with me, or any source of fire in my hand, I could burn them to a crisp.

I couldn’t trust the Exiled Maras anymore, not after what had happened to Minah. But they were at a bigger disadvantage, because we’d brought a fire dragon and a fire fae to Azure Heights.

All they could do was watch and keep track of our movements.