Mated to the Earth Dragon (Elemental Mates 2)

With a sigh, she relaxed, her eyes on the horizon. Fire dragons or no, with Damon on her side, no one would be able to harm her.

She couldn’t wait to see this new world he’d promised her.

Several hours later, they’d successfully crossed the ocean. Currently, they were flying across a hilly countryside, green forest sprawling beneath them. In the distance, she could see towering mountains, but Damon made no sign of swerving towards them.

Instead, he seemed to be descending now, the green hills beneath them coming closer and closer, until Autumn could make out single trees.

But hadn’t he promised her a town?

Here and there, she could see roads winding around hills, crossing rivers. Every now and then, there was a car. But where was this fabulous shifter town he’d promised?

All of a sudden, Damon folded his wings. They dropped rapidly, heading straight towards yet another hill covered by nothing but an impenetrable forest.

Autumn gasped, clutching at Damon’s neck, even though she was still perfectly secure on his back. Still, for as tiny as the hills had looked from above, now that they had descended and were rapidly heading right towards a collision with one of them, she felt her stomach drop.

The trees were coming closer and closer. There was no settlement that she could see, not even a house. She didn’t doubt that Damon would be able to pull up in time and take them over the hill—but where was he headed?

Then his left wing rose, and they took a sharp turn towards the right.

Autumn’s eyes widened. They were right above one of the rivers now—and before them, the river curved gently around the hill, a cliff rising on the other side of the stream.

For a minute or two, they soared along the river, so close that every now and then, the tips of Damon’s claws would touch the water.

Autumn giggled at the sudden spray of water, raising one hand to shield her eyes from the sun that was now right in front of them. For a moment, she couldn’t make out what was before them. The glare of the sun on the water turned everything a blinding white.

And then Damon tilted his wings again, taking them further to the right and out of the blinding sun, and Autumn could see again.

A loud gasp escaped her.

There, before her, a valley spread, surrounded by hills. A river ran through it—a river with an antique mill, she noted as they soared past it. Everywhere she looked she saw green. Verdant grass covered the valley for as far as she could see, and the sides of the hills were covered in trees. To their right, two horses were running: one a bay, the other white as snow. The white horse whinnied, its tail raised high—and from their left, Autumn could swear that she’d hear the sound of a lion roaring, echoing from the hills.

Were these animals shifters?

Beneath her, Damon seemed to suddenly stretch—and then he roared as well. It wasn’t the challenging sound she’d heard before, when he’d faced the fire dragons. This had sounded like—like a greeting.

When she turned back again to watch where they were headed, the shifter town had finally appeared. There, at the end of the valley, with the river running through it, houses stood, each with a garden, some surrounded by wooden fences, others by large stone walls. Small bridges spanned the river, connecting the houses on either side of the water. Someone was standing on one of the bridges, fishing, while further ahead, she could see children paddling in a canoe.

There were people out in the streets as well—and not a single one of them seemed particularly concerned to see a large dragon flying right above their heads.

Instead, many of them looked up and waved. A few shouted a greeting, to which Damon dipped his wings briefly.

Further ahead, she could now see an open space. It was a large square surrounded by houses, and behind it, a road that led halfway up the hill. And there, gleaming in the sunlight, stood a mansion, which had been built from white stones. It was surrounded by a beautiful garden. At its back, a creek made its way down the hill, feeding a small lake.

The mansion had a tower as well, which rose from the back of the house. It was the sort of tower she’d expect to see in a movie about knights and dragons—but then, given that she was on the back of a dragon right now, that made a certain sense.

And she soon found out just why Damon’s home had a tower. As soon as they’d crossed the town, Damon beat his wings again so that they rose a little. Then he took them straight up the hill, landing at last on the top of the tower.

The stones were sturdy granite, marked by the scratches of large claws—as if generations of dragons had landed and taken off from here.

Which they probably had, Autumn realized as she slid down one of Damon’s wings with wide eyes.

A heartbeat later, his form shimmered. Instead of the large dragon, the no less impressive human form of Damon stood by her side.

“Welcome to Dragon Springs,” he said proudly, moving to her side to wrap his arm around her. Together, they looked down from the tower at the small town sprawling in the valley below. “There’s no safer place on earth. And no place I love more.”

***

The first thing she did was calling Tilly. During the long journey back home, she’d come with an explanation that wasn’t a complete lie.