Page 80 of Cats Never Fly

Icould tell he wasn’t sure if he believed me, but he would with time.Iwould show him every day that he was the most captivating personI’dever known.Everythingabout him fascinated me, andIsuspected it always would.

“Ifyou want to see my cat form,I’llshow you,” he said. “ButcanIsee your dragon again too?Iwas too preoccupied last time to truly appreciate your beauty.”

“Ofcourse.Butyou first.”

Thechange slipped over him, transforming him from one form to another from one moment to the next.

“Youare gorgeous,”Imurmured.Ihad to touch him.Isank my fingers into his long, glossy, midnight black fur, now interrupted by a splash of green, our mating mark.Hepurred asIstroked him from head to tail.Wasit weird to find his six-toed paws ridiculously cute? “You’reso soft.”

Hispale-yellow eyes blinked at me, then he nudged my chin with his head.

“Okay,”Isaid with a laugh. “I’llchange too.”

Irolled away from him untilIwas far enough away thatIwouldn’t crush him with my larger dragon body.ThenIlet my transition flow over me.Unlikehis understated transformation, my dragon washed over me in a flash of light.Ididn’t know why my kind’s shift was so flashy, but dragons were a little different from most shifters, anyway.Dragonlore said we were the firstshifters on earth, that all other shifters descended from us, so our shift was more closely connected to theEternalMagic.Ididn’t know if that was true, but the look of awe inSimon’seyes whenIachieved my dragon form made me preen.

Simonpadded over to me.I’dknown the size difference would be significant, but it was even more striking to see it.Scaredof hurting him,Iheld myself still as he inspected me.

“Yourscales, there is green in them now too.Noteverywhere, just…”Hehopped up on my back and rubbed his head against me, as if the visible mark wasn’t enough and he needed his scent on my dragon too.

“Yourfur shows our mating mark too,”Isaid.Ididn’t move, scared of jostling him.

“Relax,” he said as he kneaded my shoulders with his little paws.Hispurr grew louder.

“Idon’t want to hurt you,”Isaid.

“Youcouldn’t.Weare mates.TheEternalMagicwouldn’t have matched us if we weren’t meant to be together like this.”

“Iknow…It’sjust…”

Simonbatted at the back of my head with his paw.Givenour size difference, it felt like little more than a tap, butIgot the message.Iwas being an idiot.Iput my head down on the cushions and willed myself to relax.

“That’sbetter,” he said.Thenhe jumped down to lie beside me.Hewalked around my body, sniffing and licking, until he came to a stop by my front legs.Heturned in a tight circle twice before settling down against me.Ididn’t miss how he curled up close to my heart.Whenheclosed his eyes and let out a little huff of happiness,Irelaxed a little more.

“Iwould like to go flying with you,”Imurmured.

Nowit was his turn to be tense.

“I…Um…Maybeanother time.”Ornever, was whatIheard.Butthat was okay.Wehad a long life ahead of us.We’dboth learn eventually that we wouldn’t hurt one another.Hewould be safe with me, even miles above the earth.

Isettled down beside him, not even looking up at the stars likeIusually did.Instead,Icurled my larger body around him, determined to keep him warm and safe all night long.Afterseeing the beauty of our combined magics coming together,Iknew every other beauty the world could offer would be pale in comparison.

Chapter Twenty-Six

SIMON

Ijolted awake.Theback of my neck itched.Somethingwas wrong.

“Shh…”Ogdenwhispered. “Somethingwoke me.Ithought something tickled my face, but nowIswear someone’s watching.”

Anylingering fatigue dropped away.Thedark and quiet around us suggested it was either very late or very early, depending on how you looked at it.Luckily,Iwas still in my cat form, so my senses were sharper than ifI’dshifted back to my human form.Iscanned the shadows of the rooftop garden, butIcouldn’t see any threats.WhenIsniffed the air, though, a faint scent of brimstone, ozone, and something herbal irritated my nose.Someonewas using magic, but where were they?

“Thereis magic in the air too,”Isaid just as quietly.Ipinned my ears back and tried to make myself as small as possible. “Weneed to tell the police.”

“Idon’t think we’ll have time,”Odgensaid.

Iwould be stronger in my shifted form, but if someone was coming here,Ihad to protect the whistle so they couldn’t use it.Myshift washed over me faster than it ever had before.Iscrambled to dress as quickly as possible.Theweight of the whistle in my pocket was a comfort.IfIhad it, no one else could get it.

“Shift,Ogden.Hurry.”