Ancient Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress #1)(28)

There was something in his gaze that made me nervous. In a good way. More anticipation than nerves.

It was heat, I realized.

And I liked it.

I swallowed hard, then glanced down at the pit. It was a bad idea to ride on Aidan’s back. I knew it was. It wasn’t like I had a thing for griffons or anything. That’d be way weird. But I was starting to accept that I had a thing for Aidan.

It wasn’t the physical part of riding a shifter that was intimate. It was the connection. They were willingly letting you into their magic sphere. It was intangible, but you got to know them better. Like a window into their magic and their mind.

But we didn’t have time to climb down. We had to reach whoever was ahead of us before they got the scroll.

“Unless you want to use your gifts and shift with me?” he asked.

Oh, crap. If I did that, I’d probably turn into the biggest, most powerful griffon ever. Then fall out of the air because I couldn’t use my wings.

Not good.

“I’m too weak to shift. I can mirror other magic, but not shifting.” At least it was true that shifting was harder. I’d tried to turn into a house cat once. It hadn’t been pretty.

I pasted a smile onto my face. “I’ll take you up on that ride. We need to catch up to whoever is here.”

His dark gaze snared mine. I forced myself not to look away.

“I don’t think I believe you,” he said. “But that’s for another day.”

I tried to control the shuddery breath of nervous relief that escaped me. “Okay, let’s do this.”

In a flash of silvery gray light, Aidan transformed into an enormous griffon. His coat shined gold in the light of the flame overhead. It glinted off his enormous, powerful wings. I’d bet it took a lot of magic to keep a flame going while not in human form.

My fingers itched to touch the silken feathers that covered his wings, and I clenched my fists. I met his black gaze, trying to figure out if I could see Aidan inside him. His great beak sent a shiver of fear through me. It could crush my chest like a twig. So could his claws, which were huge and spiked.

I’d once thought dragons had to be the scariest mythical creature. I’d been wrong. It was griffons.

And I was damn glad this one was on my side.

For now, at least.

Griffon-Aidan knelt before me so I could climb onto his back. His fur was soft and warm—hot almost—and I scrambled up on top of him.

A sense of power rushed over me, as if I were being enveloped in his magical strength. It felt like my memories of using my own power. I’d cut myself off from that for so long that I’d forgotten how good it felt the few times I’d used it. Like I was in control of my life and could do anything.

Life right now was all about rolling with the punches—many of which landed. If I had my own power, I could control my destiny. I could take what I wanted. Be what I wanted.

But this was just a connection with his power. It wasn’t my own.

It could be, though. I could unleash what was within me and mirror what he had. I could also have this strength. I had more than enough inherent power to mirror his magical gifts—more, if the legends about FireSouls are true. With practice, FireSouls could manipulate the gifts we stole, becoming the strongest of that gift. An ArchMage or ArchSorcerer of that gift.

Oh, that would feel good.

But I hadn’t ever practiced my magic. The few times it had blasted out of me, I’d caused some serious damage. I couldn’t do that again. Nor could I be caught. I’d put my deirfiúr at risk. And myself.

So I embraced the feeling of being connected to Aidan. I breathed in the forest scent of his magic as he pushed off from the ground and swept up into the air. The ground fell away beneath us as his powerful wings carried us toward the center of the cavern. The wind tore at my hair and clothes. Exhilarating.

But the best part was Aidan. It was like I could feel inside his mind. Not read his thoughts, but his feelings. His intentions. His aura.

I was enveloped in a sense of commitment. Loyalty and honor. All the good things people say when they talk about a hero. But it was more complex than that. He was more complex, but I couldn’t put my finger on how. I was too distracted by the feeling of his power embracing me.

I tried to focus on my surroundings—on the eerie orange rocks flying by beneath me—instead of how good it felt to be with Aidan like this.

It was hard not to focus on his power and strength. I wanted to study it. Absorb it.

When he touched down on the other side, I scrambled off as fast as I could. I could hardly catch my breath and stumbled.

“Damn.” I wasn’t normally so clumsy. Being sure on my feet was key to surviving my job.

A strong hand caught my shoulder and steadied me. I turned. Aidan was already human again, a testament to his strength. So were the clothes. He never appeared naked like some shifters.

“Are you all right?” His deep voice washed over me like a warm ocean wave. His dark eyes met mine.

“Yeah. Just the flying.” Liar.

He pulled me closer and my skin sparked. But it wasn’t his magic. It was just him making me lose my mind. It was becoming hard to breathe.

“Are you sure?” His voice was low, his gaze hot. He loomed over me.

I nodded but couldn’t speak.

His gaze dropped to my lips.

Oh no, was he going to kiss me?