My Summer Girl

Chapter Fifty-Three

Dulce

Before You Leave Me – Alex Warren

When I walk out ofthe castle a few hours later, having spent some time prepping for the bonfire tonight, I note that Ver is nowhere to be seen. None of my mates are.

Hmm.

That’s strange since it’s usually hard to walk five feet without one of them kissing or hugging me. Even if it’s a quick peck.

Out in the field there seems to be a commotion. Monsters and creatures alike seem to gather over there, looking at something.

Whenever there’s a big crowd of people, no matter where you are, it either means good chisme is being told or something bad has gone down.

After all the mishaps that have happened since I fell through the sky, I’m hoping it’s the former and not the latter.

Immediately upon walking, I notice that a dragon sits in the center of the grass. It’s apparent that dragon is Dormir. He has his wings out, wide as they’ll go, the expanse of them spanning many feet.

“Oh, wow,” someone says, awe in their voice. “He’s massive!”

“But what about this one?” another chimes in, their voice so full of excitement. I continue my pursuit of the crowd, trying to find out what’s happening. This one? Was there more, I know Ver was really stressed about canceling the races.

“I want to ride this one!”

“Oh my Solera, this one is bright red!”

“Do you think this one can swim?”

The people aren’t parting easily, they’re all trying to squeeze in and see what’s beyond my vision.

Annoyance starts to build inside me. Being short has never been something I love when I’m trying to view something, like now. I’d kill to have Raev’s massive legs.

Finally wiggling through the people with many excuse me’s and pardons as I do, I’m shocked at the full visual in front of me.

“Dulce?”

My twin questions, her head whipped so far like she’s seeing a ghost. The tears come so quickly and trail down my face. “Di!” I nearly yell and rush toward her.

I’m crying when our bodies crush in a hug. She’s smiling and laughing, and something about that has me wrecked.

My sister often ignores happiness, even the little moments that bring her bliss. But her eyes glow in kind, and like her, I’ve missed this.

“Te echo de menos,” I mournfully whisper into her ear as we hug. This is so weird for us, because we aren’t huggers. Or weren’t, but since being here, I’d like to live forever being hugged all the time.

“Aveces deseaba que no te hubieras ido,” she admits, and my tears come quicker.

“I don’t. I found love, happiness, and it feels like I’m where I’m supposed to be.” She sighs but doesn’t let me go. “I’m glad I left and chose to live. One day, I hope you do too.”

“Hey, quit hogging our sister,” Xó grumbles from beside us, interrupting the stifling emotions filling me.

Letting Di go, she nods with tears as if silently accepting this for me. One day, my sister will find her forever: the person or persons who will challenge her stubbornness and make her see that she matters as much as the rest of us.

She deserves to find love and be content.

“I missed you so much,” Xó expresses before hugging me. She’s so far along, I’m sure she’ll be giving birth to Ash, the newest family member, soon. I kiss her cheeks before pulling back to look at her.

Her normal eyes are filled with childlike glee, which is quite normal for her, yet there’s an extra glow to them.

“What?”

“I met them.”

“Who?” I’m wondering who she’s talking about when Vex comes up from beside me and Raev on the opposite side.

“Oh,” I muse. Her eyes scan two of my three mates with so much excitement.

“Yes, oh.”

“This is Raev,” I offer, gesturing to my giant love. Then with a blush that I can’t run from, I motion to Vex. “You remember Vex. They were at your wedding and Val’s.”

She smiles so beamingly that she’s giving me a run for my money as the “sunshine” label.

“This is Pyro’s longtime friend, no?”

“That, I am, but also I’m this little dove’s mate, and that’s a much more important label,” they tease with a wink. Xó giggles and then looks back at Arson, who’s staring at her giggling with a raised eyebrow, almost like he’s trying to dissect why she’s offering them to someone else.

“Where’s Ver?” I ask Vex and Raev quietly. Neither say anything, but the path of people part. Then it’s like everything is right in the world.

With all three of my mates here, calmness overtakes me, making me smile and want to cry happy tears. I’ve never truly felt like I belonged anywhere or experienced the whole world stopping when I enter the room. With my mates, that’s exactly how they make me feel.

“This is Vera,” I softly whisper, unable to snare the awe from my voice before it’s out. “My third mate.”

“We all knew you’d need three to wrangle you into submission,” Val jokes, popping in. But with how hot my face is and the amusement on all three of my mates’ faces, he doesn’t know how right he is.

Then as if reading the room, he scrunches his face. “Yeah, no. I didn’t need to know this.”

“Guess you shouldn’t have put it out in the atmosphere,” Vex muses, kissing my temple.

“She’s quite the brat, isn’t she?” Ver adds, her lips twitching.

“She’s sweet to me,” Raev compliments with a shrug and adoration in his gaze. “She isn’t called my little sweet for no reason.”

“Yeah, that’s why she’s called little sweet.” With Vex’s teasing words, Val’s face is getting even more scrunched, if that’s all possible.

“Hey, I don’t want to hear in that posh accent how it is with my sister in any form. Even if Pyro thought I’d be less than approving.” He gestures to his husband, the navy-blue stoic grump ten feet away, talking with Arson. “If anyone in this realm or the next deserves to find love after pairing so many people up, it’s you, Vex.”

“Says the Cupid,” Vex returns, their smile full and kind.

“Touché.”

“So, Vera,” Di says, turning to the goddess I get to call mine. “Vex got us here and didn’t explain much, not that I’m complaining. We’ve all been worried sick.”

“Sick? You’re so dramatic. Once we knew Vex had your location, we were fine.”

“Speak for yourself,” Di grumbles, folding her arms across her chest.

“I brought you here for two reasons. One, because Dulce doesn’t realize how much she’s missed you all, especially Di,” Vex lays on thick and I peer at them with love. “And two, because I needed Cupid touch magic.”

“And with Dulce being without it, you needed us?” Val grumbles, but the humor in his eyes is there. We aren’t the closest, but seeing as we’re such a weird family dynamic, I’m glad he accepts my love for Vex and in general.

I won’t tell anyone that Pyro is softening his grumpy side, but he is.

“What do we do?” Xó asks, absently rubbing her stomach. She’s a lot calmer this time around than with Rómán.

“Dormir over there,” Vex says, pointing to the dragon everyone is piling over. “Showed me the mixture of Cupid touch magic and his own will do some sort of call to the dragons who are off realm and some in.

“I can’t believe there are dragons—real, breathing dragons,” Arson comments, forcing his way over to his wife, gripping her swollen belly with a possessive nature only a dragon could replicate.

“They’re badass,” Blaze, Arson and Pyro’s younger brother, enthusiastically says. His serpent eyes are dancing across Dormir with absolute wonder.

“I thought they were all gone,” Pyro joins in, his eyes studying each dragon nearby. They’re almost methodical, like he’s calculating every species to research later.

“Can I do it?” Xó nearly begs. The excitement in her eyes is never far away.

Vex nods, and the crowd parts once more for our family. We’re a big bunch. Several with massive wings and then there are us Cupids, barely different than our human lookalikes.

“Is this a good idea?” Arson asks, gnawing on his lip piercing. I didn’t think he could obsess over my sister more than when I first met him, yet here he is, basically scanning everything around us and sticking super close to her.

“You’re a Draegyn—a species not far off from a dragon—and you’re worried about a cute dragon using magic with your wife?” Val complains, grimacing when Arson lets out a low growl.

“He’s in the nesting stage,” Xó apologizes. “He got like this with Rómán too. Don’t mind his protectiveness. Come on, mi amor, you’re okay.”

Arson narrows his eyes at Val before guiding his wife to Dormir’s face. He stares at them both, tilting his massive head.

“Touch him,” I guide, showing her how I did it before. Slowly, with respect of consent. He makes a little chuff at me and breathes out noisily as my hand connects with the bridge of his snout.

The imagery he puts out is of Xó and me hugging moments ago and then shows something that isn’t reality. Of me, Xó, Val, and Di holding hands while forcing our magic out. When I peer at Xó, her eyes are closed and I think he’s showing her the same.

When I nod, he directs his focus at my sister and her smile tells me he’s connecting with her like he did with me and Raev.

“Arson, touch him,” she urges, tugging on his arm. He only hesitates for a moment before placing his palm on Dormir.

He’s smiling big, the grumpy and overprotective Draegyn almost pleased.

“Six?” he asks with awe. “Fuck yeah!” Xó smacks his chest, shaking her head in chastisement. I laugh at the expression he’s sporting. Like he’s won a massive prize.

“From what I can tell,” I begin, swiveling my head to all my siblings to make sure they’re paying attention to me. “We’re to hold hands and put out the magic while also in connection to Dormir.”

They nod and we begin.

The way my skin tingles with a magic I thought long gone from my fall... We release it into him and a sudden sound of popping makes me whip my head around.

One after one dragons of many shapes, species, and colors seem to dimension-jump here. It’s wild to see so many different ones, especially when they’re basically nonexistent in Darchon.

“This is unbelievable,” Ver says, the shock and gratefulness noted in her voice. “I haven’t ever seen this many dragons in my life.”

I reach for her hand and she grips mine almost like she’s in utter disbelief. “I couldn’t have done this without you,” she utters, her voice choked, and her eyes glistening.

“It was all Vex,” I say, recognizing the amazing being with a heart sweeter than anything in this realm and out of it.

“You gave me the idea when we took a bath,” they argue, wanting me to also have a part in this.

“But you made it happen.”

Ver leans forward and kisses Vex’s cheek, her eyes red with tears. “Thank you, V.”

Vex grips her jaw, and places the softest and most chaste kiss on her lips. “Anything for my mates.”

“Me too?” she asks, her voice so small and I grip her palm to reassure her.

“All of my mates. You’re one of them, precious.”

Ver wipes at her eyes but nods. “We should get these races going.”

“Lead the way, mi reina.”

Mischief twinkles in Raev’s eyes as I say the words to Ver. He looks at Vex and then smirks. “I’m going to wipe the sky with you.”

Vex chuckles, their expression gleaming with challenge. “If I win, no orgasms the next play time.”

Raev actually pales a little, but corrects himself. “Good thing I’m going to win.”

“Oh, poppet,” Vex taunts. “Haven’t you ever heard the expression, ‘don’t ever bet against a Saephyn?’”

Raev shakes his head while I giggle, because even I’ve heard this. Helps that I was raised in Darchon—even while in Amantes.

Ver automatically tunes into the conversation. “Never make a deal with a Saephyn, because they always win.”

“Because they cheat,” Pyro grumbles, staring at his oldest friend.

“Because they control blood,” Val corrects, staring up at his husband with an evil grin. “And imagine how hard it is to focus riding a dragon when your cock is hard.”

“That’s—” Vex starts but shakes their head. “You don’t make a deal with a Saephyn because we’re old and always win because we do cheat.”

“Oh,” Val accepts, tapping his chin. “I liked my version better.”

“I’m sure you did,” Pyro says, his face sour. “Now get your ass back to our room before I punish you.”

Before he can continue this I put my fingers in my ears. “Lalalalala,” I chant, hoping they disappear.

You’re next, Vex hums into our bond.

“For what?” I gasp, out loud.

“For fun,” they respond out loud and looking at our two other mates, they seem to be in on the decision.

“Tonight, after the bonfire,” Raev adds.

“Tonight,” Ver agrees.

So, guess we’re all on board for fun tonight.