Chapter Six
A zila stopped at the tray outside the door and handed Heyval a coffee. “His energy is still settling in, but hey, at least there wasn’t a wet spot.”
Heyval nearly spit out the coffee, but she needed it too much. “That was unexpected.”
“He was frantic when you left, and he had no way of finding you. I am pretty sure that he muttered he wasn’t going to let you leave like that again. If you do go, he can track you.”
“Ah. I thought it was something like that. I feel heavier.”
“You will acclimate. It will take you a day or two, but you will be fine.” Azila smiled as they walked. “Your friend and her daughter are here.”
“Bailey? Why?”
“Well, King Amori realizes he has inconvenienced her by diverting you, so he is going to ask her what she wants in return for your services.”
“She’s going to go out of her mind having dinner at the palace.”
“Oh, yeah. She and her daughter were sitting nervously when I left them. Alora’s children were trying to engage her in conversation. The daughter, I mean. She looked a little shocked.”
“Mira is at that fun age between girl and woman. With Bailey next to her, she is probably more girl right now.”
“The problem lies within Alora and Bastien’s sons. They are glorious.” Azila chuckled.
“Ah. Well, we had better head toward the gathering. We don’t want her to lose control.”
Azila took the empty coffee cup and handed it to a passing server, who grinned and headed toward the kitchen. Azila was wearing a subdued dress that made Heyval feel sparkling and pretty in comparison.
“So, Azila, without the bands, I thought you could regain your normal appearance.”
“Oh, I can. It is a little flashy, and the next few days are about you, so I can wait. It would be better if I hold off until my father arrives. The results on unmated males can be unpredictable.”
“But this form doesn’t?”
“I appear to be near to everyone’s mother. It is an interesting place to be.”
“Do you have other forms?”
“Several.”
“Are you really in your twenties?”
“Add a century. Dragons mature very slowly.” Azila chuckled. “I am half elf, if that gives you an idea of my maturation rate.”
“Oh, so at seventy-five, you would have just been an adult.”
“Add forty years for the dragon blood, and yes, I was a new adult when I fell here, with the knowledge of a century and more. Mother is big on studying.”
“Where are you from?”
“Portals don’t need to stay on the same plane. My father had made the arrangement for me to marry, so I came here with the expectation of marriage, and my betrothed was an asshole.”
“What did he do?”
“Well, my family sent me with a maid, and she screwed him while telling him that I was covered in scales, bloated, and hideous. He swore to her that he would never love me, and that rang with magic, so I left. They either have three or four kids by now, or she died having the first. I never looked into it.”
Heyval said, “That is a little cold.”
“Well, they stole my future, so I don’t owe them pity.” She smiled and sighed. “Here we are. I am sure that my father will have something to say to them when he arrives. If he brings my mother, blood might flow.”
“What is your mother?”
“A very angry elf. My father has spent the last few centuries calming her down enough to have one child. I think she flipped her shit when I left.” Azila opened the doors to the dining room, and the men got to their feet as Heyval walked in.
Heyval turned to speak to Azila, but the doors were already closing.
Heyval looked at the people assembled, and she couldn’t help but stare. “Wow, this is a lot. Mira, stop edging toward that unicorn.”
Mira paused and blushed.
The male in question grinned. Their dark elf blood didn’t dilute the sex appeal. Alora had three sons and four daughters. The elder two daughters had already started their families, and the children were sitting with them. It was quite the large gathering.
Amori got to his feet and walked toward her. He looked her over. “Azila outdid herself. Even your hair is perfect.”
Heyval smiled and leaned up as he came down for a kiss. She greeted him and then pulled his head down so she could whisper, “And if you ever insert anything into me without my cooperation, I am going to shave your tails and pierce your ears.”
He chuckled. “I won’t. Promise. I am settling into you nicely.”
She sighed and leaned back. “You sound way too happy about that.”
He kissed her forehead. “I am.”
Bailey was looking around with wide eyes and was relieved when Heyval waved. “Hey, Bailey. Are you keeping calm?”
“Yeah. This is a bit much.”
“Yeah, but the food is good, and someone else does the dishes.”
Amori chuckled and walked her to her seat. He held the chair out for her and then settled next to her. It was the cue to start dinner.
Bailey was only a few people down and said, “I am relieved to see you. I was worried that your destiny would be scrapped due to you needing to get laid.”
Heyval wrinkled her nose and finished her tiny appetizer. “Thanks for just saying the quiet part out loud, Bailey.”
Mira chuckled. “Mom told me about it.”
Amori took a sip of wine, “I hear you and your friends have tried to sneak into the club. If I have to increase the age to twenty-one, I will make sure that everyone knows why and who spurred the change.”
Mira paled. “No need for that. I didn’t hear anything.”
The gathered folk laughed in amusement. There was a harsh chortling from the corner, and Rage and her father emerged from the shadows. There were seats for them a few down from Alora and her two.
Rage snickered as her father held out her chair, and the others stared into the shadows that made up his body. “Did we miss dinner?”
Appetizers were set in front of them, and wine was poured.
Heyval looked out at the smiling faces around her. The affection of one sort or another in every expression. She smiled. “Queen Alora, is this all of your children?”
Ulric smiled. “We had been with her for thirty years. You think five is all she managed?”
Alora sighed. “My eldest are here. The other seven are at home.”
Bastien chuckled. “She wasn’t expecting the life-extending powers of her link to Ulric to extend to her reproductive capabilities.”
Alora snorted. “That was a bit of a surprise. I keep praying for menopause or at least for the guys to get a headache, but it never happens. Ulric got Bastien a massage table for our second anniversary, so I don’t get them either. Doomed to a huge family.”
Bastien and Ulric each leaned over and kissed her.
Heyval smiled. The five siblings were grinning. They saw the affection all the time. Mira was staring in a sort of bemused horror.
Bailey covered Mira’s eyes. “Sorry. I was a single parent. She’s a little surprised.”
Mira pulled the hand down. “Thanks for embarrassing me, Mom.”
Heyval smiled. “Well, since she isn’t getting sex, she needed a hobby. Embarrassing a teen is right up her alley.”
The male unicorns grinned. One said, “Don’t worry, it can be a little much, even if you are used to it. So, what was your father?”
Mira coughed as she sipped her juice. “I don’t actually know.”
Bailey’s blush was hot. “There wasn’t a lot of conversation, but based on her scans, he was some kind of sea creature.”
Mira blinked. “You never said.”
“They are slow-developing characteristics. I still have a few years.”
Mira asked, “So, he was like a merman?”
Bailey winced and sipped her glass of wine. “More tentacles.”
Heyval’s eyes widened. “Met him at the beach?”
“Yeah. He said he was in town for a few days, and he wasn’t wrong. He came and went. My parents were not impressed.”
Amori blinked. “Wait. Eighteen years ago?”
Bailey nodded. “Yeah, I knew he wasn’t coming back.”
Amori cocked his head. “Do you want him to?”
Heyval sat as the next course was placed in front of her. She started eating her soup while Bailey stared. “You know who he was, King Amori?”
He nodded. “There aren’t many of his kind, and there was only one nearly two decades ago. The octopus manifestation of merfolk isn’t common.”
Bailey bit her lip. “Does he have a lot of kids?”
“None.” Amori checked his phone and flipped it face down on the table.
Mira said, “I would like to know who he is. Just in case I need to know for medical purposes.”
Amori nodded. “I have sent him a message. Let’s see if he is finished dealing with a clam uprising.”
Heyval muttered, “There can be a clam uprising?”
Amori smiled. “It takes a while.”
The conversation changed and began to ebb and flow around neutral topics. Heyval noticed that Bailey and Mira had a close eye on the phone that Amori kept next to him.
When the phone buzzed, Amori excused himself and went to take the call outside.
Bailey leaned forward and hissed, “Is he seriously in touch with Ma-wi-hem?”
Heyval was going to answer, but Rage’s father started laughing. His voice resonated as he asked, “That is what he told you?”
Bailey blushed. “Yes. What does it mean?”
“He who looks. Tourist.”
She snorted. “Yeah, that sounds right. He did a lot of that.”
Mira was appalled, “Mom!”
Heyval smiled. “We all get here the same way, Mira. If you are lucky, it was fun getting started. Based on your mother’s grin, it was.”
“Weird, but a lot of fun. I got the ink out in about three months. My sheets never recovered.”
Bastien caught on first and howled with laughter.
They were all still laughing, and Mira was mortified. One of Alora’s sons touched her cheek, and the effect on Mira was electrifying. She blushed, blinked, and her hands clenched in her lap.
Alora manifested a spray bottle and hosed her son in the face. “Nope. Not until she’s legal.”
He wiped the water off, and the shining mark on his head gleamed for a moment. “You know, Grandpa would be all for it.”
Bastien snorted. “Grandpa is a horny dark elf who still sculpts your grandma naked at every opportunity. His opinion is skewed.”