Chapter 10
There was so much going on inside Rhi that she wasn’t sure which way was up. At least, she had Con by her side. The thought of going through any of this alone made her nauseous. She would’ve done it, because when you had to do something, you had to do it. But that didn’t mean she would’ve liked it.
“What?” Con asked when his black eyes swung to her.
She smiled and walked to him, wrapping her arms around him. “I love you.”
“I love you,” he said before giving her a soft kiss. “Now, what’s wrong?”
She couldn’t hold back her laugh. “You know me so well.”
“Stop stalling and spit it out,” he said with a wink.
“I have a bad feeling.”
His brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
“Our children, the dragons, the humans, this realm, the babies appearing… Take your pick, my love, but something isn’t right.”
Con blew out a breath and ran his hands up and down her upper arms. “You’re so used to having something or someone to fight that you doona know what it is to have peace. Besides, if something were going on, Varek would’ve known by now.”
“Need I remind you that he spent most of his time on this realm in a prison? Without magic,” she stated.
Con paused and issued a nod. “Fair point. But after—”
“It’s only been a few days. What do you think Varek could’ve seen? Not much. Also, he’s otherwise occupied with his new mate. Case in point, where are they now?”
“Is it too much to ask for things to go right?” Con asked.
Rhi gazed up at him, understanding his worry and dismay. “I want things to be simple and easy, but that isn’t our world. It never will be because of the power and magic the Dragon Kings have.”
“You are no’ the only one feeling as if something is off,” he admitted.
She flattened her lips and gave him a pointed look. “You were just going to keep that to yourself?”
“I was expecting things that wouldna be there. Force of habit kind of thing.”
“What are you always telling me?”
“To trust your instincts.”
“Exactly. What were you doing?” she pushed, forcing him to admit the truth.
His nostrils flared as he glanced away in irritation. “I get your point.”
“Say it.”
His black eyes looked into hers. “I was ignoring my gut.”
“And we can’t do that.”
“Nay, love, we can no’,” he said with a grin. “Now, tell me what you’ve seen.”
She looked around the grove, the trees circling them, and the mountains beyond. “The absence of our son raises a huge concern. If Eurwen opened the door against his wishes—”
“You’re worried there will be repercussions,” Con finished.
Rhi nodded. “To start, yes. Eurwen wouldn’t have opened the doorway unless she wanted to, but her attitude today tells me that she’s unsure if she made the right decision. We need to tread carefully. After all, this is their realm.”
“I’m acutely aware of that. Dragons have been circling us all day, but none have approached. The few I’ve tried to converse with willna engage. Vaughn had a brief conversation with some Teals, and it wasna friendly.”
Rhi took Con’s hand and led him to the fire as they sat on the cut stumps facing each other. “This realm may look similar to ours, but it isn’t the same.”
“The magic isna, either. It isna even close. It feels more like…” He paused as if searching for the right word.
“Erith?” Rhi offered. “She did create it.”
Con nodded. “Exactly. That’s why none of the dragons have challenged our children. Why there are no’ any Kings or Queens.”
“Will that change with our arrival? Has it changed with Varek being here? Was there a bigger reason for our children not wanting us here, other than their anger at something neither of us had control over?”
Shock fell over Con’s face. “Bloody hell. Do you think?”
“I’m not ruling anything out. I understand that the twins are upset that we weren’t in their lives, but why take it out on us? Neither of us knew of their existence until recently.”
“Why no’ be angry at Erith for putting all of us in this situation?” Con asked.
Rhi shook her head as she glanced at the fire. “I don’t want to ask that. But, yes. Everything looks perfect and beautiful, but you and I know from experience that things rarely are as they seem.”
“Surely, Eurwen would’ve told us.”
“What if she doesn’t know? What if neither of our children knows?”
Con released her hand and quickly stood as he paced. Rhi watched the unease and suspicion begin filling her mate. It was rare for Con to let any kind of emotion show if anyone but she was around, but he didn’t seem to care right now.
“I might be reaching,” she said with a shrug. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I am seeing things that aren’t there.”
He shook his head and halted in looking at her.
“My thoughts didna go down that road, but that isna to say you’re wrong.
I’ve been troubled since Jeyra and Varek told us about the infants.
There doesna seem to be a rhyme or reason for their arrival, nor why some live a regular life span of a mortal, and others, like Jeyra, live several hundred years. ”
“We need to get Jeyra to Dreagan so Sophie can look her over. Maybe do some bloodwork. I don’t sense any magic within her, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
“I doona sense magic, either, but it could be a new kind that dragons can no’ detect.”
Rhi saw his brow furrow deeper. “There’s something else.”
“All these millennia, none of the Kings has been able to have children.”
“We did,” Rhi said with a smile.
He didn’t return it. “Would you have carried our children to term?”
“Yes.”
“You can no’ know that for certain, love.”
Rhi hated that she was getting defensive. “I’m not the first Fae to get pregnant with a Dragon King’s bairn. Need I remind you of Melisse.”
“Between her and now, there have been none. Yes, Eurwen and Brandr are alive. Who is to say that if we had all made different decisions back then that you wouldna have lost the bairns?”
“Or had them,” she interjected.
A muscle ticked in Con’s jaw. “Back on Earth, Claire and V are going insane every day waiting to see what will happen with the babe she carries.”
An idea suddenly struck Rhi. “Bring Claire here.”
“What?” Con asked, visibly taken aback.
“The dragons here have no problem having children.”
“Claire isna a dragon. And the dragons didna have problems on Earth, either.”
Rhi shot him a dark look. “I know Claire isn’t a dragon, but she’s carrying the child of one. Add in the fact that Usaeil used magic to ensure that Claire would get pregnant, and I think she should come here. She’s overdue anyway.”
“Why here?” Con pressed.
“Because there might be something on our realm that prevents humans from having a child with a dragon,” Rhi said, just shy of shouting.
Con searched her face for several minutes before his face paled. “Shite.”
“There was always a fifty-fifty chance the bairn wouldn’t survive,” Rhi continued. “Claire is human, and I’m not sure what going through a Fae doorway will do to her or the babe. Everything might go as planned on Earth, allowing their child to survive.”
“Or it might be stillborn like all the others,” Con replied.
Rhi shrugged. “I say we leave it to V and Claire to make the decision.”
“That’s bringing another King and his mate to Zora. If you think things are precarious now, I can no’ imagine they’ll get better.”
“We’ll send Varek and Jeyra to Dreagan like we spoke about. Claire and V will come in their place.”
Con walked to her and pulled her into his arms. “We’ll tell Eurwen in the morn. Hopefully, she’ll agree.”
“Or we could go now.”
“That might no’ be a good idea.”
She leaned back to look up at him. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Vaughn leaving and how neither he nor Eurwen could take their eyes off each other, does it?”
“Nothing gets past you,” Con said with a grin.
Rhi playfully punched him in the arm. “You know I hate being left out of things.”
“Love, I was going to tell you everything.”
“Next month?” she asked with a roll of her eyes as she tried to turn away.
Con chuckled and dragged her back to him. “Come here,” he said in a husky voice before his mouth descended on hers.
Rhi was powerless to resist him. She wrapped her arms around him and sank into the kiss. “I’ll never get tired of your kisses,” she said when it ended.
“You better no’,” he said as he rubbed his nose against hers.
She smiled, her heart filled with so much joy. “I know this day didn’t turn out like either of us wanted, but we got to see one of our children. We’re in their realm, getting a glimpse of how they live. It’s enough. For now.”
“You’re a special woman, my love.”
“I know,” she teased. The smile dropped as she looked into Con’s eyes. “We’re going to need to take it slow with the twins. And by slow, I mean at their pace. It goes against everything I want to do, but I think it’s the only way.”
Con pulled her against him and held her tightly. “I agree. We hoped for the best, but we didna get the worst. It was somewhere in between. I think we could call that a win.”
“Yes, we can,” she said, blinking back tears. Then it became too much, and she couldn’t stop her shoulders from shaking as she bawled.
Con kissed the top of her head. “It’ll be fine, love. I promise.”
“I never got to hold them. Feed them,” Rhi said through her sobs. “I never got to see their first steps or hear their first words. We missed everything.”
“But they’re alive. You’re alive,” Con said. “I’d much rather have all of you.”
She buried her face in his shirt and sniffed. He was right, as usual. Erith could’ve let the twins die that day. Instead, she’d saved the bairns as well as Rhi. Still, Rhi couldn’t simply ignore all the things she wished she would’ve gotten to experience as a mother.
“Who’s to say we can no’ have more children?” Con whispered in her ear.
Rhi slowly lifted her head. “What?”
A slow smile pulled at Con’s lips. “I want to experience all those things as a father, too.”
“I–I don’t know why I didn’t consider that before.”
He tucked a long, black strand of hair behind her ear. “We both deserve to know what it is to be parents.”
“What if—?”
He placed a hand over her mouth to silence her. “There are always things to consider. I’m no’ saying we should start now. I’m telling you that I’m open to whatever you want.”
“It’s hard to answer that because I have what I’ve always wanted—you.”
“You never lost me. I know it seemed that way, but I was always yours.”
Rhi wiped at the tear streaks on her face. “We both made so many mistakes.”
“The past is the past. It doesna do either of us any good to keep looking back. You forgave me.”
“And you forgave me.”
“Hopefully, our children will forgive us eventually, as well. Until then, we’ll keep showing them that we willna give up.”
Rhi smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. “How long do you think we’ll be allowed to stay here?”
“No’ long.”
She saw his gaze lift to the skies. “Dragons?”
“Golds.”
“Do you want to fly with them?”
“With every fiber of my being.”
She stepped out of his arms. “Then go.”
“They willna speak to me,” he said with a sad smile. “Flying with them is out of the question. It’s enough that I’m allowed to see them.”
Rhi moved to stand beside him, their arms locked as she looked up and searched the dark sky for the dragons. They must have been high up because she couldn’t see them. “There’s another issue we need to address.”
“The Silvers in Dreagan,” Con said as if reading her mind. He glanced down at her and winked. “They belong here with the others. I’m going to broach the topic with Eurwen in the morning. Once I have her approval, I’ll go to Ulrik.”
“Surely, Ulrik will say yes.”
Con shrugged. “What if no other Kings are allowed through the doorway? What if none get to see the dragons? The Silvers are our link to the past. Ulrik might have a hard time letting go.”
“Whether we get to return to Zora or not, releasing the Silvers will be difficult. It’s the right thing, though. Dreagan was meant to be a place of happiness and hope, not a prison. For anyone.”