Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
P oe stared out the window of the house toward the dragon side of the yard, wondering what he would see today.
Yesterday, he had seen dragons and children going about work and play, animals, including a bear, moving back and forth, and then there had been a big alpha dragon.
A giant one with silver-and-gold scales shining like armor in the sun. One who had turned into a tall, broad-shouldered man striding about, his mass of silver-and-gold hair braided down his back.
Goddess, he was something to see.
“Can we go down?” Tanya asked. “I want to go down and see the kids. I want to go play.”
He stared down at her. A month of good food and care and rest had done wonders for her, and she almost glowed. “Well, I mean, once we go out, we can’t come back in here. And we can’t go back out to the other world, you know that, right?”
“There are vampires out there in the other world. There are dragons here. I can just be me, and they’re wee like me. They’re kids. I want to go play. Please, I want to go be with the other kids.”
He nodded, unable to deny her. “Okay.”
His hoard was down in the basement. So were the things that had been Tanya’s. They had enough for both of them, easily—furniture, beds, books, things to trade. Everything.
He just had to shit or get off the pot, and he was this little girl’s guardian. Now she needed to go out and be with people of her own. “Get a bag together. I’m going to talk to Uncle Cosmo and Hawk. Let’s see how this works, about moving our things and where we can go, all right? But get a duffel together of all your things that you want to take for today. And we’ll go now.”
She beamed at him. “I love you. Thank you. I just want to go be a kid.”
“And that’s what we’re going to do. I’ve got your back, little girl, don’t you worry. I’ll take care of you and get you what you need.”
“Me too, Poe. I promise. I will always have your back too.”
“That’s what’s important. Now go on, get some stuff together. I need to go talk to Cosmo.”
She ran off, and Poe took a deep breath. Okay. It was time for him to go across the veil. Wow.
He headed in to see Cosmo, who sat in the family room with a laptop. Cullen was off somewhere upstairs, and Corbin was in the garden, he thought. Which one, he wasn’t sure.
Cosmo glanced up, his eyes lighting up. “Poe! You look like a man who has made a decision.”
“I am.” He nodded, fighting not to cross his arms in a defensive posture. “I think we need to go on to the dragonlands.”
“Ah?”
Oh, the leading noise, that ah. He nodded. “Tanya is ready to go be a kid.”
“I’m sure she is. That’s a lot to see them all playing and not go out there and run around with them.” Cosmo stopped and gave him a bit of a curious look. “You do know that you have a couple of choices here, though, right?”
He shook his head, confused. “What kind of choices?”
“Well, you don’t have to go with her. I guarantee you someone’s going to fold her into their family, and?—”
“No.” That wasn’t an option. Poe wasn’t going to do that. He was not going to desert that little girl under any circumstance. He was her family now.
“No, huh?”
“No.”
Was he scared? Of course he was. This was a universe unlike anything he knew. He didn’t even begin to know how to survive in a world built completely by his kind. He was used to living in hiding, to covering his magic like a huge diamond in a hoard, and out there, the dragons flew free, unafraid. Did they even have money? Did they have shops? Did they have anything that he could do for a living? Was he supposed to? What was he supposed to be over there?
He was terrified, but little Tanya had been brave when he asked her to, and so now he would be brave because she asked him to.
Cosmo looked so satisfied, almost smug. “Well then, I’ll go out with you because I can come back and forth. We’ll get you introduced, and then we’ll work on housing.”
“All right. Do I…rent a place?”
“You absolutely can rent. I know that there’s an inn, so to speak, down in the village. But I imagine that we’ll just arrange to have a home built for you? I’ve spoken to Puck, and they’re going to let you stay with them until you’ve found a home. There’s plenty of room. It is, you know, busy, but it’s the home closest to the village so that you get used to everything. You can stay as long as you need to, and then, once you have the house, then we’ll move your hoard out to it.”
His head was swimming with questions, but he started with, “You’re sure this Puck won’t mind?”
“No, I’m sure he doesn’t mind. He’ll welcome the extra hand, I bet. There’s three brothers. Their mates. Seven children now? Gavin lives there, and Gavin is our boss, the one who sent us out to go find you.”
Seven children? Wow. “Oh, so I owe him my life.”
“No.” Cosmo took one of Poe’s hands. “What you owe us is that you go and live. I know it’s scary, but it is an adventure. Just think of all the interesting things you’re going to get to learn. And I can come and go at will to check in on you. Everyone’s excited to meet you. And they’re absolutely crazy to meet Tanya. Arielle and Nevvy are over the moon. They’re already talking about having sleepovers.”
So many names. He wasn’t sure who any of those folks were, so he just nodded. He couldn’t quite smile, his nerves eating at him.
“Hey.” Cosmo reached out to take his hand. “It will be good. Not just okay. Good. This is a great place you’re going, and while there are lots of native-born dragons in the village, the population up here on the mountain all grew up in the human world.”
“They did?”
“Yeah.” Cosmo chuckled. “They will help you navigate. They’re all still learning.”
Poe chewed his lip. “How do you know so much?”
“My dad was born in Lunastra.”
“Right, and now he lives in the land of summer with your mom.” Cosmo and his brothers weren’t totally dragon, which he hadn’t even known was a thing. They were all half fae apparently. That was why they could come and go as they pleased and still manage to stay in the human world. He didn’t really know the actual science of it, but it was cool.
“Are you excited at all?”
Poe pondered that. Was he? He thought so, at least a little bit. He wanted to go and see and explore. The big dragon he’d caught sight of made him long to go and introduce himself, just say hi. It was weird but cool, and he’d take it.
“I think I am. It’s only a little part of what I’m feeling, but I am.” He smiled and Cosmo squeezed his hand. “I’m most excited for Tanya. And I know that that seems weird because?—”
“No.” Cosmo shook his head. “No. You’re her dad now. I don’t think that’s weird at all. I think it’s amazing. You could be closed off and angry and distant and—at least with us, with her, you’re not.”
That’s right, he wasn’t. He didn’t regret Tanya at all. He hated that she had to lose people, had to suffer for him to meet her, but he would never regret meeting her and being her family.
“I’m ready, Papa. Can we go now?” Tanya had two great big sacks full of things.
“Oh, my goodness.” He hadn’t expected her to pack so quickly. He hadn’t even started.
“It’s my pillow and my toys that you got me. And my clothes. I’m ready. Come on.”
“Uh. I haven’t—I should have gone up and grabbed my things…” He couldn’t show his panic.
“I’ll have Cullen bring them. If you’re ready to do this now, just rip the bandage off.”
He looked at Tanya’s excited face and let that motivate him. “Well then, what are we waiting for?”
It was obviously time to turn his back on everything he’d ever known and go learn something else. “Lead the way, Cosmo.”