Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
“ D o I look all right?” All the clothes Cade had bought Poe were so soft, so fine. They were looser than he was used to but silky against his skin. There were quite a few to choose from now, and in so many colors. His favorite outfit was a rich deep purple tunic with a lavender pair of trousers. He’d never dared to really wear this color before. It hadn’t been a thing when he was young. Purple had been for the ruling class back in the day, and expensive.
And purple didn’t come in leather as a rule anyway.
“Are you nervous?” Andy came in, hairbrush in his hand. “I thought I’d do your hair for you.”
“Oh, that’s sweet. Thank you. Why would I be nervous? I’m only meeting my new mate’s dragon parents for the first time ever, which is just creepy as hell.” Okay, that wasn’t very nice, was it? “I bet they’re fine. I mean, they made Cade, didn’t they? I don’t know; I feel like Cade’s nervous too, maybe even more than me. I don’t know anything about them except that they’re dragons. So wild.”
“So cool though.” The soft brush started moving through his hair, smoothing it, Andy careful with the tangles.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, yes, of course it’s going to be what it is.” And he needed to adjust his attitude. “We’re going to stop and see the place where Cade’s building his house on our way down to the village. That should be really fun. He’s very excited.”
Andy began to braid his hair. “What about you? Are you very excited?”
“I think so. There’s so much…so much change in just like a month. And I… Some of it’s amazing, some of it’s just change, but all change is hard. And usually, I have decades to deal with anything like that. Like utter decades.”
“Yeah. For us, it was a little bit different because we’ve been so scared.” Andy squeezed his arm. “The moms disappeared, you know? And then everything kept getting smaller and weirder and pushing us farther and farther underground. I was terrified that at some point we were going to lose one of the babies or Austin or Dustin were going to end up on one side, and then we were going to end up on the other. I hated every second of that part.” Andy took a deep, shaky breath. “But then they brought us here. And here has been really good. It’s different, absolutely. But interesting and good, and we are really lucky because, you know, Cosmo and Cullen and Corbin, they can still get Amazon deliveries, so if we’re craving Doritos, it’s a thing.”
“True that, because, you know, every so often I just have to have olives. I do love olives.”
“Exactly. And I know that you came here under the hardest of circumstances. You have a child now and a mate and all of this stuff, but you need to be open to weirdness.”
Poe laughed. “How crazy is it that we think dragons living with dragons and not humans is weird?”
“Right?” Andy chuckled. “Honestly, the best part is we got our moms back. And we’re together. And Puck is so happy. He got the worst of it, you know? It was so sad. The moms didn’t get to see his first baby born. He was stuck underground…”
“Oh, wow.” He’d heard some of the stories, but that sounded so stressful.
“Yeah. And he’s just deliriously happy here, you know? He has his mate and kids, and the rest of the Rocky Mountain clutch get him. Like, really get him.”
“Who wouldn’t love Puck? The man is amazing; you all are. You’ve been incredibly kind to just fold us in and let us stay. I know you didn’t ask for us to come.”
“Nonsense. That’s…that’s part of… I think that’s part of our service for being here. For being allowed to be here, if you know what I mean. We have good lives. We want the other dragons to have good lives, and we want to help them transition from the human world to this so that they can thrive, so you can thrive, especially for Tanya.”
“I hear that.” He swung his hair back and forth, grinning as the glass beads that Andy had threaded into his braids clacked. “How do I look? Beautiful?”
“Good enough to eat, and I don’t want you to worry about coming back up the mountain tonight, if you don’t want to. We’re happy to babysit overnight.”
How sweet was that?
“Thanks. I might take you up on that. I’ll have to…see what happens.” See if Cade was ready to knot him or not. Goddess, that made his belly shiver. “So, question.”
Andy looked at him with a knowing grin. “Answer.”
“Be honest; do you miss your phone?”
There wasn’t a second’s hesitation. “Are you kidding? Desperately.” Andy rolled his eyes. “I’m not a Luddite. I loved my phone and technology and texting and gaming and such. I desperately miss it.”
“Yeah, I thought so. Phones here are a totally different bird. Hardy har har.”
Every home here had this strange, centralized crystal. It wasn’t huge, it wasn’t intrusive, but it was there. And if you needed to speak to someone in one of the other houses, you touched it and thought about who you wanted to speak to. If someone wanted to answer, they did, and that was that.
He guessed it was good because the schools all had them, even in the center of the village, so he had been told. There was a big communicator crystal that was public. It was sort of like the earth was talking for them, but he didn’t have to put quarters in.
“Honestly, communicating is so different here.” Andy shrugged, kind of rolled his eyes a little bit again. “But we can fly anywhere. It takes us no time to go somewhere, or to have someone fly up and tell us something, to flyover or drop a letter. The longer you’re here, the easier it is to just mentally talk, you know, like you and Cade do.”
“Yeah? Not just with family?”
“Uh-huh. Before I could only do it with my brothers, and then I could do it with my brothers and my mate, and then I could do it with those of us who are at the house. Now I can do it with all of my clan, without thinking. I can ask questions that we can answer; it’s not a problem, but it took a while.”
“I can’t even hear Tanya really,” Poe said.
“I think you have to relax into that. You know, we’re so used to having things one way. And now we’ve got different ways.” Andy’s eyes glowed, the green just shining out of the gray. “Jules thinks that the crystal—they call it daearffn—is really just a way to focus your intent. I vote that there are gnomes that are relaying messages. But, anyway, do I miss my phone? Goddess, yes. You know what I miss worst? Candy Crush. I really miss Candy Crush. You know that Cosmo is playing when he’s at his house; you know he is. Little turd.”
“He so is. Cullen doesn’t seem the gaming type.”
“No. Corbin either, really. But my brothers and I used to have marathon sessions.” Andy chuckled. “Okay. We can reminisce about World of Warcraft later. You’re ready.”
“Thanks, Andy.” He gave Andy an impulsive hug. “I appreciate the help. And the moral support.”
“You’re very welcome.” Andy walked him out to the front room, and he waited there for Cadeyrn, who showed up exactly on time.
Cade beamed when he saw Poe. “Oh, my mate. I knew you would look amazing in that color.”
“Thank you.” His cheeks heated. “Thank you.” Cade made him feel amazing, as well. So sweet. And Poe had been an Old West fellow, not a blushing omega dragon. Cade still had the ability to make him silly over things like this.
“Are you ready to go to see the house site?” Cade asked.
“I am. I’m excited.” He let the happy flutters in his belly settle in. He really was excited, even if he was totally nervous as well.
“Papa! Papa, are you going to leave without saying goodbye?”
Cade smiled at Tanya. “We would never.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, you look so pretty, Papa. I like purple!” Tanya twirled. “I’m going to spend the night with Arielle and Nevvy. We’re going to play games and have popcorn.”
Cade’s head tilted. “Popping corn?”
“Uh-huh. You put the seeds in the pot, you put the pot on the fire, and then it explodes and becomes popcorn.”
“Oh.” Cade grinned at her, smiled. “We call that cloud corn.”
“Cloud corn? I like that. I will see you in the morning, Papa. I will be at Arielle’s house, all right?”
“That’s a perfect idea. Make sure you tell Uncle Andy, though, because he’s expecting you to be at his house.”
He thought about Andy for a second. Andy, can you hear me?
There was a moment of nothingness, and then a pop in his brain that was followed by a pleased surprise. Yes! Dude, you did it.
He had. He had talked to someone not his mate. Tanya’s going to spend the night with Arielle and Nevvy. I didn’t want you to worry.
Excellent. Excellent. I’ll get her a bag ready. Don’t worry about anything. Where is she?
Down here with us. Maybe you could come help her pack a bag.
Of course. Two seconds.
Thank goodness. It was surprisingly difficult to leave her behind, even for a night. “Uncle Andy’s going to come down and help you pack for your sleepover.”
“Okay, Papa.” She didn’t seem worried in the least. “Have a good date.”
They headed outside, and Poe was shocked to see a fine, ornate carriage being drawn by two creatures that reminded him of horses, but they had eight legs, and instead of manes, they had feathers, but no wings. “What are these?” And how did he find one?
The cowboy in him was desperate to know.
“Ysdri. Do you have them where you are?”
“Where I came from? Umm, no. We have horses that look kind of like this, and you ride them, and they draw carriages. Fabulous animals. These guys look like they should have wings.”
“Some do, some don’t. There are different types. They are very smart, and unlike the bocapal, they only work if they wish to. These are not farm beasts. These are fine companions.”
“Can I—Can I go meet them? Is that a thing?” Poe knew about horses, and horses liked to be met and respected, but they also tended to be too smart for their own damn good. They only worked, really, if they wanted to. In his experience, they wanted to have jobs.
“Of course. The blue one is Ro. And the black one is Poki.”
“Ah, hello, Ro and Poki.” He eased close, not sure what kind of welcome he might get. Horses at home could bare teeth and kick.
Ro, the blue ysdri, bowed its head, putting out two forelegs. So Poe started there, scratching its rough coat. “Oh, it’s just like a horse’s coat. Are they always this rough, or is that seasonal?”
“It’s always that texture, no matter the brushing. Which she loves. Poki is less enamored of the brush.”
“What does he like?” Poe eyed the black male animal.
“Ear scratching. He will stand for that for hours.” Cade’s amusement made Poe smile.
Cade started stroking the critter’s ears and, sure enough, that big head just bowed, ears pushed into Cade’s hands.
Oh, that was nice. “I like it. Do you ever ride them or do they only pull? Did you say?”
“Sometimes the children ride them. We’re heavy, though, for them to carry for very long. There are larger animals that are related. They have only four legs, but they are three times the size—massive beasts. They’re striped, and apparently, they run like the wind itself. Faster than we can fly, even. It’s said that they can cross an entire desert in only minutes.”
“What are they called?” Oh, Poe wanted to see that. Suddenly, this place was much less scary and way more wonderful. He had no idea that there would be different kinds of horses.
“You look so happy.”
He nodded, offering Cade a warm smile. “This is what I did. I raised horses. I know my hoard is glass, but I raised horses. That’s my joy.”
“I will introduce you to the stable master. He would love to tell you stories. He is a black dragon, and where he grew up? The land spits fire.”
“Like a volcano?” Okay, that was incredible. He couldn’t wait to hear. However… “I’d love that, but not today. Today is meeting parents and riding in this carriage and seeing our land. But Cade, I would love that.”
Cade’s grin widened, and he saw the tension in his mate’s body ease a bit. That was better. “And we will do that. Come, let’s ride.”
Cade helped him get into the carriage, which was lovely, with cushioned seats and blankets stowed away, he assumed, for when it got cold.
“Do you like the autumn? I know that you have seasons here like we do.” Even if they were opposite.
“Autumn is my favorite. Harvest festivals. Masquerade night. Bonfires. It gives me much joy, or it did when I was a child. I believe it will again.”
They began to move, the ride as smooth as silk.
“Wow. This is amazing.” Poe looked around, his whole body lighting up at this new experience. So wonderful. “You didn’t tell me what the big striped animals were called.”
“Eaysdri.”
“So definitely related.” At least if the rules of language took hold. How fascinating this all was.
And how good for Tanya, to grow up here, safe, free.
“Yes. I would say so. At least as far as the academics were concerned way back when, hmm?” Cade laughed.
Right? How many times had the human world changed its mind on animals and their bloodlines?
He leaned into Cade’s side, snuggling in, deeply satisfied with life.
The ride down took longer than flying, of course, but there was so much to see, and soon enough, Cade pulled up at a spot where a house seemed to be magically springing up. Made of stone and timber, it was rising from the ground with little help, he thought, though some sawn timbers sat stacked on the ground.
Poe glanced about at the clearing the house sat in. Shielded from bad weather on one side from the cliff, it looked down over the village. The stream that spouted from up near Cosmo’s house ran down not too far away, and a ring of boulders cut off the drop to the village. The newish road the Rocky Mountain clutch had put in wound along nearby, though, the switchback closest to them looking up at those houses as well.
There was room for a garden, a yard for Tanya, and an outdoor space like the clutch above them had.
He turned to Cadeyrn, finding his mate looking nervous.
“This is it, then?” Poe asked. “This is our house?”
“This is our house.” Cade beamed at him, opening his arms, and Poe ran into them, kissing Cade’s chin.
“It’s amazing. Oh, Cade! It’s bigger than I thought.”
“Well, it is not a palace, like the clutches have above, but we will need more than a cottage to raise Tanya and a dozen little guardians.”
Poe snort-laughed. “A dozen? Damn. You don’t want much.”
The look Cade gave him almost burned him to the ground, it was so hot. “I want everything, Poe. With you.”
“Oh.” Damn. Dammit all. Why did they have to go meet Cade’s parents now? Tonight. When he needed knotting. Now.
Cade’s nose flared, his eyes glowing for a moment in the gathering gloom. “I want you.”
“I can smell you.”
Cade sighed. “You need to meet my parents.”
“It’s part of courting,” Poe agreed. “Or so you tell me.”
That had Cade chuckling. “It can be. In this case, trust me, it’s better to introduce you and not have them take it upon themselves.”
“Are they that scary?” He let Cade help him back up in the carriage.
“No. Not at all. But they are elders, and they expect a certain level of respect from me.”
“Of course.” He got that. He’d just never met parents like this before. But then, he’d never been mated before either. “I’m trying not to be super nervous.”
“They will be fascinated, love. My father is a scholar. He will ask you many questions.”
“Yeah? What is his main subject?”
“History.” Cade climbed up with him and got them moving again, giving him an arch look.
“Oh, wow. So he’s all about what, the village? The area? Lunastra?”
“Mainly our area, but he knows a lot more than I do about other lands. I am a guardian. It is my job to know this one.”
“Of course.” They fell silent as they rolled down the hill, but it wasn’t bad. It was totally companionable.
He had to admit that the village looked less magical up close.
It wasn’t anything nasty or gross; it was just this was obviously a place people lived.
It wasn’t Disney World.
It was just a village.
The cobblestones bumped under the carriage, the ysdri’s hooves making music as they walked. All the buildings were brightly painted, and there were fairy lights everywhere, slowly coming on as the sunlight faded. The village was a simple-looking place with what seemed to be two main streets and a dozen or so little paved paths leading off of them.
“This first road,” Cade explained, one hand waving. “This is where the merchants have their shops. Everything that you could need—a bookstore, a bakery, a butcher.”
“Is there a candle maker?”
Cade blinked at him and said, “Yes, there is a place to buy candles. On the street behind is the school, the meeting houses. The Archives. Things of that nature. And then everyone has their homes.”
“Where do you live now?”
“Right above the baker.” Cade pointed to a red building with a sign that was a giant bun. “There’s a small a small set of rooms that I stay in. It’s comfortable, quiet, but I’m in the middle of everything so that I can do my job. Also until now, I had no mate, so I had no reason for a separate home. And I didn’t feel the need for one.”
Things here seemed to be much more based on need and consensus than cash. He knew that the Rocky Mountain clan used the barter system down here, which was cool. He understood that on a deep level, but he wasn’t sure how anybody just bartered for land.
“You’ll have to show me. I’d love to see your place.”
“Of course, I’d love that as well. My parents live here on the end of this row of homes.”
They turned down one of the paths, and Poe had to smile. None of these places were cookie-cutter in any way. Most were like fairy-tale cottages, but then in the middle of a handful of Snow White cottages, there would be one Victorian-type house with gingerbread and a tall, sleek building that almost seemed as if it was made of glass. Fascinating.
“Let me guess, your parents live in the blue house.”
“They do. How did you know?” Cade looked so pleased.
“It’s the same color as your eyes.” They came to a stop in front of the home, which was a three-story home that seemed to be fashioned from a giant tree trunk, which had been painted blue and covered in lights. “This is where you grew up?”
“It is, and it’s where my parents live still.”
Poe took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”
The round door opened, and a very small, bright orange dragon came to the door, the smile huge. “Son! I’m so glad to see you and this must be…”
“My mate, Mother. Poe of the Rocky Mountain Clutch.”
“How fascinating. It’s so nice to meet you, Poe. My name is Rodea. I made a roast. I hope that’s all right.”
Poe smiled. “Of course it’s all right. It sounds amazing, and it smells wonderful.” He held out one hand to shake. “I’m very glad to meet you.”
Her claws wrapped around his hands, delicate and gentle. “As I am pleased to meet you.”
It was hard to believe that his huge mate could have come from this tiny little wonderful wizened woman.
“Please come in.”
“Do we need to do anything with the ysdri?” He knew one had to settle their mounts before anything else.
Cade shook his head. “Poki and Ro will stay right there. I’ve explained that there will be supper, and then we will bring you back up the mountain.”
“Oh, oh, excellent.” Poe really didn’t want to go up the mountain. He really wanted to get a good hard knotting, but that was, you know, between him and Cade.
The door opened into a brightly colored area, where there were obviously stands for coats and hats and such. Everything seemed larger. It was as if inside was built for dragons and not their human forms.
“It’s like a TARDIS,” he whispered.
“Pardon me?”
“Nothing, nothing. It just reminded me of something where I came from. You have a lovely home.” Don’t embarrass yourself in front of the parents.
You’re not going to embarrass anyone. Relax.
Right, relax.
Once they got past the foyer, the bottom floor was a huge open space with enormous cushions on the floor, stacks of books everywhere, and a massive hearth that kept everything warm. This reminded him of nests instead of sofas—like there were dozens of places to curl up in front of the fire and read or chat.
Another dragon, this one built far more like Cade, came forward, rising from the cushions closest to the hearth, which glowed with some sort of rock that burned with a kind of fire he’d never seen before.
“Ah, you are Poe, no? I am Ganderyn. Cade’s alpha father. It is good to meet you.”
“And you as well, sir.” Ganderyn looked so much like Cade. Tall. Proud. Strong. Poe had to smile.
“Ah, come on and sit with us, Poe. We have much to discuss,” Cade’s dad said.
“Cade says you’re a historian.”
“I am. And he tells us you came across the veil like the upper clutch up there did.”
“I did. I’m happy to answer any questions I can.” He took Cade’s hand and smiled at his father.
“Good. I have scads. Cadeyrn has been very quiet about the new clutch and hasn’t shared much of their lore.”
Everything is always my fault. You’ll learn this. My father is very disappointed that I did not become a scholar like he is.
That’s just parents, mate. They want you to fulfill their dreams.
Yes. And I try hard to be what they want while still being me. Cade’s eyes sparkled for him.
I want you to just be you. Poe had already learned a great deal about Cade, and there was nothing to dislike, he thought. Cade was beautiful as hell, sure, but he was also strong, proud, a little righteous, but always protective, and super generous.
Poe could so live with him the rest of his life.
“So, tell me what you miss most about your old world.” Cade’s father waved for him to sit, and his mother brought them steaming cups of some kind of tea. The cups were round, and medium tall, with a thumb print in them for holding them. They were painted with wild, whimsical colors.
My mother makes them, Cade told him.
They’re amazing. I wonder if she would trade something with me so I could take some up to the clutch.
Oh, she would give them ? —
Cade’s father cleared his throat.
“Oh! Oh, I’m sorry.” His cheeks flooded with heat. “Erm. I think I miss certain technologies the most. Some weren’t always so grand, and there was a great deal of misuse of resources there, but I miss moving pictures. Certain kinds of music. Some foods we couldn’t make here.”
“Ah.”
Poe sipped his tea, waiting.
“So what are moving pictures?”
He chuckled. “I thought you might ask. It’s a form of entertainment where a series of pictures is recorded moving at speed, which makes it like watching real life.”
Cade’s mom tilted her head. “But we have real life.”
“We do. But at times, we want to escape from ours into someone else’s. We read books for that, but where I come from, you can also watch it.”
“Hmmm.” Cade’s father stroked his chin, a thin line of smoke coming from his nose. “This is very interesting.”
“Well, come along and eat supper while you ponder it, old one,” Cade’s mom said.
They all laughed, but he glanced at Cade. Did I make a mistake?
No, my love. You are doing things just right. Cade took his hand to lead him off to dine, and he followed, smiling at all the things he was going to have to explore in this house.
It looked like he had an awful lot to learn.