Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
C ade checked his tunic and his over-robe, then brushed a hand down his braids. Poe had put new beads at the ends of some of them for him, and they clacked gently again when he walked.
He took a deep breath, then let it out.
They were going to dinner with Harden. Harden! Poe was determined to have them make up for the incident that had happened so long ago.
Tyr was just as insistent, and he would be there to lend support.
“Are you ready, love?” Poe asked, coming to stand by him. They had decided to go to the village, to the tavern this first time, instead of having Harden at the house.
Cade thought it would be easier to be civil that way.
“I suppose I am.”
“Poor, poor put-upon dragon.” Poe was teasing him.
“Stop it. Seriously, I didn’t ask to make up with him.” He hadn’t, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
“And I appreciate you doing this for me, but you’re going to do it, so quit pouting. Tanya, are you ready to go?”
Tanya came bouncing up, looking adorable in her little coat that his mother had made for her. It looked like hundreds of rainbow scales, and they all were iridescent, so they glimmered in the light. “I am. We’re going to make cookies after dinner and we’re going to play giafwr!”
Tanya had become fond of the game played with stones and bones. His father had taught her over Yule, and Tanya was fascinated.
“Oh, that sounds excellent,” Poe said, offering her a warm smile. His mate had relaxed since their meeting with his wyrmmain, had become easier in his bones, if not more comfortable. “We’ll come and pick you up after we get finished with our supper.”
“Will I be asleep?” she asked, and Cade shook his head.
“Probably not, but maybe if you are, we’ll bring you home and tuck you in.”
She bounced again, her joy a palpable thing. “All right. I’m ready to go. Papa, Kadi—Everyone put your coats on. It’s cold outside. You don’t want to freeze the babies, do you?”
Poe cracked up. “Absolutely not.”
Cade chuckled. “No. No freezing any important parts, either. Noses and toeses.”
“Frozes the noses and toeses!” Tanya cackled. “Is spring ever really coming?”
“It comes in fits and starts here, my girl.” Cade wrapped Poe in his long cloak-coat, then put his hat on him. He looked like a gnome.
So cute.
They headed down the hill to the village, singing all the way, and they dropped Tanya at his parents’ house before moving on to the tavern, where the warmth and light was a beacon in the evening gloom.
“I hope Tyr is here,” Cade grumbled. “I need the buffer.”
“You’re going to be great.”
“I am not apologizing.”
“Cade.” Poe put a hand on his frozen arm. “We’re just having dinner. Breathe. You love tavern food.”
“I do.” Cade took a deep breath. “I just feel so tense.”
“You guys were good friends, huh?”
“The best. The three of us, Harden, me, and Tyr? We did everything together.”
“Well, I’m right here, and it will be fine. I promise.” Poe gave him a soft mental caress.
“Thank you, love.” He took Poe’s hand. “Come on, mate. Let’s go on in.”
They stepped into the tavern, and Poe’s cloak immediately started to steam a little. Cade took it from him when he shrugged out of it. He hung it on a peg by the door. No one was going to bother it. His coat went there too, and then he turned to look for Harden or Tyr. Or both.
“There’s Tyr,” Poe said, starting across the room, and so many dragons stopped him to say hello. His mate made friends so easily. So many in the village already loved him. It was stunning to Cade.
“Ah, there you are, my friends.” Tyr stood to hug Poe gently, then pounded Cade on the back. “Looking good. And the food tonight smells amazing. Good choice.”
“I thought so,” Poe said with a smile. “I just had a feeling if we tried to cook, something terrible would go wrong and then Harden would be insulted.”
Tyr laughed, the sound wry. “Is that not always the way? I tried to have a sweet omega over for tea once. I burned the cakes and there was a bee in his sandwich.”
“Brutal,” Poe said.
“It was most embarrassing.”
“Seriously?” Cade asked, head tilting. “There was a bee in his sandwich? Did he eat it? That seems bad.”
At the very least, it had to be poky.
“No, no, it wasn’t even dead. It wasn’t a dead bee. It was an alive bee. In fact, he was very unhappy with me. I had to apologize.”
“To the omega or the bee?” Poe asked.
Tyr shot him a confused little look. “The bee, of course.”
“Whoa.” Poe cracked up. “You are brutal.”
“Not to the bees…”
His mate looked up, smiled, and waved Harden over to them. Then under his breath, he heard Poe say, “You be good.”
I’ll show you good.
I intend for you to, yes. I’m serious.
Harden was wearing his nicest trousers, a blouse so white it gleamed, and he had obviously taken care to show himself in the best light tonight as well. The heavy indigo braids were even done up with silver ribbons that caught the firelight.
“Don’t you look nice?” Poe said, giving Harden a smile. “I’d stand, but it would take me twenty years to get up.”
“No, please, you are…” Harden’s lips twisted as he sat across the heavy wooden table from him. “Are you having an entire army all at once?”
Cade started to growl, but Poe just laughed, and the sound was merry, so he decided to let it go.
“That’s it. Cade and I are starting our own little tiny dragon army. All at once.”
Harden pulled something from the saddle bag that was as much a part of the man as the nose on his face. “I brought a gift.” He handed Poe a little stuffed ysdri. “This is for Tanya. I know that many people have brought gifts for the new babies, and perhaps she would like something that was only for her.”
The act warmed Cade, because everyone was so concerned about Poe, the babies, but Tanya was amazing, his dearest little girl.
“Oh, that’s so sweet. Thank you, thank you.” Poe examined the toy, beaming at Harden. “She’s spending the evening with her grandparents who are absolutely making sure that she doesn’t feel neglected in any way, but she will love this.”
Cade smiled and nodded. “That was a kindness to think of her. Thank you.”
Harden shrugged. “You’re welcome. She must be very brave, your?—”
Harden looked uncomfortable and Cade jumped in. “My daughter.”
“Your daughter.”
“She is. She is a light in the darkness, our girl.” Cade felt his heart swell with pride. “So resilient. She lost so much.”
Harden inclined his head. “I am sorry for it. But she has a fine family here now. She will do well.”
Poe’s hand on his leg made him chuckle. “Thank you.”
Harden glanced at Tyr. “And how are your bees, my friend?”
“They are ready for better weather.” Tyr waved down a server, and she bustled over to offer them ale, or milk or juice in the case of Poe.
“Oh, mulled cider would be lovely,” Poe said when she mentioned it.
“Ale for the rest of us?” Cade asked to a pair of nods.
“Right away,” she said with a wink, and moved away.
“How are you with food now, Poe?” Harden asked. “Last I saw you, you were moving away from tablet.”
Poe snorted. “I still eat it every day, but yes, I’m doing much better.”
“Good, good.” Harden’s rather grumpy face arranged itself into a grimace. “Cade. I—I am sorry I was such an ass back then. I apologize.”
Shocked, he stared at Harden, the words cutting his legs out from under him, so to speak. “Harden… Thank you. That means a great deal. I am sorry, as well.”
So much for not apologizing.
You did so good, mate. Poe was laughing at him, but not in a mean way. It was warm and amused, and Cade decided he could live with that.
Be nice, mate.
“So, Harden, how are the ysdri? I assume it’s like where I come from, in the spring there will be many, many foals.” Poe asked, his dear one as fascinated by the animals as always.
Harden smiled. “It depends on the breed. Some foal in the autumn, especially the ones that come from colder climes, because they hibernate in the deep of the winter.”
“They do? I’ve never heard of any kind of horse that hibernated.”
“Where they live, the winters are so brutal that they must. In the Kivmark, the snow is on the ground all year-round. In the winter, it has no sun and fierce storms.”
“Do dragons live up there?”
Tyr nodded. “Yes, huge ones. They are white and icy blue. Fierce dragons that are not particularly social. I’ve never met one, of course, but they’re in the history books. They’re very territorial.”
Poe’s eyes were lit up, his mate less interested in the dragons than the animals, of course, but it didn’t matter. It was fascinating to see how much his mate loved learning about where he lived now.
“So you can’t just fly up and see?”
Harden shook his head. “No. The winds protect that land. Dragons control the winds, and they do not love trespassers.”
“So how did you end up with the horses?”
Harden’s eyebrows went up, and he blinked, the look patently false.
Innocence did not suit him.
“Did you steal horses? That’s bad. Rustling is bad. Not in the least because I am married to a guardian of the dragon laws.”
Tyr and Cade began to chuckle. No one believed for a second that Harden would steal.
“I have a seller for the kiskan. I didn’t steal anything. They had been rescued from being mistreated, yes, but they were already taken from the lands that they belong in. They’ve been bred for enough time that they wouldn’t be welcome in their native lands. So I give them a good place.”
“Oh, that’s a way better tale. And I bet it happens to be true.” Poe raised a brow at him and Tyr. “Judging by the way these two are staring at me.”
“Well, yes.” Harden’s hard face cracked in a tiny smile. “I have been known to fight hard to get an animal that I wanted, but I always try to do it honestly.”
“So these ice horses. How do they stay cool here in the summer? Isn’t it warm?”
“It is. But I have a cold house that I grow plants in that are native to their diet. And Jimana, she’s an ice dragon, she comes every day to make ice and frost for them…”
Poe clapped his hands, clearly delighted. “That is so cool! ”
“It is, no?”
The drinks arrived, the server smiling all around. “What will you eat, gents? There is a meat pie and a spring vegetable one, or there is a breaded cutlet with root vegetables.”
They ordered meat pies for all except Poe, who wanted to try the vegetable one.
There was much talk and laughter about them, and Cade found himself relaxing, laughing at Tyr’s tales of trying to harvest honeycomb from southern fire bees, and at Harden telling them about a yearling’s antics as the colt tried to mimic its stallion father and failed to be at all dignified.
Sadly, he had no amusing stories of work. He just had his endless patrols and the occasional drunkard.
Stop . Poe put a hand on his leg. It’s what you do that allows all these other dragons to live their lives peacefully and with confidence that they are safe.
He glanced over to find Poe’s pale eyes burning with happiness and love for him.
Thank you, mate.
“Cade? All is well?” Tyr asked. He had always been the most sensitive of the three.
“Yes. I was just feeling sorry for myself that I had no amusing stories.”
“Bah. You were always hilarious in your seriousness,” Harden said. “I love to hear about how Piadras staggers home in the wee hours singing about his fairy lover.”
“Fairy?”
Cade unbent enough to grin slightly. “Ah, yes. Old Piadras, who has a love for the forest fae of days of old. He sings of a lover with tiny wings and a huge?—”
“Oh, wow.” Poe blinked. “I’ll have to ask Cosmo and his brothers about that. They’re half fae.”
“They are the ones with the house between the worlds?” Harden asked.
“Yeah. And they have some wild stories to tell.” Poe lowered his voice. “Their house faces the human world, the dragon world, and the fae, all on different sides.”
Harden shook his head. “That is stunning. But it might be wise to speak of that in hushed tones. In our village clutch, no one would think to try to take advantage of that, but strangers might.”
Cade nodded firmly. “This is my thinking too, and the Rocky Mountain clutch agree. They are the last line of defense there, and they prefer to keep it quiet.”
Poe gave him a look. “I didn’t shout it.”
No, no, but there are ways for others to hear, and it has nothing to do with how loud you are.
Oh . Poe sounded utterly shocked, that sweet magic pulsing with light for a moment. I’m sorry I didn’t… I didn’t think.
He covered Poe’s hand with his own. Why would you? It’s not a secret, yes? Just something to keep quiet, especially after what Wyrmnain said about Penny, about danger.
He couldn’t forget what the black dragon had said, warning him about the children. He wasn’t clear on when the danger was coming, but he knew that there was danger somehow, somewhere, and it was looking for their children.
Their children. The thought made him shiver.
Suddenly, Poe jumped and gasped.
They all turned to Poe, and Cadeyrn frowned. “Mate?”
“No. No. It’s fine. The boys moved all at once. I swear if they come out doing choreographed boy band dances, I’m going to be really cross.”
“Boys.” This is the first time Poe had said that. In fact, he knew Poe had been worried about the idea that he couldn’t hear the children.
But boys.
Three boys.
“This is your fault,” Poe told him, and he grinned.
“Oh, it’s totally Cade’s fault,” Tyr said.
“Absolutely,” Harden agreed. “We should certainly blame him.”
“I just can’t believe there’s three of them in there. Aren’t you worried they’re going to spring forth fully formed?”
“Tyr, not appropriate.” The last thing he needed was Poe spiraling because he was afraid that he was gonna explode or something.
“Sorry.” Tyr beamed, utterly unrepentant.
“Ass.”
“Children, be nice,” Poe said, but he was laughing.
“May I—” Harden looked at Cade, then back at Poe. “May I feel?”
“Of course you can,” Poe said. Right, mate?
I would not say no.
So Poe reached out to take Harden’s extended hand and put it on his belly. “ See? Tap dancing or something.”
Harden’s expression shifted to something like wonder. “Goodness. That’s amazing.”
“Me next!” Tyr said, and he too got to feel the babies moving.
Cade could feel it through his bond with Poe. It humbled him, made him so proud.
“Does it hurt?” Tyr asked, and Poe shook his head.
“No, not usually. Sometimes they hit a nerve or just wrong, and sometimes, like now when they’re doing synchronized Kung Fu or whatever, it can be a little uncomfortable. Mostly it’s just the pressure.” Poe stroked his belly, as if to soothe them.
Tyr shook his head and Harden sat back. “It’s wild. This whole thing is wild. I can’t believe Cade is a mate with babies on the way.”
“You think you can’t believe it?” Poe shook his head. “The world has changed a lot and only a very few months. It’s wild. I’ve been from my very highest to my very lowest. Or really, vice versa, you know.”
Harden tilted his head, looking almost hurt. “Is it so bad being here?”
“The vamfyr had him and Tanya.” Just thinking about it made Cade want to growl, made his scales rattle.
“You have seen the vamfyr?” Harden’s eyes were wide.
Poe nodded. “I went dancing at a club, and they got me. Drugged me. I woke up in a cage, and then they brought in Tanya. I don’t even know how long I’d been in there, but I couldn’t bear the thought of her suffering. She helped me escape, and together, we got out. Then the guys rescued us and brought us to the house.” Poe opened his hands, eyes filled with tears. “Here we are. I didn’t think I was going to survive it, though. I didn’t think it was possible.”
“But you did, you both did, and that’s what’s important,” Cadeyrn pointed out. “And now you’re here with me, having our sons.”
“That’s horrifying. They can’t get through, can they?” Harden whispered, his head tilted with the weight of his worry.
“No, they can’t.” In that, Poe sounded sure, reaching for Harden’s hand as if to comfort. “Trust me. That’s not gonna be a thing.”
“I can’t believe anyone survived it.” Tyr shook his head. “I thought they were myths.”
“Where I came from, they all think we were myths,” Poe shot back. “True story.”
“They do not believe in dragons?” Tyr asked, his eyes very wide.
“No. Humans don’t really believe in magic anymore. They have convinced themselves it doesn’t exist. So they do not see it when it happens. It’s sad.”
“That doesn’t seem right. Does it? Did you like them?” Tyr asked. “Humans?”
Poe nodded, bit his bottom lip. “Some of them, sure. They’re independent. They’re smart. They have all of this will even though their lives are short, short, short. And they laugh a lot. They have great capacity to care, and I liked a lot of them. Some of them, not so much. And humans in groups can be terrifying. But almost always one person? They’re fascinating.”
“Do you miss it?” Harden was laser focused. “Being in the human world?”
“No, no, I thought I would at first. It was very different and very unnerving, but… I mean beyond the fact that, here, I can fly when I want to, and I have this amazing home, and my Tanya can fly here… Beyond all that, I’ve got Cadeyrn. How could I want to be anywhere but where he is? We’re supposed to be together. And besides that, in this place, there’s so much to learn. I’m… I’m making friends.”
Cadeyrn’s heart felt as if it was not going to be stay contained in his rib cage as much as his mate honored him.
He’d never felt so wanted, so loved. So happy.
“Cadeyrn has been looking for you a long time,” Tyr said, and Cade nodded. He had been. And then he’d seen Poe, and that had been that.
He’d fallen deeply in love. With his mate. He grabbed Poe’s hand. “I thank the goddess for you every day, my love.”
“Sickening,” Harden said, but his eyes danced with laughter that Cade had not seen since their youth, and he threw a piece of bread at his old friend/enemy/friend.
“You hush,” he said, and Tyr and Harden both laughed, drawing smiles and stares from all who knew them.
Cade understood. It was good to have this back, and Poe had given him that, too.