Chapter Twenty-One
Urien
Urien’s dragon surged forward at the directness of Sam’s stare, demanding he claim their Treasure now, but Urien pushed him back. The whole situation required care and delicate handling.
He moved from where he’d been standing near the sideboard, closer to Sam. He didn’t want to crowd him, but he wanted to be near enough so that Sam wouldn’t have to raise his voice.
“May I?” Urien gestured to the chair beside Sam.
Sam nodded, mute.
Urien sat, angling himself so he could watch Sam’s face. He needed to see every flicker of emotion, every hint of what their mate was thinking.
“Dragon culture is very old,” Urien began, keeping his voice gentle. “Older than most human civilizations. We live for centuries - some of us millennia. And we’re meant to live in groups, triads, specifically. Three fated mates who find each other through their dragon spirits.”
Sam’s throat worked as he swallowed. “You, Mabon, and Rux.”
“Yes. We recognized each other around a hundred years ago. The bond formed immediately - we knew we belonged together. Dragons don’t choose their triad mates, our spirits recognize each other, and that’s...that’s everything.”
“Like the heart stones,” Sam said.
“Exactly like the heart stones.” Urien’s chest warmed at the connection Sam was making. “The stones appear for Treasures who becomes our fourth mate.”
Sam’s hands twisted in his lap. “And you think I’m…”
“Not think, we know who you are to us,” Urien said firmly. “That’s why the stone appears – so there is no mistake - they only appear for the one person in the entire world who’s meant to be ours. You’re the one we’ve been waiting for.”
“For a hundred years,” Sam whispered.
“Admittedly, we stopped hoping about fifty years ago,” Urien said, throwing a fond glance at his other mates.
“Dragon numbers are declining. There are so few of us left, scattered across the world. Treasures are even rarer - some triads never find theirs. We thought we were one of those, and it would just be the three of us forever, and that would be enough.”
He watched Sam absorb that, watched the way his eyes widened behind his glasses.
“And then Rux saw you walk past a grocery store window,” Urien continued.
“And everything changed. His heart stone appeared, and he came to us immediately. We tracked you down to the coffee shop, and the moment we saw you…” He pressed his hand to his chest, feeling the pulse of the stone. “Our dragons knew, and so did we.”
“That’s why you’ve been...” Sam trailed off, gesturing vaguely.
“Acting like absolute disasters?” Urien finished, allowing himself a rueful smile. “Yes, that’s why.”
Sam’s laugh still held a slightly hysterical edge. “You bought me a gold bar.”
“That’s traditional in dragon courting,” Mabon said from his position on the floor. “We give gifts from our hoards, precious things to show our mates we can provide for them and that we value them enough to share our wealth.”
“I thought someone was trying to scam me,” Sam said.
“We realized that, eventually.” Urien sighed. “We tried to research human courtship, but nothing made sense. The advice was contradictory. ‘Be mysterious but vulnerable. Text immediately, but wait three days. Make grand gestures but don’t love bomb.’ We’ve been failing spectacularly for weeks.”
“The coffee,” Sam said suddenly. “Rux ordered six coffees in twenty minutes.”
Rux groaned. “I was trying to prolong the conversation.”
“Mabon called my drink basic.”
“That was the negging article,” Mabon said miserably. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean…”
“And you…” Sam turned to Urien. “You made a garden that had some special message except…except. Oh…oh, I get it now. I couldn’t see it from the ground.”
“It’s visible from the air - your name with a heart beside it,” Urien said. “Dragons see the world differently, and I completely forgot about how you’d need to be flying to read it.”
Sam stared at him. Then he laughed - a real laugh this time. “You made a beautiful garden that I can’t read.”
“I’m aware of the irony,” Urien said dryly.
“And you tried to buy the coffee shop,” Sam said to Mabon.
“I did want to give it to you, so you could run it or sell it and write full-time. Whatever you wanted.” Mabon’s voice was low. “I didn’t think about how that would sound.”
Sam pressed his hands to his face. “This is the most ridiculous thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“We know,” Urien said gently. “We know we’ve handled this badly. We’re long-lived beings, Sam, but we have no idea how to court a human in the twenty-first century. Everything we tried was either too much or not enough or completely missed the mark.”
Sam lowered his hands, and Urien could tell he was overwhelmed.
“You don’t have to accept this,” Urien said.
Even though he didn’t want to say the words, Sam deserved to know.
“We know this is overwhelming. We know we should have told you sooner, but we were afraid you’d think we were insane.
But we were also afraid to tell the truth, in case the council found out we’d violated secrecy protocols and they might separate us from you permanently. ”
“I don’t understand that either. What council?” Sam asked.
“It’s the dragon’s governing body. They have rules about revealing ourselves to humans.” Urien waved a hand. “We’re violating those rules right now. But we decided the truth was more important than following rules that didn’t make sense.”
Sam’s gaze moved between the three of them. “You risked that for me.”
“We’d risk anything for you,” Rux said. “You’re our fourth.”
“You could still have a normal life,” Urien continued.
“Normal human relationships with partners who take you to dinner without cooking enough food for twenty people. People who don’t leave gold bars on your doorstep or try to buy your workplace.
You don’t have to choose three dragons who’ve been stalking you from their Range Rover and don’t even know how to take you on a proper date. ”
Silence fell over the dining room. The candles Rux had lit earlier flickered, casting dancing shadows across the absurd amount of food still covering the table.
Sam stood, and all three dragons stopped breathing at the exact same time.
Sam walked around the table slowly, stopping in front of where Urien sat. Then he moved to Mabon, still kneeling. Then to Rux, who’d braced his hands on the table like he was holding himself back from lunging forward.
“Show me,” Sam said.
Urien’s dragon roared in triumph.
“Show you what?” Mabon asked carefully.
“Show me your dragons,” Sam said. His voice shook, but his gaze was steady. “If this is real - if you’re really what you say you are - show me.”