Chapter Twenty-Two #2
Sam looked down at his own faded blue jumper - the one Rux had noticed - and felt that familiar disconnect. These men were extraordinary. What did they see in him?
“Your heart stone,” Sam said suddenly. “When you shift back, it’s still there.”
All three nodded.
“And it’s part of your dragon form, too?”
“It’s part of our soul,” Urien said. “The form doesn’t matter. The stone exists because you exist.”
Sam’s fork paused halfway to his mouth. “That’s…that sounds like a lot of responsibility.”
“No.” Mabon leaned forward. “It’s not a burden you carry. It’s simply the truth. You appeared in the world, and our souls recognized you.”
“But what if…” Sam set down his fork. “What if you’re wrong? What if there’s been some mistake?”
“There are no mistakes.” Rux’s voice was certain. “Dragons don’t work that way. When the heart stone appears, it’s because our dragon has recognized its perfect match. It’s never been wrong. Not in thousands of years.”
Sam picked up his fork again, needing something to do with his hands.
“Tell me more about Treasures. I’m guessing that, from what Urien said earlier about how dragons are dying out, you were hoping for a lady Treasure so you can have little dragons.
That’s…I mean…” His face heated. “I’m male. I can’t…”
“You can. Dragon magic changes things,” Mabon said gently. “When a Treasure bonds with their triad, their body adapts. It’s not like a human pregnancy. The egg forms over months, and when it’s ready, you lay it. One egg at a time, maybe once every few decades if we’re fortunate.”
Sam’s fork clattered to his plate. “Excuse me. I could lay an egg?”
“Eventually,” Urien said. “If you choose to bond with us and you want children.”
“An egg,” Sam repeated faintly.
“Dragon eggs are beautiful,” Rux said, nodding his head. “They’re like giant opals, all iridescent and warm. We keep them in the hoard until they’re ready to hatch, usually three to five years…”
“I’m going to need a minute with the egg thing.” Sam was still trying to work out how something like that could happen. He took several deep breaths, trying not to get sidetracked.
“Okay,” he said finally. “Putting aside the biological impossibilities for now, tell me about the bonding part. You mentioned a mating bond.”
Mabon and Urien exchanged a look.
“A mating bond is permanent,” Mabon said slowly.
“When a Treasure accepts their triad, and the bond forms, it’s forever.
We would be connected emotionally and spiritually.
You’d feel our emotions, we’d feel yours.
Over time, the bond strengthens. Eventually, you’d be able to communicate telepathically with us, as well as sense where we are, or know if we’re in danger. ”
“And I’m guessing I’d live as long as you do,” Sam said, trying to remember if Urien had mentioned that earlier.
“Yes.” Urien’s voice was soft. “Dragons live for millennia. The bond changes your physiology, so it would slow your aging and heal any injury or illness you already had. In effect, it makes you nearly immortal.”
Nearly immortal. Sam looked at his plate and the normal food on it, trying to reconcile that with the fantastical conversation happening around him.
“What happens if I don’t want that?” Sam hated to ask, but he needed to know all sides of the Treasure business. “What if I just want to be human?”
The three of them went very still.
“Then we would cherish every human year you have,” Mabon said quietly. “We would never force the bond. It has to be your choice, freely given.”
“But you’d have to watch me age,” Sam said. “Watch me die.”
“Yes.” Rux’s voice cracked slightly. “And it would destroy us. But we’d still rather have you for whatever time you’re willing to give than never have you at all.”
Oh, my gods. Sam’s chest hurt. It was as if he could see the dragon’s raw emotions floating in the air. Unable to process, he picked up his fork again, took another bite of risotto, and chewed mechanically.
“Tell me about your triad,” he said, more as a distraction than anything else. “How did you find each other?”
Urien smiled, and it transformed his usually serious face. “Mabon and I met first in 1923. I was in Wales, working as a gardener for an estate. Mabon was pretending to be the estate owner’s distant relative.”
“I was buying the estate, actually,” Mabon corrected. “Urien was planting roses, and I watched him for three hours before I realized what the feeling in my chest meant.”
“You watched me for three hours and didn’t say anything?” Urien’s eyebrow rose.
“I was processing.” Mabon looked slightly defensive.
“You were panicking,” Rux said, grinning. “He told me later he’d convinced himself it was indigestion.”
Sam found himself chuckling. “And you found Rux...?”
“Ten years later,” Rux said. “I was cooking in a Paris bistro, using human techniques, trying to understand their food. Mabon and Urien came in for dinner, and the moment I brought out the first course, both of them knew.”
“It was the bouillabaisse,” Mabon said fondly. “Rux had put so much love into it. His dragon was singing through every ingredient.”
“And now you’ve found me.” Sam looked at each of them. “In a coffee shop in Dinetell.”
“Technically, I saw you when I was in Harrisons,” Rux said. “But yes, that first time I came in to see you, you were smiling at Mrs. Henderson even though she changed her order three times.”
Sam blinked. “You remember that?”
“I remember everything about that first time.” Rux’s voice was completely sincere. “The way you pushed your glasses up with the back of your hand because your fingers were wet, the little spot of foam on your apron, and how you laughed when Mrs. Henderson apologized for being difficult.”
“I remember how gentle you were,” Urien added. “Patient and kind, even when you were clearly tired.”
“And I remember thinking I’d found something impossible,” Mabon said. “Something I’d stopped believing existed.”
Sam’s vision blurred slightly, and he blinked rapidly a few times to clear them. “I’m still not special.”
“You are to us,” all three said at the same time, and then they looked at each other and laughed.
Sam found himself smiling, too. It was impossible not to. “Does that happen a lot? The synchronization thing?”
“More than we’d like to admit,” Mabon said wryly. “The bond makes us...in tune with each other, sometimes embarrassingly so.”
“Tell me about your hoard,” Sam said, seizing on something concrete. “Why do dragons hoard things?”
Rux lit up. “It’s instinctive. Dragons collect what they value most - things that represent security, beauty, and power. Every dragon’s hoard is different because every dragon values different things.”
“Mine is books and art,” Mabon said. “First editions, illuminated manuscripts, and paintings by masters. I have a deep appreciation for knowledge and beauty preserved through time.”
“I hoard growing things,” Urien said. “Seeds from extinct plants, and cuttings from ancient trees, maintaining a living history.”
“And I hoard recipes,” Rux said. “Techniques passed down through generations, flavors that shouldn’t exist anymore, the memory of meals shared with people who are gone.”
Sam’s throat tightened. “Those are all beautiful.”
“A hoard isn’t about wealth,” Mabon said. “Though dragons often accumulate wealth as a side effect. It’s about surrounding yourself with things that matter.”
“And you wanted me to have part of yours.” Sam remembered the small gold bar left on his porch, currently locked in his desk drawer because he’d had no idea what else to do with it. “The gold.”
“It’s a traditional courting gift,” Rux said. “Although, probably too much, in hindsight.”
“You think?” Sam laughed nervously. “I nearly had a heart attack.”
“We’re not very good at human courtship,” Urien admitted.
“I noticed.” Sam speared a piece of chicken. “The garden was lovely, though. Even if I couldn’t read it.”
“I’ll take you flying,” Urien said immediately. “So you can see it properly.”
Sam’s fork paused midair. “Flying.”
“On my back,” Urien clarified. “I’m the largest, so that would be the safest for you.”
“I would be flying, on a dragon.”
“Only if you want to,” Mabon said quickly. “There’s no pressure for you to do anything.”
Sam took a deep breath. “Can we table the flying thing along with the egg thing? My brain is reaching the limit of what it can absorb in one evening.”
“Of course,” Mabon said with a smile.
Sam ate more risotto, buying time to organize his thoughts. “What about dragon society? You mentioned a Council.”
The mood shifted immediately as all three men tensed.
“The Council governs dragon affairs,” Mabon said, as if choosing his words carefully. “They are the ones who set and maintain the secrecy protocols. They also settle disputes and enforce our laws. They’re...traditional and very concerned with maintaining the old ways.”
“So, they don’t know about me,” Sam guessed.
“Not yet.” Urien’s jaw tightened. “We violated secrecy laws by revealing ourselves to you. If the Council finds out before you’ve bonded with us, before you’re officially recognized as our Treasure, they could separate us permanently.”
Sam’s eyes widened. “They could take you away.”
“They could try.” Rux’s voice held an edge Sam hadn’t heard before. “But we’d fight them. We’d fight anyone who tried to keep us from you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” Sam demanded. “Before you showed me your dragons? If this puts you at risk…”
“Because you deserved the truth,” Mabon said firmly. “Because courting you with lies wasn’t courting at all. Because you’re our fated one, and Treasures are always worth the risk.”
Sam pushed his plate away, his appetite was gone again. “So if I say no, if I decide this is too much…”