Epilogue #2
The heat slowly dissipated from his chest. “Yes, I remember now. You must forgive me, the urge to protect my mate can sometimes be overwhelming.”
Maldenis snorted. “Yeah, whatever. You still owe me for burning up my bar, by the way.”
“What are you doing here?” Liora admonished. “I told you to wait outside.”
“Yeah, you did.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Doesn’t mean I gotta comply.”
“Asshole,” she spat.
“Stuck-up witch,” he shot back.
Zare groaned. “Just tell me what’s going on. What’s so urgent that you nearly knocked my door down?”
Maldenis snickered, then he slithered over to Liora and wound the end of his tail around her arm. “Go ahead, babe, tell them what’s going on.”
Liora shot him a murderous look. “You godsdamned—”
“Oh, my gods, you had sex with him!” Zara exclaimed. “Wait, that’s your important breaking news? You’ve had sex before. That’s not exactly a ‘we interrupt your regular programming’ type of situation.”
Her sister yanked the basilisk’s tail off impatiently. “I wish I had just fucked him.”
“Oh yeah, you wish you did,” Maldenis said smugly.
“What do you mean?” Zara’s gaze ping-ponged between them. “Well?”
Liora’s nostrils flared. “We’re, uh, sort of…kind of…you see we’re—”
“Married!” Maldenis announced with glee. “Yup, we got hitched.”
“Married?” both Zara and Hektor exclaimed at the same time.
“Apparently.” Liora glared at Maldenis, who seemed to be enjoying himself. “Unfortunately. It’s a long story.”
“Not that long,” Maldenis said. “Oh, and by the way, surprise, sis-in-law, Drakkon-in-law, I’m also your new teammate.”
“New teammate?” Zara pursed her lips. “Maybe you should start from the beginning.”
“Let’s go down to the cafe and I’ll explain.” Liora let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “Might as well let Elian know.”
“Yeah, I heard this place has an amazing brunch buffet.” Maldenis offered his arm to Liora. “Shall we go, wifey?”
“I told you to stop calling me that!” Waving him away, she stomped out of the room.
Her reaction only seemed to fuel Maldenis’s spiteful glee. “Darling! Don’t be like that,” he called as he slithered after her.
“I guess we should go and find out what’s going on,” Zara said. “Sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize.” Hektor took her hand and kissed it. “We will have more time alone later.”
“Hmm…sounds like a promise.”
“And I keep my promises.” He tucked her hand into his arm. “Come, ‘wifey.’” She giggled at the name, the most adorable blush blooming in her cheeks. “Let’s go and see what your siblings have to say.”
She let him lead her toward the elevator lobby, which was empty, meaning Maldenis and Liora were probably already downstairs. “I just hope you’re ready for the craziness that comes part and parcel with being part of my family. Dealing with Thing 1 and Thing 2 can be exhausting all the time.”
“Thing? You call your siblings Thing?”
She chuckled. “It’s a joke. I’ll explain another—”
Ding!
She stopped short when the elevator doors opened. But the inside of the car wasn’t empty. Pythorus and Elian were inside, and when they saw Hektor and Zara on the other side of the door, both of them looked wide-eyed with panic.
“H-h-hey, you guys are back!” Pythorus greeted, his voice pitching higher than usual. The patch of skin on his cheek just above his scales was also a strange shade of red. “Um, I forgot something in my room. I was going to grab it.” He quickly slithered past them.
“I forgot something too,” Elian said, though his voice was much calmer. “Welcome back, by the way, I’ll see you both downstairs.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he calmly walked away.
“Everything okay?” Hektor asked.
“Huh?” She started. “What do you mean?”
“You have this expression on your face.”
She placed a hand on her hip. “And what expression would that be?”
“You get this look on your face when you’re sensing someone’s emotions or intentions. Like…you’re deep in thought, but in a different way. You did the same thing with Maldenis.”
“I did?”
“Yes. What did you sense?”
She bit at her lower lip. “Believe it or not, I don’t sense any bad intentions from Maldenis. He reads pretty much the same from the first time we met him. Pythorus, on the other hand…”
“What about him? Has his intentions changed?”
“Not exactly. Something’s changed but…I’ll tell you later, okay? He told me something in confidence, just let me ask him first if I can tell you.”
“Whatever you wish, my mate.”
“So, what you said earlier. You can tell when I’m using my powers just by looking at me?”
“My mate,” he said gently, wrapping an arm around her waist. “It is my duty to know you. To observe you, to anticipate your needs and feelings. And do not worry about your siblings, I’m sure all will be fine. If not, I will make sure it is.”
Her face lit up with a smile that was brighter than a Drakkon’s fire. “Aww, that’s so sweet.” She placed her hands on his chest. “Between my powers, Thing 1 and Thing 2, my nosy parents, you really choose me, huh?”
“Yes. If I was asked a thousand times, I would always choose you.”
She slid her arms around his neck to bring him down for a kiss. “Wow, you really are extra.”
Thanks for reading!