18. Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Tavian
We lay together for a long while, me in my dragon form, my mate curled up in his wolf form, his snout resting next to mine. It seemed as if the eggs enjoyed it as well. Their colors pulsed with happiness whenever we touched them, either with our tails or rubbing on them with our snouts. Our oldest egg with the burnt-orange scales switched between the deep orange and a lighter color that reminded me of a cantaloupe, while our middle daughter radiated a deep merlot color, and when she lightened, it looked more like a cherry.
I didn’t even notice when my father came in. He laid a new pillow into the nest for the two of us.
“You’ll be sleeping in there more often than you realize,” he said. He gave my mate a fond smile and then patted me on the head like he was ruffling the hair of a small boy. I guess I still was his son, and he would always view me as his little boy.
“I’m proud of you two,” he said, and he settled into the chair. “Your eggs are beautiful, my son.”
After a few more minutes, Kier and I shifted back. I shielded my mate while he pulled on his sleep pants and robe. Then I ran to our room to grab mine. When I came back, my father was putting a hand on each of the eggs. He caressed them gently by way of introduction. The eggs hummed with happiness at meeting their grandfather.
“You did well, Kier. They are beautiful.”
“Thank you,” he said. “The oldest is a boy, the next two girls.”
“I sense that as well. They are happy.”
Kier’s face lit up at that. “I’m glad.” He rolled his shoulders back and did a little dance like he was uncomfortable.
I came over to him and put my hands on his shoulders. “Is everything all right, mate?”
“Just the itchiness. It feels more intense than before.”
“Now that the eggs have been laid, the dragon side of you wants to come out. Have you been doing your exercises to strengthen your arms?” I asked. In order to prepare for flight, Kier needed his back to be able to sustain his wings.
Kier nodded. “Yes, I don’t feel ready, though.”
“You are, my love.”
Thorne came through the door to the sitting room. With all the excitement, we hadn’t even noticed that he’d arrived. It didn’t surprise me. Clan members tended to drop by to see the nest. As one of my closet friends, it made sense that Thorne would arrive first. “Hey, hope you don’t mind me barging in.”
“Not at all. Come meet the little ones.”
Many clan members would be trickling in in the next few days, the closest ones to us arriving first. Thorne put a hand on each of the eggs, then handed a gift of gourmet chocolate to my mate.
“Once your wings come in, you’re going to need all the calories you can get. Flying takes a lot out of you.” Thorne winked, and I almost growled at him. The incorrigible flirt.
Kier sucked in a breath. “I will be able to fly so soon? I just thought I would get my wings and the flying would come later.”
I gripped his hand and lifted it to my lips. “Yes, mate. You will be able to fly probably the first time your wings come out. You can get some liftoff. Then later we’ll go on longer journeys.”
“Oh, wow, I don’t even remember flying with you when we went to the cabin.”
I couldn’t wait to fly with my mate. I hadn’t had much of a chance to spread my wings since being mated. I was waiting for my mate to be able to fly. “You will fly with me again.”
“Today. Do you think we can do it today?”
I raised a brow. “Do you think you want to?” It had already been an exciting day since he had just laid our eggs this morning.
“I can help,” Thorne said. “I was there when my sister’s mate took flight for the first time, and when my stepfather did. If you need help bringing your wings out, I know a few techniques.”
I looked to Kier to make sure he was good with the idea. He nodded. “We’d love that. But let’s go. Let’s get started. We should do this outside since we don’t know how large your wingspan will be.”
“I can stay with the eggs,” my father said, without ever looking up from the nest. He had his head rested on the pillow as his hand stroked first one egg and then the other, paying them all an equal amount of attention.
Kier clapped his hands. “Let’s do this. I don’t have to be naked, right?”
Thorne laughed. “No, shirtless would help. You don’t want to rip holes into all your shirts.”
“Will I get to breathe fire?”
“No, that skill is reserved for only the strongest dragons. The best most of us can do is spit out sparks,” I said.
“Oh, how did I not know that?” Kier asked. He was bouncing on his toes, and the energy radiating from him was electrifying.
“The only one I know who can actually breathe a steady stream of fire is Shane, and he is ageless.”
“Ageless?”
“He was born before time was recorded properly. The best he can tell was that he was hatched sometime in the spring.”
“Oh, wow. All right, let’s get started.”
My father stayed with the eggs, sitting on the edge of the nest and gazing at them affectionately.
After one last touch to each of the shells, Kier and I went outside to the backyard. The sun shone brightly. The wind was light and out of the north. A perfect day for a flight.
“Are you ready?” I asked Kier.
Kier tugged off his shirt and steadied himself. “I think so. How do I start? Do I just... will my wings out?”
“Kind of. Stand straight, be aware of your stance and your center of gravity. When your wings emerge, that will all shift, and it can be jarring. When you’re ready, close your eyes and imagine your wings.”
“I don’t know what they look like.”
“You do, you just don’t realize it.”
Kier took a deep breath. The concentration was etched on his face with the pinch of his lips. His eyes closed. “My wings are the same color as Tav’s scales. Almost translucent on the interdigital membrane between my talons. The color is so vibrant.”
As Kier described his wings, the air behind him shimmered, and then his wings were there, protruding from his shoulder blades. They were magnificent.
“You did it!” Thorne shouted. “That was so quick!”
“They’re beautiful, mate. Truly. Open your eyes.”
His eyes opened, surprise in them. Then he focused. At first his wings twitched. Then they fluttered. Within moments they were full-on flapping. His feet hovered about the ground. I held his hands to keep him from taking off or falling flat on his face.
“You’re doing it!”
“I am! This is so much harder than I thought it would be!”
He stopped flapping and his feet hit the ground. He launched himself into my arms, and I held him tight.
“I did it, Tav! I did it.”
“You did. Just wait. With a little more practice, you’ll be flying for real. And I’ll go with you.”
Kier beamed. “It felt amazing! I really need to get back to the eggs now, though.”
I could sympathize with that. Even though they were less than a hundred feet away, I didn’t like having them out of sight.
“You can practice bringing your wings out while you sit with the eggs. It will be good for both you and the dragonets,” Thorne suggested.
We went back into the house. Kier beaming widely the whole way.
“I did it!” he told my dad.
My dad smiled at him. “Great job! I’m proud of you.”
Kier knelt down next to the nest. “Did you hear that, kiddos? Daddy got his wings!”