Chapter Seventeen
Odem
Brother, if they’re collecting those with special gifts, they’re clearly building an army against us.
Aye, I fear the same, Odem. Mattias, can you come to Odem’s? We have news that involves water and ice clans.
On my way.
Quint, Caro, do you have time to meet Ronan’s brother and his companions?
Absolutely, Caro immediately replied. Quint took a few moments, but I knew he was resting before embarking upon the long journey tonight.
“Do you guys have luggage or bags or anything?” Ronan asked them.
“No, we’ve been traveling as light as possible,” Upalo replied. “Is there a hotel in town we can crash at?”
“Absolutely not!” Ronan barked. “We have three empty bedrooms, one for each of you. You can stay as long as you like.”
Shoot, I hope that’s okay, mate.
More than okay, my love. Your happiness is my happiness and family comes first.
Love you.
Love you too.
Upalo smiled. “Thanks, the idea of leaving after just finding you didn’t sit well with me.”
“Let me show you to your rooms. Follow me.” I gave them their pick of the three available rooms and oddly enough, Upalo chose the one Ronan had first claimed.
Your brother found your scent.
Ah, he picked my old room then. I can’t wait for the twins to meet him. To meet all our family. I went from being alone to part of something wonderful. Thanks for knocking me up, big guy.
Oh, how the tides have changed. That appeared to be the line of the century given how many times I’d used it as of late. In this case, it was uttered with nothing but love. Aside from the impending war and all that, my dragon and I had never been happier.
We returned to a full house, both families–Denarius and Drakemyre, were present and accounted for.
“Whoa,” Upalo suddenly stopped. “That’s a lot of people.”
“Come on, brother,” I clapped his shoulder. “Let me introduce you to the fam. Everyone,” I shouted and the room quieted, and pointed to each as I said their name. “Brother-in-law Upalo and his besties, Kes and Canyon. Good luck, guys.” I left them at the base of the stairs to find my mate.
“Host skills you are truly lacking,” Ronan grinned. “But, carrying an overly pregnant mate you excel at. Any chance for a ride to the recliner?”
“Your wish is my command,” I bowed as I scooped him up, receiving a delightful squeal in return. No sooner had I sat in the chair with my mate upon my lap, arms wrapped around him, before Ionus started barking orders.
“Upalo, would it be possible for you to provide exact coordinates to the village you escaped from? Three members of our team are headed there tonight.”
“I’ll do you one better,” Canyon spoke up. “I’ll go with them.”
“Excellent,” Ionus smiled. “Quint, Angus, and Elgin will join you.”
“I’d ask which of the five in the crowd are the protectors but given you tower above the rest of us, I think I have it down,” Upalo said.
“My apologies,” Ionus replied. “I am Ionus, leader and eldest. Caro, Odem, who is mated to your brother, Quint and Mattias.” Mattias stood awfully close to Kes who was…wait, was Kes blushing? “We are the Primordial Protectors, chosen by the Goddess to protect and bring harmony amongst species.”
“Way to go, little bro. You scored yourself a protector,” Upalo teased.
“Hmph, don’t you mean Odem is the lucky one. I mean after all, he scored me.”
“Ha-ha, aye, my love. I am indeed one lucky dragon.” I laid one on him to the joyful tune of a room filled with groans.
About that time, Emerson arrived and handed Cade off to Caro. “And this is my mate, Emerson, Dragon Archivist, and our son, Cade.”
“Dinner is at our home tonight, a welcome to the family celebration. There you’ll meet my mate, Alex, and our brood.
” Ionus was quite happy. Our family was expanding, as was our knowledge base regarding other dragon clans, and as to why Dragon City was growing at an alarming rate.
Long gone are the days of rest and relaxation.
Are you seeing what I’m seeing, mate?
Aye, Mattias hasn’t left Kes’s side.
I was referring to Upalo and Rory.
Oh, snap! Hadn’t caught that one.
The Goddess was a busy bee today.
I’d love nothing more than to have my brother living amongst us. I hope we find our mother and birth father soon.
I promise you, my love, if they are out there we will find them.
I wished our parents were here. They’d love watching their family grow and spoiling the dragonets. But I knew they watched over us from the great beyond. At times, I felt a surge through bonds, bonds that long since lay dormant.
Mattias? Ionus questioned.
Could it be? Mattias response, filled with hope.
I do truly hope so, brother.
Me too. I feel something, yet I dare not hope having waited so long. But why does the connection I see between us have a third.
Dear Goddess, can it be true? I laughed so loud all heads turned my way.
No? I’ve heard of triads from long ago. Would she surely resurrect those connections now?
Aye, she would. Now it was Ionus who garnered everyone’s attention.
His deep chuckle filled the room. “This is truly a blessed day.” His announcement was met with a round of gleeful cheers.
Mattias, our somber, keep to himself brother, part of a triad.
Nothing would be more perfect than to witness his life turned upside down in the best of ways.
My tired mate yawned and I rose with Ronan comfortably cradled in my arms. “Excuse me, gentlemen, I’ve got a sleepy pregnant mate to tend to. Help yourselves to whatever you need. The kitchen is stocked and your bathrooms are as well. Welcome again, brothers.”
“What a truly glorious day,” my mate said as I laid him in bed. “The eggs will be here soon. Our house will be full of love and laughter. My brother may have found his mate. Blessed. The Goddess has truly blessed us.”
“That she has, many times over.” Our lips met in a chaste kiss, then I kissed his belly. “Sweet dreams, sleepy family.” By the time I’d shut the door, Ronan was nestled between his sunshine pillows, dozing off.
“Canyon went upstairs to get some sleep,” Upalo informed me as I rejoined those who were still here. “The plan is for the four of them to leave after the welcome dinner tonight.”
“Why don’t the rest of you join us for our morning practice on the training pitch at sunrise tomorrow?” Ionus offered.
“I’d be honored to be trained by the protectors,” Upalo bowed. “I can’t believe that not only did I find my brother, but the true protectors as well. How is it no others have?”
“Our lands are protected by our High Priestess, Raven. I believe you met her when you were at the police station?” At least, I was certain they had.
“Yes,” Upalo said, “she’s a bit frightening.”
“Ha-ha,” I chuckled. “She can be, but she’s a true friend, and delivers the protectors’ mate’s eggs. It’s best to stay on her good side,” I winked.
“Noted. So, where exactly do all these dragons live?”
“Well, there are currently five homes on our compound, though we have plans to build others for the Drakemyres as they find their mates.” Just went ahead and threw that on out there.
“In Ionus and Alex’s home Baird, the leader of the Drakemyres and Alex’s great-grandfather, and Knox, aka Gramps, who is Alex’s grandfather and Baird’s son, live there.
Once the four dragonets were born they didn’t want to be far away.
A couple Drakemyres live with Mattias and the rest with Quint.
” With the way cupid was shooting his arrow through this group, we’d need those new homes built pronto.
“It’s almost like you five had a vision into your futures, building homes of this magnitude.”
“Huh, hadn’t thought about that, but I guess we did.” At the time it was more wishful, now, centuries later, the wishes finally came true.
“Come on, I’ll show you around.” Caro and Emerson bowed out, taking a sleeping Cade home. Baird had already returned to Alex and Ionus’ home and Larkin headed back into town. Quint, Angus and Elgin were back at Quint’s napping, which left me, Mattias, Upalo, Rory and Kes.
“Our homes are connected below through the underground garage. You can also reach the training pitch that way, but this time, we’ll use the front door.
” Upalo and Kes laughed, Mattias just rolled his eyes.
“As you can see, our homes are built into the mountainside and next to Ionus and Alex’s is the playground for the kiddos.
” I couldn’t wait to hear our girls’ giggles as Daddy and Papa pushed them high on the swings.
“Over this side of the mountain is the training pitch.”
“Wow, that’s massive,” Upalo said. “Do you have training dummies?”
“You’re looking at them.” Whoa, Mattias made a joke? Who was this and what did you do with my far too serious brother?
“You fight each other?” Kes’s eye widened.
“We do. Ionus wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re dragons, we heal quickly.”
“Not always,” Kes pointed to his eye patch.
“Your just as handsome with one eye as you’d be with two.” Mattias well-meant complement left us all stunned. Well, all but Kes. Guess he bought into it, but smooth Mattias was not. Dude has to work on his game, like now.
“I’m sure Ionus will go easy on you guys the first round,” I grinned. There was no way that was happening. “As I’m sure you’ve seen, there are things that can harm and kill a dragon.”
“Yeah, we’ve seen way too much of that. Daigle was an evil bastard and controlled the entire village. Can’t believe my bro burnt half of it to the ground.”
My gut was telling me there were a few left, hidden deep within the Smoky Mountains. Hopefully, friends, not foe.
Hey, was Raven able to remove the leeches from the prisoners? In our haste to get to know Upalo, Kes and Canyon, I’d forgotten to ask.
One, yes. The other chose to remove his own heart, Ionus replied.
Great.
The remaining prisoner passed out from the pressure caused by removing it. Not sure how long it will take him to recover but Larkin is ready to interrogate him the moment he awakens.
Good to know.