Chapter 1 #3
Closing my eyes, I strained my ears to pick up anything within.
There was the faint but distinct whooshing sound of the interior egg.
The magic of life within stirred and built, creating a new person.
My chest fluttered with both excitement and sadness.
Soon, I would have a new baby sister. A happy miracle, but that happiness was muted by the cold, vacant, and lifeless nests around.
I wished beyond measure that they weren’t empty.
All I wanted was for my people to flourish again.
My mother did too, and that brought even more sadness as I straightened.
“So,” I said. “Still, uh, no idea who the father is?”
Mom wasn’t ashamed at the question. She simply shrugged. “No real way of knowing. I’d been courting around half a dozen different partners at the time.” she shrugged, lifting her hands and turning the palms to the ceiling. “Maybe she’ll have her father’s eyes, and I’ll figure it out from there.”
I did my best not to wince in embarrassment at the casual way my mother talked about her sex life.
At least she had done something to keep our race alive.
Though, as far as I knew, only one of her suitors had been a winged dragon—Korvax, an older man who lived here with us.
The others had all been drakes or wyrms from families we were friendly with.
If any of those men were the father, there was a chance my sister could be one of their species rather than ours.
“I see you’re sleeping here with her,” I said, nodding at the bed that had been set up at the far wall.
“I got used to being in here,” Mom said, running a loving hand over the rough shell.
“Two years in my dragon form gestating the egg, most of that was spent here resting. Plus,” she glanced around sadly, “I don’t want her in here alone all the time.
She deserves to have someone nearby that loves her. ”
I glanced down at the egg, awed by the beauty of it. Orange with red accents, as it usually was for a girl. A boy would have been purple or dark blue. It looked like some sort of beautifully carved stone rather than the harbinger of life.
“I’m glad she’s not alone,” I said. “But if you ever get tired of being in here, let me know. I’d be happy to trade for a bit.”
“I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Mom said, bending to kiss the top of the egg.
Before I could stop it, a yawn burst from my mouth.
“God, I’m tired. I’m going to my study for a bit. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Go on. I’ll be fine. I’m going to go up to the roof. Tonight will be cloudless, and watching the stars will be a good way to wind down, now that both my children are home,” she said, reaching up to pat my cheek.
Departing, I headed down the hall and up one flight of stairs to my study.
My own library was nothing compared to what I’d found at Ayumundi’s place, but it was still impressive.
The shelves were lined with copies of classic shifter-penned novels like A Dance of Fire and By Tooth and Claw, along with human books ranging from A Tale of Two Cities to The Stand.
Along with the fiction tomes, I had a huge array of nonfiction books—history, genealogy, magical grimoires, and ancient journals.
I went to the small cocktail bar hidden beneath the hinged lid of a globe and poured myself two fingers of whiskey.
I caught sight of my reflection in the large mirror that made up the southern wall of the room and paused in surprise.
After weeks spent on the hunt for Ayumundi, I looked damn near feral.
My jet-black hair was dull and dirty from the days of travel, my wavy curls unkempt and messy.
Even my body looked tired—broad, muscular shoulders hunched forward as if exhausted beyond measure, eyes bloodshot.
Each iris was bright blue, but my left pupil was fully and completely dilated from an accident in childhood, making that eye appear black with a faint rim of icy blue.
Throwing back my drink, I hissed as the liquid burned its way down my throat.
I poured another drink before sitting at my desk, looking over the stacks of papers.
My duties weren’t as extensive as they would have been had there been more winged dragons, but I did still have things that needed my attention.
Our holdings—real estate, moderate and large corporations, as well as smaller businesses that needed to be run—were still vast.
Without members of our race to work the day-to-day tasks, many of those companies had been handed over to humans or other magical races.
Though, I still had to sign off on dozens of things a month.
Since I’d been gone so long, things had piled up.
Setting my glass aside, I went about opening envelopes and logging onto my computer to dive into the dozens and dozens of emails I had.
The work had the opposing effects of both getting me back in touch with all that was required of me, but also lulling me into a stupor of exhaustion. After nearly an hour, I lost track of what I was doing. I blinked a few times, then gave up and rested my head on the desk.
A scream rent the air, tearing me from sleep. Blood curdling and piercing, it dragged me from the abyss of dreamless darkness into wakefulness. The scream came a second time, more gut-wrenching than the first. It was the sound of heartbreak and horror.
“Mom?” I cried, stumbling from my desk and out to the hallway.
In the corridors, I heard the distant sounds of voices calling out.
Others had awoken to the sound of my mother’s screams as well.
Adrenaline pumped into my veins, shredding the last vestiges of sleep and sending me sprinting down the hall.
The third cry sounded like a lament. My heart slammed so hard, trying to shatter my ribs and tear free of my body.
All I could think of was getting to my mom.
A hundred images flashed through my mind.
A break in? Intruders? Perhaps some feral or rabid wolf shifters had somehow gotten through the reinforced doors and windows of the estate?
Or worse, some faction of drakes or wyrms had come to finally rid the world of flying dragons once and for all?
Mom’s sobbing led me back to the hatchery, where I stumbled in to find her on her knees sobbing uncontrollably.
“Mom? What’s wrong? What…”
I trailed off, stumbling as I fell to my knees at the sight of what had caused her such distress. Such heart-rending sadness and hopelessness. The ring of heated stones was empty. Not a shattered shell, not a birthed child. Nothing. The egg was missing. Gone.