Chapter 23
Zeidon
I did not tell my female that my chest still ached a little when I breathed too deeply, she did not need to worry about that when I knew it was an ache that would fade with time.
Today was the day the Shaman was allowing me to leave the medical room and his care so that we could claim a home inside the mountain of our own.
This room had seemed large at first, but the walls had started closing in on me over the days I’d been forced to spend in here.
I only remained as long as I had, because I did not want to cause my precious Farah any more worry and fear.
And, though I did not admit this out loud, I very much enjoyed how she fussed over me when she was at my side.
The door to the room swished open then to the sound of several female voices.
My mate was in the lead, but she was accompanied by the blonde mate of Zathar.
Vera, who’d given me advice on how to court my female.
There was also a small pale woman with flaming orange hair and many dots on her skin.
That one wore slinky clothing and a sassy look in her eyes whenever she was accompanied by her mate, Zsekhet, once of Serqethos.
A dragon rider who’d brought the healers to me in the nick of time.
I had eyes only for Farah though, who was smiling broadly and accompanied by the pet Sleara riding on her shoulder.
She looked radiant and happy, like a fish in water, completely at home with all this companionship.
For her, I knew I had to adjust to living at Ahoshaga with all these males, a feat no Water Weaver male had ever accomplished before.
Srazz growled with annoyance as the sounds interrupted his nap in my coils, and when I shifted to climb out of the medical nest, he let me know just how annoyed by digging his claws into my scales.
With the tip of my tail, I picked him up and slung him to the floor where he was quickly appeased when the females dropped to their knees to give him pets.
Farah approached me and with a happy smile threw her arms around my neck.
I loved how her curves fit to my body, all soft and warm and so very female.
She smelled delightful, even better than before now that she was healthy and happy.
I was eager to grip her chin and cover her mouth with mine for one of those Earth kisses that the humans had brought to us.
Her taste swept across all my senses as I drew it into my mouth, heady and sweet.
To the sound of whistling and laughter, Farah pulled back.
I did not want to let her go, my grip on the back of her neck briefly tightening before I gave in to her wishes.
If it were up to me, I’d glare at the gaggle of humans laughing at us, but they were backed by their amused mates and I had a feeling they would not take kindly to that kind of thing.
“Come on, Zeidon,” Farah said, tugging on my hands.
I glanced down to look at those tiny fingers against mine, the differences and the similarities.
Five fingers tipped with a nail, though hers were small and blunt.
A smattering of opalescent scales still glimmered along the backs of her palms, but they already seemed to have flaked off a bit.
My green scales were much more pronounced against her pale skin, and I liked how it was tough against soft, how we seemed to balance each other.
The Shaman had studied the scales that covered my mate in intriguing stripes and slashes right now and told us they would likely disappear over time.
I was relieved when he claimed the revenant had done her no permanent damage, and surprised that Farah wasn’t happier by the news.
She’d told me last night in whispers that she’d hoped that the scales on her skin meant we would have an easier time conceiving.
My mate wanted younglings, my younglings, as soon as possible to grow our little family.
She led me from the medical room inside Ahoshaga to the long winding passage around its central fountain core.
The doors that lined the walkway were mostly entrances to homes of which most were still empty, but some were other rooms I’d learned.
Or passages like the one I’d utilized to reach the secret lair of Vrash far below Ahoshaga.
“That’s Vera and Zathar’s,” Farah said as we passed one door, a triple row of furrows had been slashed through that door panel like the grooves of a clawed paw.
The next door had a beautiful sunset painted on that was declared as “Xorare and Aks’s digs.
” That word dig again, what was it with humans and digging?
I had not forgotten Vera’s advice, though it had made Farah laugh rather than take me seriously when I told her.
I needed to find out what Vera had really meant, although I could not deny that I already had exactly what I wanted. My mate, a family, and a home.
Well, I assumed a home, because Farah was heading directly for a door further down.
“Did I tell you that they were briefly without lights in here a couple of days ago?” she said over her shoulder, a little more serious now as she darted her pretty sapphire eyes towards a crystal glowing on the ceiling.
“I think it must have happened when we were in that hydroplant, when Vrash shut down the waterways for a short while.” I rolled a shoulder and nodded, not quite certain why those two things were connected.
The spinning blades in the water had come to a stop for a short while, was that what she meant?
“Hmm,” I said when I realized she was waiting for a response, and when that made the corner of her mouth lift, I dipped down to kiss that sexy corner.
“Is this our new home?” I asked, directing her attention back to the door we hovered in front of.
She beamed me another eager smile and nodded, her dark curly hair bouncing around her shoulders.
“It’s not much yet. I’m sure we’ll have to make several more trips to get all the stuff from your old cave, but it’s a start.
” I had been informed that she’d been back there with help from the dragonrider.
They told me that the tunnel had collapsed further in, blocking the way deeper into the mountain though not my den.
She waved her hand over the door panel and it opened for her to reveal the bright interior.
I stared in surprise at the sight that greeted me, entirely shocked to see a living space look the way this one did.
There were my things, brought here by Zsekhet and his dragon at my mate’s request, though by far not nearly all of it.
My den had been filled to the brim with all kinds of supplies for trade, crafting, and things I liked to collect.
Her wrists jingled when she raised her hand to gesture around the area, the three bracelets I’d crafted for her clinking together merrily.
“This is our living room, what do you think?”
Living room? It looked warm and inviting since my female had hung several of the more colorful pieces of fabric against the walls.
Furs had been stacked on fresh bedding in one corner, but not shaped like a proper nest for some odd reason.
Many of my shelves also lined a wall, but the things on them were artfully arranged or neatly stacked in baskets.
It smelled of the fragrant herbs I liked to dry and just looked… pretty.
“You did really good work, Cosima! It looks amazing!” Vera exclaimed from behind us, and I realized a whole group of them had followed us here.
I was not sure why they felt the need to see this living space, wasn’t that private?
But they were eagerly leaning through the door to get a proper look at everything, not a hint of shame on their human faces.
Farah smiled back at them, “Yeah, thank you! I couldn’t have done all this without you, Cosima.
It was fun!” Fun? My mate found it fun to decorate a room?
I peered again at the fabrics that draped the walls, then spotted another beautiful painting above the doorway to another room.
This was a waterscape, water plants and fishes beneath a cerulean surface.
The artist had exceptional talent and I could still smell the paints used, that was freshly done.
Srazz trundled over a coil of my tail and further into the room in such a casual manner that I knew he’d already been here a few times.
He’d gone out to forage while I healed the past few days, but clearly, he had gone here too, to see my mate when she was not at my side, probably. I couldn’t fault him for that.
He located a fur-covered nest sized just for him in one corner and settled down to continue his previously interrupted nap. It prompted Buzz to leap from my mate’s shoulder, his favorite spot, so he could join his buddy.
Under the sound of oohing and awing, the humans finally left us, they were entirely enamored by the two animals cuddling up together to sleep.
Something I wanted to do with my mate very soon, and that door closing gave me exactly the opportunity I had been craving.
Three days of healing was far too long to go without having my Farah in my arms, even if she had come to sleep in the medical nest with me each night.
I yanked her close, lifting her in the air so I could wrap her slender legs around my middle.
She laughed, which made Srazz grumble in his sleep, and flung her arms around my neck.
“What are you up to? You haven’t even seen everything!
” I had seen enough, and now that I had her alone, I could not wait.
Heading for the oddly shaped nest, I intended to throw her down on it so I could have my way with her.
I needed to cover her with my scent, fill her with my seed, and make certain no one would ever doubt my claim.