Chapter 14 #3
“What do you mean your parents?” Tai scratched his head. “Your parents died when you were four—”
“Yeah, that was a bit much, no?” Frankie asked her parents.
Uncle Kyle shrugged. “Your mother was being overprotective. Guess we know who you got that from.”
“I don’t get it.” Mei-Ling shook her head. “They’re your parents and also your aunt and uncle? Huh?”
“Shouldn’t you have angel parents?” Jackson asked quietly.
Uncle Kyle wagged his eyebrows, then light sparkled along his body. When it faded, his black hair was replaced by bright-red hair and his silver eyes were emerald green. He stopped and struck a pose. “I had a lot of fun looking like this. St Patrick’s Day was a real hoot, wasn’t it, love?”
Aunt Kimmy ran her hands through her blonde hair, but as her fingers slid through the strands, they changed to dark-brown, though her hazel eyes remained the same. “You were only a redhead for four years, but yes, please tell me about being a ginger.”
Tai groaned and bent over to rest his hands on his knees. “The fuck is happening right now?”
Mei-Ling pressed her fingers to her temples. “What am I missing here?”
“I’m her father. I conceived her. Twice, technically. I mean, we weren’t just gonna let someone else make you the second time. Right, love?”
“That’s right. I gave birth to you twice.” She patted her now flat belly. “I think I should get the mother of the realm award for it.”
He looked over his shoulder and arched an eyebrow at her. “You used drugs the second time—”
“Choose your words wisely, darling. I can arrange for them to be your last.”
Devon cackled and clapped her hands. “Tell ‘em, girl. No uterus, no opinion.”
Frankie had a far-off look in her eyes.
“You okay, Franks?”
“If we survive this war, perhaps I’ll have another. I’d like to compare the drugged version of childbirth.” She shrugged. “For science.”
Auryn threw her head back and laughed. “I can hear Father’s heart attack already.”
“Excuse me!” Tai threw his hands up. “So you're Uncle Kyle? Or you’re her father Edward?”
“Well, Tai, you can call me Uncle Kyle, or Edward . . .” the man in question was only a few feet away now, “but I used to be called Ananiel, though I’ve grown quite fond of—”
“Ya girl Leyka?” Frankie finished for him, already laughing.
He stopped in front of us and struck yet another pose, but as he did, his appearance changed to one we all knew too well by now. Long, blond curly hair, aquamarine eyes, suntanned skin, and that permanent sideways grin. “Yours truly, ya girl Leyka. And you’re welcome.”
Fucking Leyka.
Frankie shook her head, but she was grinning from ear to ear. “Yeah, thanks for the help, Dad. You’re a pain in the ass.”
Leyka cackled. “You should’ve seen your face.”
“That fucking pig was impossible—”
“You were always meant to smash it, Celinabina.” He threw his arms wide. “Though I did take bets on how long it would take you to do it.”
She snorted, then dove for him. He scooped her up into a hug and squeezed her tight. Leyka had always seemed like an all laughs kind of guy, but while he held daughter in his arms, I saw the emotion in his face in how his eyebrows pinched together and his lips smashed into one line.
Then something occurred to me. “Wait, if your father is Leyka and your mother birthed you twice . . . then that means your mother is—”
“Exhausted.”
I jumped and turned at the sound of an all too familiar voice. “—Keltie.”
She grinned, her eyes sparkled like the sea in the sunshine. Her long red hair dragged the ground as it always did, though she was wearing far more clothing than her usual shell ensemble. Her cheeks flushed as she stopped behind her soulmate and their daughter.
Frankie gasped and pulled back, Leyka instantly setting her down. She stared at Keltie with tears in her eyes. “Mother.”
“Heavens, you have no idea how nice that is to hear finally.” Keltie wiped a tear from her cheek.
Frankie dove into Keltie’s arms, burying her face in her mother’s chest. Keltie held her even tighter than Leyka had.
She didn’t bother to wipe the tears running down her face.
“I started to fear we’d never make it here,” she cried into Frankie’s hair.
Frankie pulled back with her own tears running down her face. “The night I died . . . the night I traveled through time to find Everest . . . thank you for showing. I don’t think he would’ve had the strength to believe me if you hadn’t.”
She wiped Frankie’s tears with her fingers. “Considering what I made my father do to prove to me that my own soulmate and daughter would return to me . . . I knew exactly how he would feel. But if I’m honest, I needed to see your face as much as he did that night.”
“Hey Val, that reminds me . . .” Leyka turned to Valathame while snapping his fingers. “Did you make Franks travel in time just to let them know?”
She giggled. “No, but ya know, time is a fickle thing for us—”
“Can we meet the real Cronos now?”
Valathame grinned. “If you can find him, Tegan. How else do you think Lilith is able to run around pretending to be him?”
“You should’ve seen her face when I turned into a pig.”
We all laughed. It felt nice to laugh, even if the moment was temporary.
“Why do you turn into a pig now?”
He shrugged and wrapped his arm around Frankie’s shoulders. “It’s a pleasant surprise, Celinabina. Inherited it from my second mother, though I have my suspicions it came from my second father.”
Frankie scowled. “Right, you had to be reborn as well. Who were your parents?”
“Well, my mother was a lovely, kind, formidable arcana woman who had already given birth to Myrtle Proctor many years beforehand.” Leyka shook his head. “Your new grandfather, however, I’ve only recently learned the identity of . . . Raziel.”
Frankie gasped. “Shut up. Raziel is your new father?”
He grinned. “And Lucifer was his new father.”
Frankie made the motion of her mind exploding. “I have so many holes to fill in.”
“Not to ruin the moment . . .” Savannah cleared her throat, “but has no one else noticed the fucking raven sitting on my shoulder?”
We all glanced over, then did a double take. There was, in fact, a big black bird sitting on Savannah’s shoulder. Except it was definitely not a raven. It had scales, spikes running down its spine, and a long tail—my eyes widened.
“Is that a dragon?” Warner asked. “Y’all see a tiny black dragon, right?”
“WHAT?” Savannah shrieked and swatted at the dragon, then scrambled away from it.
Frankie’s eyes were wide. “I’ve never seen a dragon that small before . . .”
“That’s why I thought it was a raven!” Savannah shouted and half-hid behind me. “Who lost their child?”
That was a horrifying thought. “Hold on, is that a baby?”
Auryn was giggling. “He gets this from you, Grandfather.”
Leyka grinned. “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.”
“What is happening right now?” Frankie looked back and forth. Her eyes widened. “No way.”
The tiny dragon roared and flapped his wings, then flew straight at Savannah at a blinding speed. She screeched and sprinted out from behind me, but the mini-dragon just followed and nipped at the tips of her hair.
“LE’ME’LONE!” she hollered and cursed. “SHOO FLY! OR IMMA SWAT YOU!”
The tiny dragon threw its little head back and spit fire.
It flapped its wings and water splashed on my face like rain.
I dried it with a flick of my wrist, but when I looked up, Savannah was screeching at it and still running.
Tegan was about to piss herself from laughing so hard.
Frankie had her hands on her head. Leyka was clapping.
Auryn just closed her eyes and shook her head. Keltie was trying to hide her giggles.
There was a flash of light and then a woman appeared between Savannah and the tiny dragon. I couldn’t see her face but Savannah did, and hers turned white like a ghost.
“MOM?” Savannah slid to a stop, her shock over her mother’s sudden appearance overpowering her fear of the tiny dragon. “WHAT THE FUCK?”
“Hi, sweetheart.” The tiny dragon roared and lunged around Savannah’s mom, but she reached out and grabbed it by the horn, stopping it dead in its tracks. “That’s enough.”
Savannah staggered back. “Mom? What is happening? Cooper, is this a dream?”
Cooper shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”
Savannah’s mom turned to look right at Leyka. “Really?”
“MOM.”
“I’ve been tellin’ you since you were little . . .” she shook the dragon by the horn, “you can’t react to his games, he only leans into them harder.”
Savannah flinched. “Ma’am.”
She snapped her fingers in the tiny dragon’s face. “Out. Now. Or I’ll let your grandfather return the favor.”
The tiny dragon, which I now realized wasn’t black but a dark blueish gray, sighed—and grew to the size and form of a human man. Again, his back was to me so I couldn’t see his face either, but I did see him hold both hands up in surrender.
Savannah gasped and stumbled backwards with her hands pressed to her chest. “DAD?”
“Excuse me, Savannah?” Cooper raised his hand right next to me. “When were you gonna tell me your dad is a dragon shifter?”
Her face turned red. “As soon as he told ME, Cooper Devon Bishop.”
Savannah’s dad reached out and ruffled her hair with his hand, then turned to his left and grinned. His blue eyes changed to pink. He threw his arms out wide. “MEEMAW!”
A strangled scream ripped up Savannah’s throat. Her mouth dropped but no words came out.
Frankie’s eyes watered. “Raeven!”
“Finally, I see the real you.” Raeven rushed over and wrapped her in a big hug. They rocked back and forth. “I can’t believe the wait is over.”
Frankie pulled back, then took his face in her hands. “I can’t believe how much of Everest I see in you now that I finally see you.”
“EXCUSE ME, MA’AM!” Savannah shouted, her face flushed. “WHAT IN LUCY’S NAME DOES THAT MEAN?”
Frankie’s eyes widened. She bit her bottom lip.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SEE EVEREST IN HIM?”
Raeven cleared his throat. He looked down at Frankie with sparkling brown eyes. “Meemaw, I’d like to introduce you to your great-granddaughter . . . my daughter . . . Savannah Grace.”
“WHAT?” Savannah pressed her fingers to her temples and shook her head. “No, no, no. I’m not hearin’ this right.”
Valathame chuckled, then turned to Frankie and kissed her temple. “Welcome home, my darling niece. You have some catching up to do, and I don’t want to interfere after they’ve waited so long, but you did give the page to your grandson, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Yeah, I did.” Frankie frowned at him. “Where is the bag?”
Raeven held his arm out to reveal a dark-brown leather rope wrapped around his wrist. “Right here, Meemaw.”
“Took you long enough,” Auryn said with a huff.
“I took the long way, just like Grandfather taught me.” Raeven leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Neka told me what happened. Mother, are you all right? Father is safe in Issale.”
“I’m fine, Son. Your grandfather rescued me.”
“Where is he? Is he all right?” He looked to Valathame. “Will he be okay?”
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. She snapped her fingers and the rope slid off his wrist. “But the rest of us won’t if we don’t get this tome opened.”
Tegan snatched the rope. Rainbow magic coiled around her hands. After a moment the rope transformed into that magic bag of Tegan’s. She reached in and pulled out the missing page. Her pale-green eyes sparkled. “We have work to do.”
“Tegan, Bentley, come with me for now.” Valathame backed away. “The rest of you get some sleep. Eat a proper meal. We get to work tonight.”
Tegan squeezed my hand, then pressed her lips to mine for a second. “Don’t even think of leaving Eden without me, got it?”
I scoffed. “Says the one about to leave.”
She winked and then hooked her arm around Valathame’s. “Love you, babe.”
Bentley gave me an exaggerated wink and blew me a kiss. “Love you, babe.”
I just shook my head as the three of them vanished in a rainbow cloud.
“Savannah?” her mother asked softly as she approached her daughter like she was going to spook and run. “Savannah, are you all right? Talk to me—”
“Talk to you? TALK. You expect me to talk after all this?” Her voice had raised several octaves. “TALK?”
“Yes, please talk to us?” She pressed her palm to Savannah’s back. “What’s going on in your head? How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling like there’s a depression on the way, not a tropical depression but equally as wet,” Savannah mumbled. “I need a nap. I need a minute alone. I need a snack and maybe to puke. ‘Dis too much.”