Epilogue
ADDIE
“ Y es, you were right Addison—you’re pregnant.” Commander Sylvan—who also happened to be a doctor—handed Addison a tiny pink flower he had pulled from the small machine he’d fed her blood sample to. The unique thing about Kindred pregnancy tests was that they told the sex of the baby at once—in the form of colored flowers.
“A baby girl!” Drago breathed, leaning over to look at the tiny pink bud in the palm of her hand. “The Goddess has truly blessed us!”
Addie smiled at his reaction. Because the Kindred were ninety-five percent male, they valued females highly. Any warrior who was able to father a daughter was considered to be extremely favored by the Mother of All Life.
But as happy as she was, she was still concerned.
“Commander Sylvan, are you sure the test would let us know if there were any…complications with the baby?” she asked anxiously. “I mean, after the Vargans made me drink the spider poison, I was told there could be, um, side effects.”
“Ah yes—they told you a child that grew with unnatural speed could be conceived—I understand. Drago told me all about it.” Commander Sylvan nodded. “But I don’t think you need to worry—the test would show any abnormalities—we would have gotten a full printout of any problems, not just a flower. Besides, it’s been months since the two of you went on your mission to Crimson Moon and according to the size of this flower, you haven’t been pregnant for long.” He nodded at the little pink bud Addison was still cupping carefully in her hand.
“Oh, all right.” Addison nodded gratefully as her anxiety eased. “Thank you, Commander Sylvan.”
“You’re welcome, Addison.” He smiled at her. “It’s early yet, but all indications are that you’re going to have a healthy pregnancy and a beautiful baby girl.”
“Thank you!” Addie’s eyes were suddenly stinging and she had to sniff back tears. “I don’t know why I’m crying—I was just so scared when I missed my period! Scared of having an instant pregnancy and a ‘Choosing Child,’ I mean.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, baby.” Drago put an arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “The Goddess has blessed us—we can trust her to watch over the new little life inside you.”
“What about the life inside you?” Addie asked him, giving her Mate a watery smile. She turned to Commander Sylvan. “How long can I safely keep flying with Drago’s Drake? I hate to stop right away—he looks forward to our dates so much.”
Ever since she and Drago had Bonded, they had been going off to nearby uninhabited worlds where he could let his Drake out safely. Drago had made a special harness and saddle for the huge creature to wear and now Addie could ride securely on the Drake’s back. She loved soaring through the sky and knew she would miss it terribly if she couldn’t do it anymore.
Also, the Drake really did love his time with her. Drago was mostly conscious now when his other half came out, but her new Mate considerately took a back seat and let her spend time with his Drake when they flew. They didn’t talk much during the flights—mostly they communicated with emotions. Addie loved feeling wrapped in the powerful creature’s love and protectiveness almost as much as she loved the sensation of flying high in the sky on his back.
Commander Sylvan chuckled at her anxious question.
“Well, the three of you certainly have a unique relationship! I think it should be safe for you to fly up until the fourth quadmester.”
“The fourth quadmester…right.” Addison wrinkled her nose. She had almost forgotten that a Kindred pregnancy took an entire year—not just nine months. “By that time I probably won’t even feel like walking —let alone flying.”
“You’ll be fine,” Drago told her. “If you feel like it, we can still go someplace so the two of you can spend time together. Even if you can’t go flying on his back, I know my Drake will enjoy being with you.” He grinned “Especially if you give him ‘skritches.’”
Addie laughed. “Yes, he loves his skritches! All right, we should be okay then.”
Commander Sylvan shook his head, but he was smiling as he did so.
"Well, if you don't have any more questions, I'm going to prescribe you some prenatal vitamins and let you go. I know you probably have some shopping to do for the new baby."
“Oh, I can’t wait to set up a nursery!” Addison exclaimed. “But actually, there is one more thing. I wanted to know if you’ve heard anything else from Crimson Moon?”
Commander Sylvan looked somber.
“As I understand it, they went through a period of deep civil and social unrest after the two of you left.”
“Not fucking surprising,” Drago growled. “I mean, I’m sure we probably destabilized their society when my Drake killed their Goddess.”
"Yes, you did but actually, from the reports I've had, many of the Vargans were glad when Sheelash was killed," Sylvan said. "Apparently the 'Low Born,' who had no 'Sheelash White' in their hair, were being treated as second-class citizens. Now that there is no possibility of anyone having another 'Choosing Child' with that particular color hair, they are becoming a more equal and equitable society."
"Well that's good," Addison said thoughtfully. "It makes me wish I could visit and do a follow-up to the paper I wrote on them."
“Oh, no!” Drago gave her a dark look. “I don’t think so, baby—we are never going back there! Especially not now that you’re pregnant.”
Addie gave him a frown, but she wasn’t really upset.
“Well, I can see you’re going to be even more protective now that I’ve got a bun in the oven.”
“Not just me—my Drake is going crazy at the idea of you going back to ‘Spider Planet’ as he calls it. Here—listen.”
He opened the mental door between herself and the Drake and Addie heard a worried sounding roaring. Then the deep, rough voice of Drago’s Drake came through loud and clear.
“No more visiting the bad place! No more Spider Planet!”
“All right—all right,” Addie sent him along with some soothing emotions. “I promise, we won’t go back there.”
She felt the Drake subside but his deep devotion and protectiveness came through loud and clear, even after he stopped speaking.
"Well, I guess that puts an end to that," she said with a sigh after Drago closed the mental door.
"If you like I can let you read the reports I get from the scouts we have in that sector," Commander Sylvan offered. "You might not be able to give a first-hand account, but you could still write your follow-up paper."
“Oh, would you do that? Thank you so much!” Addie said, nodding eagerly.
“It’s my pleasure. We want you to continue your research,” Commander Sylvan said. “I’ll send you the reports as I get them. But for now, I’m going to let the two of you go. I enjoy being a doctor, but now I have to get back to tending to the Mother Ship. I have a meeting with the High Council in half an hour.”
“Of course, we wouldn’t want to keep you,” Drago said. He straightened up and helped Addie off the exam table. “Thank you again, Commander.”
“You’re welcome.” Commander Sylvan nodded and smiled. “If you have any problems, just call me. For now, go enjoy yourselves. Oh, and get plenty of rest! In about a year, once the baby gets here, you’ll be wishing you could get more sleep! I still remember how exhausted my wife, Sophia, and I were after we had our twins. ”
He nodded at them and left the exam room, leaving Addie alone with her Mate.
“Just think, baby—in a year we’ll see our precious little one,” Drago rumbled, smiling down at her. He placed a big, warm hand on her belly and leaned down. “We can’t wait to meet you, sweetheart!” he murmured.
“I can see it now,” Addie said, laughing. “She’s going to have you wrapped around her little finger!”
“Of course she will—she’s going to be my little princess,” Drago said seriously—he obviously had absolutely no shame about it. He was going to be a great dad—and Addie couldn’t wait to be a mom.
She felt tears of joy rising to her eyes at the thought of holding her new daughter in her arms. But she couldn’t help thinking of everything that she and Drago had gone through to get together. Their trip to Crimson Moon had been scary and dangerous, but if they hadn’t gone there, she doubted they would ever have gotten Bonded. So in a way, they owed their upcoming joy to the hardship they had suffered through.
It was worth it, she thought, smiling. All of it—absolutely worth it.
“Come on, baby,” Drago said, breaking her train of thought. “Let’s get out of here. I want to take a trip someplace quiet so we can tell my Drake about the baby.”
Addie frowned.
“Doesn’t he already know? I mean, doesn’t he know everything that you know?”
Drago nodded.
“To a certain extent. But I’m not sure he really understands . I need to let him out so you can tell him yourself. And then I’m sure he’s going to want to cuddle you some. He was really upset by the idea of you wanting to go back to Crimson Moon—I mean ‘Spider Planet.’”
“All right.” Addie nodded and smiled. The massive Drake’s way of “cuddling her” was to put his head down on the ground and let her lean against him and scratch his eye ridges. She liked the idea of being close to the massive beast and helping him understand that soon there would be another life to love and protect within their little family.
Between having a seven-foot tall Kindred warrior as a father and a huge Fire Drake as a guardian, this little girl is going to be the most loved and best-protected baby in the whole world, she thought.
“In the whole fucking universe!” Drago sent through their link and she realized he must have heard her thought.
“Yes,” she agreed, laughing. “The whole universe!”