13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
Mattias
To say my dragon was giddy would be an understatement.
I swear that dragon preened every time we laid eyes on one of our mates.
Of course, he insisted that dragons didn’t preen, we were proud creatures, nor were they ever giddy, but I knew what I felt so he could protest all he wanted to.
His response was a snort as we headed back from another session on the pitch.
My mates were exempt from training now that they were expecting, which meant I’d left them in bed this morning when I’d snuck away.
Ironically enough, it was getting harder to do now that Kes had started clinging to me instead of slipping away whenever he woke in the middle of the night.
Realization dawned on me that his refusal to remain in the bed had more to do with being worried about the eye-patch moving than his dreams.
Now that it had been eliminated from the equation, he stayed, even when he woke up scared, and allowed me to hold him through it, rather than leaving us to go outside to his favorite deck chair.
In time, I knew he’d trust us with the details of those dreams. For now, I was pleased that he’d opted to cling, rather than leave.
It was no small step for him that didn’t go unnoticed by me.
Stepping back inside the house I was met with silence and quietly crept up the stairs to the most adorable sight I could have ever imagined coming home to.
It was a precursor to things to come, for sure and certain, because I new that with dragonets on the horizon, there would be many more moments of utter cuteness in my future.
Kes had scooted into the empty spot left behind by my absence, and cuddled up behind Caspian, one hand on Caspian’s belly, his head pressed to Caspian’s shoulder as they soundly slept the morning away.
I took several pictures before heading to the shower to clean up, then back down the stairs to make breakfast for when they woke, along with one of Kaika’s seaweed smoothies for Kes, to ensure he’d eat and be able to keep the meal down.
So far, they’ve been working, too. My mates came downstairs a short time later, hair damp from their shower and messily braided in their haste to get to the kitchen.
“What smells so amazing?” Kes asked as he sniffed, sighed and snagged the smoothie first, before investigating the rest of the meal.
“Crabcakes benedict with sunny side up eggs and hollandaise sauce on top,” I explained.
“You had me at crabcakes,” Kes replied as he sat down.
“Same,” Caspian added, making grabby hands at me as soon as I headed toward the table with their plates.
“How did training go this morning?” Kes asked as he finished his smoothie and started on the grape juice I’d set on the table beside his plate.
He wasn’t a fan of orange, said it was too thick and made his stomach hurt afterward.
Tea was hit or miss, hopefully more hit, now that he was expecting, because there were soothing blends that would also help with the nausea.
Caspian didn’t have any food aversions I’d discovered yet, but he hadn’t spent as much time on land as Kes had to know how the food would hit him, so I watched their reactions to what they ate and planned accordingly.
“There is a fresh indentation in the pitch after Caro and I pulled a low-high maneuver on Ionus that he did not expect. The look on his face was priceless, even if he did make us pay for it later when he covered the pitch in smoke and started popping in and out of it to strike us.”
“You guys get truly creative with your powers, don’t you?
” Kes asked. “I always wanted to play with my ice more, to test the limits of my abilities, but with the connection between my dragon and I so tumultuous, it was always hit or miss how things would turn out. I’m glad to have the opportunity to get used to there not being a block between us.
Training for that last mission was a struggle.
I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to help as much as you needed me to. ”
“You got us there,” Caspian said.
“He’s right,” I said. “To Quint, that means everything. You gave my brother his mate.”
“And me my great-grandfather,” Caspian added. “Now he’ll have the opportunity to know his great-great grandchildren.”
“That’s a mouthful right there,” I said.
“The dragonets are going to need a nickname for him,” Kes replied, smiling as he finally dug into the food.
Caspian had already put a dent in one of his two crabcakes, making obscene sounds in between bites, but Kes’ moan and facial expressions when he tasted the first bite, made Caspian’s noises seem tame.
“Oh Goddess, that’s good,” Kes said.
My cock twitched several times while listening to the pair devour their breakfast. Afterwards, they rinsed their dishes and loaded them in the dishwasher while I finished my meal.
I’d been so busy watching them that I’d neglected most of my plate until they were done.
As I swirled the last bite around in the sauce, Kes plopped down on my lap and opened his mouth, eyeing my bite until I fed it to him.
He sighed contently while he chewed and lay his head on my shoulder, mirrored on the other side by Caspian, who’d perched across his.
“There is something I need to show you both,” I said as I held them.
“Oh? Is there another hidden tunnel?” Caspian asked.
“Not this time,” I replied. “We don’t even have to leave the house for this one. Under ideal circumstances, I would have done it immediately.”
“But we came in like a wrecking ball,” Kes remarked, singing the last part, making Caspian and I laugh.
“Ready to go see our horde?” I asked.
“You have a horde?” Caspian said, wiggling around excitedly.
“We have a horde and it’s very important that we get your biometrics scanned in so that you’ll be able to open it any time you need too, but especially if we are under attack.
If that ever happens, we will issue a lockdown and you two are to head to the horde, lock yourselves and our dragonets in and not emerge until I come get you. ”
“Have any of the other mates had to do that yet?” Caspian asked.
“Yes,” I replied. “Alex, Emerson and Ronan have all had to retreat to their hordes during a battle that raged too close. When Caro and Emerson were expecting, Caro carved a bassinet into one of the stone pillars, because Emerson loved working inside the horde space. It gave me an idea that I’m now glad I followed through on. Ready to see it?”
“I am,” Caspian chirped hopping off first.
Kes moved slower. Snuggling for a moment, content to remain in my arms for several seconds longer before standing.
I could feel his dragon’s reluctance and draped my arm over his shoulder for the walk to the horde room, surprised when he slipped his hand into the back pocket of my jeans as we walked.
Caspian snapped several pictures of us before we reached the door to the horde, strategically located in my office, behind the desk I rarely used.
It was a room I’d only shown them in passing during the initial tour of the house, because my work took place beneath the waves, not behind walls and windows.
“Let’s get the system programed, then I’ll show you what’s inside,” I said, making short work of scanning their biometrics in.
“Can we add things to the horde as well?” Caspian asked? “I-I mean, I don’t have anything to add right now, obviously, I didn’t even have clothes when I got here, but maybe someday I’ll find something cool.”
“It is your horde now too. You can add anything you’d like,” I explained. “That goes for both of you. Come on, I’ll show you around.”
The door slid open, so seamlessly blended into the stone wall that Caspian jerked when it started to move.
“Whoa…this is…it’s like having a private beach,” Caspian sighed as he sunk his feet into the sand that covered the cave floor and wiggled his toes.
Did a carpet of sand mean I vacuumed the office more than any other room in the house, despite its disuse?
Absolutely.
Did I care?
Absolutely not.
“Did you carve these shelves into the stone walls?” Kes asked as he slid away from my side to inspect the first long row. “And find all of these shells and pearls.”
“Every last one of them, for both,” I explained.
His eye shimmered when he turned to look at me, but he turned away the moment a tear fell.
“I love seashells,” Kes murmured, “I carried a wooden box of them in my backpack wherever we traveled. I lined it with cotton balls so they wouldn’t get broken. Those are the only treasures I have. I-I think I’d like to go get them now and find a place for them in here.”
It took one stride to close the distance between us and wrap him in my arms, lifting him as I held him close. The moment I set him back on his feet, Caspian latched on to him and clung. We both knew what this moment meant.
Trust.
Just like when he’d removed his eyepatch.
He scurried away when Caspian let him go but returned a short time later with a small box shaped like a treasure chest. There was a look of pride on his face when he opened it to reveal a Cone Snail shell sitting beside a Nautilus one, a sea star, a sand dollar, and even a Junonia.
Each was rare and came from a different part of the world, mementos from his travels.
“This one I found on the beach the night I saw you fly out of the moon’s reflection,” Kes said, carefully moving a clump of cotton to reveal a Harp shell.
“I couldn’t believe it when I spotted it and realized it was in one piece.
I had to double check with someone else later, just to make sure it was what I thought it was.
Afterwards, I’d take it out and think about that night and you.
Finding a Harp shell was already special because of how rare they are, but I saw a Seadragon that night when I didn’t even know you existed.
Until Mattias took us on our magical dragon ride through the city, it was the best night of my life. Now it’s the second best.”