Chapter 13
Zigmander
For once I can out excel the other mates at something.
I shift to my displacer beast form, feeling my body elongate, my muscles ripple and rearrange beneath my skin.
The familiar sensation of my tentacles unfurling from my shoulders sends a pleasant shiver down my spine as I hunt.
I phase my way across the forest, the world blurring around me in streaks of green and brown, the scent of pine needles and damp earth filling my heightened senses.
I’m hunting the deer that run wild here.
Their musky scent carried on the cool breeze.
I know they’re small compared to a dragon, mere morsels for Mina’s appetite, but it’s what I can catch easily for my mate.
The male dragons of the nest have been switching out every eight hours, watching over Mina, their protective instincts on full display.
While Thauglor and Abraxis are at the school maintaining appearances, Klauth is shifted, his massive beast curled protectively around Mina, holding her under his wing like a precious treasure.
I phase back into the chamber with a deer trapped in my tentacles, its heart pounding frantically against my grip.
The static electricity of phasing still crackling across my skin, I materialize with the scent of ozone lingering around me.
Mina’s head whips up hearing the deer’s panicked bleats, her nostrils flaring wide as she catches the scent of fresh prey.
Her pupils dilate instantly, the gold of her irises reduced to thin rings.
The minute I toss it her way, the deer’s hooves scrabbling uselessly against the smooth stone floor, she lunges out with startling speed for something so large.
Her massive jaws snap shut around the animal before it can run, the sound of bones crunching echoing off the chamber walls.
I shift back to my human form, bones contracting with a series of satisfying pops, and walk over to the water trough we brought in here.
The metal is cool against my palm as I turn on the hose to put more fresh water in it, the splashing sound oddly comforting in the otherwise quiet chamber.
“Are you still hungry?” I stare up at Mina’s dragoness, taking in the majestic sight of her.
The torchlight reflects off her emerald and silver scales, creating patterns of light across the chamber walls like living stained glass.
She tilts her head to the side, her neck scales rasping softly against each other, then shakes it no, the movement sending a gentle wave of her warm, spicy scent toward me.
Sometime last night, the guys made a makeshift bathroom for Mina comprising a tarp and wood shavings. Unfortunately for me, I get the honor of phasing it out of the nest and back again after it’s been used, the unpleasant task falling to the one mate who can disappear and reappear at will.
Klauth shifts back, his massive dragonic form shrinking and reshaping into his human one with a sound like distant thunder.
His bare feet slap against the stone floor as he walks around Mina to look at her stomach and then under her tail, his movements precise and clinical.
“She’s getting close to laying her eggs.
” He motions to her tail, his calloused finger pointing to the scales there.
“The silver scales underneath will darken just before she’s ready to lay the eggs.
” The excitement in his voice is barely contained, despite his attempt at a professional tone.
He looks over at the dummy eggs that she’s painted black, their surface dull compared to the glossy sheen I imagine the real eggs will have.
“We have to roll those in the birthing slime so she can use them to fool her father when she’s ready to. ”
Mina’s dragoness rumbles something, the sound vibrating through my chest cavity like rolling thunder during a violent storm.
Her breath carries the metallic tang of deer blood mixed with her natural spicy scent.
“Mina says no one outside of our nest is to know about the eggs.” Klauth translates, his eyes serious as they meet mine.
He looks at me, then back to Mina when she rumbles again, her tail twitching with agitation, the spikes scraping against the stone floor.
“Go make sure the others know. Mina thinks that in Abraxis’s excitement, he may have told others. ”
No sooner are the words out of his mouth.
I phase to the academy into Thauglor’s office; the world compressing around me before expanding again with that distinctive electric crackle.
The scent of old books and ink replaces the earthy, primal smells of the nesting chamber.
Thauglor almost falls out of his chair from the shock of my arrival, his usually composed face contorting with surprise, the pen in his hand clattering to the desk.
“Sorry, Klauth sent me. Mina doesn’t want anyone to know about what’s happening at home.
” I don’t say what because who knows if the walls have ears? The paranoia justified at this point.
“That was understood,” Thauglor says, and you can tell he’s irritated with Abraxis from the way his jaw tightens, a muscle jumping in his cheek. The temperature in the room seems to drop a few degrees with his displeasure. “I had to remind my descendant twice already today.”
“I’ll find him and remind him again.” I nod before phasing into Shadowcarve to the training ring.
The sudden change in atmosphere—from the cool, quiet office to the open-air arena filled with the sounds of combat—momentarily disorienting.
The scent of sweat and leather fills my nostrils as I materialize at the edge of the ring.
Abraxis is supervising the first and second years sparring, his voice carrying across the training ground as he calls out corrections.
“Hey Zig!” a third-year yells, his voice cracking with adolescence. The sun beats down on my back, warming my skin as I turn toward the voice. “Where’s Mina? Abraxis won’t tell us.” Several other students chime in afterward, their voices overlapping in a cacophony of curiosity.
“She’s doing Queen shit. Boring political bullshit.” The lie rolls easily off my tongue, tasting bitter but necessary. “Trust me, she would rather be here kicking your asses instead of writing letters.” They buy it easily, disappointment evident in their slumped shoulders and exaggerated sighs.
“I should have thought of saying that,” Abraxis whispers close to me, his breath warm against my ear, carrying the scent of cinnamon from his morning tea.
“Mom is already asking about Mina, and I can’t lie to her.
” His eyes widen as he looks at me before looking back to his students, the conflict clear in the tense line of his shoulders.
“Let Thauglor do it then. He’ll pull the ‘I’m the ancestor’ card, and that should work.
” I pull him further away from the group, my fingers gripping the rough fabric of his training jacket.
The sounds of practice fights—the thud of body against mat, the sharp intake of breath when a blow lands—provide cover for our hushed conversation.
“I think she wants to wait for them to be born so they can protect themselves or escape.” I stare down at the ground for a moment, watching a tiny insect navigate through the rocks, before looking up again, meeting Abraxis’s gaze.
“I’m so excited. It’s hard to keep to myself,” Abraxis says, and I completely understand what he means. The joy in his eyes is palpable, his usual stoic demeanor cracking with barely contained elation.
“I want to shout it from the rooftops.” Sighing, I smile, feeling the stretch of muscles in my face that haven’t been used much lately with all the tension.
“I don’t care if they end up being both yours.
As long as they’re healthy.” I feel it’s the truth as the words leave my lips, surprising me with the sincerity of the sentiment.
I’m a mammal, not born from a hard-shelled egg like dragons are.
But the thought of being a father figure to Mina’s offspring fills me with unexpected warmth.
“Any idea when?” Abraxis looks around before shouting out an order to one of the students. His voice carrying across the training grounds with authority, before looking at me again, his voice dropping to a near whisper.
“Klauth says within the next twenty-four hours.” I pull out my phone and look at it, the screen bright against the outdoor light, the time display reminding me how quickly things are moving. “Sometime Friday.”
“All of us can’t take off. It would look suspicious.” He flexes his wings, the appendages rippling, the subtle movement betraying his agitation.
“True. I don’t have classes on Friday and neither does Balor.
He can take your classes for you so we can be present.
” I shrug my shoulders as I send a message in the family chat asking if Balor can cover for Abraxis tomorrow.
The phone vibrates in my hand almost immediately as Balor responds, saying yes and that Abraxis owes him.
Abraxis fires back the word “done,” the single word loaded with gratitude.
“I still have to ride in the processional for the winter formal, but that’s about it.
Mina and Klauth won’t be expected to be there, so it’s easier to hide what’s happening.
” Abraxis mentions as he looks at the calendar on his phone.
He texts in the family chat about what’s happening and everyone agrees.
He’s keeping up appearances and leave as soon as possible.
The anticipation buzzes between us like electricity, neither of us able to fully contain the excitement of what’s coming—the birth of the first clutch, the beginning of our family’s next generation.