Chapter 16 #2
I go back to pacing, my bare feet silent now on the plush area rug, and glancing towards the door, knowing they’re due to arrive any minute now. The heavy wooden door looms in my vision, a barrier soon to be breached. My palms are slick with sweat, my heart hammering against my ribs.
“Mina.” Ziggy attempts to stop me, his voice soft as velvet, and I pause for a moment.
His slender fingers reach for me, cool against my overheated skin.
“I can always phase the eggs away to the sealed chamber if you’re that uncomfortable.
” He strokes down my biceps, the gentle pressure sending shivers through me, and I nod.
“Okay.” Biting my bottom lip until I taste the metallic tang of blood, I walk over and snuggle next to Leander, clinging to him.
His body is warm against mine, his heartbeat a steady rhythm beneath my ear.
The scent of cinnamon and winter storms that always cling to him fills my nostrils, comforting in its familiarity.
“Mate?” Thauglor walks over and stands in front of us, his massive form casting a shadow over where we sit. The floor vibrates slightly with each of his heavy steps. “I mean no disrespect, but I wish to understand something.”
“Why I’m holding onto Lee instead of one of the dragons in the nest,” I say, watching Thauglor nod yes.
His sapphire blue eyes gleam in the dim light, curiosity clear.
“It’s simple really. I’m afraid of hurting him, so I won’t react aggressively if I’m holding onto him.
” I laugh a little, the sound brittle even to my own ears, and kiss Leander under his jaw, purring softly.
The scrape of his stubble against my lips grounds me further in reality.
“This is why you are the best queen for the continent.” Thauglor reaches out and cups my cheek, his palm rough with centuries of battle, just as Abraxis’s parents arrive. The door swings open, bringing with it a gust of cool air that carries unfamiliar scents.
“What did we miss?” Cerce asks as she walks in with Vox, Cora, Warwick, and their two children.
The combined scent of strangers—perfume, leather assaults my senses.
My scales stand on edge, rising beneath my skin with tiny prickles of pain, seeing four additional bodies in my home I wasn’t expecting.
The room suddenly feels too small, the air too thick to breathe.
“Mom, I thought I told you only you and Dad. Mina is very uncomfortable with what we need to tell you.” Abraxis places himself between me and his parents, which is a first for him.
His shoulders are tense and his wings are spread slightly, his stance wide and protective.
Usually, he tries to force the interaction.
The tension in the room crackles like static electricity, making the fine hairs on my arms stand up.
“What could possibly be happening that the whole family can’t know about?
” Vox asks, then looks over at Balor’s basilisk coiled up in the center of the living room.
His gaze is sharp, assessing, and I feel my dragoness stir in response.
“Cora, why don’t you and your family go home?
” He motions for them to leave, still staring at Balor, whose coils tighten visibly around my eggs.
“Why do we have to leave?” Cora whines, her high-pitched voice grating against my already frayed nerves, and I growl. The vibration begins deep in my chest, traveling up my throat like thunder.
Before anyone can stop it, my dragoness’s presence fills the room.
A wave of heat emanates from my body, distorting the air around me.
She’s angry and defensive, and it basically doesn’t feel safe for anyone outside of my nest. I’m shaking in Leander’s arms, his muscles taut against me as he holds me still, trying to contain me.
My vision blurs, tinged with red at the edges, and my fingernails lengthen into talons, digging into my palms.
Klauth grabs hold of me and crushes me to his chest, his heartbeat thundering against my ear, and rumbles to my dragoness.
The deep vibration travels through both our bodies, soothing the savage beast within.
His scent—smoke and brimstone—envelops me.
We know he will burn the world to cinders if it means protecting my clutch.
Eventually, I calm down and draw in my first deep breath, the taste of ash fading from my tongue.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to him and nuzzle his chest, embarrassed by my reaction.
My face burns with shame, hot against the cool fabric of his shirt.
“You did like any powerful dragoness would. You are protecting what’s yours.” He kisses my temple, his lips leaving a trail of warmth, and when I finally open my eyes, only Vox and Cerce are left. The others’ scents linger in the air, already beginning to fade.
I glance over at Balor, and he shifts back, the sound of bones cracking and reforming filling the silence, exposing my eggs.
They gleam in the firelight, their shells smooth and perfect, radiating warmth.
“Don’t approach them, please. I’m not good with people outside of my nest near my eggs.
” My voice is steady now, but the warning in it is clear.
“You had your first clutch!” Cerce moves a little closer, her eyes bright with excitement. The rustle of her silk dress accompanies her movement. “Your eggs are enormous.”
“I laid them as my dragon.” I press the bridge of my nose under Klauth’s jaw, inhaling his comforting scent, before stepping away.
The floor is cool beneath my feet as I move.
Abraxis and Ziggy join me as I motion to the eggs.
“One is Abraxis’s, and the other is Ziggy’s.
” The pride in my voice is unmistakable as I look at my precious clutch.
“How did a displacer beast have an egg? He’s a mammal?” Vox asks, and I growl low in the back of my throat. The sound reverberates through the room, a warning that even a non-dragon can understand.
“We are working on a theory that it’s because I have one of Mina’s scales.” Ziggy smiles and starts purring as he presses his cheek to mine. His skin is cool against my feverish heat, his purr a soothing vibration.
“When did you lay them?” Cerce asks, and I look at Thauglor. The ancient dragon’s face is impassive, but I can see the calculation in his eyes.
“For the safety of the clutch, we are not announcing when they were laid. We’ve captured two Shadowblades in the last week.” He mentions offhandedly, then freezes, realizing his slip. The air in the room grows still, tension rising like a tide.
I only knew about one, that makes three total.
My mates have been hiding the attempts on my life.
A cold knot forms in my stomach as I process this betrayal.
I walk over to my eggs and sit with them, the carpet soft beneath me.
The lives within them thrum through the shells to me, a rhythm that syncs with my heartbeat.
They are halfway to hatching, and I can hear their fast little heartbeats, like tiny drums against the shell.
I press my ear to the egg that has Ziggy’s progeny in it and hear the two distinct heartbeats, a beautiful duet of life.
‘Shift,’ I say to Ziggy, pushing the thought into his head.
He shifts into his displacer beast; the transformation accompanied by the rustle of fur and the click of claws on the stone floor.
He curls around his egg, his warm body a contrast to the cool stone beneath them.
Gently, I move his head over the egg to where I know one baby is.
I watch him close his eyes, listening, his whiskers twitching slightly.
His paw reaches out and holds onto my thigh, the fur soft but the claws just pricking my skin, as a tentacle wraps around his egg, holding it.
The smooth scales of the tentacle slide over the shell with a whisper.
“Is that one his?” Cerce asks softly, her voice barely disturbing the intimate tableau.
“Yes.” I look over at Abraxis, his eyes reflecting the firelight.
“You can come and take your egg to show your parents. No one but you holds it. The change in scent may upset me; I’m very protective of them both.
” I lay on my side, placing my head on Ziggy’s ribs, listening to his displacer beast purr to his babies.
The vibration travels through his fur into my cheek, a lullaby without words.
Abraxis takes the egg and moves closer to his parents with it.
The shell is warm in his hands, pulsing with life.
They lean in close to sniff at it and tilt their heads to listen, their expressions a mixture of awe and curiosity.
“I hear its heartbeat,” Vox says, and I growl, the sound rippling through the quiet room.
“You heard nothing.” I stare at him, trying to get the point across. My eyes burn with intensity, the message clear in my gaze.
“What our mate means is that no one can find out the true age of the eggs for their safety,” Thauglor looks over at me, and I nod. His understanding is a balm to my frayed nerves.
“My father will come for the eggs if he thinks there’s a chance one of them was sired by Klauth or Thauglor.
Until he’s either locked up or killed, my babies are not safe.
” I state plainly as I run my fingers through Ziggy’s fur, feeling the soft texture against my skin, grounding myself in the sensation.
The next thirty days are going to be hell on my nerves.
I can already feel them stretching thin, like piano wire ready to snap at the slightest touch.