Chapter 32
Mina
It’s been almost a month since my cousins arrived, and Ziggy’s pride has been phasing in and out of the mages’ compound.
They’ve stolen several tomes with hundreds of species recorded in them, the ancient leather bindings cracking softly beneath my fingers, releasing the musty scent of old paper and faded ink.
Those sick bastards have been keeping track of how many dragons they’ve killed yearly, their meticulous handwriting a cold testament to their methodical slaughter.
I flip through the pages of one of the tomes as my babies sleep around me, their tiny chests rising and falling in perfect rhythm, the soft whisper of their breath a comforting counterpoint to the horror in my hands.
Tomorrow when we go back to class, Klauth and Thauglor are calling an assembly.
We are going to warn the dragons of what we’ve discovered.
The names of the dead echo in my mind as I thumb through the pages, each one sending a chill down my spine, the paper rough against my fingertips.
The mages apparently pull a tooth from the dragon after they kill it to get an accurate age to record, and I run my tongue along my own teeth reflexively, the sharp edges pressing against the soft flesh.
Shaking my head, I look at my kittens. They are armored like the dragons in the family but are sleek and agile like their father, their scaled bodies gleaming under their fur in the low lamplight.
“Hey,” Balor says softly before he sits behind me, the floorboards creaking beneath his weight. Carefully, he lifts me up and sets me on his lap, his body radiating heat that seeps into my bones, chasing away the icy dread that had settled there.
“Hey,” I sigh softly as I turn my head to rest on his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent of leather and pine.
Carefully, I set the tome aside, the heavy thump as it hits the table punctuating my surrender to exhaustion, and close my eyes, letting my mate hold me, his heartbeat strong and steady against my back.
“How bad is it?” he whispers close to my ear, his breath stirring the fine hairs at my temple.
“Terrible, there are thousands of dragons that have been killed over the years.” I sigh and open the book to where my mother’s flight is listed, the pages rough against my palm.
According to the book, there should be eight iron dragons left, not the five my cousins know about.
The black ink seems to writhe on the yellowed page, names blurring together in my vision.
“What are the odds of one of the missing being my mom and possibly two more females?” I lift my head and look into his eyes, searching for hope in their amber depths.
Balor takes the book from me and stares at the page we’re on, his fingers tracing the lines of text as though he could extract more meaning through touch.
“Anything is possible. Maybe it’s as easy as unrecorded deaths?
” He presses his lips to my temple, the contact sending warmth radiating through my skull.
He flips the pages back and forth, the soft rustle filling the silence between us.
“Looks like it’s one male and one female missing.
” His voice is barely above a whisper as he says it, the words hanging heavy in the air like smoke.
I stare at the pages in front of me. All the names of my mother’s flight.
So many souls lost to the mages. My fingers trace over the lines of names, the ink slightly raised against the paper.
Each line, another relative extinguished too soon.
My eyes drift to my babies, their scales and fur catching the light with every breath, and I promise myself I will eliminate the mage threat.
“I wonder what they were like?” The words fall from my lips as I feel a tear run down my cheek, hot and salty as it reaches the corner of my mouth.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like growing up, not knowing both sides of your heritage.” He runs his fingers through my hair, the gentle tug against my scalp oddly comforting, and kisses my shoulder, his lips warm through the thin fabric of my shirt.
“I was too busy training to even notice until I got older.” I close the book and set it off to the side, the leather binding making a soft thud against the wooden table, watching the little ones wake up, their eyes opening to reveal pupils that contract in the light.
“Time to take them downstairs to play with the others.” I slide off his lap, losing his warmth immediate and jarring, and start walking, knowing my babies will follow me, their tiny claws clicking against the hardwood floor.
As we move through the house, Abraxis catches up with us, the scent of wind and open sky clinging to him like a second skin.
“Bringing them down?” He arches a brow, looking at me then our daughter.
She’s two months old now, and she’s been gliding more lately, her wings unfurling with a soft whispering sound when she thinks no one is watching.
“Yup. Time for them to go play with the others.” I arch a brow as I watch him bounce a little, his excitement vibrating from him in almost palpable waves.
“Can we?” His eyes dart to his daughter, then back up at me, the gold of them brightening with anticipation.
“Only if you get Thauglor to go with you. Not that I don’t think you are capable on your own.” My eyes move to his wing. Even though it’s healed, it’s not as strong as it once was, the muscles a shade thinner, the veins more prominent beneath the stretched skin.
“Deal.” Abraxis agrees so quickly my head almost spins, the word bursting from him in an eager rush.
‘Mind joining us on the cliff? Abraxis wants to see if Lily can glide yet on the thermals,’ I reach through the mental bond, speaking directly to Thauglor, the connection between us warming like sunlight on stone.
His side of the bond flares to life, the sensation like a match striking in my mind, and I hear his boots pounding on the marble floor as he runs towards us, the rhythmic slap echoing through the corridors. “Let’s go!” He runs past us, a blur of movement and the scent of leather and dragon musk.
I shake my head, looking at the two black dragon males in the nest. “With as old as they are, you would think they would be a little more...” Balor leaves it hanging, amusement coloring his tone.
“Calm, relaxed, adult, less childlike?” I finish his sentence as we step outside, the fresh mountain air filling my lungs, cool and sharp with pine. Lily is still walking behind me with her clutch mates, their excited noises a counterpoint to the wind whispering through the trees.
“Something like that,” Balor says as we watch Abraxis and Thauglor discussing something at the edge of the cliff, their voices carrying on the breeze, indistinct but animated.
I stop in the middle of the courtyard and kneel, the stone cool and rough beneath my knees.
“Lily, your daddy is going to take you on your first flight. Daddy Thauglor is going with you as well. If at any point you don’t want to do something they are trying to get you to do, call for me.
” I lean down and lower my horns to my daughter.
I feel the moment her little horns touch mine, the connection like a current running between us, and I smile.
She reaches up and rubs her little scaled face against mine, the texture both smooth and rough at once, familiar and precious.
The softest purr escapes her lips, vibrating against my skin, and I purr with her, the sound rumbling deep in my chest. I wish I had gotten to experience this with my mother, the thought a dull ache beneath my ribs.
Ziggy manifests and takes his daughters down to the lower courtyard, so they aren’t tempted to jump too.
The air shimmers around him as he phases, the scent of ozone briefly intensifying.
Klauth joins us, as well as the rest of my mates.
Callan and Vaughn shift just in case Lily needs them, their transformations sending waves of heat through the air, accompanied by the soft crackle of bones and tissue rearranging.
“Anxious little momma?” Klauth asks as he hugs me to him, his body solid and reassuring against mine, smelling of winter frost and ancient forests.
“Very. She’s the first hatchling in who knows how long learning to fly.
” We walk close to the edge and look down, the wind stronger here, pulling at my hair and clothes.
All of the other hatchlings are down below with their parents watching, their scaled bodies catching the sunlight, flashes of color against the dark stone of the courtyard.
“Maybe once a week, we can allow the others to use up here as a launch point for the hatchlings?” Klauth asks, and I draw in a deep breath, considering it, tasting the metallic tang of altitude and the sweet scent of the valley below.
“That wouldn’t be a bad idea. I imagine this is a huge bonding moment for the flight, teaching the hatchlings to fly?” I watch Thauglor explaining to Lily about how her wings move and showing for her, his massive black wings unfurling with a sound like sails catching wind.
“It’s a monumental moment. As the dominant dragoness, you would normally be the one to take the babies into the air and glide with them for the first time.” Klauth tilts his head, then motions to Thauglor and Abraxis, their expectant gazes turning to me, almost tangible in their intensity.
“They’re stalling, waiting for me, aren’t they?
” I shake my head, smirking before shifting, my body changing with a series of pops and cracks, scales erupting from my skin with a whisper of friction.
I lay down, my larger form taking up much of the courtyard, the stone warm beneath my belly.
My dragoness rumbles to my daughter, the sound vibrating through the air, and she runs over and claws her way up my scales, the tiny pricks of her talons a familiar sensation.