Chapter 50 #2
My progeny is like me—it’s a basilisk. The knowledge fills me with pride and anticipation, knowing that part of my unique heritage will live on in this perfect little being growing within its protective shell.
Looking at the clutch, four eggs representing three different fathers but one beloved mother, I can’t help but smile.
Whatever challenges lie ahead, these children will be born into a family that loves them unconditionally, differences and all.
Three days later…
Unlike last time, Mina is more relaxed about her progeny, the tension that marked her first laying replaced by a maternal confidence that radiates from her like warmth from a hearth.
I find her and the hatchlings curled up in the gryphon nest in the egg chamber in the afternoon.
The space filled with the soft sounds of contented breathing and the gentle rustle of feathers and scales.
Mina has the eggs behind her, their surfaces gleaming like precious gems in the flickering torchlight that dances across the stone walls.
I notice her skin is covered in scales that catch the firelight like scattered emeralds, while her talons are extended, razor-sharp points that speak of lethal protection.
More dragonic features are visible while she sleeps, her human facade relaxed enough to let her true nature show through.
Klauth and Thauglor step up behind me, their footsteps muffled by the thick carpets that line the chamber floor.
We watch our mate and progeny rest; the sight filling me with a warmth that spreads through my chest like honey.
The air is thick with the scents of family—milk and warmth, the metallic tang of scales, and something indefinably peaceful that makes my basilisk nature purr with contentment.
“She’s an excellent mother,” Thauglor whispers, his voice barely audible above the soft sounds of sleep, reverence coloring every word.
“This is all instinct,” Klauth says as he tilts his head, looking at Mina laying with the hatchlings and eggs, his crimson flecked amber eyes soft with wonder and pride. The flickering torchlight casts dancing shadows across his face, making him look younger despite his ancient age.
“But why did she bring everyone in here? The hatchlings should be playing with the other children downstairs,” I ask, looking at the ancients for clarification, my voice pitched low so as not to disturb the peaceful scene before us.
“Clutches tend to sleep together no matter what the age difference is. That is until they hit puberty, then the males are separated out and sent off to another room to sleep,” Klauth offers as he moves closer, his hand reaching out toward his egg with the careful movements of someone approaching something infinitely precious.
His movement close to the nest gets Mina to react with lightning speed that makes my heart leap into my throat.
She launches up and grabs him by the throat, driving him to the ground with her hand around his neck and her talons ready to strike.
The sound of bodies hitting stone echoing through the chamber.
She’s growling with her canines bared. The sound a low rumble that vibrates through the air like distant thunder until she blinks and realizes she has Klauth pinned under her within inches of ending his life.
The recognition floods her features like dawn breaking, horror replacing primal aggression in an instant.
“Oh, shit... I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to.
..” She scrambles backwards and leans against the nest, her breathing coming in quick gasps that speak of adrenaline and shock.
It’s now that I notice both of Ziggy’s babies have their tentacles wrapped around the eggs, their young faces set with determination that mirrors their father’s protective instincts.
They are ready to vanish with their siblings at a moment’s notice, their bodies tense with readiness to portal away if the threat escalates.
“My treasure. It’s I that am sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.
My only wish was to check on you and our progeny,” Klauth says as Thauglor helps him up.
His voice is rough from the pressure on his throat, but filled with understanding rather than anger.
He rubs his neck where her fingers left red marks, the skin already beginning to bruise.
Mina looks frightened as she glances between the ancients and then me, her eyes wide with the aftermath of protective fury and guilt. “I sensed movement and reacted. I’m sorry.” Her voice is small, vulnerable in a way that makes my chest tighten with the need to comfort her.
“Don’t be sorry. Your mommy instincts told you there was something where it didn’t belong, and you reacted to defend your clutch,” I offer softly before extending my hand to her, palm up in a gesture of peace and invitation.
“Why didn’t you ask me to shift and watch over you while you rested?
” Usually she asks me to be with her while she sleeps, my basilisk form providing additional protection that soothes her maternal anxieties.
“I wanted you to rest, too.” Carefully, she climbs back into the nest and checks all the eggs and hatchlings, her hands gentle as she touches each precious life, counting to make sure everyone is safe and accounted for.
The tenderness in her movements makes something in my chest swell with emotion so strong it threatens to choke me.
“Is everyone alright?” Thauglor asks as he moves a little closer, his movements deliberately slow and non-threatening, hands visible and empty.
Mina smiles and nuzzles the girls before they lay back down, her lips pressing gentle kisses to their foreheads with the infinite tenderness of a mother’s love.
“Everyone is fine. Bella and Azalea were going to take the eggs to their father like we discussed. Lily can manifest lightning like I can, so she would wait for the twins to come for her.” Mina’s voice is soft, filled with pride and love as she looks over her progeny with so much affection it makes my heart ache with the beauty of it.
“The little ones can move two eggs apiece?” Klauth moves closer, and Bella slaps him with a tentacle without the barbs out in warning.
The wet sound of flesh against skin sharp in the quiet chamber.
She hisses low, and it sounds more dragonic than feline, a sound that raises the hair on the back of my neck with its primal authority.
He holds his hands up in surrender, recognizing the threat for what it is.
“I’m sorry, you’re a powerful hatchling.
” He takes two steps back, respect replacing curiosity in his expression.
I arch a brow looking at Mina, and she laughs, the sound echoing softly off the stone walls in the torch lit chamber.
“The last time he said something about them not being strong, Bella knocked Klauth out. Apparently, her spines have my sleep toxin in them. Azalea has the paralytic in hers.” My eyes move between the two females in question, taking in their small forms that pack such surprising power, and I nod with newfound respect for the tiny defenders.
“Remind me not to piss off the females in our house,” I offer the girls a smile before turning and leaving, the sound of my footsteps echoing softly as I make my way toward the kitchen.
I need to go figure out dinner. It’s apparent Mina is not leaving the nest anytime soon, her maternal instincts keeping her close to protect what matters most.
The warmth of the scene follows me as I walk through the corridors.
The image of my mate surrounded by our growing family burned into my memory like a perfect photograph.
Despite the moment of violence, or perhaps because of it, I’ve never been more certain that our children are in the best possible hands.
Mina’s fierce protectiveness, combined with her infinite love, will ensure that every egg and hatchling in that nest grows up safe and cherished.