Chapter 12
Maya
When I woke in the middle of the night, I could feel something pulling on my consciousness, almost like a memory…
but it was fuzzy and unreachable. My eyes opened, confusion flooding my system as I tried to get my bearings.
It was such a frustrating feeling, not being able to remember, and I could feel myself getting irritated with it, not liking the idea of something slipping my mind—especially when it was something that felt important.
For a single moment, I panicked, forgetting where I was. Then my ears picked up on a familiar heartbeat. Henry. I could hear Henry, who was sleeping next to me, with Marco on my other side, his breathing relaxed and deep. They were here in bed with me back at the compound.
A relieved sigh left me as I felt myself become centered once again.
I had fallen asleep on the way back; I remembered that now.
When we left the mountain community, giving them time to think over my proposal, I was exhausted.
I was proud of myself for being so bold and explaining my thoughts without hesitation, but following it, the bravery and energy had drained out of me. Everything felt heavy.
Despite that, there was something urging me to get up. Even though I didn’t really want to, I used the moment to relieve myself in the bathroom. Then I slipped into the hallway, the freezing breeze from the open windows making me relax.
“You got my call.” My mom suddenly appeared, dressed in a robe that was far heavier and fancier than the oversized shirt I’d been thrown into. I blinked sleepily and realized that she had somehow woken and called me out here.
“Is that what it was? I woke up so confused,” I mumbled.
She offered me a slightly embarrassed look. “I keep forgetting you’re not used to all these things. I promise they come naturally, but I’ll admit, they aren’t things you normally discover on your own. You’re taught by your parents or tutor.”
“A tutor like Nascha?” I asked, figuring my mates had filled my parents in upon our return. There was no surprise on my mom’s face as she nodded and leaned against the wall next to me, searching my face.
“How was it? How are all of them? I look forward to seeing Nascha again—she was fundamental to so much of my early life.” I could hear the affection in her words, and there was no anger there, which I thought could be a possibility since Nascha had chosen to leave the Dreki realm.
“Good. I mean, their situation isn’t ideal, but they seemed rather positive and happy,” I said, then nibbled my lip.
“I just hope they come off the mountain. As much as I don’t find the idea of being a leader extremely appealing, I want to help them.
And if that means being a leader, then I’ll do the best I can. ”
My mom’s expression warmed. “And that is why you will be such a fantastic leader.”
I didn’t fully understand her point, but I offered a polite smile and ‘thanks’ before looking back out the windows. I didn’t know how to express everything that was on my mind.
“You look worried,” my mom noted in concern.
“Not worried,” I hedged. “Well, maybe I am. I just have a lot on my mind. It sort of goes along with everything I don’t know.”
“Is there anything I can answer?”
I inhaled and tried to not feel awkward as I brought up the one topic that kept stirring around in my head.
“I…I know I’m supposed to start my mating heat soon, and I’m not nervous exactly, but I don’t get why it hasn’t started, I guess?
And at the same time, there’s so much going on, and I’m afraid it’s going to hit in the middle of something important. ”
Instead of being weird about it, my mom’s expression turned thoughtful as she hummed in understanding. “Our magic, our phoenixes, are sometimes smarter than us, at least when it comes to that. Normally it takes all of your mates marking you and you marking them… Has that happened?”
“Marking, yes. I haven’t…” I teetered off as she nodded in understanding. “At least not with all of them.”
“It may be delayed because of your two non-dragon mates,” my mom pointed out. My eyes went wide as I realized she was including Az.
“You think Az is my mate?” I asked, wondering if he knew that. I knew there was something I had been missing between us, about our connection.
“A sacrificial bond is the purest form of a mating bond.”
I frowned, feeling a flutter of panic. “Why wouldn’t he have told me that? And does that mean my magic is waiting until I mark him? I don’t want to put that on him; that’s a lot of pressure.”
“Breathe,” my mom reminded me. “First of all, Az, from what I can tell, would have no issue with that—he seems absolutely infatuated with you. Secondly, it is possible your magic is waiting, especially since it chose to mark him.”
“That’s…I don’t know what to make of that.”
“You may continue to exhibit signs of early heat like nesting or fevers, but if your phoenix is waiting, you have a bit more time. Our bodies don’t go into heat before they’re ready,” my mom assured me. “After all, you could end up pregnant—your magic considers that the absolute end goal.”
I shook my head at that, blushing. “The idea of me being pregnant is baffling.”
“Want to know a secret?” she asked. I nodded. “It doesn’t stop being baffling.” She smiled in amusement. “Even when I was pregnant with you, it blew my mind—of course, our magic makes it slightly easier on us, even before our mating heat. It starts to prepare us for the idea of having a child.”
“How?”
“Dreams, visions, pictures we draw.” She shrugged. “It was how I knew I was finally having a girl—you kept appearing to me in dreams and talking to me about flying. It was adorable.”
Something tugged on my mental strings, the situation sounding familiar, but I couldn’t quite grasp why.
“That’s sort of cool,” I admitted.
“I promise you, it will happen when it’s meant to,” my mom assured me, squeezing my hand.
“The fates know what they’re doing, from placing you with your mates to bringing us here.
While I’ve always imagined you taking the throne in my place, even after we lost you, I know this is where you’re meant to be, Maya. You will be an amazing leader.”
I couldn’t help but hug her, wrapping my arms around her as she made an emotional noise and hugged me back. After a long moment, I pulled back and offered her a watery smile. “Thank you. I needed that.”
“Anytime. I know tomorrow Nascha’s community will have an answer for you, so get some sleep.” My mom tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Besides, I can hear your mates waking because of your absence.”
I nodded and stepped back before grabbing the door handle. “Night, Mom.”
“Goodnight, my Sol.”
As I stepped back into the room, a wave of emotions hit me, an immense appreciation for my family.
Henry was sitting up, a confused look on his face as I crawled back into bed between the two of them, letting out a happy sigh.
Immediately they wrapped me up, and it was easy to fall back into the lull of sleep.
“Mommy.”
This time there was no confusion on my end, just realization as the piece of my previous dream connected to this moment and what my mom had told me. My eyes opened, and I saw the scene in a different light.
A young boy with curly chocolate hair with golden streaks sat cross-legged in front of me, offering me an excited smile.
I began to see little traits of my mates in his features, and if I was to believe my mom, this could be my magic creating the concept of our future child. It was a bit jarring, but I loved it.
The idea of being a mother had always been appealing to me, not only to right the wrongs of everything I’d gone through, but because of the idea of watching a wide-eyed innocent grow up to live an entire life of their making…
I mean, the possibilities were endless. I wanted to create a household and family that was filled with love so that all of our children would never go a day having to question how much they were cared for.
“Hi,” I offered, completely focused on him. “You’re back.”
Technically we were both back since this was in my head.
“I missed you.” He shrugged.
Emotion clogged my throat. “Well, I sleep every night, so maybe this will happen more often? I’m sure we can hang out for a bit. Do you have any games you like to play?”
I understood that he wasn’t real, at least not yet, but he seemed to feed into the idea that he was, and I didn’t mind.
“Games? What are those?”
A sudden rumble had me freezing as a pop sounded, causing the boy to scamper to my side. I looked around, feeling defensive of the sudden intrusion into my dream… Until I saw a familiar figure walking towards us, a smile breaking onto my lips.
“Don’t worry, Henry is nice,” I promised. The boy peeked up from where he was hiding against my arm.
“Sweetheart.” Henry came forward and crouched down, examining my face. “Everything okay? I didn’t want to interrupt your dreaming?—”
“I didn’t know you could do this,” I said, smiling with a slight blush. “This is really cool.”
“You were mumbling, so I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he explained, concern painted in his features before he looked down at the young boy.
His eyes widened as he undoubtedly noted the same similarities I’d seen myself.
It was also when I noticed that the boy’s wavy hair, despite being a different color, was the exact same texture as Henry’s.
“Who is this?” Henry asked curiously.
“He doesn’t have a name yet,” I explained.
“I will one day,” the boy said proudly.
Henry’s gaze filled with awe, and he looked up at me. “Is he?—”
“I think so,” I whispered, my smile growing.
Suddenly another rumble sounded, and Henry muttered a curse. “Marco is getting worried.”
I nodded in understanding and looked down at the boy. “I promise I’ll come back.”
His smile was warm and trusting as he hugged me. “I know, Mommy.”
I closed my eyes, loving his hug?—