Extra Epilogue
EXTRA EPILGOUE
ARTEMIS
Iknew my daughter was territorial, but hissing “Mine” at her brother three times in the past hour was a little excessive, even for Lilibeth.
Not that I blamed her for laying claim to her younger sister. Our newest hatchling was perfect.
She was bundled in my arms, tiny fingers curled around the edge of the blanket, her dark lashes resting against plump cheeks. When I brushed my thumb over her temple, she made a soft sound and snuggled closer to my chest. “You already have me wrapped around your tiny finger.”
“As if there was any question of that happening,” Marielle said dryly from the bed.
I looked over to where my mate was propped against the mountain of pillows I’d insisted on arranging for her.
Her hair was tumbled around her shoulders, and her cheeks were still a little flushed from sleep.
There were faint shadows under her eyes from late-night feedings, but she’d never looked more beautiful.
“You should be resting,” I reminded her.
“I was. Until they started arguing in the hallway.” Her gaze flicked to the doorway just as a muffled thump sounded, followed by a frustrated growl.
“Daddy!” Draven barreled into the room first. “No baby in Lili’s hoard.”
“She’s my treasure,” Lilibeth shot back, marching in after him with all the righteous fury a six-year-old dragonling could muster.
Draven spun to glare at her, his little chest puffed up as he insisted, “No. My treas’re. I gived her the rock.”
He held up a smooth piece of river quartz he’d dragged in from the creek yesterday. There was no mistaking the way his grip tightened around it. Or how his eyes went a little dragon-bright when he looked at his baby sister.
Draven had inherited both my hoard instincts and my possessive streak.
Lilibeth had gotten them too…along with more than her fair share of stubbornness.
She pouted and stomped her foot. “No fair!”
Marielle groaned softly. “Artemis.”
“I’ll handle it.”
Lilibeth planted her hands on her hips and turned her big eyes on me. “Tell him, Daddy.”
“Nuh-uh.” Draven mirrored her stance, his eyes narrowing. “Tell her.”
I was the luckiest dragon in existence…and possibly the worst qualified to mediate an argument about who got to claim a new treasure.
I adjusted Kyria in my arms, careful not to jostle her too much. She made a soft sound and stilled again. “First of all, your sister is not going in anyone’s private hoard.”
“But—” Lilibeth started.
I lifted a hand, and she snapped her mouth shut.
“Family is more important than any gem. She’s part of all of us. Not an object you can own.”
Draven frowned. “But she cute.”
“And soft,” Lilibeth added.
“She is a person,” Marielle cut in, her tone firm but amused. “Not a gold coin with dimples.”
Lilibeth’s nose scrunched. “I guess.”
“Okay,” Draven mumbled.
My mate rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth curved.
A tiny fist freed itself from the blanket and bumped against my chest. Kyria’s nose wrinkled, her lips parting. Our daughter let out a half-hearted little sound—not quite a cry, more like a complaint.
“Daddy.” Lilibeth’s voice wobbled, and when I turned toward her, I saw tears shining in her eyes. “If she’s everybody’s…what if she doesn’t want to be mine at all?”
Draven went stiff beside her. “Or me?”
I shifted closer to them, lowering myself onto the edge of the bed so I could look both of them in the eye. “Listen to me.”
Lilibeth scrubbed at her face with the back of her hand. Draven pressed closer to her side, their shoulders touching.
“There is no universe where this little hatchling doesn’t want you. Kyria is dragonborn. She will love fiercely. And she will cling to what is hers with everything she has.”
“Like you,” Lilibeth whispered.
“Like me,” I agreed. “And do you know what that means?”
They shook their heads in unison.
“It means she will covet her family. Just like I do. And both of you.” I slid a mischievous glance at my mate. “I don’t keep your mother in a cave and count her like a coin—”
Marielle snorted. “You absolutely would if I let you.”
“—but she is still my greatest treasure even without officially being part of my hoard,” I continued with a grin.
Lilibeth’s shoulders relaxed. “Okay, I will share her with Draven, Mommy, and you. But if anyone else tries to take her, I will breathe fire on them.”
Draven straightened, his tiny shoulders squaring as he declared, “Me too.”
“Also no,” my mate groaned.
Marielle shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
I hid my smile behind the top of the baby’s head. “We will protect her together.”
Marielle muttered something about dragons under her breath, but her eyes were soft as she watched our older two inch closer.
My throat went tight.
Gold tarnished. Gems cracked. But my mate and our children were a hoard no dragon in history had ever matched.
Garner is next—find out how he finds his mate in Her Cougar!