Chapter 27
Chapter 2 7
Elpis
How do I shift? I asked Rein when Keyon was done rinsing her clean. I got mildly distracted when Keyon began to tend to his own body. Gods, he was well sculpted.
I guess just… push forward, she answered. It’s almost like clam memory.
Clam memory?
Maybe that is the wrong shellfish, she mused. I can’t imagine any of them having good memory, though.
I gave up trying to get help from her and attempted to push my sense of self forward, imagining her legs becoming my limbs. It took a minute, and it kind of felt like patting my hands about in the darkness to find my body, but I was finally able to return to my human form. However, I sunk fairly quickly when my feet couldn’t find the bottom and realized that Rein had wandered into the deepest end.
Help… Keyon, it’s too deep! I said, not panicking too much because he was nearby. Take me to the shallows! I supposed I could have shifted back into Rein, but I was so proud that I’d shifted back; I wanted Keyon to see me!
I was amused to feel his panic, but it quickly turned to amusement when he felt my emotion. How odd it was to communicate so quickly without words. It would take some adjustments, and I wondered how many misunderstandings it could cause.
He picked me up out of the water and looked me in the eyes while I caught my breath. “Why were you laughing at my distress, mate?” he growled into my ear and nipped it.
“Because I knew I was safe. You were around,” I answered honestly, grinning as he walked me to the shallows. He paused for a moment.
“That’s… very sweet, actually,” he said, looking down at me with a thoughtful tilt of his head. He pressed his lips to mine and murmured, “Remind me to give you swimming lessons when things settle down.” He deepened the kiss, slipped his tongue into my mouth, and groaned when he massaged a breast but then reluctantly released me. I felt his cock harden as I slid past it, and I looked up at him with a silent question. “No… No… If I start anything, we’ll never get to the coven,” he said woefully and waded out of the water with me.
“I’m not feeling a lot of heat symptoms, so maybe they’ll let me in,” I said while he dried me, feeling a little regretful that my heat was coming to an end. It was inconvenient, but by the Sun God, that time spent with Keyon had been hotter than the sun’s fire!
I pouted and dressed, keeping my disappointment to myself the best I could; I didn’t think it’d be possible to hide anything from Keyon now. I was surprised when his hands grabbed my hips roughly, pressing my butt to his hot erection and my back to his chest.
“Oh, moonflower… Don’t think the fire’s gone with the heat,” he whispered into my ear. “I’ll take you every chance I get, and when this is all over, I may not let you leave my cock at all. You’ll be overflowing with my seed and have a belly stuffed full with my hatchlings.” He released me roughly, and I gasped. Electrical pleasure shot straight to my core like lightning. Tiny dr agons fluttered around in my belly, making me nervous and excited. I got a little dizzy from the spike in arousal and turned with a wobble, fanning my heated face. The tease had already shifted into Toast, who was waiting patiently for me to climb into the safety of his claws. Great goddess, I was a flustered mess! He was too skilled at dirty talking!
Ready, mate? Toast inquired, and I nodded with a smile, crawling on and clinging to him as he launched into the sky. I looked up to see what I could of his face. Toast was wonderful, and I loved him too. He was sweet and surprisingly polite for a creature of his aptitude. I felt some remorse that our beasts weren’t sexually compatible. He deserved to feel the joys of intimacy after everything he’d been through. I hoped it was enough to live vicariously through Keyon and me.
Rein, I asked my beast through what I hoped was a private mind-link. What do you think of our mates?
Keyon is kind. I am growing fond of him. Warm bread seems nervous, though, Rein replied hesitantly.
His name is Toast, and he’s the best dragon in the world, I said, smiling broadly and enjoying the view. As odd as she was, I felt less lonely. She filled up a space that I never knew existed, and it was comforting. Have you caught up on all my memories yet?
Not yet… I am having a hard time watching them, Elpis. I don’t like the memories of your torture. They make me panic.
My heart sank. I hadn’t anticipated that. I was overwhelmed by deep sadness and wrapped my arms around my knees. Do me a favor and talk to Toast privately about that. I think he’ll be able to help you more than I can.
If you say so… she replied, sounding ambivalent.
I insist, I replied. Trust our mate. He will help. After that, I mind-linked Keyon privately—I hoped—to let him know I was ok before he checked on me. I curled up in Toast’s grip and tried to fall asleep, more upset than I was willing to admit. It was yet another thing that made it hard to move on from the mansion. I couldn’t wait until I could put it all behind me for good .
Toast woke me when we arrived, and Keyon shifted back to get dressed. I stared at the Solar Coven, getting a better look at it during the daytime. It was much more impressive than I remembered. The main coven building was flanked by two massive cliffs that were sprinkled with lanterns. I took a closer look and noticed windows in the cliffsides. The witches must have hollowed out the inside to populate their coven. Proud banners depicting their worship of the Sun God hung from the street lanterns that followed the many different stone paths throughout the central area. Any ground not taken by road or building was covered in different types of bulbous, fleshy plants. Some looked like they’d be rather painful to touch; I’d never seen any plant with needles before now. There was definitely an aura of power surrounding their massive domain—strong and a bit severe.
Keyon took my hand and led me down the stone path toward the central building. I smiled with delight to see Arevik waiting for us at the door and waved enthusiastically. After all I’d been through, it was wonderful to see another friendly face. Arevik smiled and gestured us in to rest.
“Ah, there’s our unicorn,” Tesni’s voice sang out from the hall, and she joined us by a fireplace. She embraced me, and I sent her a quizzical look when she sat down next to Arevik.
“What’s that?” I asked, sitting down on a couch next to Keyon, who grabbed my hand again.
“That’s your beast. She’s a unicorn. Monoceros, sun-mare or sun-stallion, wardeer, warhorse… so many names, but they’re all archaic… antiquated,” she said with a wave of her long, elegant fingers.
“Elpis?” a familiar voice rang out, and I saw Adelais rush around the corner with an earnest expression on her face. I jumped up, and she swept me into a tight hug. “I’m so, so, so glad you’re ok!” she exclaimed, clutching me like a devoted friend would. I sighed and relaxed, enjoying the comfort she brought.
“I’m ok now.” I stood back to see Leofwine standing by us with a forced smile; he seemed relieved too. I went to hug him, and he patted my back.
“Good to see you in one piece, Elpis,” he mumbled. “We were worried. Your beast was wild.”
I stood back and gestured for them to join us, glad to see more familiar faces. “You were all there?” I asked. “I can’t believe you risked yourselves for me. Thank you…” It was humbling, and I felt embarrassed, guilty even, that I’d ended up in such a bad situation.
I sat back down, and Keyon took my hand once more. I had to hide a smile of delight at his need to touch. Then I looked around and asked, “Where’s Gunel?”
Tesni adjusted her robe like she was trying to find the right words and said, “She left the coven to take care of unfinished business. Now that she’s no longer a coven mother, I’m allowed to do some divining in regards to her activities. I did some scrying, and let’s just say she’s currently… witch hunting.” She frowned and patted Arevik’s slumped shoulder. “I didn’t look past that. Who knows if she’ll return or survive. That’s up to Fate.”
I looked to Keyon, who mumbled, “Hopefully Mantegazz is still in a food coma.” He noticed me staring at him, waiting for the explanation, but he shook his head adamantly. “You really… don’t want to know.” Both Adelais and Leofwine seemed a bit queasy, and I decided that Keyon was probably right. I didn’t need any more darkness. I changed the topic to the questions that were burning a hole in my mind.
“So, what does it mean to be a unicorn? Are there others of my kind? Why doesn’t fire hurt me? Why did those people want my blood?” I asked, unable to pick only one question, so they just flew out of my mouth.
Arevik held up a placating hand and said apologetically, “I know you must be very overwhelmed right now, and I’m sure those aren’t the only questions you have, but most of those will be better answered by the guest who’s arriving tomorrow. ”
I deflated and felt my body droop in extreme disappointment. I wanted answers so badly.
“Who’s arriving tomorrow?” Keyon asked while scrubbing his palm over his stubble. He squeezed my hand and sent soothing emotions to me over the bond. I was taken off guard, not knowing we could do that. That was a pleasant surprise, and I greedily drank up the comfort.
“The Sun God,” Tesni said casually, as though it wasn’t something extraordinary that would make any person question their hearing.
“Wha—” I said, unable to form proper words and just gaped like the goldfish Adelmar used to keep in the mansion. Adelais mirrored my shock, batting her wide eyes and placing a hand on her pursed lips. Leofwine merely scratched his jaw and nodded thoughtfully.
He said, “My team has brought word of the gods using vessels. The Sun God has chosen the red wolf; I imagine that’s who we’re expecting. Surprised it’s not one of His children, but now that I think about it, it’s probably best that we don’t have another powerful dragon to contend with. Perhaps it was a wise decision after all.”
“We can be downright bastards,” Keyon agreed. “Our current situation is a perfect example of that.”
“Speaking of which,” Leofwine said, changing the topic. “No pun intended,” he murmured as his eyes rolled to the snickering witches. “What are we going to do about Cyneric?”
Keyon adjusted his shirt and replied, “I think we need to take away as much power as we can before we engage him. He’s a fucking king now, so he’s going to be a tough opponent even with an Inferno at our side. First, I want to free my Inferno. We’ll need every knight we can get. I also want to find a way to draw him from his castle, if possible, but I’m not sure there’s a way. The less resources he has, the better our odds will be of killing him.”
“If we piss him off enough. Cyneric’s not exactly the most prudent,” Leofwine said darkly. “You wouldn’t be, killing your brother and father.”
“What does he value?” Adelais asked, looking at her mate.
“Power,” Keyon snarled, angry. “What’s new? Tried to kill me twice because I was a threat. We also know he wanted to shed his humanity because he thought it would strengthen his dragon. Seems like that’s all he thought about since he was a child.”
I could feel Keyon’s ire and leaned over to hug him. “What if we took slaves away?” I asked thoughtfully. “If he’s involved with Franco, surely losing free labor would madden him.”
“Labor costs money. There’d be a lot of pressure on him to support those who relied on it to remain wealthy,” Adelais added. “The treasury may take a loss if he’s forced to pay people off. I don’t know if he sees it that way, but… as a merchant’s daughter, I know money is power.”
“That’s a long shot.” Keyon sighed, rubbing his temple.
“We do love our treasure, though.” Leofwine smirked. “They’d be safely hidden, of course, but we could also spread the rumor that the slaves are volunteering to form an army against Cyneric’s reign.”
Someone say my name? my unicorn said, and I ignored her with a resigned sigh.
“But how do we find the slaves to free? It takes forever to find leads. You know that, Leof,” Keyon argued.
“I think I can,” I said, raising my hand timidly.
“What makes you think that?” Keyon asked, turning his head to look at me with drawn brows. I didn’t feel any disbelief from him; he just seemed quite intrigued. Leofwine and Adelais were staring at me in anticipation, but when I glanced over at the witches, I almost barked out a laugh. Tesni was painting Arevik’s nails, and they both had pressed lips and raised brows, like they were trying to stay inconspicuous during the conversation. Perhaps they were glad the others were there so I’d stop asking them questions.
“I… uh…” I started saying, mildly distracted by their odd behavior, “I don’t know what’s considered normal to you all, but… Keyon, you recall that wealthy community south of here? The one that’s locked up behind a gate now? ”
“They gated Astertrove?” Leofwine interrupted, swiping a hand over his jaw. He jutted out his lower lip in thought, almost pouting.
“Mm-hmm,” Keyon hummed to both of us and twisted in his seat to give me his full attention, crossing an ankle over his knee.
“Well… I know there are slaves there. I don’t know how, but I felt a colossal sense of hopelessness about the place.” I rapped my chest with my knuckles and said, “It’s pure instinct. I don’t really need to think about it. Now that Rein is awake, I might be able to get more information or feel them from a longer distance. It’s something that… I think is worth exploring.” I put my most assertive face on and waited for someone to say something.
“It’s pretty close,” Leofwine commented, resting his head on his hand now. “Extremely convenient to test her beast’s abilities. Also doesn’t make sense for so many wealthy people to feel hopeless.”
“So… I just want to check… none of you can feel someone’s hope?” I asked hesitantly, twisting my lips in apprehension. “That’s not… normal?” They all shook their heads.
“It’s normal for you, Elpis,” Keyon said, gently poking right over my heart. “I can feel your unease. No one thinks you’re weird.”
I puffed out my cheeks, then blew out a gust of air. “At the mansion, we’d gotten a new slave. Just a hatchling at thirteen. Dagmaer was her name. She still had a little hope in her heart, and I tried to feed it. It made me feel better. I didn’t realize I was the only one who felt that,” I said, feeling myself drift away into darker memories. I glanced at Keyon. “With such a strong name, we cheered her up. Said she’d become one of the king’s knights someday. I hope she’s safe…”
“Well, I guess we’ll have to find the hatchling and train her after this.” Leofwine shrugged.
“She can be our first female knight.” Keyon nodded approvingly .
“Uh… What if I want to teach her to be a spy?” Leofwine argued in a serious—but subtly playful—tone. “Maybe the hatchling would be better off under my wing because… Toast.”
“Hey, Toast is much improved,” Keyon retorted, sounding more dubious than he likely intended. “And what makes you so qualified to teach hatchlings?”
“Hey! I’ve never taught a hatchling, but I think I’d be pretty good! I’m a patient dragon! I can be fatherly. Could even open a small academy… We could even open it up to pups and cubs.” He attempted to put an innocent but heavier emphasis on the word ‘cubs.’
I noticed Adelais fanning her rouged face with a hand, and she quickly got up to excuse herself. Leofwine scented the air, found her excitement, and grinned. Keyon tried to hide a smile with a hand that he scrubbed over his mouth, but I could sense his amusement. Leofwine leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “How fucking awesome would cubs with dragon wings be?” He stood up, straightened his coat, and strode out while saying, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to investigate why my mate has suddenly gone into such a state. What a mysterious development. Perhaps I can be of some assistance… Hmm…”
“Well!” I slapped my hands down on my knees and gave a wide-eyed smile of defeat to the remaining people. “There goes the planning party.”
“That’s not unusual for Leof,” Keyon said, laughing as quietly as he could while brushing strands of hair from his eyes. “When he goes off to chase tail, it just means he’s going to think about things and get back to me.” He snorted and looked up with a wry expression. “Though, having his mate here could make him more distracted than usual.”
“Speak for yourself,” Tesni muttered in a low voice, and the coven mothers tittered in their seats. Keyon raised his brows and shrugged, not minding the accusation.
“Let us show you to your room,” Arevik said, standing with her nails spread. We followed her to a guest room that was similar to the one I’d woken up in before, but it was a bit larger. The bed was clearly wide enough for two now.
“Also, congratulations on your marking and mating,” Tesni said, gesturing to our necks. I placed a hand over my mark and felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment, but Keyon just stood tall and proud, crossing his arms. The mother then gestured for me to follow her. “I want to give you that follow-up health exam, Elpis.” I set my bag down and waved to Keyon while he curiously watched our departure.
I followed Tesni into a very bright room that was lit by windows and steady lanterns. Everything was spick-and-span, from the floors to the raised bed. The walls were covered in bottles and containers, labeled neatly in clean handwriting. I looked with some trepidation at a tank housing some kind of aquatic slug. Wasn’t a fan of that…
I hopped onto the bed and let Tesni examine me. She checked my ears, my eyes, and even listened to my chest. I squirmed a bit when she asked to examine between my legs, and I winced at her poking and prodding. Lastly, she inspected my horn, measuring it and taking notes.
“Finally came in! Must be nice to be free of those headaches,” she said, jotting down observations.
“Yes…” I said and wondered what the point of this exam was. I waited and she looked up at me with a smile.
“You seem all healthy! Your beast is keeping you in tip-top shape!”
I hesitated and bit my lip with indecision. Finally, I asked, “Am I pregnant?”
Tesni shook her head. “Nothing in there,” she said and guided me out the door. She left me to find my way back so she could take care of an urgent matter. I sighed in disappointment, wondering if Keyon and I were truly compatible. I was sure Tesni would have mentioned it if we weren’t. I’d been in heat, though! Wasn’t that when I was the most fertile?
The door to Keyon’s and my guest chamber opened before I could touch the doorknob. I started in surprise but smiled faintly at a concerned Keyon, who closed the door behind me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You’re disappointed, moonflower.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and looked around, not really sure what I wanted to do with my free time before tomorrow. I also wasn’t sure I wanted to share my disappointing news. I was so certain that I’d be pregnant after four matings.
We don’t have any mini bagels, Rein said to our mate, and I groaned. I had to wonder if she was starting to do this on purpose. That one was particularly atrocious.
Mate wants pastries… maybe the witches have a bakery, Toast suggested, completely oblivious to Rein’s flub.
“Uh…” Keyon tilted his head to ask for clarification. He wasn’t sold.
“We’re not pregnant. Not that I was ready to share that,” I mumbled. “She meant little Toasts. Baby dragons.”
Mate forgot my name? Toast asked, sounding hurt.
“Oh gods, now she hurt his feelings,” I whispered to myself and rubbed my temples. I spoke louder and looked up at Keyon, who wore an inscrutable expression on his face. “Toast, please forgive her. She’s having a hard time catching up on my memories. She’s got a lot to learn, and it’s overwhelming.”
Ok, he said sullenly. Fiddlesticks, I could feel his sadness. That really ate me up, and I longed to make him feel better.
Keyon came closer and put his hands on either side of me on the edge of the bed. His nose was almost touching mine as he said, “Moonflower, it’s not a big deal. It happens when it happens. Just you being in my life makes it complete. Many couples can take a year to get pregnant.”
“A year?” I gasped. “I had no idea…” I pursed my lips as a burning question ignited in my mind. “How do you know so much about the female body? You seem to be able to answer all my questions, but you haven’t been with anyone in a… long time.”
“Oh, ho, ho, ho!” He laughed and waggled a finger. “No. I had one way to get around Toast’s phobia, and that was through medical journals in our library.” He jumped onto the bed and lay down with his hands under his head. “At some point I’d gotten so frustrated with him that I’d go to the library, pick up a book on female anatomy, and learn as much as I could. He didn’t even like me looking at real women, so I was going a bit mad. They’d become forbidden fruit, and so I absorbed as much as I could in ways Toast could accept.” Keyon raised his brows and said jokingly, “Plus, some of those illustrations had very nice breasts.”
“I have noticed that you like breasts,” I replied with a chuckle and marveled at how easily he could cheer me up and make me laugh.
“Only yours,” he growled, glancing down at my chest. The knot in his throat bobbed, and he licked his lips. I was surprised to see his fangs slightly elongated; I wasn’t in heat anymore, at least I didn’t think I was. “Yours are utter perfection.”
I do have those, Rein said proudly.
“What?” I asked, confused.
Keyon burst into laughter and eventually covered his red, oxygen-deprived face with his large hands. He sat up and dragged me down to lie with him, barely able to speak while he tried to catch his breath. “We really… need to finish teaching… you and your beast spelling. These mix-ups will be the death of me!”
I still didn’t get it, but his laughter was contagious, and it got me giggling a little bit. When he calmed down, I looked over at him and asked, “Can we fly to Astertrove, Keyon? I’m anxious to see what I feel. We don’t have to get close…”
“I don’t see why not…” he said, studying me with his keen eyes. “It’d be a quick trip. You good with that, Toast?”
Yeah… fine… he grumbled, surprising me with his surliness.
“We can put it off for tomorrow…” I said hastily. Toast did not seem to be in a good mood. “Maybe it’d be a good time to let Rein and Toast meander outside? They haven’t properly met…”
Maybe you should apologize, I said privately to Rein.
I guess I should… he’s taking it rather hard for being such a tough dragon, she replied uncomfortably.
I think he’s just hungry for affection now that he knows we are safe.
I haven’t gotten that far in your memories… she admitted, sounding guilt-ridden.
I sat up and looked at Keyon. “Does he want to go?”
Keyon’s lips pressed in a thin line, and he sighed in defeat, turning to snuggle into my shoulder. “Best do the introduction another time. He’s hibernating right now.”
Violin twigs, Rein cursed sadly to me.
Exactly, I groaned.