18. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
Caspian
“There, that’s the last blanket.” But was it enough?
“Don’t even go there,” Kes said. “I know that look and we have more blankets then all of China.”
I’m not sure that hit the mark he’d intended given I still wasn’t satisfied. Not to mention I don’t remember having been to China, so I had no idea how many blankets the country had.
“I’ve never laid an egg before. I’ve never seen an egg birthed before. What if it hits something and breaks?” Nervous? Yes, yes I was. Live births were just that. The babies came out swimming and you had to keep control of them. Eggs? That was a whole new game for this Seadragon.
Kes snickered. “They aren’t like chicken eggs. Their shells are super thick, and the dragonets are the ones who break them open.”
“Which brings me to the dos and don’ts of dragon eggs,” Mattias said as he stepped inside the nest area. “Do not under any circumstance pick at the eggs or the flakes as they poke out while the dragonet is hatching.”
“But. I wan’t. What if?” he silenced my rant with his lips.
“My love, this is something they must do on their own. We can collect all the pieces once they’ve fully emerged and get creative with them like the shadow boxes Ronan made for his girls’ shells.”
I do love those displays in their home.
“Fine.”
“You forget, Caspian, that we’ve lived above ground longer than you and know that fine does not mean that at all,” Kes hugged me. “Trust us, babe, this is a good thing.”
I trusted them but wasn’t sure I fully believed their words.
“I came in here for a reason,” Mattias said. “Come on, the nursery is done.”
Shifting and flying would’ve been far more comfortable than waddling down the twisting horde passageway, but we were both out of the able to shift stages of our pregnancies. This was mine and Kes’ favorite place to be, but the bigger we get, the harder it’ll be to maneuver around.
Mattias glanced back at us. “Are you sure you want the nest in the horde?”
Too late to turn back now since it’s done.
“This place calls to me,” Kes replied and I felt the same way. “It just feels right. We might need a big, strong dragon to rush us up here when we go into labor. Know of any?”
Mattias dragon huffed while Mattias rolled his eyes. “You’re lucky you’re both adorable. But yeah, I’ve got that covered. Now, would my smartass mates like to see the nursery or what?”
Out popped Odem, scaring the literal crap out of us as soon as we reached the door. “Are you trying to send us into early labor?” I hadn’t meant to yell but my heart was racing like mad.
“Sorry, wanted to surprise you,” Odem apologized and I felt horrible for yelling at him.
“It’s okay, maybe just more low key until we’ve had the dragonets,” Kes suggested. “Can we go inside now?” The door was open, but Odem’s body blocked our view. Finally, he stepped aside and waved us in.
“O.M.G.” another fun, I think they called this an acronym. No idea what that really was, but it was fun to say. “That mural is amazing. Who painted it?”
“I did,” Mattias blushed. “My heart lays on these walls for all to see.”
Speechless. He’d left me completely speechless.
The room told a story. From the entrance all the way around there were dragons in flight, some in human form on the ground playing with one another.
The sea bordered the lands. Waters so blue they matched our mates’ glorious scales.
He even had Hurley’s lighthouse included.
“Look at the moon, Caspian.” He pointed to the highest point where two walls met, and there I was with Kes staring up at me from the sandy beach, the moon illuminating my silhouette as I flew before it.
Stars shone brightly in the night sky capturing me exactly as Kes’s memory depicted the near meet.
“I can’t believe you did all of this.” Tears streamed down my face as I realized everything Mattias painted was about family. Our family. Night turned into day as you followed the scene to the opposite wall where our little ones played in the sunlight.
Earthly tones in shades of greens and orange. Children playing hide and seek amongst the neighboring forest. I’d never seen anything as beautiful as this before. “Mattias,” was all I could get out. He wrapped me in his arms, his hands cradling the swell of my belly.
“My sweet dragonets, Papa can’t wait for you to see your room and see how much love he has for you. You’ll never go a day without hearing me say those words to you.” Tiny bubbles flittered through my belly as the girls giggled and wiggled about.
“I can hear them too,” Kes said as Mattias drew him into our embrace. Each of his large hands held a belly full of his babies.
“My love, my life, my world. Everything that matters most to me is in this room right now. I love you both more than words can say, and you too, little ones.” The dragonets moved around, pressing forward where their Papa’s hand was. “I can feel them moving.”
“They crave your touch, Papa,” Kes said. “They hear your voice and it makes them feel safe and loved.”
Luff, came through the bond.
“Did one of them just?”
Luff, luff, luff, luff, luff, rang out in the sweetest, melodic tiny voices as all six shared it through our connection.
Dragonets were truly amazing and brilliant.
I now understood Luna better as well. Just because they were young, their abilities shouldn’t be discounted.
They were here for a reason, and the Goddess blessed them with gifts as she saw fit.
I for one couldn’t wait to see what she’d blessed our dragonets with.
Mattias moved and knelt before Kes and me, a hand on our bellies as he spoke to the dragonets.
“I love you all so much and I can’t wait to meet you,” then he kissed our tummies.
When he glanced up, his tear-filled eyes hit me hard.
Kes and I were no better off, both blubbering fools ourselves.
Between hormones, the beauty and magic of this room and the love of our mate—none of what Mattias had created in here went without precision and care.
“You had their names carved into the oversized cribs,” Kes said, drawing our attention back to the room.
“Aye,” Mattias said as he stood. “Leif and Leim’s crib is between both girls’ cribs.
Autumn and Summer share one and Trinity and Sapphire are in the other.
” The three cribs lined the longest wall.
Across the room were two changing tables and three dressers.
“When they are in their own rooms they’ll each have dresser and bed, of course. Let me show you the playroom.”
An archway had been cut between the two rooms of the nursery. “Three rocking chairs?”
“Aye. Daddy’s rocking two babes each while Papa has two.
Raising our dragonets will be a family event.
I can’t promise to be here for everything but when I am here I will be involved in all of it.
Diaper changes included.” I giggled, the vision of one of the boys baptizing their Papa the first time he changed them hit me.
“I have a feeling I don’t want to know what that was for.
” I couldn’t help but share through our dragons who were now laughing equally as hard as Kes and I were.
“Ugh, I suppose it’s inevitable. Everything is washable, including ancient dragons. ”
The floor in the playroom side was covered in a rubber mat with ABC’s, numbers and cute animals printed on them.
“Look at this,” Mattias turned off the lights and switched the projector on. Night stars filled the room along with the sounds of marine life and waves breaking along a shoreline. “Calming for when we’re rocking them to sleep.”
He’d literally thought of everything. The walls in this side weren’t adorned with a mural, but each had been painted a soft, calming color that reminded me of the sea.
“Just to be on the safe side,” he pulled a fire extinguisher from a nearby cabinet. Atop it sat a bottle making station, something I’d have to get familiar with using for sure.
“That’s one of those funny—not funny things,” Kes shook his head. “You didn’t miss anything. Educational toys, safe mats for them to crawl on. Look at the stuffies, Caspian.”
“I’ve never had or seen anything like this.” Bookshelves filled with toys, stuffies and books. “Does this mean Papa will be dazzling us with his bedtime story telling?”
“It absolutely means that, and I can’t wait. While you can both nurse, Papa will need to bottle feed them. There’s a small refrigerator under the cabinet. You can pump your milk and store the filled bottles in. So when Daddy’s need a break, Papa is covered for his shift.”
Shift. Funny to think about but with six of them coming we’ll definitely be working in shifts. Long days and nights awaited us but the loss of sleep will be more than worth it.
“All the clothes have been washed and put away. Diaper changing stations have been stocked with clean diapers and everything that goes along with it. I was told very firmly by Alex to purchase a diaper pail to put the dirty ones in or we’d regret it.
Easier to transfer to the washer he claims. Given he was the first mate to set the bar for all of us, I trust in his judgement. ”
As did I, especially raising our dragonets up here on land.
“I could totally sleep in here,” Kes said.
“I have a feeling we all will be very soon, and not so much by choice,” Mattias said, “and with that thought in mind the other side of the cabinet holds blankets and pillows for the big dragons.”
He didn’t just think of everything, he literally got everything.
“Come on, I’ve got one more surprise to show you.” I glanced over at Kes, and he shrugged, neither of us had a clue what was coming.
We followed Mattias out of the nursery, down the stairs and out to the… “Whoa, who told you?” Glad Kes had words because mine were long gone.
“Your dragons want you to be as happy as I do,” Mattias said. “I hope this meets the visions you had.”
And then some.
The already large balcony now spanned the back of the house overlooking the cliff and down into the sea.
Three quarters of it was screened in with a heavy, decorative mesh.
Patio furniture mirroring the comfy chairs we already had waited for our pregnant bodies to leave an impression upon them.
This outdoor space was amazing and at the very end, where the absolute best view was, sat an easel with a table beside it.
Paints of every color lined top and beside those were a tin of Mattias favorite sketching pencils.
A space designed for all our needs. Room for the dragonets to play while the Daddies sat in the comfy chairs watching them, or in our case, watching SpongeBob on our electronic devices.
Off to the side Papa could craft his art, painting and drawing to his heart content with his family nearby.
This was how family life should be. Spending time together doing the things we love, not worrying about fighting a war or hiding from those who wish to hurt or enslave us.
Where had this world become such a scary place?
How was it that we could no longer live in peace?
I’ll never understand the desire to control or have such hatred for another.
Throughout my travels I’d heard time and again that money was the root of all evil and I believed that to be true, for the most part.
Then I found my mates and met their brothers, all of which had wealth beyond all others, yet they didn’t flaunt it.
Their beliefs, their mission, their families, that was what mattered most to them.
Not their overflowing bank accounts. Yes, Mattias gave us everything we wanted, gifts beyond our wildest dreams but if it came right down to it and it was a matter of choosing his money over his family or over what was right, he’d give it all away.
Money did not rule the Denarius brothers, doing what was right and fulfilling the mission for which they were created was.
To ensure dragons and humans alike could live in peace.
They’ve taken in clan after clan, the shadow dragonets, any dragon seeking refuge and a safe place to live.
They’ve given them that with the creation of Dragon City.
Built homes for my herd and asked for nothing in return.
Their goal was to do what was right. Killing the Gorynych wasn’t what they wanted and they’d rehabilitate any dragon they could.
Those controlled by the leeches would be given the option to stay and build a new life here, but those who didn’t believe in freewill and still wished to follow the Gorynych would be shown the way out.
Sadly, there was only one option for that path.
Now, as I glanced around at this wonderful house Mattias had made a home for us, I’m saddened to think of those who never got a chance to feel a love this profound. Their lives ended before they found their mates all because of another’s hate.
“Mate, I didn’t make this a home. Having you and Kes did that, adding our dragonets made it perfect. Before you, it was nothing more than an empty shell to hang my hat in.”
How did he always know what I was thinking.
Hehe.
Sneaky dragon.
He’s our mate. I make no apologies.
And I’ll not ask you to do so either.
Home.
Yes, dragon, we’re home.
“Why don’t you two cuddle up on the bed out here while I make dinner.
We can eat al fresco,” Mattias gave us each a kiss then covered us with a blanket before he stepped inside.
He’d made sure everything was perfect for us, right down to this huge outdoor bed that will easily fit the three of us and given Mattias size, that was saying something.
“We’re really lucky, Caspian,” Kes said as he ran his fingers through my hair. I loved it when he played with it. Soothed my soul and calmed my thoughts.
“That we did, Kes. I mean, look at this place. The nursery was beyond anything I ever imagined and he took the time to create the mural for the babies. Not just something out of a movie or a book, but from his thoughts and feelings.”
“I know. It’s like, how could we ever do anything anywhere near as meaningful for him? Any gift we gave him would pale in comparison.”
“You two are carrying the best gifts I’ll ever receive, and don’t you forget that. Those babies are worth more than all the gold in the world. We made them together and together we’ll raise them to be good, kindhearted dragons.”
That was a given. If our babies were half the dragons the brothers were, I’d say we did a great job raising them.