“Jesus,” I whispered, going down to my knees.
I couldn’t help but do that.
It was as if the strength I had to stay upright suddenly fled, leaving me with nothing else but the love I felt for Brooklyn in my heart.
I stared at her, then I gave it all back to her.
I gave her my hopes. My dreams. My wants and needs.
I gave it all to her just like she’d given to me, and I watched as her eyes lit up with each new memory or thought.
By the time I was done, she was crying, and it took everything I had to not join her.
Men didn’t cry, though.
“Brooklyn!” Keifer suddenly cried. “Oh my God,” he said in pain and fear. “We have to go. Now!”
I was up and running towards my brother before I’d even realized I was moving, Brooklyn directly beside me.
My eyes went first to Merrick, and then to Keifer. “What’s going on?” I asked him.
I couldn’t see any signs of Merrick being in distress. In fact, he looked even better now than he did a couple of minutes ago when I took Brooklyn off to the side.
Keifer’s eyes, though, were wild, and I knew instantly it had everything to do with his wife.
“What is it?” Brooklyn asked worriedly. “Is it Blythe?”
Keifer nodded almost out of habit.
His clenched hands at his waist, though, told the real story.
He was in pain.
Or at least his wife was in pain.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Brooklyn ordered, snapping her fingers at Keifer.
“She’s in labor,” he said, his voice cracking on the ‘labor’ part.
“Okay,” Brooklyn nodded. “Take me with you and I’ll go to her. Nikolai, take Merrick back with you.”
“Wait…” Keifer held up his hand. “Do you think the heart will help her like it helped him?”
Brooklyn looked thoughtful for a few long seconds before she shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. The heart healed Merrick, but it didn’t take any of the pain. I could feel the distress rolling off his body as he laid there.”
Keifer nodded then walked straight to Declan, offering his hand down to my mate without another word.
Brooklyn ran up to me, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and then ran back to Declan, taking Keifer’s hand.
Once she was in position, Declan lifted off with a powerful flap of wings, and then his cloak was in place and I could no longer see him.
I looked over at Perdita, then to the side of her where Merrick lay next to his dragon.
Then, without another word, I walked over to the dragon rider and picked him up in a fireman’s carry over my shoulder.
I laid him over Perdita’s shoulders in the next instant before turning to his dragon.
“Can you follow?” I asked her.
A series of images flew into my brain, and I startled in surprise when I realized just how young Merrick’s dragon was.
Only the ones that were too small and young couldn’t voice their words, and this one, although it looked older, did the exact same thing as the little ice dragons at the sanctuary did.
Stomach knotting, I got up and voiced my order to the big beast. “Follow me.”Chapter 18Brooklyn
The screaming, my God, would it ever end?
“Seriously,” Blythe growled between clenched teeth. “If one of you doesn’t shut him the fuck up, I’m going to levitate out of this bed and show him what pain really is!”
I watched as Nikolai finally took pity on his brother and put him out of his misery.
By knocking him out.
With his fist to Keifer’s temple.
“Nikolai!” both Blythe and I squeaked in outrage.
Nikolai blinked.
“What?” he asked, blinking owlishly.
My mouth opened and closed like a guppy.
“I think,” Skylar said, “that my sister-in-laws are upset over the fact that you cold clocked Keifer.”
Blythe and I nodded, but then Blythe’s stomach tightened as another contraction started to roll over her.
“It’s too soon,” she moaned, her arms banding tightly around her belly as she started to pant for breath.
I looked at Skylar.
Neither of us said what we were thinking.
It was incredibly too early for the babies to be born.
In fact, at this point in time, the babies may not survive.
We didn’t have the same capabilities as Dallas’ busiest hospital did.
If we were lucky, we could get the babies there in time.
Likely, though, we wouldn’t.
Although we were close by a dragon’s flight, we couldn’t just go flying up to the helicopter landing on the hospital’s roof and demand attention. Not after the last time we’d gotten fined out the ass and told not to ever do that again. Oh, and threatened with lethal force. That was a biggie, too.
We’d have to stay and hope for the best.
Pulling Nikolai to the side, I stared him in the eyes so he could read the seriousness in mine.
“Listen,” I said to him. “Drag him to that chair over there. Calm him down, and shut him up when he wakes up. Seriously, this is going to be quick and dirty; he needs to keep his shit together, okay?”