“I can’t remember,” I said, turning to the other dragon.
“Mine’s fuzzy too, but I think up to four,” he said. His eyes were far away for a moment, and I was curious about his life growing up. What was he thinking about? I doubted our childhoods were the same since he was likely not a royal dragon, but most broods upheld the same traditions. As far as I knew, anyway.
“Can you imagine four?” Kane laughed. His eyes were bright with excitement, and I melted a bit. This big, burly alpha was taking to the idea of fatherhood with so much enthusiasm.
“Two sounds like a good number to me,” I said quickly. We fell silent again as we picked away at the food. It wasn’t an uncomfortable quiet, and my body started to relax. They were a safe space, and I could recognize that. I just wished my memory would get on board. It was so hard to trust them implicitly. but I was going to do my best. Not only did my babies deserve it, so did we. One thing I could remember was that I’d always assumed I’d never find a mate. My people were gone, so It was nice to know I had mates and a brood behind me. Even if I didn’t know myself, they knew me and trusted me.
I just hope I don’t fail them all.
* * *
Niko
Traveling backto the university felt like a death sentence, which was a very real possibility. The only reassuring factor was that my magic had strengthened since mating Farren, as had my worldview. And despite their egos, one thing the board couldn’t stop us from doing was causing a fucking scene. They would fight back without hesitation, but I had dragons on my side this time, witnesses to the Arch Mage’s attack. The board’s lies would crumble, and I hoped they fell with them.
The only thing that kept me moving forward was the phone call that would be coming in from Farren at any time. She was right that this was our reality now, and we had to figure it out before the babies arrived. I also intended to do everything I could to get back home before they were born, which meant making this trip efficient and to the point. I just hoped the man we were after was cooperative. I’d hate to become a fugitive for real this time because I wouldn’t be leaving without any help.
We’d camped out at a motel for the night. The dragons had taken a room together, and I was alone. They’d respected that I needed the evening to smooth things over with their queen. I had a feeling they blamed themselves as much as we did and would give anything we asked in order to mend their own relationship with her. They were connected to her in ways we weren’t, so in theory, they should have felt it, but he’d somehow prepared for every single variable. Personally, I didn’t hold them responsible. A foe like the Arch Mage was capable of great trickery, and with the bond between them and their queen being so new, it was probably easier for him to manipulate the situation.
I felt like a teenager again as I stared at the phone, willing it to ring. My stomach danced with nerves. Finally, the tone started to sound out, and a picture of Farren popped up on the screen. I answered so fast that it barely rang once. Her laughter filled the air, almost drowning out my breathless greeting.
“Holy hell,” she giggled. “You were waiting, weren’t you?”
“Of course I was,” I agreed without a single ounce of shame. “It’s a chance to talk to my gorgeous mate.”
“Well, I had a nice lunch at the cabin with the others,” she said. The words were spoken almost hesitantly, like she was unsure if she should share. I wasn’t sure if she was worrying about jealousy, but I wouldn’t leave any silence to push her further into her head. She should feel secure in our bonds with her and our bonds with each other. There was no room for jealousy if we wanted to be a strong, successful brood.
“Good. I love that you enjoyed yourself. I miss you and Levi already,” I said softly. She was quiet for a moment, and I could practically hear the thoughts tumbling around her brain. “I wasn’t sure if you caught that vibe yet, but Levi is also my fated mate. We’ve known each other since we were younger.”
“Can I hear about how you met?” she asked. “I know I probably knew once, but I’m trying to put all the missing pieces together.”
“Of course,” I promised. She was guarded as I recounted meeting him and the way my mom had accepted him, spelling him with a tattoo and a charmed bracelet to keep him safe. When I finally caught up to where we were now, I finally took a real breath.
“It’s strange. That feels so familiar,” she admitted. I’d count it as a good sign that our conversation was ringing something within her. “I’m glad that I found you guys. It was a lonely life before. Losing my brood and family was horrible.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that. Your kind deserved better.”
“They did. But now is our chance to get to know each other again. The guys asked if I’d let them take me on dates.”
“I’ll demand one when I get back as well,” I said immediately. The thought of having her alone brought up a mix of excitement and fear. So much had changed.
“I’m glad you guys found me. This life is already so much less lonely,” she said. The strain in her voice meant it took a lot to get that out. Farren wasn’t always easy with her feelings, and I had come to expect it.
“We’re glad we found you too. Our intentions were never to stay, but once we realized who you were, it was over for us. Wecouldn’tleave. We didn’t want to. Now, because of us, you’re hurt,” I added in frustration.
“Don’t blame yourself,” she said bluntly. “That won’t solve anything. You’re doing what you can to help me, and until then, we’ll try to keep our group together. Just try to stay out of jail while you’re there. I’d hate for you to miss the babies.”
“Oh, I’d move heaven and earth to be with you when you give birth. Don’t you worry about that,” I promised.
“Good.” That was all she said, but all of her excitement and relief was wrapped up in that one word.
“Once you have the eggs, how long until they hatch?” I asked. We couldn’t exactly go to the library and get a book on dragonlings. The best we had was what the brood could remember. Most of them were too young when the dragons fell to have much memory of dragonlings.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I think like another week if we keep them warm enough? Though these babies are strong and persistent, so I feel like it could be less.”
“It’s crazy to think we’ll have baby dragons and not… baby babies.” I had no idea how else to say it. “And not just one… but two?! Good thing there are five of us.” My words were more of a jumble than I intended; there was a lot to process.
“We get the best of both worlds,” she joked.