by Imogen Sera
Shocked about the death of his father, Helias hadn’t anticipated that it would come any time this century, and he wasn’t pleased that it had come now. He had been looking forward to destroying the corrupted shrine and then just enjoying Ingrid for as long as he could. Obviously that wouldn’t happen now; he couldn’t abandon his homeland.
He and his brothers had talked long into the night about what they should do next, but when no conclusion was reached after hours of discussion, they’d agreed to sleep on it.
Ingrid was fast asleep, her breathing even and slow, her face relaxed and pale in the moonlight. Helias marveled over her as he pressed a kiss to her cheek, pulled the blankets up around her, and left for the library. He needed some time alone to think, to process the news. Everything was falling into place here at Dragongrove with Ingrid, and then he was suddenly thrust into the role he’d been preparing for his whole life but had never expected to actually fill.
He sighed, staring into the smoldering embers in the fireplace.
There must be more options than he had already considered.
He needed Ingrid with him, but he knew that she didn’t want to leave her home. Besides, if there was so much conflict in his homeland, he absolutely could not have her there for her own safety. On the other hand, no matter how much he wished it, he knew he couldn’t abandon his people now, not when he was possibly the only one who could restore peace to the land.
Helias ran his hands through his hair and leaned back in his seat.
Would he be able to leave Ingrid here at Dragongrove while he and his brothers assessed the situation? He suspected that Augustus wouldn’t be comfortable bringing Annie with him, especially if the child had arrived by then. The thought unexpectedly cheered him.
Without any female shifters remaining, they had resigned themselves to being the last of their kind, and the knowledge that there was hope gave him peace. He pictured Ingrid, suddenly, with a big swollen belly, and his heart felt like bursting. It only strengthened his resolve that she absolutely couldn’t come to Arnes until there was peace again: she was too precious.
It was clear to him that they needed to deal with the shrine as quickly as possible. His mind wandered to Ingrid nursing the ill, and although he would never try to stop her from her duty, he did wonder if she was as immune as she thought.
He wondered about that, again, and reached over to the book he had been reading earlier which described in great detail how a dragon shrine had been destroyed in the past. Particularly troubling was how it described the aftermath: a smoking crater in the ground. Ingrid’s ancestral home was built atop this one, and he was trying to find any information he could to keep the house intact.
He read late into the night, his exhausted mind wandering frequently as he tried to keep himself focused on the task at hand. As the sun crested over the horizon, his eyes drooped and he knew no more.
Twenty
Ingrid awoke the next morning to a cold and empty bed, feeling disappointed, then confused, until she remembered the events of the night before. She realized that Helias was probably off by himself, thinking things over. The news had caught her completely by surprise.
Her mate was the king of all dragons, and while the thought made her almost nauseated with worry, it also filled her with a flutter of excitement. He was so good, and she knew with full confidence that he would set things right. Also, she thought, if he was king, would she be queen? She shook her head and pushed the thought from her mind.
When she first learned about it, she had been angry at him. As the night had continued on, however, with more light-hearted conversation, she thought about why he would have kept it to himself. She knew he had only wished not to frighten her away. He had been nervous enough just to tell her that they were mates. She shivered with involuntary pleasure at the thought.
It frustrated her to think that he didn’t seem to believe that she wouldn’t run again, but she could hardly blame him; the thought of him running from her tore her apart. She would just have to prove to him that she would remain by his side through anything.
As Ingrid showered, she resolved to tell him that again. She knew he would need to return to his homeland, and she was determined to go with him. Her life seemed to be taking quite a different path than the one she’d imagined only months ago, but she was satisfied that as long as Helias was by her side, she would find happiness.
When she was clean and dressed, she ventured out to find him. He was right where she expected, sprawled across the couch in the library, book open on his chest, sound asleep. She woke him with a kiss, and he was kissing her back before he was fully conscious. He pulled her onto him before she knew what was happening, his hands on her backside, squeezing and rubbing. She giggled at that and pulled her face from his.
“Breakfast first?” she asked. “I’m starving.”
He nodded and sat up, and let her guide him to breakfast.
When they reached the dining room, Ingrid squeezed his shoulder and gestured that she would be sitting at the other end with some of the newer residents. Helias sat next to Tarquin, who was already seated at the long table.
She sat down next to Mira and helped herself to a large pile of scrambled eggs. She noticed Helias looking at her plate with disgust and she laughed to herself. Mira was barely awake; she had spent the night on infirmary duty. Ingrid asked her about Margaret, and Mira seemed to agree that it seemed as if she was slowly regaining strength. Ingrid was very pleased. They had lost so many to illness over the years, and although she wasn’t as devastated by loss as she had been at first, it was always hard to lose a patient. Margaret had been holding on much longer than most had, and she truly hoped that the young woman would recover.
After breakfast she returned to the infirmary. She made her way to the furthest wing of the house, eager to see Margaret’s progress for herself. As she reached for the door, she jumped as it swung open toward her. There was Caelian, looking shocked to see her and somewhat sheepish.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him, surprised he even knew this part of the house existed.
He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. “Visiting, I suppose.”
“Visiting patients?” Ingrid clarified, still confused.
He nodded slightly, looking embarrassed. “Do you think any will recover?” he asked.
“I hope so,” she said, confused. “Some are doing better than others.”
Caelian sighed and looked defeated.
“I’m going to check on things then, would you like to help me?”
“I’d love to,” he said, jumping to attention and causing her to flinch.
Ingrid was surprised, but Caelian seemed interested and she was happy for the help. Ingrid showed him how to mix and crush the herbs, giving him something useful to do while she brought out her journal and checked for any changes to each patient. He was intent on his task but seemed to be spending an inordinate amount of time staring at Margaret’s face.
Ingrid paused at the foot of Margaret’s bed. “Do you know this woman?” she asked quietly.
He shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said, not moving his gaze from the unconscious woman.
“Margaret?” Ingrid prompted, wondering if he would recognize the name.
“Margaret,” he breathed, almost reverently. He straightened after a moment and changed the subject. “You didn’t know, did you? About our father being king.”
“I didn’t,” she answered.
He paused. “Are you Helias’s mate?”
She nodded once.
“I don’t know why he didn’t tell me it was possible,” he murmured, staring blankly into his bowl.
“He only just told me yesterday,” she said, “right before Augustus and Annie arrived.”
He looked much more thoughtful than she had ever seen him, and she wondered where the flirtatious, carefree Caelian that she knew had gone. Her eyes widened then and she followed his gaze to the sleeping girl on the bed.
“Caelian,” she began cautiously, “is she your—are you—?”
“I don’t know,” he said, looking at her helplessly, unshed tears glistening in his clear blue eyes. “Please help her get better. She has to get better.”
Twenty-one
Ingrid spent most of the morning in the infirmary, showing Caelian how to do everything necessary to keep Margaret comfortable and give her the best chance of recovering. He was eager to learn and very helpful, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from Margaret’s face for more than a minute or two. Ingrid’s heart broke for him, and for the third time in the last hour, she whispered a silent prayer for Margaret’s recovery. After he knew his way around the place, she left him, making him promise to come down to lunch.
She found Helias in the library with Augustus and Annie, and the three were talking animatedly. Annie seemed to have lost her fear of Helias, perhaps after getting to know him a bit more, Ingrid thought. She supposed that Annie had known Helias was king before Helias himself did, and she could understand being intimidated, especially after her treatment at the hands of the former king.
Ingrid was still having trouble wrapping her head around the whole situation, and in an attempt to keep from losing her mind, she was trying hard to focus on one thing at a time. The next task was to become friendly with Annie, she supposed. They were basically sisters-in-law now. She smiled to herself at the thought.
“You’ll need to speak with Ingrid about that, but I can’t imagine it would be—” Helias stopped, noticing his mate’s entrance. She grinned at him and smiled politely toward Annie and Augustus before slipping into the seat next to him.
“What do we need to speak with me about?” she asked.
Augustus cleared his throat. “We believe the child will be here soon. We need somewhere safe for the birth, and Annie tells me that she feels safe here,” he looked down at Annie as her cheeks burned pink. “May we stay here until after the birth?”
“Of course,” Ingrid smiled. “We have the room and supplies. There’s a midwife in town, I can go fetch her tomorrow to stay here until she’s needed.”
Augustus nodded gratefully and Annie looked relieved.
“Annie,” Ingrid said, turning her attention to the woman, “is there anything I can get you to help make you more comfortable?”
Annie laughed with an enthusiasm that surprised her. “I don’t think anything could possibly make me comfortable right now,” she said, gesturing to her belly, “except getting this baby out of me. There are knees in my lungs and elbows in my hips.” She turned to Augustus. “He’s going to be as big as you,” she said playfully, and Ingrid saw a look of pride cross the serious man’s face.
Ingrid laughed and put her palms up. “I have...pillows? Or a bath?” she said, trying to imagine what would help an uncomfortable pregnant woman.
“A bath? Really?” Annie asked, rising awkwardly from her seat, her mate standing to help her. “A bath would make me very happy.”
Ingrid smiled, happy to be able to be helpful. She leaned over to kiss Helias on the cheek, but he caught her chin gently in his hand. She raised her eyebrows at him.
“You said after breakfast,” he murmured quietly, a mischievous look on his face.
“After I help Annie,” she promised, whispering. “To make it up to you I’ll sit on your face for as long as you want.”
She pecked him on the nose and jumped up to help Annie through the door. Glancing back at him from the door, she laughed to herself at the stunned look on his face.
•••••
Annie had exclaimed excitedly over the huge marble tub in Ingrid’s bathroom, and once she was safely lowered in the hot water, Ingrid retreated to her bedroom to give her privacy. They were talking a bit, Ingrid from her bed and Annie from the tub, mostly rehashing the events of the night before.
“Can I ask you something kind of personal?” Annie asked, sounding hesitant.
“Sure,” Ingrid replied curiously.
“Is Helias,” she paused, searching for the right word, “good to you?”
“Very,” Ingrid said.
“I’m only asking because I heard stories while I was imprisoned,” began Annie, “and I got the impression that he was...different than he seems now that I’ve met him.”
“Different how?”
“Vicious. Barbaric.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” said Ingrid, carefully, trying to ignore the protectiveness in her chest.
“I agree,” Annie said, “after meeting him. I’m only bringing it up because it seems so odd, the difference between the savage I expected and the person I met.”
Annie emerged from the bathroom then, hair wet and wrapped in a large robe.
“Who told you these stories?” Ingrid asked.
“A guard when I was imprisoned,” Annie said, squeezing water from her hair into a towel. “He took pity on me and kept me company most of the time, and he told me lots of stories about everything that was going on.”
“And that’s why you were so frightened last night?” Ingrid guided her to sit in front of the vanity and picked up her hairbrush. As she started running it through Annie’s silvery blond hair, the smaller woman shut her eyes and relaxed her face.
“Yes,” she responded. “I’m sorry if I was rude. I should probably have told Augustus about this, but Helias is his brother and he seems to love him, and I didn’t want to cause any problems.”
Ingrid nodded, not convinced. “You should tell him,” she suggested.
She couldn’t quite shake her growing sense of unease as she continued brushing Annie’s hair.
Twenty-two
Once Annie was dressed and on her way, Ingrid went searching for Helias. She had missed lunch so she grabbed a sandwich from the kitchen and ate while wandering around the house. He wasn’t in the library, and the trap door in the storage room was tightly shut, the front hall was empty. Only Rebecca was in the infirmary. Ingrid furrowed her brow and headed to the front door, sandwich still in hand.
The day was lovely, all warm sunshine and clear, blue skies, and as she shaded her eyes to look up at the sky she saw him. His great, emerald wings were spread as he soared, so high she could barely make out his massive form. Three similar figures were near to him: red, blue, and black. She smiled to herself.
“Ing!” she heard, and turned to see John calling her. Lily, John, Ian, and Mira had set up a makeshift picnic lunch, taking advantage of the weather. She joined them on the ground and finished her lunch before leaning back on her elbows, shutting her eyes, and enjoying the sun on her face.
“It’s interesting, right?” Ian said, gesturing skyward. “Like observing animals in the wild.” He flashed her an impish smile, and she gently shoved him with her foot.
“They can eat you,” she said, shutting her eyes again.
Her friends chatted around her, but she couldn’t bring herself to pay attention. Ingrid had been going nonstop; the last few days had been full of revelations and responsibilities, and having time to shut everything out of her mind was good for her. She noticed Mira seemed quieter than usual, and when she glanced at her she saw that her gaze was fixed overhead.
Time passed, mostly in silence, and soon Helias landed a little ways away. She hoped he’d had the foresight to keep his pants somewhere safe. He strode toward them a minute later, and she was relieved that her fears were unfounded. He shot Ingrid a blazing look, and she knew he was remembering her promise from earlier. She flushed slightly but patted the grass next to her, and he didn’t seem at all inconvenienced to join her on the ground.
She put her arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder, content.
“How’s Annie?” he murmured into her hair, and she shook her head. He furrowed his brow and began to ask something about Caelian before she silenced him by shaking her head again.
She lifted his hand to her mouth and placed a quick kiss on his palm, holding onto his much bigger hand with both of hers. “There�
��s about a million things I need to tell you,” she started, turning her face upward and shutting her eyes again, a content look on her face, “but right now I don’t want to think about anything.”
He murmured his agreement and they sat together in relative quiet. She opened her eyes to excited murmuring and saw Tarquin stalking toward them, completely naked, and she groaned and put her head in her hands. John and Ian were both pointedly looking anywhere else, Lily was trying desperately to hide hysterical giggling, and poor Mira was bright red, seemingly transfixed on the sight. Ingrid elbowed Helias playfully and ordered him to sort his brother out.
She promised him she’d be upstairs and slipped through the door, darting up to her bedroom. The sunny outing had done her good, she knew, and now getting devoured by her mate would be even better for her. She laughed at the thought as she stripped to shower quickly. As she hastily dried herself, she hoped that Helias would be quick about setting Tarquin straight regarding clothing.
She wrapped her towel around herself and opened the door to her bedroom, and there was Helias right in front of the door: huge, muscular, shirtless, eyes burning for her. Heat pooled low in her belly, and she released her towel to pull him to her and then she kissed him, passionately, with all of the tension from the last few days and all of the desperate longing from the last few months poured into it. Breathless, he pulled away and lifted her, her towel forgotten on the floor.
Helias laid her on the bed, pulled her legs apart gently, and lowered his mouth between her thighs. He pressed a gentle kiss against her inner thigh, and then again, and trailed his tongue lazily around his kisses. Her breath hitched as his lips and tongue traveled inward, but then he lifted his head and focused his attention on her other thigh. She made a desperate needy sound, and he laughed against her leg, the sound reverberating straight through her core. She gasped and bucked her hips slightly, helplessly, and begged him incoherently for something, anything, everything. He laughed again, and she tensed before he placed one last kiss against her creamy thigh.
