One thing was for sure, however. Whatever happened in the future, she wanted to share it with Garek and Nicole.
Each person took it in turns to touch the eggs, and then wait awkwardly for results. It was clear no one actually expected the eggs to hatch, and certainly, there was no reaction with any of the royals. Nothing with the exiles, either, and several of them looked disappointed that a dragon didn’t hatch for them. Yvonne’s turn came like the others – a quick walk through the room, brushing her palm over each egg. On the fourth egg in the room, she froze after touching it, her previously calm face suddenly white and drained.
“Oh no,” she said. Right before she picked up that fourth egg – one with a blue colored shell – and walked to the corner of the room with it. “I… this one feels hotter for me than the others.”
A moment later, the egg began rattling and cracking. “Yvonne!” Renne exclaimed in delight, his dark eyes huge, mouth stretched into a grin. “Looks like you’re about to be a mother!”
Yvonne shot him a glare, but otherwise focused on the egg, until with one last crack, a snout pushed out of the side of the egg, wriggling its way through. In the background, Callum’s servants, Svane and Gerran, touched eggs as well.
A tiny, blue whelping slithered out of the egg, smaller than Nicole was when she first hatched – though the normal eggs were smaller in size than a golden egg, too. The dragon let out a squeak, eyes locking on Yvonne, and the water witch gave a tentative smile, before gently stroking some of the egg shell away from the dragon’s head.
Renne laughed, disregarding kingly posture entirely, and hugged his friend, who took the hug like a champion. Maya joined in, and there were claps, cheers, and a trumpeting bellow of triumph from Nicole.
More cracking noises followed. Eyes turned to lock on Svane, who had one hand resting on a green egg, which wobbled under his touch. Fault-lines developed and burst, and a green dragon wormed its way out.
“Two of them…” Garek breathed, almost reverent. “Two baby dragons hatched. For a witch and a guard.”
“This is the future,” Callum said, as Tara and Janus nodded, smiling. “This will be the first of many hatchings. The first of many dragons who don’t seek to destroy us, but to live with us instead. If they’re not exiles, of course,” he added hastily, suddenly realizing the rest of his audience.
Elena hooked an arm in Garek’s, watching these new miracles unfold, and Nicole eagerly leaning towards the new hatchlings, which would be a part of her queen tribe one day. Helen crept over to wrap an arm over Yvonne’s shoulder, which seemed to be good timing, as the water witch let her hair hide her face, and she aggressively wiped at her eyes. Svane, meanwhile, held up his new baby green dragon with two hands, thumbs breaching under and over the armpits. The baby’s little tail whipped like a cat’s, and it squeaked indignantly at the way it was handled.
“If these are part of Nicole’s brood,” Garek said in a low voice, “does that make us their aunt and uncle?”
“I’m not buying birthday presents for them,” was Elena’s immediate answer. She felt, rather than saw Garek smile, and let herself experience more of his warmth, his comforting presence.
The new hatchlings, the new hope indicted when so many were rebuilding River’s End, and others patrolling, in case the dragons returned… Albalon finally had its rightful people ruling.
“Fancy living in a nice place in the mountains?” Elena prodded Garek, and he gave a little shrug.
“Depends. Will they have good beer nearby?”
“No idea. We can always look.”
And hopefully, they had all the time in the world now to plan out their future. Without interruption, war, or other people dictating their lives. The whole world waited for Elena. Journeys through earth. Adventures through Albalon, without fear of attack at any moment. Looking after baby dragons – she figured Nicole would be happy to help, and she wouldn’t separate herself from Nicole for long. Her mother likely wanted to visit the dragons as well, and her father would probably try and work on finding some new product dragons might like to buy.
As for her and Garek… they’d probably bicker a lot. She still glared at him, though probably less than five times a day now. Still found his jokes awful, when he said them.
But… he had his moments.
Smiling, she went over with Garek to inspect the new hatchlings, tickling them both under their stubby little chins.
This is the damn future.
Garek tentatively reached out to pet Yvonne’s dragon, and it bit him on the finger. He yelped and leaped back.
“That’s my baby,” Yvonne said, now breaking into a huge grin for the first time. “Maybe you really are my dragon after all.”
“Naturally,” Renne said. “Let’s hope it inherits your good grasp of humor, too.”
“And fashion sense,” Elena added, smiling innocently as she glanced at the water witch, noting her the heavy black paint coating her cheeks. Yvonne clearly wasn’t sure if that was meant as a compliment or insult, and Elena was happy to keep it ambiguous.
Her hand lightly brushed a small red egg, and she froze when heat pulsed through the egg and up her arm.
“Shit,” she said, as the egg began to rattle.
THE END
More In This World
The Last Unicirim’s Bride
Get It Here
I was a regular girl, from a normal world -- the only world I ever knew.
But something terrible happened to me.
Drowning, gasping for air -- that's the first thing I remember.
His arms around me -- that's the last.
Are you God?
No.
What did he say? He's a prince Unicirim?
What the eff?
That's it, I've lost my mind.
Gone off the deep end.
Tell my mother I love her.
As soon as his warm, callused palm touches my hand, lightning zings up my arm and through my blood, sending shock waves through my system.
Did... did he just tattoo me?
What is going on?
I don't understand.
Why won't he let me go?
I need to go back home.
Why do his hands feel so good on my skin?
Why is he eyeing me again?
Oh no... this is bad.
I need to escape.
Now.
Copyright
© Copyright 2019 by Hollie Hutchins - All rights reserved.
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.
Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.
Captured By The Royals Page 18
