by Zoe Chant
Danny blinked. “Like… you and Mommy?”
“Right. Or Dai and Virginia here.” Da had his serious face on, the one that always made Danny feel bigger. He liked it when Da talked to him like this, man to man, as though Danny was an alpha too. “If it’s true, then Jane is going to become a very important person in your daddy’s life. In your life, too. That’s a big change.”
Danny felt a weird lurch, like someone had just pulled the beach out from under his feet. “Will I have to go live in Atlantis?”
“No,” Mommy said, in the Mommy Voice that said there would be absolutely no arguing. “No one is going to take you away from me, Danny. Not ever.”
Danny let out his breath in relief. “That’s okay, then. Atlantis sounds fun, but I don’t want to live there. Sir John told me they don’t have ice cream.”
“Jane and your daddy will have a lot to work out. And we’ll have to work some things out with them too.” Da put his big, strong hands on Danny’s shoulders, squeezing a little. It felt good, like snuggling into a warm blanket. “But Danny, the most important thing to all of us—me and Mommy and Daddy and now Jane—is to make sure that you’re happy. It’s okay to have hard, complicated feelings about a change like this. If there’s anything that’s worrying or upsetting you, we want to know.”
“Worried?” Grown-ups were so weird sometimes. “Why would I be worried? If Jane really is Daddy’s mate, then that’s great! I’ll get to hang out with her all the time!”
Da’s eyebrows winged up. “I take it you like her.”
“Of course I do! She’s a sea dragon. That’s the coolest type of shifter ever.”
Dai let out a kind of snort-laugh. “Well, that’s you put in your place, Griff.”
Belatedly, Danny realized that he might have hurt Da’s feelings. “Um, not that griffins aren’t cool too.”
Da laughed his rumbling, warm laugh. “I think sea dragons are pretty cool as well, Danny. They’ve got an interesting way of looking at the world. John still manages to surprise me, even after all these years. It’s good to have friends who see things differently to you.”
“Yeah! Me and Jane are going to have loads of fun!” Danny had to wriggle, his excitement too big to keep inside his body. “She can tell me all about sea dragons, and swords, and help me learn to swim better! And I can show her all my favorite TV shows, and how to go really high on the swings, and my Lego, and—”
“That’s wonderful, sweetie,” Mommy interrupted, holding up her hands. “And I’m sure Jane will love all those things. But, er, not all at once.”
“Everything on land will be new to her,” Da said. “Remember when you moved here from California, and everything seemed strange and a bit scary? It’ll be like that for Jane, only even more so. You’ll need to be kind and patient with her. Just like you are with little Morwenna.”
Privately, Danny thought it would be a lot easier to be kind and patient with Jane. At least she wasn’t likely to dribble all over his shirt and try to eat his ear.
“I will, I will.” He bounced on his toes, eager to get started. “Now I really want to find Jane and Daddy! Come on, Da! Let’s go look for them!”
“Well, that backfired,” Virginia murmured to Mommy.
Mommy sighed. “Danny, sometimes when grown-ups slip off quietly, it means they don’t want to be found.”
“Like when Mommy goes off to have a long, long bath,” Da said, his mouth crooking. “Danny, it’s good that you want to get to know Jane. But she needs to get to know your daddy first. And he needs to get to know her. That’s why they’ve gone off together, just the two of them.”
Danny frowned. “But if they’re true mates, don’t they already know everything about each other?”
“It doesn’t work like that. Finding your mate is just the beginning. You still have to learn what you each like, or don’t like; the ways that you’re the same, and different. It takes a long time to discover all the ways you can make each other stronger.” Da glanced over at Mommy, and his voice went soft and rumbly. “Maybe forever.”
“They can still find out all those things while I’m there. And Daddy always wants to spend time with me. He said so.” The squirmy feeling was back in his guts. “That wouldn’t change just because he met his mate. Would it?”
“Of course not,” Mommy said firmly. “Daddy will still love you exactly as much. His heart will just get bigger, so that he has space to love Jane too.”
“Then why would he want some time with just her, and not me?”
Mommy paused for a moment, as though she was having to think about that one. “Danny, you remember when me and Da got married, and you stayed with Daddy for two whole weeks?”
“Yeah!” Danny perked up. “We went to Disneyland! On a real airplane!” Then he frowned, not seeing the connection. “You mean Daddy’s taken Jane to Disneyland?”
“Now there’s a novel euphemism,” Dai said under his breath. Virginia elbowed him again, harder.
“No, sweetie,” Mommy said. “What I mean is, it was nice to spend some special time with your daddy, just the two of you, wasn’t it?”
Danny thought about it. “I guess so. Daddy doesn’t get sick on fast rides, like you do. And we stayed at a place that was just for us, with a real big garden, so we got to go be lions together every night. That was fun.”
“Well, it was like that for me and Da, too. We missed you, but at the same time it was fun for us to, ah,” Mommy glanced at Da, and her cheeks went a little pink, “do some things we don’t get to do so much, when you’re around.”
Danny had never really thought about his parents doing things when he wasn’t around. He’d kind of assumed that they just went to sleep, like his iPad when he wasn’t using it. “Like what?”
“Things that are for grown-ups only, not little boys,” Da said. He was trying to look serious, but Danny could hear the laugh purring under his words. “Like watching movies that aren’t cartoons, where absolutely nothing explodes, or going for long hikes in the countryside.”
“Eating spicy take-away food,” Dai suggested, lips twitching upward.
“Going to bed early,” Virginia added. She heaved a huge, heartfelt, dreamy sigh. “And not getting up at the crack of dawn.”
“Oh.” Danny wrinkled his nose. “That sounds boring.”
“Yes,” Da agreed solemnly. The other grown-ups were pulling strange faces, like they were trying to stop themselves from sneezing. “That’s why we don’t do those things with you. Adults like a lot of things that you wee bairns find boring. We’re strange that way.”
Danny was certain that he wasn’t ever going to want to spend all morning in bed when he could be playing football. No matter how big he got. But he’d learned that announcing that kind of thing just made grown-ups exchange glances over your head in that annoying, superior way that meant they didn’t believe you.
“Anyway.” Mommy glared at the other grown-ups like she’d caught them hiding their broccoli under their mashed potatoes, then turned her attention back to Danny. “You understand that Jane and Daddy need some private time? It’s not that they don’t want you. It’s just that they need to concentrate on each other for a little bit, so they can learn to be good mates.”
Mommy was always right, except about bed time and how much ice cream was enough. And what she said made sense to his human head. But Simba was still pacing up and down, up and down, somewhere deep inside Danny’s heart.
Something is wrong, his lion repeated, tail lashing. Meeting your mate should make you happy. They didn’t smell happy. Not at all. We need to find them.
“Mommy,” Danny said, slowly. “What if Daddy and Jane get it wrong? What if they can’t work out how to do it? Mate, I mean.”
Virginia jabbed Dai in the side. “Not. One. Word.”
Dai mimed zipping his lips together. Da’s golden eyes sparkled like pirate treasure. Mommy let out a little cough, like she’d been eating a cookie and a crumb had got stuck in her throat.
She’d gone pink again.
“Your daddy is a fully grown man, Danny,” she said. “I’m sure he can figure it out.”
“But you and Da didn’t!” Danny protested. “You spent ages avoiding each other and not saying how you really felt. I had to make you both realize that we were all meant to be a family together.”
“A fact,” Dai murmured to Da, “that you will never live down, Griff.”
Da shot the red dragon shifter a narrow-eyed glare, but it was just play-fighting, not for real. “Remind me, how long did it take you to admit to Virginia that you were a shifter?”
Virginia and Mommy exchanged quick, sly smiles. “I think this one’s a draw,” Virginia said. “Though in the who-most-messed-up-meeting-his-mate, Chase still has both of you beat.”
“Chase never does anything by halves,” Mommy agreed.
“See?” Danny waved his hands, drawing the grown-ups’ attention back to himself. “You all needed help! Even Sir John nearly messed up. He messed up so bad he would have died, if Mr. Hugh hadn’t been able to get there in time. You said so yourself, Da.”
Mommy shot Da a look that said he was in trouble. “I thought we’d agreed that there were some details that certain small individuals didn’t need to hear.”
“I think we need to invest in thicker doors,” Da said. “And soundproof our bedroom.”
“Well, I think we have to go help Daddy and Jane,” Danny said stubbornly. “What if Daddy doesn’t use his words right? What if Jane gets the wrong idea and thinks there isn’t room for her in our family? She might disappear into the ocean forever and ever! What if—”
He would have gone on, but Da pulled him into a tight hug. Squashed against Da’s big, hard shoulder, Danny’s objections spluttered out. The comforting scent of his pride’s alpha wrapped round him, as strong and reassuring as Da’s arms.
“You have a good heart, lad.” Da released him, and ruffled his hair. “But some things aren’t your responsibility. Let the grown-ups handle this one.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” he said in frustration. “But you aren’t listening. I’m telling you, Jane and Daddy need help. Can’t you feel it?”
Danny could. That was the way lions were. You were a pride, and if one lion was in trouble, everyone felt it, and came to help.
Da frowned, tilting his head. He got a look like he was adding up two really big numbers without using a pencil and paper. Danny felt something shivery, like a feather brushing down his arm, as Da reached out along the pride bond.
After a second, Da shook his head. “I don’t sense anything, lad.”
How could Da could have missed it? He was the alpha, he was meant to be good at telling when something was wrong. Maybe it was because he was only part lion, and his eagle half was getting in the way.
Then again, maybe it was just because he was a grown-up. In Danny’s experience, grown-ups were terrible at noticing important things. He was forever having to point out cool bugs and interesting rocks.
“Right,” he said, as patiently as he could manage with Simba scratching at him, which wasn’t very. “That’s exactly it. We can’t feel him at all, because Daddy’s made a big wall around himself to keep his feelings in. That’s how I know he’s hurting. If he was happy, he’d be happy to share that with me. But when he’s sad, he keeps it all to himself, because he doesn’t want me to be sad. You do the same thing, Da. You both think I don’t notice. But I do.”
Da blinked.
“Is Danny right, Griff?” Mommy asked.
“I’m not sure,” Da said slowly. “But now that Danny’s pointed it out, I can tell that Reiner’s deliberately shielding himself from the pride bond.”
“Could just be for privacy,” Virginia suggested.
“Mmm.” The lines in Da’s forehead deepened. “True, but I wouldn’t have thought he would be able to cut himself off this thoroughly if he was, ah, distracted. In any event, he is shielding. Even if Danny’s right and Reiner’s in trouble, he isn’t calling out for help.”
“Of course he isn’t,” Danny said. “Daddy never asks for help. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t need it.”
“Out of the mouths of babes,” Mommy murmured.
“Daddy’s hurting. If someone’s hurting, you have to help them.” Danny met Da’s eyes. “Especially when it’s family. Please, Da.”
Da let out his breath. “I have a feeling that Reiner is not going to thank me for this.”
Despite his words, Da rose. He looked down at Danny, golden eyes crinkling.
“But family is family.” Da held out his hand. “Come on, lad. Let’s go find your daddy.”
Chapter 5
She seemed to have accidentally wandered into an art gallery.
Astonished, Jane gazed at the neon-bright splashes of color surrounding her. It was like no exhibition she had ever seen. The artwork was not lit by carefully placed glow-globes, nor arranged by style or subject. It was not even inside. She’d turned off one street into a narrower alleyway and discovered—this.
It was clearly art. But… what did it mean?
There was no discernible theme. To her eyes, it looked somewhat like a dozen artists had fought a pitched, silent war, each striving to execute their own vision without compromise or mercy. Yet strangely, the overall effect was not displeasing. The vivid designs were like a flattened coral reef; chaotic, organic, alive.
She walked on, marveling at the intricacies of the murals. Some of them were clearly the work of experienced painters, seamlessly blending multiple colors into detailed designs. Others seemed to be childish scrawls in comparison; malformed letters and glyphs that she could not interpret.
She traced the shape of one such mark, brow furrowing in confusion. In Atlantis, one had to earn the privilege of showing one’s work in public. Each school had their own style with strict, formal rules, which took decades to master. Any apprentice who dared to exhibit such wild, half-formed scratchings would be utterly shunned. Nothing was permitted except absolute perfection.
Not here, apparently. The drawing was so rushed that she had to look at it from a number of angles before she finally realized what it was meant to be. When she did, she had to clap a hand over her mouth to hold back an undignified snort of laughter.
Someone had, in the clumsiest possible lines, drawn an enormous, erect, ejaculating male member.
It was crude. It was crass. It was…
Utterly marvelous.
Such a thing would never have appeared on a public building in Atlantis. Even the most arrogant, glory-hungry male would not dream of such a thing. Yet here an untalented youth had felt free to take paint and express himself in the rawest terms, unshackled by any concept of duty or etiquette. Truly, the human world was a wonderful place.
Jane had a momentary regret that it had never occurred to her to secretly scrawl a rude drawing on a wall.
Emerging from the alleyway, she found herself on a wider, more populated thoroughfare. To her relief, this one seemed to be reserved for pedestrians rather than the screeching land-boats.
There were so many people. Jane had intended to stop someone and ask for help, but she found herself simply walking along, open-mouthed. Young and old, short and tall, slight and stocky; endless variety, endless beauty, everywhere she looked.
It was not just the people who arrested her attention. The buildings were equally enthralling. Most were fronted by wide, crystal-clear windows, clearly revealing the treasures beyond.
And what treasures there were!
In one window, she found a gorgeous array of dresses. Another held bizarre, fanciful helms adorned with lace and feathers—not the dull grays of seabirds, but bright, brilliant colors. Jane could scarce imagine the birds that must have supplied such plumes.
The helmets seemed rather impractical. Surely such flimsy material would not be proof against a sword blow? Still, they were undeniably pleasing to the eye. There was one particularly extravagant confection—a bold swirl of indigo ri
bbon with a spray of iridescent turquoise feathers—that would have looked very fine on her brother.
Enthralled, Jane wandered further along the street. Each window revealed a new trove of wonder. Some were merely curious, like the one containing nothing but a boggling variety of shoes. Others were utterly inexplicable, like the shelves of small black, rectangular objects whose surfaces shimmered with glowing, ever changing pictures, or the window containing strange oblongs formed of many thin sheets, all covered in words.
She dawdled long in front of one particular display, enthralled by the curious yet curiously appealing objects arranged beyond. Small, curious metal tubes containing bright sticks of pigment… enticing little pans of glittering pigments in all the colors of the rainbow… soft brushes ranging from the thickness of her thumb down to the tiniest, most delicate point…
Everything had been arranged with obvious care, and the overall effect was deliciously enticing. But what was it for?
They must be personal hoards, Jane decided. Though it seemed bizarre to place such treasures on open display rather than locking them away in the deepest, most secure chamber of one’s lair. Perhaps this was how humans displayed rank? They wore no honor tokens, but they must have some way of determining relative status.
From the size and scale of this particular hoard, the owner must be a very great lord or lady. With a last wistful look at the delicate powders and pigments, Jane tore herself away. She had no wish to cause offence by staring too long or too avidly at another person’s treasures.
Her stomach growled, reminding her of her quest. Distracted by the wonders all around, she’d ignored the demands of her body for hours. Now, every part of her seemed to wish to register a complaint. She’d never spent so long in human form, let alone walking around.
There was some kind of bench nearby, formed of iron and some curious brown material; a bit like driftwood, but darker and flattened into planks. A couple of people were sitting on it, side by side but ignoring each other so thoroughly that it was like invisible walls divided them.
