by JF Jenkins
"Of course dear. I don't mean to rush you. I'm just excited by all that's happening." Lenora waved for Kat to come closer so she could put her arm around the girl as they walked together out of the pool.
"I haven't been as well informed," she admitted.
"Your husband cares about your health. Our Great Lord has decided to make his claims public. It's time for our people to rise to greatness at last." Lenora beamed with pride, and Kat wanted to share the enthusiasm. She was having a hard time feeling it, though. The idea of hurting so many innocent people made her heart break.
The Oceina dragons needed to be dealt with, but did the humans in the city need to suffer? Or what of the water dragons' small children, their wives? Would they all be killed? Or was the plan simply to make sure they understood their place better? So much of it she didn't understand. And Matt wasn't providing her with comforting details. She was also too afraid to ask in case he'd think of her as being unsupportive.
"I see I've upset you even mentioning it. This is probably why he hasn't told you much," Lenora said softly.
"I'm not upset," Kat lied.
"The frown you wear on your face suggests otherwise."
"I'll be happy when all of this is done and we can go back to worrying about normal things," she said at last. Hopefully that was diplomatic enough of a response. She felt like she had to give smart reactions to things more and more. What happened to her being a newly wed girl? She should have been like the rest of the Elite – without a care in the world.
Lenora hugged her. "Soon. I'll be happy as well. To think, we'll be married to the two more powerful men in the world. We are queens."
But I don't want to be a queen. I just want my family safe.
Chapter Forty-Two
The Oceina
Darien flew through the night. It'd been a long time since he had last flown at a leisurely speed he could actually enjoy. That didn't happen often. The feeling of the cool, moist clouds as they passed over his skin reminded him of the water. The moonlight guided his way, and all he could think about was how surprised Tai would be to see him next to her in bed in the morning.
He landed three hours before dawn, and slipped into the apartment building, even taking the stairs to ensure he wasn't caught because of the noise the elevator made. Slowly opening the door to his suite, he stopped in the doorway when he saw that Tai was still awake in bed and reading.
"Well, there goes my big surprise," he teased, leaning against the doorframe. "What happened to going to bed?"
"I slept for a couple of hours, but then I woke up and I couldn't get back to sleep," she said, and put her book down on the nightstand. "You have good timing because I was thinking about giving it another try. I'm pretty sure I'll succeed now that you're here. Which is good because we do have to go in for class in the morning."
Making his way across the room, he flopped onto his side of the bed, and immediately wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her neck. "Or we can skip," he softly sang against her skin. "I'm kind of wired at the moment. I don't think I'll sleep before daylight. Please? Just this once?"
"I doubt you'll only ask me once, but you win tonight. Sleeping in would be nice for a change. I'm sure you'll be more tired than I am, once your rush wears off."
He shrugged, because it didn't matter much if he was or not. Lying in bed, holding her, being near her, immediately put his body at ease and it started to feel heavy. I could sleep for a week after what happened there.
A gentle kiss was placed on his forehead, and she roamed her hands through his hair. "You can tell me all about it in the morning."
This is what he'd missed for so long, and he couldn't help but smile at the small hurdle they'd cleared together.
"Now I can go to the shop with Katelyn, so I can find something to wear when we go to the Festival Dance," she added.
"What about me asking you more nicely?"
"I thought I told you it wasn't necessary? Besides, I'm asking you. We might not have a lot of time with each other, but it's important we take the opportunities we have. It's stupid to waste time getting upset over small details. The only thing that matters is we're going to be together, right? We need to force time for each other when we get it."
He nodded, agreeing with her completely. The new attitude was a surprise. Mood swing? Hormones?
"Okay, fine." He was a little disappointed though because he wanted to do a grand sweet gesture to make up for all of the time he'd spent away from her. It was back to the drawing board.
"You're frowning," she whispered. "Why?"
"The rush, it's fading, and so am I. So long as you're sure you don't want to be asked?"
She nodded. "Yes. If you want to surprise me, do it for something that will really be a surprise." Their lips met, and he let out a soft, contented sigh.
"I love you."
Chapter Forty-Three
The Inero
Jason was exploring the caves to the north with Gwen. She had run off to look at some large shells she'd found on the beach, getting slightly distracted from their goal. He had pressed on ahead. Fine by him. The past few days had been wonderful, relaxing, and he was excited for the new adventure. Staring into the mouth of the cave, he had a hard time walking inside. It was so dark, and wide. Everyone he spoke with in town said it was a good place to go and visit. He didn't understand why. What was so special about a hole in the ground?
"I thought it was creepy at first too when I first got here," a male voice said from behind him.
Jason spun on his heel and came face to face with a man in his early forties. What made him more interesting however was he smelled like a dragon. Upon further inspection, Jason noticed the trimmed, black, claws he had for nails as well as a tattoo on his neck showing him as a member of the Inero Royal Guard member. Definitely a dragon.
"So what's the big secret about its specialness?" Jason asked, hoping he wasn't recognized.
"I can't spoil it. It would ruin everything." The man smiled. "You're far from the city my Lord."
"How did you know I was from there?"
"You still smell like it. The grease leaves your hair eventually, but I also deduced it from the fact that you aren't from around here. I know all of the dragon families in the area. None of them have any long lost sons. At first I thought you were only here for a romantic vacation, but you've been here for a lot longer than that. So I have to wonder what you're running from."
Jason swallowed and rubbed at the back of his head. "Why would I be running?"
"Because nobody leaves the city unless they are."
"Do you have a name?"
"Oliver, and you?" The man offered his hand for a shake.
He took it. "Jason."
"I thought you looked familiar. Three years ago you taught me how to create a shield of magma. Still hard to do, but it was useful one time."
Seconds passed, and all Jason could do was stare at the man, his eyes narrowed, as he tried to remember where they had met before. Obviously some kind of training exercise, but he hadn't done one of those in a long time. "I'm sorry, I can't quite recall this."
"You were young, I was still old, and I'm sure you've seen so many people that you don't remember everyone who passes your way."
Jason nodded. "So what are you doing out here?"
"I guess you could say I needed a change of scenery. My family and I live just over the hill. You should come by some time with your wife. I'm sure it would be nice to mingle with another of your kind some time?" Oliver said with a smile.
"Yeah, that would be nice," Jason admitted, because he did miss interacting with other dragons. He liked not having to keep everything a well-kept secret. The humans were refreshing, but he'd been starting to feel alone in a whole different kind of way.
"Let's plan for the weekend then," he smiled. "Your lady is coming back this way. Oh, and if you want to see the cave in all its beauty? Come back on the night of a full moon. It's amazing."
Jason glanced ove
r at his shoulder and saw Gwen approaching. She had a small collection of seashells in her arms. She stopped to stare at him for a moment when she noticed he was talking to someone new. He waved at her to encourage her to keep coming over, smiling. When he turned to speak with Oliver once more, the man was already walking away.
"Who was that?" she asked once she was next to him.
"Apparently his name is Oliver." Jason shrugged.
Her hand wrapped around his and she peered into the dark cave. "Looks creepy. Maybe this is some kind of a prank the locals give to all the new people."
"Scared?" he asked, kind of hoping she might be too afraid to go in.
"I'm curious." She pulled him inside. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light as it grew darker. Gwen moved closer to him and pulled out a flashlight from her bag. He was glad she came prepared for the trip. The cave narrowed the deeper in they went and then expanded into a large open cavern. A stream flowed across the middle, and there was a bridge to the other side. Crystals lined the far walls and there was a hole in the roof where he could see the sunlight pouring in. The whole place lit up as the light bounced across the gems.
"Wow," Gwen whispered.
"Yeah," he agreed, breathless as he took the sight in. "I was told to see it on a full moon. I wonder how that would make things different."
"We'll just have to come back sometime and find out." She faced him, her fingers playing with the nape of his neck. Then she leaned up to kiss him. His eyes closed and he gladly reciprocated.
I'll let this adventure slide because you're wooing your woman, but don't ever come back here again or I'll kill you both. The voice inside of him threatened. Whatever this place was, it scared the demon. Jason would make sure to not forget it.
Chapter Forty-Four
The Oceina
"So, this is my shop," Katelyn said, leading Tai into a boutique. They were downtown. Tai was skipping school for the day for a girl date with her sister-in-law. Everything about Katelyn's shop, Lady Oceina, was high end. All of the latest styles were on display in the windows, and the materials of the clothes were expensive. A lot of it looked like it had been hand sewn.
Katelyn checked in with a few of her workers before taking Tai back towards the dress section of the shop. "Feel free to let me know if there's anything else you like. I have no problems with giving it to you. Making clothes is a passion of mine, and I love sharing it with others. For now, these are the semi-formal dresses."
She watched Katelyn grab her sewing tape measure and groaned, not wanting to go through the process of getting her measurements again. "I don't want to know what my size is."
"I won't tell you then, but I'll need to know for when I make the alterations." Katelyn then proceeded to put the tape measure under Tai's arms to measure her bust, then her waist, and finally her hips. "How tall are you?"
"About five-foot-four? Five-foot-five? Somewhere in there."
Katelyn nodded. "I don't know what you're complaining about. You have a great figure. I know it's easy to feel fat because you notice the bloating of being pregnant. I promise though, no one else can see it yet."
"Then why didn't anything I try on at the mall fit right?" Tai asked with a raised eyebrow, her lips pursed a little.
"Mind over matter, plus those dresses are never uniform to begin with. Some things about you are different. From experience, I understand what you're feeling. The great news is, you're a common size and the only thing I'll probably have to do is a little hemming. I could probably tighten the bust some too so you'll really pop, so to speak. If that was something you were interested in, I mean."
"I don't think that's necessary. My chest seems to be doing enough of that on its own lately," Tai mumbled. Granted, she liked that aspect of pregnancy. At least for a little while she'd be getting something a little good out of it.
Katelyn laughed and wrote a few notes. "I think I know what kind of dress would be perfect for you. I'll get it so you can try it on, tell me what you think, and be honest, and then we can figure out how you'd like it jazzed up."
"Thanks, for everything," Tai said, moving her eyes off of her reflection in the mirror and to Katelyn.
"Of course, any time. Despite what anyone else may tell you, I was once in your shoes too you know. Things haven't always been bliss since I met Lance." She brought a few different dress selections for her to try on. All of them were similar in style in that they all had spaghetti straps and empire waists, but they came in different colors with different decorations on them. Tai grabbed a red one first and went to go try it on in the dressing room.
She sighed, as she put it on, admiring the dress but not sure if she liked the color. Red was a sexy color, but it also reminded her of fire and passion. Passion was a good thing, but fire not so much. She didn't want Darien to think about the Inero at all that night. The whole point was to drag him away from work.
"That's not what Ashley had told me," Tai said quietly as she took the dress off. "Can I try on the yellow one please?"
Katelyn handed her a soft, pale, yellow dress with several jewels sew onto the bust like stars. "She and I didn't get along much, but she didn't like anyone. Maybe you, but she's kind of a sneak. I don't know how many times I caught her lying to poor Tony. He deserved a lot better than her. It was his blind devotion that pushed me to keep trying with Lance."
"Oh?" Tai tried on the dress, wishing the color did better things for her skin tone. She looked pale as a ghost in it. She let out a frustrated huff. "The green one?"
The next dress was handed to her, and Katelyn continued. "Yeah. When we first met, we both were kind of on cloud nine. Everything seemed too good to be true you know? But Lance has a few moments where I want to throttle him. He's not exactly good at being sensitive to others' emotions. Very straight up, this is how things are, so deal with it kind of attitude. It rubbed me the wrong way for a long time. Years. I put up with it because I felt like I had to. Tony told me once, that sometimes people will change easier without a big fight, but instead through kindness and patience. I gave it a try. One day Lance came home and said something along the lines of: I haven't been nice to you lately. Which, he hadn't. From there we had a long talk, and ever since then he's been doing a better job at making an effort to be more understanding. I think being a father put things into perspective too. Now that the boys are older, he's matured, changed. We kept our problems behind closed doors which is probably why Ashley didn't think we ever had them. She had a tendency to make a show of things, and had no problem with telling Tony how worthless she thought he was. I'm surprised they had two children. I suppose she let him be with her because she liked the attention. That was always her biggest complaint, not having enough of it even though he worshiped the ground she walked on."
Tai tried on the green dress, listening to Katelyn's story, taking it all in. "I never wanted to get married."
"Never?"
"Never ever. It didn't seem worth all of the effort. Now I am, and I'm desperate to make it work. I've never felt so hungry for something before in my life. The companionship we have is one of a kind."
"I know he agrees with you."
"He does."
"Just try to hold on." Katelyn paused. "How's that one?"
Tai studied the green dress and smiled softly. "I like the color. We'll put this one as a maybe. Can I see the purple one next?"
Chapter Forty-Five
The Oceina
"Do you want the good news, or the not so good news?" Lance asked, coming into the kitchen where Darien was busy preparing some tea for another long night. Lance sat at the table and watched his brother move about the room.
"Why ask? You're going to tell me both anyway." Darien pointed out as he put some sugar into the bottom of a mug.
"I meant, what do you want to hear first?"
"It doesn't matter. Surprise me."
"Okay, good news. There's lots of great stuff about the Touched in the Holy Book. The not so good news? There's a
lot of stuff about the Touched in the Holy Book. Most of it is cryptic as all get out, and even I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what it's all supposed to mean. Part of it has to do with the coming of the Great Dragon, duh, we already knew that."
Darien almost pointed out that he didn't know anything about what Lance was referring to, but decided to nod and just let his brother keep talking instead. Lance was the brain of the family, and he had a tendency to get carried away. In the end, he always came back around and explained himself.
"Okay, and? Any leads on what it is I'm supposed to be doing exactly to bring about the Great Dragon?" Darien asked.
"No, I haven't gotten that far yet. Obviously that would be the ideal solution since the Great Dragon is going to bring about world peace. Not after a pretty nasty battle for the souls of all species first."
"What does it say about the battle we need to fight now? I don't think it's over souls."
"I don't either, but it's a catalyst. The groundwork is all being laid out. I think what's happening now is what the book refers to as 'the corruption'. What makes it hard is everything is vague. It can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. What I can tell you is that the Touched have been charged with balancing whatever 'the corruption' is. All four of you," Lance said.
Darien stood and looked down at the counter-top. "I figured."
"I've got a lot of notes, a lot of places to look still. I'll find it."
"Thank you." He poured his tea. It would hopefully put him to sleep for the night so he wouldn't be keeping Tai awake again. "Let me know if you want help."
"You focus on resting first. Besides, I work better alone. When I get closer to finding something, I'll probably need you more."
Brian walked into the room with the pizza cutter he had borrowed over a week ago. "Shouldn't you be making up for lost time with the wife anyway? Or did you figure out your dream?"
