by Ophelia Bell
“I am up for it until she sings for us to stop,” he said.
His contact and the subtle threat incited a fresh ache of need inside her. She glanced around the bath house, seeking out her mates. When she spied them, she smiled.
Aodh turned his head to follow the direction of her gaze and laughed softly at the sight of Ked and Marcus entangled on a chaise at the side of the pool, all long limbs and rippling muscles. Ked was in the superior position again, and Evie wondered if his brothers had any inkling that their brother might let another man—a human no less—dominate him the way Marcus had.
“They’ll keep themselves occupied just fine, I think,” Aodh said. “Now, I believe we have some filth to demonstrate to our lovely turul angel.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Evie
Dragon Monastery, Sunda Islands
Present Day
Evie sat in a comfortable wooden chair on the porch, singing softly to her still-flat stomach. The latest craving was simply to hear her voice rising up to the sky, and she had learned not to deny the strange urges that would overtake her from hour to hour.
Marcus and Ked were somewhere nearby—they never strayed far. Lately, however, she had craved solitude. In bed at night, she would invariably fall victim to deep urges that required their presence, but during the day, she wanted her space, and they reluctantly granted it. They were certainly adept enough at entertaining each other when they needed. The thought made her smile, particularly because she knew all their little secrets, even the ones they chose not to tell her. Sound carried, after all. It wasn’t as though she was eavesdropping—it was simply her nature to hear the words that weren’t said when they spoke to each other around her.
When Ked said, “I love you” to Marcus, there was always an underlying edge to it, and what Evie actually heard was more like, “I loved how well you fucked me last night.”
Or when Marcus laughed and blurted out a playful, “Fuck you” after Ked said something smart-mouthed, Evie heard a promise that would likely involve one or the other of them on their knees later.
After a day of long-needed solitude, she’d wandered to the bathhouse looking for them, and found them with Ked’s mouth wrapped around Marcus, eagerly sucking his cock. She’d been amused and surprised that Ked would debase himself in a place where others might wander in like she just did. More than that, she’d been turned on by the sight of Marcus’s thick shaft disappearing into her other lover’s mouth. She had stripped and swam to them, then simply straddled Ked’s lap and sank down onto him while he continued sucking Marcus for all he was worth.
Being with them was so easy, and being apart was a comfort, too, but only as long as she was aware of where they were. At this particular moment, Ked was flying with his brothers, and Marcus was inside the house somewhere within earshot of her.
As if sensing her reaching out to mentally locate him, he popped his head through the wide opening between the porch and the interior.
“Hey, baby, you have a visitor.”
Evie looked up to see Belah standing close behind him, smiling. She stood up and went to the woman, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Having grown up with two brothers, finally having a sister had been far more rewarding than she had ever expected it would be. Particularly since this woman knew her brothers as well as Evie did. And… well… Evie knew Belah’s brothers just as well, after regular encounters with all three of them.
Sometimes she worried that the cravings were really her own, and not the baby’s, but the first time she tried to deny herself a day spent in the arms of Ked’s brothers, she wound up violently ill to the point she became terrified that the baby was in jeopardy. She hadn’t made the mistake again. And in spite of the presence of other enticing males on the mountain, it only seemed to be her own mates and Ked’s brothers who she ever craved.
“Sister, you look well,” Belah said, kissing her on the cheek.
“I feel amazing!” Evie said, shooting a look of thanks to Marcus, who simply smiled and shook his head before heading back to whatever it was he’d been doing.
“Your songs are such a welcome distraction during the day. I think the mood of this place is set to your tunes now. When you are sad, we all slow down to think, and when you are happy, the day seems more vibrant. My brother is nothing like the dark and broody mess he used to be. Thank you for that.”
Evie thanked her and moved aside, inviting Belah out to sit with her.
“Not today,” Belah said. “Actually, I have a bit of a surprise for you. If you’ll indulge me, I’d rather not tell you what it is. Just come with me, all right?”
Evie nodded, perplexed by the invitation. She found Marcus and kissed his cheek and explained she would be with Belah for the afternoon. Before she could extract herself, he pulled her close and whispered in her ear, “Have fun. I’ll miss you.”
Thinking nothing of his ardor, she kissed him again and left, following Belah up the long path. Before long, she realized their destination must be Kris and Issa’s temple-like home near the summit.
“Oh, I wish so much that I could fly. This mountain has such amazing views. I want to see it all from the air.”
“It is a paradise, isn’t it?” Belah answered. “I miss shifting, too. Soon enough, we’ll be teaching our children how to shift and fly, though. The wait will be worth it.”
They reached the exotic, flower-flanked entry to Kris and Issa’s residence, and Belah pushed the doors open. It was Evie’s first time here—usually she only interacted with the others around the grounds or when they would come to visit her. The monastery tended to inspire quiet, introspective solitude more than energetic activity, except for the sexual variety, anyway.
Inside was a large, jade-tiled room with high windows and several doorways leading off to other parts of the residence. It didn’t strike Evie as a large place from the outside, but it was definitely more opulent than any of the other buildings she’d been in at the monastery. Built from stone rather than wood, it was almost imposing in its beauty. The doors were massive constructions of luminescent jade, with windows that were made of the same stone, cut so thinly that ethereal light filtered into the room.
Belah led her to one of the doors and out onto a landing that overlooked a huge garden area with a pool in the center.
When the door opened, a cheer erupted and several female figures stood, applauding.
Evie blinked, then laughed. They were all there, even women she didn’t recognize, but who she knew must be connected to her somehow. Some were even visibly pregnant.
“It’s too soon for a baby shower,” she said, pressing her hands over her midsection. Even after a couple weeks, she could sense the life growing inside, but it was still so small.
“Not a shower,” Belah said. “Just… a powwow, of sorts. It’ll be good for all of us.”
Evie’s skin tingled, and she realized that she wanted this without even realizing it. Her gaze flitted over the figures gathered below. All of them were there. She recognized Ked’s sisters, Numa and Aurum. Rowan and Issa stood nearby. Beyond them, she saw a collection of human females who she thought must be the mates of the other Court dragons. One of them broke away and made her way forward
The pretty, dark-haired woman was visibly pregnant, but not far along. When she reached Evie, she stretched out a graceful hand.
“I’m Hallie,” she said. “Your mate is my mate’s mentor.”
“Mentor…Is that what you call it?”
Hallie shrugged. “Any other designation would take too many syllables. Kol reveres your man, and that’s worth acknowledging somehow. Come sit with us.”
She followed Hallie to a collection of benches in the garden, and found herself surrounded by human mates of dragons. The oddest sensation came over her then. That of not belonging but still wanting to fit in. They were human. They weren’t turul or dragon or any
other higher race. Yet they were mates to dragons just like she was.
She felt a little ashamed to by her awkwardness, as though she didn’t quite belong with them simply because of her race.
Yet they all accepted her without question. One of them moved over and made room on the bench for her to sit.
“I’m Camille,” the pretty blonde said. “Not pregnant yet. My mates are still arguing about it. That’s… oh, you already met Hallie. She’s fucking the hottest dragon and is knocked up, in case you couldn’t tell. That’s Erika…” Camille’s grin widened. “She’s our leader and always swore she’d never have kids but, check it out, she’s pregnant, too. I guess it takes a hot red for her to let her sacred eggs get touched.”
Camille paused and Evie’s greetings fell silent. She looked at the two other females propped on the edge of a chaise. One dark-haired and petite, the other a leggy blonde.
“I’m Thea, not pregnant. And this is Jill… Not sure what you are anymore.” She pointed at the blonde.
Evie raised an eyebrow.
Jill, the perfectly coiffed blonde, smiled just enough that on the surface she could appear put together, but Evie saw through every inch of her deflection. “I’m pregnant, too,” she said. “But the circumstances are complicated.”
The piercing cries of infants rang through the air, and every single woman’s heads rose to attention. A moment later, the sounds stopped.
A soft touch pressed against Evie’s back and she turned to see a beautiful, lavender-haired woman standing behind her.
“Issa!” Evie turned and hugged the woman, thrilled to see her.
“I’m so sorry about the noise. The boys are relentless. They want what they want, when they want it.”
“By the Winds, don’t worry. I love everything about today, babies and all.”
Behind Issa, the other women came.
Rowan she knew, and hugged affectionately. Ked’s other sisters she treated the same. Though she didn’t know them as well. Beyond the one day of sharing, she hadn’t seen them much. They intimidated her with their beauty.
Belah she was more comfortable with, even though her dark hair and pristine features were as surreal to Evie as her sisters.
Belah’s sisters were disconcerting to look at. Numa had dark-green tresses that looked black in most light, and green eyes that seemed to see more than Evie wanted to share. Aurum was easier to deal with, at least. Her golden hair was almost metallic in appearance, as was her skin, but it merely caught the light in an unusual way, making her glimmer magically.
They seemed oddly deferential to her, which was even more confusing. They’d been mothers before, she knew as much from the talk they’d had, but now…
“They didn’t know the extent of your connection to us,” Belah explained softly in her ear when her sisters wandered down to join the rest of the group. “Our brothers’ energy is potent. If it were only Ked, they might not blink, but all three…”
“The baby needs all three,” Evie said.
“Yes…” Belah said and gripped Evie’s hand. “But we’re a competitive family. They don’t like the idea of being left out of what the boys do. I have my own distractions, thanks to your brothers, but Numa and Aurum are itching to have their moment. Our brothers have had you to occupy their time outside the glade. Until my sisters find their mates, the will be restless.”
Evie watched the pair of women as they moved around the group, talking with the others. They were affectionate and familiar with all of them, carrying themselves with grace that Evie always hoped she pulled off but never quite believed it. She admired them deeply and it hurt a little to think they considered her any kind of rival.
“If it helps, it isn’t because I don’t find all of you amazing and enticing. The baby craves what it craves. Your brothers are part of that.”
“It’s no matter,” Belah said. “They’ll come around. Now, come down and relax with us. Food will be served shortly and I believe all the women brought gifts for you.”
“I thought you said it wasn’t a shower?”
Belah smiled. “I lied.”
The next two hours were a whirlwind of activity. Their attention made her feel whole again in a way that the attention of her mates hadn’t. Among these women, she was more than just a counterpart to her mates’ male needs, even if those needs extended to making sure she was happy. She was a woman who hadn’t realized how much she needed the company of other women until today.
They showered her with attention, deep conversation, humor, and feminine wisdom. They gave her gifts, but the gifts were secondary in her mind to the camaraderie she felt being with all of them.
In the middle of the festivities, a shadow darkened the sky and a gold-winged leviathan bore down on them. Evie stared up in awe at the beautiful beast as it hovered above, wings flapping and claws extended as it lowered down into the courtyard. When it landed beside the pool, a petite figure slid off its back and the dragon quickly transformed into a pretty blonde who clad herself in a wisp of a conjured dress before following her passenger around to where Evie sat. Evie hadn’t met the golden dragon, but knew her when Evie’s new friend, Thea, walked to her and they shared a warm embrace followed by a tender kiss.
Evie stood swiftly when she recognized the dragon’s passenger, who walked toward her with purpose. Her throat seemed to stop working and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.
“Nanyo!” she called. She broke into a run and was in her grandmother’s arms a second later. Her tears came unchecked and her grandmother held her, shushing her softly and stroking her back. She had so many questions after all the years apart. “Why?” was the least of them, but Evie already knew the answer to that one.
“It was because of them,” she finally said, answering her own unspoken questions. She gazed into her grandmother’s wizened features. The older woman nodded.
“Yes. They were your destiny. If I’d known the ordeals your path would lead you through, I would have done everything in my power to change the course, but that wasn’t for any of us to know. Now I’m sure you have nothing but happiness ahead for a long time.”
Abruptly her grandmother pushed her back and gripped her arms gently in her paper-soft hands. “Granddaughter, you aren’t the only one I came to see today. Dreams have haunted me the last few nights, I need to see the green and golden females of your mate’s blood. Will you take me to them?”
Evie blinked and wiped the stray tears from her eyes. “Follow me,” she said, leading her grandmother around the pool to Ked’s sisters, Aurum and Numa.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Evie
Dragon Monastery, Sunda Islands
Present Day
Evie’s grandmother bowed to the pair of dragons when she reached them, then began to speak in a language Evie had never heard before. Numa and Aurum stood, graceful as ever, and listened silently. Evie could only catch nuances of the meaning of what her grandmother said to them, which was frustrating. She should have been able to understand any language, but this one was something different. The dragons understood it well enough, at least. During the course of her grandmother’s story, their expressions shifted across a spectrum, from surprise, to cautious understanding, to excitement, then determination.
“We must call our brothers,” Numa said, finally speaking in a language Evie understood. “If your visions are true, we need to take action now.” She closed her eyes for a moment, and within the span of a breath, more winged shadows darkened the air above them.
Ked and his brothers landed, with Lukas and Iszak close behind. Marcus slid off Ked’s back and made his way toward her as the others shifted to their human forms.
Ked’s mood didn’t seem pleasant and grew less so when he started talking to his sister.
“Do you know what’s going on?” Evie asked, moving away from the crowd to talk quietly with
Marcus. “I’m still not quite sure, but it seems like a big deal.”
“I don’t know much either,” Marcus said. “But whatever it is, it means we’ll be heading back to the Ultiori facility sooner than we’d planned.”
A sudden chill crept over Evie’s entire body. “No fucking way.” She stalked to Ked and stabbed a finger into his chest. “You are not going back there now! You said you would wait!”
“Evie,” her grandmother said, laying a gentle hand on her back. “My visions don’t lie. They were given to me by the Winds, and I told them in the Dragon Tongue to prove their truth. This is as it must be for them.”
Ked pulled Evie into his chest and pressed his lips to the top of her head. “We’ll be safe, angel. It’s time for me and my siblings to stop hiding from our problems. My sister’s mate is out there, and we need to go find him.”
“Then I’m going with you,” Evie said. “You two said yourself that you can’t leave me while I’m pregnant. Either you stay, or you take me.”
Ked’s grip on her tightened and she shivered again when the darkness started creeping into her mind. As swiftly as it began, it retreated. Marcus came to stand beside them and squeezed her hand.
“I’m going, too. Now that I’m healed, I can at least be an asset. If we meet the other Elites, I think I can turn them.”
With a grumble, Ked said, “We are all going. I can’t convince my sisters otherwise. But the second anything goes bad, you all have to leave. They can’t chase you through the air easily. We leave tomorrow.”
* * *
It felt like the eve of the apocalypse that night, the wind carrying with it all the whispers of final words of love and regret. Secrets between lovers were so plentiful, Evie eventually let them wash past with the breeze.
All the Court were there, with their mates, invited for what was meant to be a celebration of the life in her belly, but had turned into something entirely different.
