by Amy Sumida
“No.”
“He is the Prince of the Fire Kingdom and he will have his launching!” Arach shouted and scared the bejesus out of me.
“What is your problem?” I sat up and gaped at him.
“This is a very important part of a young dragon's development, Vervain,” Arach's chest was heaving and his daffodil dragon eyes were beginning to glow. “It's an honor that a father shows his son.”
“An honor?” I huffed. “It's an honor to have your daddy throw you out a window? You know, in the human world, that's called child abuse. And possibly infanticide.”
“It shows that I trust in his strength and power as a dragon,” Arach growled, I mean seriously, he growled. “He will be ashamed if I don't launch him.”
“Launch him,” I muttered. “Like a ship or a debutante... or a dragon-sidhe evidently.”
“Vervain,” Arach growled.
“What kind of precautions can we take to ensure that our son... your heir... does not go splat on the jagged rocks of Castle Aithinne?”
“The mother always stands watch at the bottom of the castle,” Arach started to smile. “But she doesn't act unless it's obvious that her child won't succeed.”
“I suppose I could do that.”
“You cannot act too soon, Vervain,” he started to look worried. “It's deeply embarrassing to be doubted by your mother at your launch.”
“As embarrassing as not being launched at all?”
“Almost.”
“Then I vote for not launching him at all.”
“Vervain!”
“He's not a football, Arach!”
“He will fly!”
“Or I will save him!”
“Fine!”
“Fine!”
“Alright!”
“Okay!”
A whine and a scratching sound came from the door and my irritation with my husband was completely forgotten as I jumped from the bed and ran to the door in a burst of overwhelming joy. I didn't care that I was naked, it wouldn't matter to the door scratcher.
“Dexter!” I shouted as the nurial launched himself at me. “Oh gods, I'm so happy to see you,” I stroked back the ruff from his face and nuzzled his tapered snout. “You came home.”
Dexter had been a baby nurial when I'd found him and taken him in. When Winter had returned to Faerie for the first time in thousands of years, it had affected several of the fey and fey creatures. Faeries were so closely tied to the land that several had shifted with the seasons. Dexter had been one of those. He had shifted from a fire nurial into a steam nurial and been rejected by his mother. His red eyes had changed to pale blue and his black fur to white but he was back to his original colors now and he was also fully grown. Which is why I hadn't seen him in awhile.
About two weeks before my twins had been born, Dexter had given me an intense look, whined pitifully, and led me out to the edge of the Weeping Woods. The woods were our damp forest, made so by the heat from numerous crevices leading down to the Fire Kingdom's molten core, reacting to the cool air coming in over the border from the Air Kingdom. It also happened to be where I'd found Dex as a baby.
He had cried and shook his thick mane of fur, then scraped his horns against the trunk of a nearby tree. I'd just stared at him in confusion, rubbing my huge belly thoughtfully. I'd raised him, basically I was his mother, and I could usually understand what he needed but this time, I was at a loss. He'd sat there in frustration, four of his six legs folded up as he stared at me balefully. His long tail had whipped around. The barb usually hidden at the end of his tail, within a tuft of fur, revealed itself to strike the ground; thwack, thwack, thwack.
“What is it, Dex?” I'd asked him.
Then I heard it; a high pitched howl, an animal entreaty. Dexter perked up, jumping to his feet as he stared into the forest. He howled back and the whine came again... closer. A rustle disturbed the trees and I finally caught a glimpse of her. A female nurial stared out of the thick, rubbery leaves of a nearby backo plant. A horrible shivering had filled my chest and I knew it was time to say goodbye to my boy.
“Okay, honey,” I had whispered as I knelt. “I understand. It's time for you to make your own family.”
Dexter had come over to me and nudged his forehead into mine. I stroked his face lovingly and his rough tongue had come out to lap at my tears. I hugged him and then gave him a little push. It wasn't fair to keep him with me when nature was clearly calling him to resume his proper place.
He had given one last whine, padded away a few feet, then looked back at me.
“I love you, Dex,” I called. “Be happy. Go make lots of little Dexters. The Kingdom can use more nurials like you. But remember, you can always come home.”
He had yipped and then ran off into the woods, chasing his new lady. I had cried for days.
But now he was back and it was like my family was complete again. Even Arach got up and came over to hug the nurial. We all sat there together, petting the huge Dexter (he was over six feet long now) and hugging him occasionally.
“I told you he'd be back,” Arach said gruffly as he stood but I caught him swiping at his cheeks. He walked to the still open door and shouted, “Isleen! We need Dexter's bed brought back in!”
We had removed the miniature version of our bed that we'd made for Dex because every time I looked at it I cried. But now he was home and his bed would be back besides ours again.
“Did you have fun?” I scratched his chin and he flopped his head into my lap and started to purr. I was covered by his thick mane but Arach still gave me a look while he pulled on his clothes.
“They'll be others here soon,” he said. “Faeries whom I don't wish to see my wife naked.”
“I don't care,” I hugged Dexter. “Everyone knows you can't move when you've got a cat in your lap.”
“He's not a cat,” Arach rolled his eyes. “He's not even a lion, he's a nurial and he's been gone for months. He can wait five minutes for you to pull a dress over your head.”
“Fine,” I huffed. “Throw me a dress.”
Arach made a face at me but obligingly handed me one of my dresses.
“I gotta put this on because Daddy is being stupid,” I said to Dex as I scooted him off my lap. He whined and stared up at me with his huge, crimson eyes. “I know, give me a sec,” I pulled on the dress. “Okay, come back to Mama!”
He flopped back into my lap and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I hadn't realized how much stress it had been for me to be without him. It was like my son had gone away without leaving any word of when or if he'd return. Say what you will but I've always had deep connections to my animals and even now, having birthed babies in this life, I could still say that I loved this nurial as much as my own biological children. I raised him, he was my child, just like my gray tabby, Nick back in the God Realm, and losing Dex had been traumatic, to say the least.
“Welcome home, Dexter,” Isleen smiled as she strode in. Two fire fey men came in behind her carrying Dexter's bed. “I knew you'd return to us once your mating season was over. I tried to reassure the Queen but she was inconsolable,” Isleen came over to scratch Dexter's head. He was so tall now, even sitting, that she didn't have to bend to reach him. “Your horns are looking mighty and majestic,” she tapped their curving tips. “Was your mating successful?”
Dexter yipped.
“Well done,” she nodded smartly and then turned to the men. “Over there please,” she indicated a spot next to our bed and the men put Dexter's bed down carefully.
“Thank you,” I said to them and they smiled wide, bowed, and then each one gave Dex a few pats before leaving. “Thank you, Isleen,” I added.
“My pleasure, Queen Vervain,” she smiled at Dexter. “I'm glad to have our boy home. I'll tell the rest of the castle the good news.”
She gave Dex one last stroke and then left. The whole castle loved my Dexter. And Dexter loved his bed. He jumped into it excitedly, kneading at the thick comforter before settli
ng down for a good nap.
“Oh, no you don't,” I scolded him and his eyes popped open. “You've got two babies to meet.” His floppy ears perked up as he lifted his head. “Yeah, didn't you notice the belly's gone?” I waved my hands at my stomach. “You got brothers now.”
“Vervain,” Arach sighed. “I hardly think it's appropriate to call a nurial bro-” he stopped when he saw my stare. “As you wish.”
“That's what I thought,” I looked back to Dexter. “And you haven't even greeted Blossom yet,” I waved to the nostradim flower in her tall pot near the window.
Dexter jumped up and ran over to the pot, sniffing excitedly around Blossom's thick stem. The nostradim flower had grown in Alfheim in response to my magic and she had helped me escape Freyr's evil clutches. I'd brought her back to Faerie when I escaped and she had connected with the magic of Faerie, blooming beautifully ever since. Now her bright yellow petals dipped down toward Dex and opened joyously to display her shivering white stamens within. It was her way of smiling. Dexter gave her a snuffle in return.
“Good boy,” I nodded. “So you're going to be a Daddy. Will you be returning to help your mate with the babies?”
Dexter gave a huffing sigh.
“Yes indeed,” Arach noted, “children are hard work.”
“As if you do any of the work,” I scoffed.
“I do some,” Arach bristled.
“Okay, whatever, Dragon Daddy,” I chuckled and then waved to Dex. “Come on, we can talk about your paternal responsibilities later. It's time for you to meet the twins.”
Dexter ran over to my side and looked at me curiously. Normal animals can understand humans well enough, they read human body language and the tone of their voices, but fey creatures really could understand the words you said to them. That didn't take me long to get used to, I've always talked to animals as if they understood me, but it was nice to actually hold a conversation with one.
“Yeah, I had two babies,” I leaned over to give him a kiss. “Not as many as your lady will probably have but I think I did well enough.”
Dexter ran out of the room, heading straight for the nursery, and Arach and I followed while we laughed.
Chapter Eight
“Excellent,” I said to Vidar, Vali, Thor, and Kaitlin as they climbed out of the coach I'd sent for them. “You've arrived just in time to see Arach throw our son out of a window.”
“What?!” Thor looked up to where I gestured; the highest peak of Castle Aithinne, the Flight Tower. “Which son?”
Vidar, Vali, and Kaitlin stared upwards in shock.
“Which do you think?” I huffed and Dexter whined beside me. “The one who has a chance at flying.”
“Oh.”
“Oh?” I looked back at Thor. “You're not concerned anymore, now that it's not Brevyn?”
“No,” Thor shrugged. “I imagine that Arach knows what he's doing in regards to a young dragon-sidhe. Where is Brevyn, by the way?”
“Up there, with his father and brother,” I huffed. “Those boys don't like to be separated. Brevyn started to cry when I tried to carry him away from Rian. So Isleen is up in the Flight Tower holding Brevyn beside Arach.”
“Why aren't you up there too, Mom?” Vali asked as he absently leaned forward to pet Dex.
“Because I need to be down here, ready to shift into a dragon and save him if I need to,” I grumbled.
“That's not comforting,” Vidar grimaced.
“You're telling me.”
Dexter whined again. He'd bonded with the boys instantly and this whole tossing Rian from a window thing was bothering him almost as much as it bothered me. He was extremely nervous, circling me, twitching his tail, and staring back and forth between me and the dreaded tower.
“It's kind of a big deal, huh?” Kaitlin's eyes went from Dexter to the huge crowd of faeries gathered in the open space before the castle, all of them with their necks angled back so they could watch the tower window.
“Yeah,” I huffed. “Oh, sorry, I completely forgot that this is your first visit. Welcome to Faerie, Kaitlin. And this is Dexter, he's my furry son.”
“Thank you,” she laughed, her walnut eyes sparkling. “It's nice to meet you, Dexter,” she nodded to Dex and he shocked her by nodding back.
“He can understand you,” I explained.
“Oh,” she blinked. “Well then you're one more amazing thing to add to my list of wonders,” she said to him before looking back to me. “Faerie is much more interesting than the God Realm and I thought nothing could impress me more than that.”
“Faerie is in a class all of her own,” I agreed.
Why, thank you.
“And she knows how to make an entrance,” I chuckled. “Hey, Faerie, come to watch Rian fall out a window?”
That and admire your beautiful grown sons.
“Hey, I don't know if I like you slobbering over my sons,” I growled.
“She's slobbering over us?” Vali chuckled and elbowed the silent Vidar. “Faerie thinks we're hot.”
Vidar just gave Vali a blank stare.
They're beautiful, you should be proud.
“First of all, I had Vidar in another life, so his beauty has nothing to do with my current body,” I snapped. “And secondly, Vali is adopted. He's mine through love not blood, so the same applies to him.”
“I love you too, Mom,” Vali kissed my cheek and my irritation receded to a simmer.
“Faerie talks to you?” Kaitlin's eyes went wide. “The land can speak?”
“She's the consciousness of the land,” I explained while Faerie laughed in my head.
The land can speak? She chortled.
“Shut up,” I ground out under my breath. “She's human... mostly.”
Oh please, it's not like she can hear me.
“Yeah, alright, whatever,” I rolled my eyes.
“Mom, it's so weird when you talk to her,” Vali observed. “You look like a crazy person.”
Vidar nodded and Dexter stopped fidgeting long enough to stare down my sons.
“Thanks, Dex but they're just teasing me,” I laughed and gave him a quick scratch. “You know I feel crazy sometimes, with all the voices in my head.”
“I think that's actually a symptom of insanity,” Vidar said with all seriousness.
“I don't care how big you are,” I pointed a finger in his face. “I'm strong enough to take you over my knee and give you a good spanking.”
Dexter huffed in agreement.
Ooooo, can I help?
“Faerie, I'm about to use a nasty word with you,” I narrowed my eyes.
“Queen Vervain,” Fearghal came up to me and I saw Kaitlin take a step back. The red cap Captain of the Goblin Guard could be a bit intimidating. “The King is ready. Vidar! Vali! Good to see you two,” Fearghal fist-bumped them both.
Roarke had taught Fearghal the gesture and it had become his new casual greeting. Unfortunately, receiving a fist-bump from a red cap could be more of an attack than a howdy-do. There'd been dazed goblins all over the castle for weeks until Fearghal learned to control the power of his bump. But my boys were gods and they probably could have taken a full-strength Fearghal fist-bump.
“Thank you, Fearghal,” I glanced at the wide-eyed Kaitlin. “You remember Thor?”
“Oh yes. Greetings, Thunder God,” Fearghal held his fist out to Thor. Thor lifted his brows but obligingly tapped his fist to Fearghal's. It was best to not disappoint a red cap.
“And this is Kaitlin,” I waved a hand to Kaitlin. “She was Ull's girlfriend and she's come to meet Brevyn. Kaitlin, this is Fearghal, he's the red cap Captain... red cap Cap'n,” I paused to laugh. “Why have I never put that together? Red cap Cap-tain, that's funny and kind of hard to say,” of course no one laughed, though Vali did smile at me indulgently. “Anyway, he's the Captain of my Goblin Guard.”
“Ull's girl friend?” Fearghal frowned, his furry brows furrowing over his bulbous nose, and Kaitlin started to tremble. “Oh! Br
evyn's lady? Welcome, Miss,” Fearghal gave Kaitlin a bow, bringing his crusty, blood-soaked cap into her line of sight. “We heard about you. Didn't expect you so soon.”
“Um,” Kaitlin took a hesitant step forward and cleared her throat. “Thank you, Sir Fearghal.”
“Sir?” Fearghal blinked in confusion.
“Oh!” Kaitlin got flustered. “I mean Captain! Captain Fearghal.”
I shared an amused look with Vali.
“Um, you're welcome, Miss Kaitlin,” Fearghal cleared his throat (which for a red cap sounds something like a chainsaw starting).
“Sir Fearghal!” Roarke came up to us laughing, which made his son, Hunter, start laughing too. Roarke tossed the child up in the air and caught the giggling fire-cat toddler easily. “You hear that, little prince? The Captain just got knighted.”
“I will squish you like a terny,” Fearghal said casually to Roarke. “I don't care if you're a king, you're not my king.”
Roarke went pale, his fire eyes losing a little of their spark as they stared up at the towering red cap.
“You're face!” Fearghal laughed boisterously and pounded Roarke on the back. Roarke stumbled and gripped Hunter tightly. “What is it that you always say? Oh yes; Bazinga! I got you Fire-Cat King!” Fearghal strode away laughing. “Heh heh heh, like a terny. Squish.”
Hunter thought this was the most wonderful thing ever and added some clapping to Fearghal's laughter.
“Traitor,” Roarke grumbled down at his son.
“What's a terny?” Thor asked. “Is that short for tournament?”
“It's an insect,” Roarke made a disgusted face. “They're round, red, and look a lot like jigga berries, which are a delightful treat. Unfortunately, ternies tend to hide among the berries because it's such a good camouflage for them and if you're not careful, you'll end up crunching on a terny instead of a jigga. They pop open just like the fruit but taste like goblin ass.”
“Goblin ass!” Hunter declared and Roarke groaned. “Goblin ass, goblin ass.”
“And that's why I'm trying to get everyone to watch their language around the twins,” I observed, looking to Thor as he shook his head disapprovingly at Roarke.
