by JF Jenkins
"You wanted to talk?" Matt asked, sitting down on a nearby chair.
"I figured now would be as good of a time as any, especially since I need to prepare you for your next mission," Lynx said.
"All right, please share what you can. I need your advice anyway."
"Tell me your problems first, then we can focus on our business easier."
"Kat is still sick from the transition and she's acting not like herself. I'm worried. I—"
His father waved a hand and laughed rather hard. "Because you don't understand women. There is no such thing as normal when it comes to them. They have as many moods as there are days in the year. Each one is different. I've seen a lot of transitions. The first time is always frightening, but it will end and she will be fine. Now if you don't want to deal with all of this—"
"I meant it when I told you I loved her," Matt said, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes, I'm sure you did. My point is you are worrying over nothing. She's fine. Despite how well you thought you knew her, she will always be a mystery, capable of things you will never understand."
Matt held his tongue, knowing full well what his father was referring to. He wanted to say the love of his life wasn't like his father's first wife, but saying anything bad about the woman could put him on his father's bad side for life. Instead he whispered, "Tell me about this mission."
"I don't think I need to rehash everything we had already discussed with the prophet," Lynx said. Matt shook his head. "For a few months I have been corresponding with the Terran Lord about the matter of the Oceina and their mistakes against God. He sympathizes with us, though the prophet had said he would. They've agreed to help us with our cause, but they will not do so for free."
Matt rolled his eyes. "Of course not."
"Do not be disrespectful. In politics it is normal to put the needs of the country before doing things simply out of goodness."
"My apologies." Matt bit his lip, deciding to only listen from then on. No more side comments.
"They have two conditions. One of which cannot be negotiated until the future, once the second condition has been met."
"What are those?"
"The first is not something you need to concern yourself with. The second however is where your mission comes into play. The Oceina must be given a message. They must know their place. Their Lord is in the way of our plans, and the Terran will not help us until he is no longer in the picture. You will be delivering the message to the Great Lord himself, then you will kill him."
Chapter Twenty-Three
Time flew by. Nearly two months passed, and the answers Jason so desperately sought were still nowhere to be found. If anything, his leads were more dead than ever. Whatever Matt knew, he didn't hint at it in the slightest. If anything, he was creating even more distance between them than ever. Even the gossip amongst the women was minimal. It worried and frustrated Jason.
He missed his brother—a lot. They hardly spoke now. Matt was too busy talking business with his father and uncles. He snuck off to meetings at random points during the day. Jason was starting to wonder if the two would ever be close again. Which is why, when Matt rushed through the city street to talk to him one afternoon, he just about died from shock.
"Where are you going?" Matt asked. His body twitched with an over abundance of energy. It didn't take much to know. He was asking simply to be polite.
"Home, so what's going on? Skip the pleasantries, it's all right. Spill." Jason gave him a smile. It felt good to talk again, to know he was still trusted in some way by his twin.
"Right, I keep forgetting you don't live at the castle anymore," Matt said as they walked through the bustling streets of Inero City. He then took in a deep breath. "Kat is pregnant!"
Jason stopped. "She's what?"
"Pregnant!" Matt put an arm around his brother, beaming with the widest grin Jason had ever seen. "Apparently it's a 'honeymoon baby.' Kat is nearly halfway through the gestational period. I'm so excited."
"I couldn't tell," Jason teased with a smirk. "Congratulations."
Having sons, and lots of them, was always something dragons of all species prided themselves in. He had lots of nephews, but hearing that one of them would be fathered by his twin felt surreal.
"I haven't told Father yet," Matt said. All the joy faded from his face, and his brow furrowed. "I wanted you to be the first to know, and to ask you..."
"What's wrong?" The sudden change of enthusiasm worried Jason.
"Nothing's wrong. I wanted to make sure that if something happened to me…you'd take care of them, right?"
"Of course, I would. Why would anything happen?" he said, nudging his brother and laughing. "And you tell me I worry too much?" Matt only shrugged. Now Jason frowned as well. "Something is going on. What is it?"
"I'm going away for a little while. It's just a hypothetical question."
"You're lying. It's not a hypothetical question. Where are you going?"
"Father wants me to go on a dangerous mission," Matt said, waving his hand. He was trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing but Jason knew better. His brother was anything but calm about the matter. He could see Matt's hand shaking.
Jason scratched his chin. He couldn't help but wonder what the mission was. If he could help, then he could ensure his brother's safety as well as get some more answers. "Do you want me to come with you? I could protect you."
"No, if something were to go wrong, then we'd both be lost. I don't want Kat to get passed to someone else or be completely alone. And what about Gwen?" He shook his head.
"Can you at least tell me more about what's going on?"
"I'm delivering a message to the enemy."
"Enemy?"
"The Oceina."
Jason swallowed hard. "I wasn't aware we were enemies now. I'd heard rumors but nothing official. I don't know as much as you do about the Oceina, but I always thought they were a peaceful people."
"Generally, yes, they are, and weak too. It's pathetic. Still, making assumptions could be my downfall. I'll have other protection. My main concern is my son and Kat. Please watch them while I'm gone. I know the women don't get along but you wouldn't let that stop you, right?" Their eyes met.
"No, of course not." Jason shook his head. "Kat is just as important to me as Gwen. I'm sorry they aren't friends. Maybe if the two of us spent more time together and brought them along, they could get to know each other better?"
Matt shrugged, acting like he would consider the possibility, but Jason knew him better. "We'll see how the pregnancy treats her. Kat's been not well for a long time, and tired. Her delicate condition might be more delicate than normal. My magic is strong. I want to make sure she's comfortable."
Jason sighed, nodding with understanding. The last thing she needed was to be upset or stressed. "It was just an idea. Perhaps when things are more settled…"
The two walked in silence. When they got to Jason's house, Matt stopped on the sidewalk. He folded his arms in front of him, staring at his brother, clearly not wanting to go inside. "Maybe when I get back, we can revisit the idea. While I'm gone, please check on her, okay? I don't think I'm going to tell Father until I get back."
"Of course. Why don't you want to tell him? I thought you told him everything."
"I don't want him to think I won't be able to do this task. I want him to know I can focus, no matter what is going on in my life." Matt paused. "But I know he's been waiting for this day for a long time. He's greatly interested in our children. Did you know that? He talks about it a lot, the day his Touched boys will be fathers."
Interesting...
"I don't understand why it's so 'interesting.' He's our father. You know he loves and adores us. Why wouldn't he be excited for us?" Matt snapped.
"It's not the excitement that's throwing me off. Just the way he said it. His 'Touched' boys..."
Matt rolled his eyes. "How else is he supposed to tell us apart from all of the others? When did you become so parano
id?"
"The war rumors," he mumbled.
"Father loves us."
Jason nodded, saying nothing. He wanted to believe his brother. Why would their father only keep them around to be used? It hurt to think of their father doing something so terrible. He loves us, he reminded himself one more time. But he wasn't so sure if the man was as honest as his brother claimed.
"How does it feel?" Jason asked, after a long silence passed.
"Strange. I'm going to be a dad." Matt paused; his eyes grew wide as if for the first time he was realizing what this meant.
"I'm going to be a dad."
Jason laughed, clapping Matt on the back. "Do you need to sit down? You can come in."
Matt eyed the house and he rubbed his arms. "I'm okay. Thank you for doing this for me. Remember not to mention anything to Father. Don't even say something to Miss Navi. She might let it slip."
"I won't," Jason promised. He and Navi would no doubt be talking about other things anyway, like the upcoming war. Even she had been slow with news. He'd never felt more in the dark.
"I should get back to Kat. I promised I would pick something special up for dinner tonight. Relax, brother, or you'll miss out on life," Matthias said, leaning in and hugged his brother tightly. He whispered in Jason's ear. "Thank you."
"I'm always here for you," he whispered back.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gwen left the house in the middle of the afternoon to run some errands. It was her first time doing so on her own and she couldn't have been more excited. Jason was letting her leave the house alone. He trusted her enough to not run away. Although the idea was still tempting, she had become immersed in the ways of the city. She realized it would be a terrible idea. Even if the wives didn't talk to her bluntly about their husbands, she had still heard more than enough to know how cold and uncaring they could be.
She skipped on the way, breathing in the fresh air, loving the sunshine. How she wished she could at least write home and share all of this with her parents. They had always talked about coming to the city and visiting some day. Her father always had some kind of an excuse about why they couldn't just yet. Now she wondered how much they knew about city life. Had it been his way of protecting her? Out of sight and out of mind, so to speak. They couldn't take her away if they didn't know she existed, after all. Gwen noticed she was older than most of the girls who had been taken the same night she had. Would it have happened sooner if she had lived in the city? Would it have still happened if she hadn't gone into town for the cake that afternoon?
I should ask Jason about writing, at least. He said a visit in the future, but maybe a letter now. It would help tide her over. She wanted to talk to her mom about him. Penning it out by hand would make her thoughts feel much more solid. Half the time she wasn't sure she understood what she was thinking. She never hated him, she knew that much, but she wasn't sure how much she liked him either. For the most part, he kept to himself as though he wanted to close himself off. But he was calm and listened to her, taking an interest in what she said. And he was handsome as well. What more could she ask for in a man? He was almost perfect.
Almost perfect wasn't what she wanted. Not that she expected him to be flawless. She enjoyed his flaws more than anything because they felt real. That's what she needed the most from him—something real. If she could only get him to break out of his shell more, then she could really get to know him. He'd done it briefly at the picnic and every so often at home as well. She'd work on him, figuring out a way to get him to crack, because she found herself liking him a lot.
Their moment at the park had been extra special. Ever since then, she found herself wanting to spend more time with him. She'd never experienced anything like it before with a guy. He took such good care of her, and it was time for her to return the favor. She was going to learn to cook more and spend more time keeping the attention on his needs. He deserved it. And she wanted to give it to him. The past three months had done a lot for them. While she wasn't ready to give herself to him completely, she did want to have something with him. More than anything, she wanted to explore her feelings. She couldn't quite figure out what it all meant, but it was good. Perhaps in the next nine months, she could truly give herself to him without it being awkward, messy, or dramatic.She hoped so. Jason would be easy to fall in love with.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kat lay next to her husband. The term finally felt real to her. For the first time since they'd made the covenant, the two were acting like a unit, like companions. Things had been up and down since they'd had their talk about their relationship, and she could tell it frustrated him to not have everything resolved right away. With hard work and effort on both of their parts though, she could see the fruit of the labor finally starting to show. She watched as he grabbed a piece of cheese and nibbled on it.
Maybe I should listen to you more often. Eating dinner in bed is kind of fun. He briefly stopped chewing so he could smile before focusing on eating.
"I have a lot of good ideas. I'm glad you're starting to see this," Kat said with a smirk.
When he finished chewing, he leaned over to kiss her cheek while he roamed his hand over her stomach in slow circles. "I don't say this enough: I love you."
"You're awfully cuddly today," Kat murmured, turning her face so she could kiss his lips. He'd been extra attentive the past couple of weeks. Ever since she had told him the big news, he'd hardly left her side. She liked it, so she told him to wait on telling anyone else until later so she could keep enjoying it. Maybe that was selfish of her, but she needed him. She'd do whatever it took to make sure he stayed.
"I feel like I don't appreciate you like I should. You'll be okay while I'm away, right?"
She gave him a reassuring smile and stroked his cheek. "I'm a big girl. I know where to go if I need anything. I don't want you to worry about us while you're gone. You should be focusing on staying safe, so you can come back to us soon."
"I'm not worried about my safety. The Oceina don't scare me. But I'll use you for motivation to do the job quickly. My only concern is making sure you'll be okay on the off chance that something goes wrong," he said, flashing her a coy smile.
She leaned into him. "Well, don't worry about that either."
If, Heaven forbid, something did happen to him, Kat felt confident in her friendships to know she'd be okay. Lenora and the others would not abandon her. Nor would his father or brother. She couldn't wait to tell the big news to her new 'mother.'
Kat frowned as she reflected on his words. If something went wrong... What kind of a mission was he going on?
"I know you're the best at what you do," she said, trying to keep up her support, but now she was worried. "If anyone can do the job, it'll be you. What are you doing exactly?"
He kissed her lips. "What I have to. I don't want to talk about work. I'd rather kiss you, or hold you, or love you. Take your pick."
"How about all of the above?" She kissed him back, closing her eyes.
"I'm fine with that."
He placed soft kisses along her jaw line, moving a strand of her hair away from her eyes. She gazed into his beautiful, dark chocolate eyes. Instantly, her stomach felt warm and calm. Not only did she feel happy, but the baby did as well. Every so often, the baby would tell her how it felt or what it needed. Kat loved feeling so connected. Whenever she felt lonely, the baby reminded her to keep staying strong. She only wished she could share the experience with Matt.
Kat placed his hand on her stomach, wanting to will the baby into being more vocal, but it fell silent.
"Promise me you won't try to be too brave if something does go wrong. Promise that you'll do everything you can to come back," she whispered.
"I told you. I'll be fine. Please don't ruin the moment."
"Just promise me this one thing, and I'll let it go," she said, gave him a small encouraging kiss on his nose and her hand squeezed his thigh. "It will make our baby feel better as well."
&nbs
p; "When you put it that way," he said with a laugh. He shifted his body so he was now speaking to her belly. "I promise I will come back." Then he kissed her skin. She felt a jump of energy inside of her in response.
"It liked that."
"He, darling. It is a he."
She laughed, shaking her head. "You never know!"
"Actually..." he started, but stopped. Instead he leaned up to kiss her again, much deeper than before. Let's not waste time arguing over something so silly.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Navi and Gwen had created a routine of sorts. Three times a week, Navi came down to Gwen's home and picked her up so they could go to the wives' pool together. While Navi went to the pool every day, Gwen could only stomach it a few times a week.
On the days she didn't go, she stayed home doing chores or reading. Ideally, she preferred not to go to the pool, period, but both Navi and Jason advised her against this. Part of proving her worth as a woman was being there to socialize with the other high-class wives. It gave her more credibility in the city. She needed that since she and Jason had yet to consummate their marriage.
She did a lot of reading at the pool as well. It gave her something to do while she waited for Navi to finish making her rounds amongst the small groups of women.
Per usual, Chris trailed behind the two young women as they walked through the city. He waited outside the gate for them all afternoon until they finished.
"What does he do all day while you're in here?" Gwen asked as they walked into the pool gardens.
Hardly anyone spent time in the pool itself. She didn't understand why. It was always hot and dry outside. The garden itself must have been specially watered because it reminded her of an oasis in the desert. She stopped to admire a new bloom of small, purple flowers.
