The Quickening
Page 17
I stepped up beside Phi, reaching out to touch it myself. It certainly felt like one. “Holy shit,” I breathed.
"No kidding,” Phi echoed from beside me. “He's going to be hard to hide."
"Ain't that the truth,” I murmured, taking a step back.
Hasani put a hand on my shoulder. “Do you want to have a look at the journal? I have already read through a little of it, because I figured we were going to be the ones caring for him, so I wanted to know what we were getting into."
I nodded, wondering what in the world this dragon would like. Would he look like Leena? Or would he look like Wei? Or some combination? Or nothing at all like any of them?
"Levi,” Josephine said, from out of nowhere.
"What?” I asked, moving to her side again.
She turned to look at me. “His name is Leviathan. I don't know how he got here, but he's a water dragon. At least that's what he says."
"He told you his name?” If he had done that, it would be unusual. Usually the hatchlings’ first question was what Phi wanted to name them.
She shook her head. “No, I gave him a name. It seemed to fit from what he was showing me of his memories."
I started looking around the cave. “If he's a water dragon then there had to be water in this cave at one time..."
Hasani nodded. “Yes, behind the egg there is another tunnel. I think this used to be an underwater cave or at least had some access to the water."
"Would make sense,” Phi said. “Okay, then, let's have a look at this journal. I've already explained to Levi that he's going to be taken care of by you guys."
Hasani bowed low. “I certainly hope we can do as good a job as you would, Josephine."
She laughed. “Trust me, you will probably do a better job than me. I'm just guessing here."
I draped an arm over her shoulders, shaking my head. “Don't listen to her. She's doing great with the ones at home."
Hasani smiled. “I am certain she is. So, how long do we have before he hatches, and will we need to get him to water before then?"
Phi shook her head. “He says he'll be fine, as long as you get him to water soon after. As for when ... usually the dragons hatch within a few hours of my touching them. But, with Levi he's so large I'd guess sometime within the next week."
"We staying for the hatching?” I asked, not caring either way. We had no definite honeymoon plans and Egypt seemed as good a place as any.
"Yeah, we can stay."
Hasani led us back to the ladder, and we made our way out of the cave.
"You know what's funny?” I asked, once we were topside again.
"What?” Phi asked, brushing sand from her hands.
"We're doing this backwards."
"Doing what backwards?"
"We're supposed to have the honeymoon, then the kids,” I said, giving her my best lewd smile.
Her cheeks turned a beautiful shade of red. “You ... pervert!” she cried, taking a swipe at me.
I dodged back, catching her arm and pulling her to me. She wasn't angry, she didn't try to hit me again. “You know you love me."
Her arms slipped around my neck. “That's beside the point,” she muttered.
"No, Phi,” I murmured, bending to kiss her. “That's the whole point."
Hasani cleared his throat, reminding me of his presence. “Would you two like to go back to the hotel?"
I grinned. “Yes, Hasani, I believe we would."
"You're impossible."
"I know."
"Get in the car,” she said, pulling away and giving me a shove.
I got in, settling back in the seat. Life had certainly taken a turn for the better. As we drove back toward the city, Phi leaned against me and I put my arm around her. Hasani dropped us at the hotel, and we promised to have breakfast with him the following day. Once we were in the hotel room, Phi started unpacking and I sat just watching her.
Life had changed in a few short months and the two of us had just gone with it, without stopping to question anything. Meranwe had died soon after telling her story, leaving the mansion and a very large inheritance to Phi and her parents. Phi had quit her job and we'd spent the last months traveling the globe, finding all of the hidden Great Dragon eggs.
"Phi, are you sure this is what you want?"
She didn't pause in her unpacking. “What do you mean?"
"This,” I said, waving my hand. “Your whole life has completely changed."
"And?"
I growled, frustrated by her misunderstanding. I finally asked my question in what I hoped was as crystal clear as I could make it. “Are you happy? Do you have any regrets?"
"For heaven's sake, Aer,” she growled back, tossing a pair of socks into the drawer. “How many times do I have to smack you for asking dumb questions?"
"Damn it, Phi, I just want you to be happy."
"Look here, Mr. Gwindor, I am happy.” She turned to face me, her eyes snapping with anger. “I may get grumbly now and then but you know me better than that to think it means I'm not happy."
She crossed the room, plopping herself into my lap and putting her arms around my neck. “Besides, I'm surrounded by my favorite fantasy creature, which I have found out is not at all fantasy. Plus, I'm married to the sexiest man in the world, even if he is completely and utterly infuriating at times."
I grinned. “Then I would guess I'm a good match for the sexiest, most contrary woman in the world."
She snorted. “Shut up, Aer."
Shut up, Aer. Those words had become almost synonymous with “I love you, Aer.” Which was fine with me. I didn't care how she said it, all that mattered was that I knew it.
I wasn't sure what the future would hold for us. Would Rikashi and dragons actually be able to come out of hiding? Or would we remain fodder for books, fantasies and movies? Would we have children of our own? Or, like most of the Rikashi-Human pairings in the past, would we be unable to? If we did, would they be Gwindor or Tinuviel? Not that we really needed children right now, the dragon hatchlings occupied a majority of our time.
They had inherited most of the knowledge they needed with their blood memories about what to eat, how to fly, and mating. But their parents had been from a time when the world was much different, so they had no idea about modern times. They didn't know to hide from planes, cars or people. Gawain had almost gotten himself hit by a car entering the mansion just last week. Phi and I almost had heart attacks, seeing the near miss.
"Hey, you've got that ‘I'm worrying’ look again."
A month ago it was her doing the worrying and me reassuring her. Now I was doing all the worrying. “Sorry."
"Stop it,” she ordered. “As you've said yourself—whatever happens, happens, we're in this together, and we'll come out on top."
Why I couldn't just take my own advice and settle down, I didn't know.
No, I knew why. Maedhros. He was still out there, and though he hadn't shown himself, I worried.
I took her hand, kissing her knuckles. “You're right, Phi."
"Now hush and let me finish unpacking,” she said, rising to her feet.
I pushed aside all the doubts and fears and concentrated instead on the positive. The Great Dragons were not extinct, and I had the love of the perfect woman. What more could a guy ask for?
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About Antonia Tiranth
www.lyricalpress.com/antoniatiranth.html
Antonia Tiranth is an avid reader and writer, born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She has been writing for as long as she can remember. She's struggled with her muse over the years to find just the right story to tell but in the end she found inspiration in her favorite mythical creature, dragons. She is a lover of all genres of books, leaning more towards fantasy, sci-fi, and romance; a lover of cats; and a reader of tarot. She currently works as a research tech and spends her free time reading as a reviewer for Simply Romance Reviews, working on the other books in the Rikashi Files series o
r her joint works with Delilah K. Stephens, playing Final Fantasy XI, and working on a budding tarot reading business with her friends Phoenix and Pid.
Antonia's blog:
www.antoniatiranth.blogspot.com/
Reader email:
tiranth20@gmail.com
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