by Amy Sumida
“Children are like little sponges,” Thor agreed.
“That's not a very good camouflage,” Vali mused and we all looked over to him. “The terny thing. Why would you camouflage yourself to look like food?”
“Nobody said they were smart,” Roarke grimaced and then glared at Hunter, who was still reciting goblin ass over and over. “You know what's a fun word; daddy. Why don't you say daddy?”
“No!” Hunter declared and giggled. “No, no, no.”
“You're a wicked little kitten,” Roarke bared his fangs at Hunter and the child laughed and hugged his father like it was the best compliment ever.
“Serves you right for messing with a red cap,” I shook my head at Roarke. “Don't cat-sidhe parents teach their children never to play with prey too big for them?”
“Don't cat-sidhe parents teach their children never to play with prey too big for them?” Roarke meeped my words mockingly back to me like a three-year-old, while his son, the actual three-year-old, stared at him in wonder.
If you've ever been mocked by a child, you know what I mean when I say meeped; meep-meep-meep, like a baby chick, they tweet at you, turning your own words into a scathing attack while making dumb faces to add insult to injury. On a scale of 1-10, this type of mocking ranks around 9 for me but if you add cat-sidhe attitude to it, it soars to 12.
Thankfully, the sound of trumpets prevented me from having to dignify Roarke's behavior with a response. We all looked up to the window in the Flight Tower, where Arach was now standing, holding Rian aloft.
“I need to be up front for this,” I looked to Roarke. “Take care of my guests.”
“Yes, my Queen,” he bowed his head and Hunter bowed with him. All of his childish behavior vanished under my command.
“Thank you, Hunter,” I tapped Hunter on the nose and hurried up to the edge of the lava moat while Roarke sputtered.
“Yes, my Queen!” Hunter called in his little voice and Roarke sputtered more.
“Daddy,” I heard Roarke cajole the child. “Two syllables. If you can say my queen, you can say daddy. Come on, Hunter.”
“Queen, queen, queen,” Hunter sang. “Yes, my Queen.”
I chuckled as Dexter and I reached the edge of the moat. I suppose it was to be expected that Roarke's son be as sassy as Roarke but it made me worry about what I had to look forward to with the twins. Would they take after me or Arach? And which would be better?
The heat rising from the meandering magma moat eased into my bones and made me sigh. I let go of my concerns for the future possible personality quirks of my boys and focused on my dragon. She wanted to come out but we had to put on a good show and look like we had complete faith in our son. I could only shift if it became obvious that Rian wouldn't fly. The height was such that it should give me enough time to shift, fly up, and catch him. I wasn't too worried... well, maybe a little.
Arach looked down and saw me, then gave me a wave of reassurance. I waved back and he grinned, holding our little boy out into open air. I swallowed hard as Rian shifted and gave a happy little screech. The crowd of faeries called merrily up to their prince, waving at him encouragingly. Even the Hidden Ones were out, jumping up and down on hooves, claws, and tentacles while they cheered for Rian. Faeries hung from the trees, clung to the sides of the mountain, and sat on each others shoulders to get a better look at their prince's first flight. In the case of our pixies, they were all gathered atop the Fire Kingdom coaches, placed there by red caps both to allow for a better view and to keep them from getting stepped on by distracted fire fey.
The atmosphere felt joyous, my faeries didn't have a single doubt that Rian would fly. I wished I could feel as certain. Arach drew Rian back, as one does with something they wish to cast out very far, and Rian came in line with his brother. Brevyn cried for his twin, as if sensing that Rian were about to experience something without him. My heart stuttered with that cry, the breath catching in my throat as my blood shivered in my veins. Dexter whimpered.
As Arach threw our little dragon prince out of the Flight Tower, Brevyn reached for Rian and Rian lurched back for his twin. A baby dragon claw closed around a tiny human wrist and both children went tumbling out of the tower window. Arach's momentum had been altered and instead of being thrown out into safe open air, the boys were now tumbling straight down towards the sloping mountainside. Screams erupted from the watching faeries and Dexter started howling pitifully as Arach gaped in shock at our hurtling sons.
I immediately tried to shift but instead of the smooth transition that always brought my dragon forth, I was filled with a terrible cacophony of sound. Roaring and growling lifted above the cries of my dragon. I felt her struggling to rise but my other beasts were holding her back with teeth and claws. I desperately tried to help her and they turned on me, tearing at me from the inside and dropping me to the ground.
Someone save them, the Queen is hurt! Faerie shouted as I writhed in pain.
“Arach!” I screamed as Dex circled me anxiously. “I can't shift! Arach!” I was crying, tears running down my cheeks as my babies plummeted towards the jagged slopes of Aithinne. “Please no, not my babies,” I whimpered, feeling more helpless than I ever had. Inside me, my dragon screeched, her fear drowning out Faerie's screams as my lioness and wolf viciously fought her. “Arach!”
I pulled my eyes away from my sons and saw that Arach had already thrown himself out of the window after our boys. My husband shifted mid-leap and in seconds, a crimson dragon was diving head first, wings drawn-in, down the side of Castle Aithinne. Crying filled the air around me as my kingdom's most precious treasures fell, just out of the King's reach as the Queen lay earthbound in impotent pain. The height had been great and had they been cast outwards as Arach had intended to throw Rian, Arach would have been able to reach them in time. But as it was, their straight fall would send them crashing into Aithinne before their father could save them. And I would watch my children die. I knew it with gut-wrenching certainty.
Then the feathered Hidden Ones I'd once called hags, those screeching terrors with rotting faces and oily skin who had long ago chased me through the Forgetful Forest on a Wild Hunt, leaped into the air to save their princes. The Host shot through the sky like an arrow, to save instead of kill, for the first time in the history of Faerie. Their brethren called encouragement from the ground and my heart stuttered as I hoped. Surely one of them would reach my sons in time.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vidar and Vali climbing up the side of the castle. When had they run past me and what were they doing? I looked back and forth between them and my falling twins and saw that my grown sons were scrambling up the mountainside on a straight course for the babies, trying to reach the point of impact before the children did. God strength was giving them a burst of speed but it didn't look like they'd make it.
Then everything went silent and still. Faerie herself seemed to hold her breath as time slowed and the beating of my heart filled my ears. Tha-thump; little wings caught the wind. Tha-thump; they opened triumphantly with a crack of sound. Tha-thump; light glinted off emerald scales. Tha-thump; a tiny dragon body twisted in the air.
I inhaled sharply, deeply, time returning to normal as my sons once again saved themselves. Rian angled upward, away from the jagged points of Aithinne's fatal façade. And in his strong claws, Brevyn was held securely, gurgling happily and slapping his brother's belly with babyish glee.
The fire faeries were frozen for just a second before a cacophony of joy and relief rose up from them, bathing their princes in adoration. Arach's triumphant roar rumbled over me as I watched him pull up in a dramatic arch, so he could chase after our scampering sons. Rian's roar blended with his father's as Arach reined him in, directing him back towards Aithinne and then into a circular downward spiral towards the waiting crowd.
Vali and Vidar began to climb back down Aithinne, much slower than they'd ascended and with obvious relief. The hags fluttered past them, down into the welcoming arms
of their brethren. Everyone was hugging each other, laughing, and cheering. Dexter pressed into me, licking the tears from my cheeks. His sides were still trembling.
“Vervain?” Thor's face came into view as he leaned over me in concern.
“I'm okay,” I lifted my hand and he took it, helping me stand. Dexter stood with me, pressing into my side.
My beasts had quieted now that my dragon no longer fought for freedom, and although my legs were shaky from both fear and exhaustion, I really was alright. But I found myself pulled into a breath-stealing hug anyway.
A tremble flitted through my limbs and then I was outright shivering. I made a little sound as I pressed my face into Thor's wide chest, letting him hold me as I got my emotions under control. The scent of ozone over water calmed me and I realized then that he was trembling too. Arach and I weren't the only ones who had just come close to losing a son.
“He's okay,” Thor whispered to me. “They both are. They're alive. They're fine, the rascals.”
I'm not sure who he was trying to reassure.
“I know,” I took a deep breath and pulled back. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he let out a shaky breath. “That was horrifying, Vervain. Why the hell would you let Arach do that?”
Dexter whined in agreement.
“I'm so sorry,” I laid my hand to his chest, right over his rapidly pounding heart. “I'm sorry you had to see that. You too, Dex,” I lowered my hand and Dexter rubbed his face into it. “What a homecoming you've had.”
“Why didn't you shift? What happened to your dragon?” Thor asked.
“That's a very good question,” Arach was walking up to us, clad only in a cloak someone had thrown over his shoulders. The clothes he'd been wearing were now scraps scattered over the mountain. He held both of our boys in his arms, Rian back in his human form. “What happened, Vervain?”
I ran forward and wrapped my arms around all three of them. Dexter went with me and circled his body around us. “My lion and wolf attacked my dragon. They wouldn't let her rise,” I told Arach as I took Brevyn from him. I kissed my son's silky forehead as Arach's free arm went around my back. Then I kissed Rian, rubbing my cheek to his and nuzzling the sprinkling of scales at his temples. “They turned against me when I tried to help her.”
I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent of the twins, trying to convince myself that my sons were alive and well. Yes, there; the sunshine and citrus scent of Brevyn and over that, the smoky sugary smell of Rian, like toasted marshmallows. My shaky body was still trying to catch up to what my mind already knew and the smells helped.
I'd once thought that I wasn't meant to be a mother because I never liked the scent of babies and that baby smell is supposed to be a trigger to your brain, to make you want to protect them. I thought maybe my brain was broken but that wasn't it at all. I wasn't been meant to be a mother, at least not to human children. God and faerie babies smelled differently. Each one had a unique scent, just like grown gods and fey did, and I loved the smell of my children. Dexter pressed his face up and sniffed at them too, I felt the whoosh of his deep breaths before he backed away, reassured.
“Why would they do that?” Arach's free hand started to stroke my hair soothingly.
“I don't know... I...” I looked up at him suddenly and whispered, “self-preservation.”
“Self-preservation?”
“I'm not complete anymore,” I watched the comprehension fill his face. “It felt like they were fighting for their lives.”
“What does that mean?” Vali asked as he came up to us with Vidar.
“It means that I can't shift into my dragon form without threatening my other forms,” I glanced at them over my shoulder. “My lioness and wolf held back the dragon to save themselves. Without the completeness that my star gave me, my other magics may not be strong enough to survive a shift into dragon form. The magic of my dragon, brought out fully and without restrictions, could potentially obliterate any other magic inside me.”
It's her star Faerie said grimly into our minds. You must repair your star, Vervain.
“Yeah, I get that,” I growled and my infant boys stiffened, preparing to cry. “It's okay,” I instantly soothed them. “Mama's just a little pissed off at Faerie right now.”
Me?! Why are you mad at me?
“You couldn't have warned me?” I asked in a sing-song tone so my babies wouldn't get upset.
I didn't know.
“You didn't have any idea that this was a possibility?” Arach growled and the boys tensed again. He wasn't a very good actor.
“Let me take him,” I eased back and Arach let me have the Rian so that I held both the boys. “Everything's fine.”
I bounced them, one up on one hip while the other went down on the opposite side. Back and forth like a seesaw. It was a move I'd practiced and they loved it, giggling up at me like I was there own personal jungle gym. Dexter's eyes went wide as he watched me.
“Faerie?!” Arach snapped as he shifted his cloak to the side, so the opening was at his shoulder instead of center front.
I thought her wolf would be affected but I hadn't considered her dragon, she admitted. And I'm not a hundred-percent certain that shifting into a dragon would destroy the other two.
Arach started to growl but I shook my head at him with a sigh, “Honestly, I didn't think about it either.”
“But she is the consciousness of the realm,” Arach huffed. “The Lady of Tir Nan Og. She should have known.”
I am not all seeing, Faerie grumbled.
“No kidding,” I muttered and stopped with the seesawing.
I would never have risked the children if I'd known.
“Neither would I,” Arach sighed and caught my eyes. I saw the apology there but I shook my head; he couldn't have predicted any of that and I wouldn't hold him accountable for it. He smiled gently and kissed me, then he kissed our boys before he turned to face our anxious faeries. “Your prince has made his first flight! His right to rule has been established and our kingdom is secured,” he shouted to reassure them. Because that's what it means to be royalty, even when you're freaking out, you put on a good face for your people.
The fire fey cheered and Arach turned back to me. His face was grim and I knew he was thinking about how close he'd just come to losing all three of us. All at once. He laid his forehead to mine briefly, then pulled back and gave me a steady look. I nodded and handed him back Rian. He took Rian in one arm and me in the other, and our little fey-god family walked into Aithinne to celebrate the dramatic first flight of our prince. We just wouldn't tell our fey that their queen was simultaneously mourning the loss of her own flying ability.
Chapter Nine
Arach, the babies, Dexter, and I went upstairs so we could all (except Dex of course) put on some suitable celebration attire. I'd been wearing a simple linen dress in case I needed to shift, Arach and Rian were naked, and Brevyn's clothes were stained. While I was dressing Brevyn, we received a mirror call from King Rowan of Darkness, announcing that his wife, Queen Liatris, had given birth to twins. They had a boy and a girl, named Baidhen and Sinnea respectively. We congratulated him and then he hurried off with a huge smile, eager to get back to his new family.
Arach's eyes lit up, quite literally, and he gave me a look that sent shivers racing through my stomach. This was it, the point where our future could go down the wrong path. I had thought it all began with Odin, and it had, but time is tricky and once you mess with it, there's no telling what may happen. Things that went wrong once could always find another way to go wrong again.
But Arach saw the horror in my eyes and his face went pale. He nodded and without a single word, we chose the right path together. I breathed a sigh of relief as he hugged me and our sons to his chest, kissing my forehead gently. I felt a shiver go through him and knew that he knew we had just dodged tragedy for the second time that day.
“I love you,” he whispered. “Nothing is worth the chance of losing
you,” he looked down at our sleeping, exhausted sons, “or them. Not even an alliance with another dragon kingdom.”
“Good,” I nodded approvingly. “Remember that.”
“But twins,” he laughed. “How the other faeries must be trembling with fear and jealousy.”
“I hadn't even thought about that,” I made a huffing sound. “Both dragon couples producing twins. Interesting.”
“Only more proof to our superiority,” he sniffed haughtily.
“Let's not forget that our sons were originally just one boy,” I chided him.
“Heroes and twins,” he agreed. “I won't forget.”
“You're obnoxious,” I shook my head.
“I'm a dragon king,” he said as if that explained everything... which it kinda did.
“Pretty names though,” I mused. “Baidhen and Sinnea.”
“Yes,” Arach agreed. “In the fey language Sinnea means destiny and Baidhen means victory. Very good choices.”
“Mmmhmm,” I headed toward the bed, where I laid Brevyn down so I could get dressed.
Arach laid Rian down beside his brother. He was already dressed but it was only in his diaper. We had stopped putting Rian in finery, his shapeshifting was too erratic and we inevitably lost whatever we put on him. So a diaper would have to do. Dexter jumped up on the bed and licked the babies' faces. The boys giggled, both of them reaching out to snatch at Dexter's mane. Dex shook his head, evading their hands.
“You knew Rowan and Lia would have twins,” Arach accused me. “And you didn't tell me.”
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” I shrugged. “It just didn't feel right to announce the birth of the twins before Lia even knew. And there was also the chance that the future had changed.”
“She could have had only one?” Arach mused. “Hmm, alright, I see your spike.”
“You see my what?” I turned to him in confusion.
“Your spike,” he waved absently with one hand as he dug through his armoire with his other. “The meaning to your actions.”