"And your father?"
Dominique sighed. "My mom told me he was Native American and Asian. They slept together but from what she said, it was never more than that. I don't think she even actually liked him. I guess… when it comes down to it, that's why I waited so long. Because I didn’t want to ever put a child of mine in a situation where they felt like the byproduct of a mistake their mom made."
Virdi kissed her head. "You're not a mistake."
"I know. It's just hard, you know? Knowing that my mother didn't want my father in my life. I don't know what kind of man he was. I tried looking for him but without more from her, I'll never find him. Maybe it doesn't matter anymore."
Virdi was quiet for a long moment, running his fingers through her hair. He took a deep breath. "My father was human. He and my mother hated each other. They were mates but that didn't mean they liked it. I lived with him for a while, away from Skaldi but on clan land. Then one day she told him to come back to her or leave, and he did. He just left me there with her."
"I'm sorry." What was worse, not knowing your father or having him abandon you? She flinched. At least she had a mother she knew loved her.
"Dominique, there's something I have to ask you."
Her heart rate spiked, though she wasn't sure why. "I have something to ask you first." He looked a little startled but nodded. She licked her lips, a little uncertain of what to say now. With an awkward shrug, she glanced away. "It's just that… everything that everybody is talking about the baby I'm going to have. The Emperor. What sort of life will my child expect with that heavy burden placed on them before they're even born?"
The rumbling of her stomach surprised them both. Dominique actually jumped, then laughed. With everything that had happened, she had completely forgotten that it had been a long time since she had eaten anything.
"I guess we should get dressed and find something to eat." Virdi groaned as he pulled himself away from her. Dominique almost whimpered as she lost his warmth. "But as for the life your child will have… He will be revered all over the world. He'll be expected to change the world. Unify us all."
Dominique shuddered. "That sounds like an awful life. He is just a baby, why should he have to do all that? He should have the chance to have a normal life, the opportunity to make his own choices and mistakes without the world judging every move he makes."
She pulled on her skirt and shirt. Virdi stood with one leg in his jeans, eyes wide as he stared at her. "He is just a baby?"
Oh. She sucked her lip between her teeth.
The Dragon pulled up his pants and crossed the space between them. "Are you pregnant?"
His tone was low and urgent. She couldn’t tell if it meant he was excited or not. She took a deep breath–the windows shattered and bursts of flame poured in.
Chapter Fourteen
Virdi
"Again?"
Virdi growled as he grabbed Dominique and tucked her into a ball, rolling over the floor to avoid the flames burning in the air. He pushed her into the bathroom and shut the door. That would at least protect her from the flames. A group of men was climbing in the windows and the door burst open, admitting more.
Virdi rolled to his feet and rose his fists, preparing to strike them down. They spread out in a circle around him, eyeing him warily. He didn't spare time to chat. With a shout, he launched himself at the closest one, slamming a hand into their nose. The rest of them piled onto him, seemingly not caring about being caught in the flurry of blows. They grabbed his arms. A blow to the injury on his abdomen had him gasping for breath. His attackers continued to punch his ribs and knees until his legs buckled. A knife pressed against his throat.
"Where is the Mother?" someone asked in a heavy American accent. "What have you done with her?"
"Let him go!"
Dominique's voice rang out, followed quickly by glass shattering. The grip on Virdi's left arm loosened and he was able to yank it away. He grabbed the wrist holding the knife and twisted it sharply, making them let go. A quick slash at the arms holding him still had them jumping back, yelping.
He pushed himself to his feet and slashed at the nearest Dragon. She stumbled back from him but all eyes were locked on Dominique, pretty well ignoring him now. She held one of the complimentary glasses that came with the room. The other one was smashed into the head of one of the Dragons; blood poured down his head and he picked shards of glass from his scalp.
"Run!" Virdi shouted at Dominique, jumping to clear a path for her.
One of the Dragons stepped towards her; she smashed the second glass over his head and darted for the door. Virdi punched a Dragon that moved to block her and slashed at another who came up behind them. She slipped behind him and he turned to face their attackers.
Moving as one, the other Dragons flowed around them and blocked the door. Virdi stood protectively in front of Dominique, chest heaving and heart pounding. None of them moved to attack, though, and so he remained still. If he moved, it might invite them to charge and he couldn’t put Dominique in danger. She pressed against him, trembling. This badly outnumbered, he would only be able to buy her a little time. Maybe enough to get to the front desk. Maybe not.
"Skaldi's plans to deny the world of the Emperor will not work," one of the men said in a Nigerian accent. "Give us the Mother and you will not be harmed."
They thought he was trying to stop the Emperor from being born? Virdi's eyes narrowed, really studying them for the first time. Some of them were white-skinned, others dark, with facial characteristics indicating that they were from all over the world. He couldn’t remember seeing anybody who looked like them in any of the clan courts that he had visited. That didn't mean much since he couldn't have seen everybody but if they were here to help Dominique…
"Where are you guys from?" he demanded.
"We're a coalition formed from clans across the world," the man with the Nigerian accent said. "We are charged with taking the Mother to the Temple of Heaven."
"But—" Dominique started.
The man held up his hand. "We have heard that you may have already claimed a mate but we need the Temple's confirmation for the clans to accept it. You are human, we need to make sure that whatever child you have was sired by your mate."
Virdi inhaled and held the breath, studying the group. It would be next to impossible to fight them all off and who knew what Skaldi had planned to stop them from making it to the Temple. With this group with them, they might actually have a chance. As much as Virdi hated having to trust Dominique's safety to complete strangers, in this case it was the best idea. The only idea that might actually work, in fact.
"Fine," he said reluctantly. "You can help us get there. But if this turns out to be a trap, I swear I'll kill you all."
"It's not a trap." One of the women rolled her eyes. "We don't have much time. If you want the Emperor as much as we do, then we had better get going."
***
The coalition flew to the Temple of Heaven with Virdi as their guide. It turned out that a Mongolian Dragon was the only one among them without back spikes, so Dominique ended up riding her. Virdi hated not having Dominique with him, but it would be safer and more comfortable without running the risks of being impaled for her to ride the other Dragon. Still, he kept an eye on them the whole time. He wasn't going to trust these people until they gave him a reason to do so besides the fact that he had to.
They got to the Temple of Heaven quickly and the coalition landed on the wide lawn, where scorch marks attested to the battle that had been fought here just the previous day. Three of them stayed with Dominique and Virdi. The others scaled the Temple, looking for any traps that Skaldi may have set to prevent Dominique from reaching the top.
"Virdi, I need to speak with you," Dominique said, turning to him. Her hands clasped his. They were cold, her eyes wide, and a tremble shook her body intermittently. "Before this goes any further, there is something you need to know."
His mind flashed to his suspi
cions before, that she was pregnant. He froze, watching her with wide, hopeful eyes. He hadn't ever considered that he wanted to have children before this, but the idea of Dominique being pregnant with his child made everything inside him light up with joy. It was a warm, fuzzy feeling that he had never experienced before.
The image came to his mind again, of her with a swollen belly, carrying his child. He tried to push it away. He couldn't afford to let himself get distracted or his hopes up right now. Not when the situation was so tense.
"I just wanted to say that—"
"It's clear," one of the Dragons called from the top of the Temple.
"Give me a minute," Dominique snapped as the others around them started to push her towards the building. "I'm trying to have a moment here!"
"There's no time," the American to their left said.
Her eyes sought out Virdi, looking at him pleadingly. He nodded reluctantly. "You'll have to tell me after. Quickly!"
"But—"
A voice from one side shouted. "Incoming!"
Virdi looked up. Skaldi's huge, ice-blue form dove from the sky, followed by a dozen of her most loyal lapdogs. Virdi didn't spend any time considering where the rest of her court was. He seized Dominique around the middle and raced for the Temple steps. The coalition shifted around them and leaped into the air to clash with the oncoming Dragons.
He would get Dominique up the steps, have her mate shown for the coalition, and then get her out of here. If Skaldi was attacking again… she had lost all sense.
A streak of blue fire roasted the ground right next to Virdi and Dominique. His skin blistered from the heat. The smell of burning hair filled the air. With a growl, he set Dominique down again and shifted. A ball of fire shot at them and he threw out a wing, shielding the human. She stumbled over the steps, crying out when another blast sent fragments of stones spinning in the air.
Skaldi's next shot hit him directly on the wing. Her blue flames reflected off the thin membrane but left a rash of blisters and raw skin behind. Virdi howled in pain. Black spots flashed before his vision. He grabbed Dominique again and pressed her to his belly with one leg as he charged up the stairs. The stones felt loose beneath his claws.
Screams and roars filled the air but he didn't dare turn to see what was happening. His heart thudded as more jets of fire rained down on him. They scorched along his back, reopening old wounds there. The agony made him stumble but the only thought in his mind was to get Dominique to the dais of the Temple.
He stumbled on the last step, collapsing as another ball of fire burned away his left wing, leaving a skeletal frame behind. His form twitched, blackness blinding him. Another roar shattered the air. He looked back weakly to see two King Dragons dive in from the sky. Both dropped on Skaldi, forcing her to the ground. Her lapdogs dropped instantly and the coalition landed on the Temple, growling.
"Virdi!" Dominique wrapped her arms around his head. "Virdi! Stay with me."
A ragged sob brought him back to himself. He shook off the Dragon, crying out from the pain as he shifted. Sweat coated his body, large black burns wrapping around his torso and arms. He grasped Dominique's hand.
"Go. Hurry."
Her grip on him tightened, her eyes overflowing with tears. "I don't need that thing to tell me who my mate is. It's you. I love you."
A smile worked its way over his face but he still shook his head. "You need to go. If I'm really your mate, then everybody has to know. Go, now."
"The Mother must enter the Temple," a voice shouted from below them. "Or the Emperor will not be born."
"Go!" Virdi insisted.
Dominique pressed a quick kiss to his lips but was gone before he could fully draw in the taste of her lips. She raced up the final steps and slowly entered the small structure atop the Temple. Everything was silent, watching and waiting. Virdi pushed himself to his knees, holding his breath. His heart hammered in his chest. His head spun and stomach churned from the pain but he ground his teeth and stayed upright with sheer determination.
When Dominique stepped into the Temple, a bright light glowed all around her. It was beautiful and soft, just like her, golden with a tinge of red at the edges. She turned around, looking down at him with an awed expression. The ground shivered and something pushed its way out of the center of the Temple. A long, sinewy body wrapped around Dominique. A Chinese Dragon. Golden scales glittered and a long face with powerful eyes looked down at all of them before lifting its head and roaring.
Dominique reached up, a smile breaking over her face. The Dragon bent down and touched its forehead to hers as she wrapped her arms around it.
Virdi looked at the smile on her face and his heart died. This must be her mate. It made sense… the Emperor was a Chinese Dragon, after all. And it was clear she already loved the Dragon. No matter what she had thought before, he wasn't her mate. All the dreams and fantasies he had had of them together disappeared and he sagged down the steps.
He closed his eyes and bent his head. Did it matter if she wasn't his mate? No. It didn't. He would still stay by her side, protect her. He would serve her and her son until the day he died. That was all there was to it.
He looked up again in time to see the image of the Chinese Dragon seeping into her skin. The pattern of its scales flashed onto her skin, glowing gold. The tattoo of the mark that was on the Egg faded from her breast. Both of her hands moved to her belly and her delighted laugh trilled through the air.
Virdi's brow furrowed. What did it mean? Had the Dragon just impregnated her?
He pushed himself to his feet. Even as he did so, a second image appeared. This one was a green Dragon, with wings outstretched. Flames flickered in its mouth as it took a protective stance around Dominique. Virdi scrambled to his feet, staring at the Dragon. It was him. He was the Dragon standing behind her, protectively…
A cry of joy burst from his mouth as he realized what it meant. The pain seemed to diminish as he ran for her, opening his arms to embrace her. She ran into his arms and kissed him hard, over and over again. She laughed, tears running down her face.
"I knew it was you," she whispered. "There couldn't be anybody else. I love you."
Virdi returned her kisses feverishly. "I love you, too."
Their arms wrapped around each other and they held tight. Virdi laughed. He would never let go.
Chapter Fifteen
Dominique
Her legs were weak with relief. She sagged against Virdi, her mate, and clung to him, laughing and crying. After everything that they had been through, it finally had come to fruition. There wasn't any more doubt about it. He was her mate and when she collapsed from exhaustion after this emotional roller-coaster, she knew that Virdi would be there when she woke up.
The Dragons from the coalition helped her and Virdi down the Temple steps, where the three kings and Skaldi waited. The Dragoness smirked at the two of them and Dominique glared back at her. Her arms tightened around Virdi. It was amazing that he was still standing after what his mother had just put him through. He swayed a little but showed no signs of backing down.
"It seems like there was a breakdown in communication," Skaldi said, her voice simpering-sweet. "I heard about this coalition of Dragons and thought they meant to stop the Mother from receiving the Emperor."
Dominique rolled her eyes but she was too tired to deal with the princess' bullshit. It wasn't like anybody would really believe her, not after everything she had done. Virdi's arms tensed around her but he only growled and turned Dominique away from his mother. She focused on him. Skaldi wouldn't attack him now that she was so outnumbered. He needed medical attention and quick.
"My grandson will be the Emperor," Skaldi continued, her voice swelling with pride. "Finally, my son will have a place of honor in my court—"
"We aren't going anywhere near your court," Virdi snarled. "You are a cruel woman and I am no longer living my life under your heartless thumb. You were never a mother to me and you will have no claim to our
son. My mate and I will do just fine on our own."
Skaldi's eyes widened. "Never a mother to you? You ungrateful—"
"That's right, I'm ungrateful for all the abuse you put on me, claiming it was my fault that you were incapable of loving me. I'm ungrateful." Virdi turned his back on her. "And now, I'm also free of you."
Skaldi growled. She lunged forward, claws bursting from her hands. Dominique screamed as she swiped at Virdi's head—
But before she could make contact, one of the other Dragons jumped in front of Virdi. He took the blow, crying out as blood spurted into the air. The coalition of Dragons were on Skaldi in a second. They twisted her arms behind her back and threw her into the mud. Her face twisted in fury as she screamed but the other Dragons did not ease their grips. The kings shook their heads and glared at her.
Virdi drew Dominique back as flames flickered in Skaldi's mouth. One of the kings slapped a hand over her mouth and snarled in a deep, forbidding voice.
"Your fate will be your father's to decide, but don't think we will not punish any attack on the Emperor's parents."
A look of terror flitted over Skaldi's face. The other two kings bowed towards Dominique and Virdi. Her head spun as it fully sunk in. She was carrying the Emperor. Dragons all over the world would revere both her and her son… whether she wanted it or not. She sagged against Virdi but he wasn't strong enough to hold her and both collapsed to the ground. Their arms wrapped around each other. At that moment, he was her anchor. As long as she had him in her arms, she knew she wouldn't be lost in the sea of confusion again.
One of the kings knelt by them and gently took Virdi's burnt arm in his hands. A frown crossed the king's brow but he nodded.
"If you so desire, I will take you to my court. Our healers are the best in the land. Your wounds are grievous but you should be able to recover from them with the proper attention." He turned to Dominique then. "Forgive me. I did come here to stop you. I thought that the Emperor might destabilize the Dragons of the world but when I saw that you had already conceived, I knew that I was mistaken. The Emperor reemerged at this time for a reason."
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