by Sariah Skye
“Does this meeting have to be today?” I complained, as Maxxus let out a loud snore. Kiarra, brush in hand was taking aim to tackle my hair and I hissed. Frustrated with the lazy jerk, I had a burst of defiance. I ripped the blanket off him and with one ticked-off, resentful shove (resentful that he was still sleeping, had been all night, and I was not) I pushed him off the bed, and into a heap on the floor.
His large body landed with a loud thud. “What the hell?” He peeked his head over the bed, raking his hands through his messy ginger waves. “What did you do that for, Leorah?”
I glared at him. “Wakey wakey time, darling. We have to be official and crap.”
“But—huh?” He looked around, dazed, and confused at me, then at Daniel, at me again and then Kiarra. “I just went to bed!”
I rolled my eyes and exchanged dirty looks with Kiarra and Daniel.
“Sorry, Sunshine…it’s actually afternoon. Surprise!” Daniel said, with mock cheer.
Maxxus groaned. “Ugh. I feel like…what is the phrase? Like I got hit with a truck?”
I snorted. “That works. Join the club.”
Kiarra pulled me out of bed and forced me to sit before the vanity. “You really don’t look well, Leo. Are you okay?”
I sighed, fighting a yawn. “Yeah, just tired. I’m not sure why, I think it’s just stress.”
She nodded knowingly. “Well hopefully you’ll feel better now that Gabriel will be nearer. You aren’t having any Shadow dreams or visions like with Daxira again, are you?”
I shook my head. “No, at least not that I remember.”
“She’s not, I’d know about it,” Daniel echoed the sentiment, helping a very groggy Maxxus to his feet and slinging him into the washroom, instructing him to splash his face with cold water.
“Hmm. Better have Finn and Esmé come check on you after the meeting,” Kiarra said.
“Is that all we have to do today? The hall gathering?” I asked.
“Afraid not. After that you can come back and relax for just a bit, but then we have a dinner with all the delegates, including the ones from Babua that should be arriving about the time we’re finishing with the meeting, and then Yarrem will be corresponding with someone from Zyanhei,” she said. She handed me some sort of wet wipe from inside one of the vanity drawers and instructed me to wipe my face. I did, as I grumbled.
“Great, not busy at all,” I muttered.
Kiarra patted my shoulder. “Sorry. It will get better when everyone else is healed and they can pick up some of the slack. Generally, the king and queen only make appearances at these delegate things, but since there is hardly anyone else to meet with them, your presence is required. The town hall meeting someone else could take complaints, but again…”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it.” I pursed my lips at my bleary looking reflection, bloodshot eyes, dark circles and pallor skin and all. I blew a raspberry at myself and looked away. “I look like shit.”
“You’re beautiful, you’re just tired. We’ll fix it. You could probably shift, though, and get rid of some of that sleepiness,” Kiarra suggested.
I nodded. “Good idea.” Knowing the stone was still around my neck I stood up, took a few steps back and willed the shift.
I waited for the familiar pulling sensation as I shifted into my dragon, but it didn’t come.
I opened one eye, and looked down at myself. “Umm…” I was still human.
“What? Just shift?”
I must really be tired, I thought to myself. I took a deep breath again, and centered my energy inside me. I let my spirit magic wash over me, warming my skin and tingling my fingers and took a few deep breaths. When I felt more relaxed, I willed the shift again.
My eyes flew open in a panic: the shift didn’t come.
“What Leo?” Kiarra asked, worried.
“I can’t shift!” I exclaimed, feeling the anxiety wash over me like a wave of deep water, engulfing my body and strangling my breath.
Kiarra’s eyes widened. “What? Are you sure?”
I nodded quickly. “I can’t shift! I don’t know why—I—”
“Shit. Let’s get you to Aleron right away.” Kiarra grabbed the nearest set of robes—my pink ones I wore last night—and tossed them over me.
“Is she okay?” Daniel asked, a look of worry washing over his eyes.
“I’ll be fine,” I insisted, almost too quickly to be convincing. I flashed him an innocent smile to prove my point.
He wasn’t persuaded. “Right. I’ll fill your man in.”
“Maxxus is going to have to do the town hall meeting by himself. Get Miradoste or Saladin to take over for Leo; just say she’s got business with the Loremasters or something. They’ll have to be satisfied with just him for now,” Kiarra instructed. Daniel nodded and as Maxxus poked his head out the door, calling my name, Kiarra rushed me out the door, not bothering to shut it behind her and hurried me out of the castle.
One of the guards—I didn’t get a good look at him—tried to stop her and chat but she shushed him. As soon as we were passed the gate, Braeden stood guard in his human form, giving us questioning looks.
“No time. Leo can’t shift! Going to get her to Aleron!” Kiarra stripped off her clothes quickly, tossing them at his feet and shifted into her blue dragon form.
Braeden’s eyes widened. “Leo…are you okay?”
I waved him off. “I’m fine, I’m sure I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
He reached for my hands but, with her dragon nose Kiarra pushed him away. “Gotta go. Leo, hop on.”
I sighed, looking at her scaled back reluctantly. I had vowed I would never, ever ride another dragon through the kingdom again when I could fly for myself. I attempted to shift once again, in vain. When nothing happened again, I climbed awkwardly on her back and allowed her to fly me to my grandfather, at our family home, Braeden calling to us as we took air and raised into the sky. I was too distracted to listen to his words, feeling distraught at my missing dragon. We were one and the same, but I could feel her below the surface, unable to escape. She didn’t seem worried though, and because of that I was able to ride with relative ease the short distance to home without too much alarm.
She landed outside and nudged me in the door, following close behind me in her dragon form. “Grandfather!” she called, her normally melodic voice booming throughout the stone walls of the foyer.
My father entered from the dining room. “Leo? Aren’t you supposed to be—” he began, but Kiarra interrupted him.
“She can’t shift.”
Saladin’s green eyes widened. “We’ll get you upstairs,” he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and leading me upstairs. “He’s in his chambers, chatting with Yarrem and Gabriel. They were about to go to the meeting.”
I nodded, but said nothing.
“You sure you can’t shift? Why do you think that is?” he asked, as we strode quickly down the hallway to my grandfather’s chambers. Kiarra said something about going to my room to find clothes, but I wasn’t quite listening. I just waved back at her with my hand.
I shrugged. “I’m really tired,” I said, feigning off a yawn.
My father let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, good. I thought maybe the Shadows…”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not that.”
We heard laughter from the other side of the door to my grandfather’s chambers. My father pushed the door open and interrupted.
“My daughter can’t shift; she says it’s because she’s too tired but…” he trailed off uncertainly.
Yarrem, my grandfather, and Gabriel all ceased in their banter and stood, eyeing me with concern.
Yarrem crossed the room and patted me on the arm, gazing at me with sympathy. “I’m sure it’s nothing, dear child…but since you won’t be able to go to the meeting, I will assist your bonded one. Perhaps I can convince the ninny court members to let you heal them, yes? So, you stop feeling so stressed?”
Despite my pr
edicament, my expression softened as he smiled at me.
Saladin helped me to my grandfather’s bed.
“Could it be the spell from last night?” Gabriel asked, his eyes worried with guilt and concern.
My grandfather sat down next to me, putting his two hands on either forearm and looking into my eyes intently. “No, I doubt it. Blood tie spells are fairly harmless; they wouldn’t stop her from shifting. There are very few things that can stop a dragon from shifting.” Clearly, they must have discussed the spell from last night. Normally I’d be a little irritated they were talking about me, but right now I didn’t give two shits about it.
“What are those ‘very few things?’” Gabriel asked.
My grandfather closed his eyes, briefly, his brow furrowing. I felt his inquiring silver spirit magic course through my body, it was like a very faint, warm breeze. When his eyes opened again, he spoke. “Only three things. Magical spells, or talismans. But I can’t think of a dragon alive right now that knows how to do one.”
“What about someone from one of the other kingdoms?” I suggested.
He considered this. “A possibility. But not likely.”
“What are the others?” Gabriel inquired.
My grandfather stroked his beard and gazed at me thoughtfully. “Mr. O’Donnell, would you mind giving us some privacy?”
“Is she okay?” he asked, worriedly scratching at the dark stubble on his chin.
“Yeah, am I okay?” I repeated, my grandfather grinning.
“Yes, I think she’ll be fine. Just give us a moment, will you?”
Gabriel nodded. He reached out to grasp my hand briefly. “I’ll be right back.”
When Gabriel left the room, my grandfather looked over me, with a knowing look.
“What do you think it is? Stress?” I asked.
“Well, maybe but not for reasons you think. Leo…” he hesitated before continuing, as if pondering how best to word something. “When was your last, ah, fertile period?”
I guffawed. “What? Oh come on now, you can’t—”
“No, I’m serious. When was it?” he asked again.
I shrugged. “Well, it was before all this started. August, I believe. At least, August in the human world. But I know it’s not now.”
“No, I know. Did you and Maxxus discuss…” He raised his brows and gave me a hinted look.
“Babies? Well, it’s a moot point since I won’t have another chance to get pregnant until next year, so we decided obviously we’d wait until then,” I said.
“Ah. But you’re not opposed to it, right?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Grandfather, what are you saying?”
He stood up, sighing, turning away from me. “I’m saying, we don’t know how this magic spell affected you.”
“The blood tie?”
“No, no. The genetic empowerment. It might have other effects on you that we didn’t anticipate…such as higher fertility, with all the magic combined in you from all the other races that was used,” my grandfather said.
I chuckled. “Oh come on! I’d know it if I was! I mean there’s—”
He spun back around and stared at me sternly. “Leo. I know how to tell if a female is pregnant. And you most certainly are.”
I laughed again. “Oh come on—” When he didn’t start laughing, my jovial expression fell. “You’re…not serious.”
He sat back down next to be on the bed again, reaching out and resting his hand on my abdomen. He appeared deep in concentration for a minute before his mouth stretched into a smile. “Oh my. I’m going to be a great-grandfather!”
My mouth slowly fell open. “I—what!?!”
“You and I both know when a female is pregnant, she cannot shift sometimes. After a couple of months, it’ll be easier again, but for now you’re just going to have to put up with it. If I were to guess, you’re only a few days along. If you were fully human, you wouldn’t even be able to test for it yet. But since you’re dragon…well it’s much easier. Obviously.” My grandfather clapped his hands together, looking overjoyed. “Oh, Leo!”
I blinked at him, slowly. “How is it possible?”
My grandfather shrugged. “Well, I’m not sure. But obviously you have a different fertile period and different indicators than other, normal dragons. Did you have any telltale signs? Even things that aren’t dragon?”
I shrugged. “Not that I remember. I just…” I trailed off, blushing. I remembered that I was insanely aroused, but I chalked that up to just going without for years on end.
“Some mythos don’t have symptoms. Take fairies, and nymphs for example. It just happens, no indication. I believe they’re fertile for about an hour a day.”
I raised my brow at him. “You can’t be serious.” I patted the pockets of my robes for my phone, glad I had remembered to grab it before Kiarra pushed me out of the palace. I quickly typed in two text messages, one to Finnian, and one to Gabriel:
Finnian: GET HERE NOW!
Gabriel: GET FINNIAN HERE, NOW!
The gist was the same both times. I needed to find out more about this spell.
I couldn’t believe it. There was no way. I could not be pregnant.
Not only wasn’t it possible, but it was just a really, really bad time.
I couldn’t handle that, on top of the monarchy, on top of putting Castle Danger back together, on top of the Shadows! There was just no way!
“I think…I think I’m going to lay down…” I leaned back into my grandfather’s plush pillows, grabbed his blankets, and pulled them over my head, blocking out the light around me.
There was no way.
And still, as I disbelieved it, somehow, I knew it was true.
I could feel my dragon inside, feeling protective. She confirmed, proudly—in no uncertain terms—that it was in fact, true. It wasn’t that pregnant females couldn’t shift when they were pregnant—they’d be fine—it was just that the dragon’s inside took a backseat to protecting the new life inside. In an emergency, they could come out.
Even though my dragon and I were the same being, the same entity, it was like talking inside to another person.
Yes, Leo, it’s true.
Reluctantly, my hands slowly trailed down my chest, down to my stomach where I uncertainly rest them on my lower belly.
Yes.
I felt a boost of magic, when I acknowledged the life inside. Suddenly, the reluctant, disbelieved person in me realized it was true. I was pregnant.
Slowly, a smile spread across my face. A smile no one could see, but the little life inside me could feel. And my dragon too.
Both of them pleased, I was rewarded with a contented warm shiver up and down my body, which helped lull me into a pleasant sleep.
Maxxus glared his eyes outwards at the cacophony around him. Dozens of dragons gathered in the throne room in their human forms, talking and shouting loudly in dismay at each other. Maxxus looked on angrily, trying to quell the boiling anger inside at their dissent.
“Shouldn’t the queen be here?”
“This is an outrage! A monarch has never missed the town hall!”
“I still say she attained her rule by unscrupulous means!”
That was it. Even Elder Aleron’s comforting presence could no longer quiet the fury building inside him. He glanced over at the empty throne next to him and further confirmed his anger.
He stood upright with such force that the ground underneath him rumbled slightly; he wasn’t sure if it was from his earth magic that he sometimes lost control over when he was mad, or if it was from the backs of his legs hitting against the throne, making it topple over backwards off the dais, and landing with a thud on the ground.
“YOU WILL HALT YOUR WORDS!” His voice boomed like looming thunder in an impending storm cloud overhead.
“Come now…” Elder Aleron attempted to calm him by resting a palm on his forearm but he pulled away forcibly.
Maxxus’ blue eyes glared outwards at the room ful
l of crabby dragons. They weren’t Court dragons—or most of them weren’t—so he didn’t expect actual decorum, but he’d attended enough of these hall gatherings to know that some order was generally followed.
But, not today. And he knew the reason why was not only because of their unexpected rule, but because of Leorah’s absence.
Maxxus felt irritable and tired himself, but clearly, Leorah was much worse off. She was currently resting in Aleron’s chambers; he wouldn’t tell him anything about her only that she needed rest, desperately. It had been a long few days, he claimed. He left her in the care of her parents. He knew she needed a break; she was out late last night speaking to Yarrem (who was also in attendance today; he was embarrassed that this was probably the first impression of the kingdom of Anarach that he would receive) and selflessly dealing with…well everything. The least these damn shifters could do was show some respect for his mate!
The attendees of the meeting stopped their chatter briefly to stare at him with bewilderment. The general noise stopped, but this time they took turns yelling their words.
One citizen stepped forward, wearing hooded light brown, linen robes. He took the hood off, exposing his aged, weather-worn face. Maxxus set his mouth in a firm line, preparing for the scolding he was probably about to get; he clearly was a dragon who cultivated crops and was disrupted by the snow inhabiting the realm right now.
“It bothers us, your highness, that your ma—the queen—cannot be bothered to attend her very first town meeting with us, especially when everything is completely out whack out there!” The dragon-shifter tried to be calm as he spoke, but the frustration came through in his words.
“Yes, my latest corn crop has been crushed under the snow drifts!” Another female shifter, young, wearing a yellow dress and robes, spoke in dismay next. “There is only so much wind I can wield to push it away!”
Another shifter snorted from nearby. Maxxus recognized this one, a green dragon like himself that had been in the same school year growing up as he and Leorah were. He always remembered him because he was one of the odd ones, wearing his mark on his temple. “Yeah, and onto my sunflower fields—I thank you for that!”