Fated Hope

by Sariah Skye

  I heard the large door creak open and shut quietly as only Maxxus could do with his earth magic proficiency. I wanted to immediately grill him about where he’d been, but Gabriel beat me to it. I opted to pretend to sleep instead.

  “Ah, the King returns!” Daniel greeted. I couldn’t see of course, but I could imagine Daniel mocking him with a fake bow.

  Maxxus growled quietly. “Did I miss the party?”

  “No party, just trying to help your wife feel better. Or—mate, sorry,” Gabriel retorted drily. “Or did you not notice she’s been a little worried lately?”

  “Of course, I notice. And if you knew what was good for you, Magic Boy, you’d shut your mouth,” Maxxus challenged, in a threatening voice.

  “Is it common to just take off without letting anyone know where you are?” Gabriel asked.

  Maxxus huffed. “I had a guard with me the whole time. I’m not alone, just secret, okay?”

  “What sort of secret?” Daniel asked.

  “A secret is a secret for a reason. So never you mind.” Maxxus’ tone indicated that he was done with it. The door creaked open once again. “If you don’t mind, now, I’d like to get some sleep.”

  I heard footsteps and the weight shift off the bed as the two brothers obliged.

  “Leorah is worried about you, you know,” Gabriel challenged. I could almost picture him, menacing, in the green dragon’s face. Even with his shorter stature, his demeanor could be intimidating if given the right motivation. “So, whatever bug is up your ass, you better get it out. Got it?”

  Maxxus grumbled. “Good night.” Was all he said, and the footsteps faded as the brothers left the room.

  Maxxus allowed the door to shut behind them rather loudly. The sound made me jump upright, even though I was awake to anticipate it.

  “Shit, Maxx!” I scolded him, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

  “Sorry,” he replied gruffly. “Those friends of yours…”

  “What about them? Kiarra and my brother and Kit where here for awhile too; we were just chatting. It made me feel better,” I said. I realized I was still wearing a sweatshirt and I peeled it off and climbed under the covers.

  “I thought you told me you felt fine,” Maxxus said.

  “I do but it was nice to feel normal and sorta stressless, again. You know?” I said.

  He sighed, slowly peeling off his robes and lifting his black tee over his head. “Yeah, I know.” He stripped down to his white boxer shorts and slid into bed. “Are you ready for tomorrow? Finnian said Evie would be here first thing in the morning to check you over. You’re taking those supplements and all, right?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, yes.”

  “Okay. Can you shut off the lanterns, please? I just realize I forgot to.” Maxxus rolled over and yanked the quilt up over his midsection.

  I furrowed my brow. Silently, I waved the lanterns out, the moonlight streaming in through the window and the glow of the embers, dying in the fireplace were the only light remaining; the shadows bouncing off the hard curves of his muscled back. Feeling frisky, I carefully reached out my hand, softly tracing the straight lines of his waist. I felt a surge of heat between my legs as I playfully pushed my hand down further under the waistband of his underwear.

  Maxxus made no movement or protest, so I continued, feeling bolder. I reached a mass of course hair before I felt him jerk, and pull away.

  I pulled my hand back quickly. “Maxx?” I asked, feeling somewhat wounded.

  He glanced at me over his shoulder, his eyes sleepy. “What?”

  I inched myself closer to him, twisting my arm through his and pressing my hand against his chest. I trailed my nose softly against his hairline, through the gentle ginger curls that rested at his neck, carefully inhaling his earthy scent. “What do you mean, what?” I spoke huskily into his neck, pressing soft kissed at the base of his neck and beginning to trail down his shoulder.

  He let out a calm sigh before grabbing my hand and holding it tightly still against his chest, shying away from my lips before I could continue down his arm; something I knew was always a big turn on to him. “Leorah, it really is best if you get some rest, okay?”

  Ouch. “Rest? Why is everyone so concerned with me resting? You’ve been acting so weird lately…I try to get close to you and this is what I get?” I pulled my hand away from his grip with such force that I accidentally slapped his back as I yanked. I knew I was being unfair, but the hormones had me easily wounded—at least, that was what I was telling myself.

  I clambered over him to get out of bed, hoping to disappear to the bathroom.

  “Leo!” He called after me. I heard his feet slap against the stone as he rushed after me.

  I closed the door on him, just as I entered the bathroom. With a flick of my magic, I locked the door and flung myself poutily against the cool wood, hoping it’d quell the fire of arousal that had begun to swell inside.

  The lock clicked and I knew Maxxus had opened it. I quickly turned around and focused my attention on it again, locking it.

  “Come on, Leo! I didn’t mean it like that! I’m just—” he protested, trying to unlock the door again before I flicked it shut once more.

  “—just what?” I demanded.

  “I’m just…weirded out I guess. I don’t know!” The lock clicked again and I knew he’d attempted to unlock it.

  Feeling a smirk across my face, I quickly locked and unlocked the door again, hoping to trick him. When he didn’t hear another click, he used his magic assumedly against the lock once more, and as I did nothing, he pushed against the door, rattling the metal doorknob, growling as he realized it was locked.

  “Fuck.” I heard a thud on the other side of the door and I tittered.

  “Serves you right!” I ignored him and went to the bathtub, filling up the large, porcelain, iron-claw footed tub and pouring a handful of essential oils in. I opted for lavender and rosemary, and I was thankful that Kit had insisted on giving me a bunch of the handmade ones she made as I breathed in their heavenly, relaxing scent as Maxxus lightly knocked on the door in protest. He called my name repeatedly but I ignored him, opting to listen to the relaxing sound of the running water.

  Hey, after being shot down too many times over the past couple months—regardless of their reasons—my pride was wounded. I’d make Maxxus fight for it, if that’s what he wanted. And, because my ego was bruised.

  “Leorah! Please, just let me in so we can talk? Okay?” he objected behind the door.

  I didn’t reply. When the tub was filled up to my liking, I stripped off my clothes, tossing them across the room, and I climbed into the hot water. I hadn’t really intended on taking a bath—just torture my mate—but when I stepped in and felt the relaxing water on my toes I sighed happily.

  “What you say? I’m taking a bath!” I chuckled to myself as I sank deep into the water, up to my chin.

  “Leo! I’m sorry, I’m just…” he sighed loudly.

  With a quick wave, I quietly unlocked the door.

  Maxxus cautiously peered in through a crack in the door. “What are you doing?”

  I snorted, focusing my attention on the bubbles I created with my swirling hand in the water and not on the hot, scantily-clad dragon shifter that was now standing in the bathroom. Nope, anywhere but there. “I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure I’m helping build the Great Wall of China.”

  “The who and the what?” He retorted, confused.

  I tittered. “Nevermind.” I sat up a little higher and peered at him over the side of the tub, careful to keep my body hidden. “What’s going on with you?”

  “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings; I should know better than to resist the advances of a mate. A pregnant mate; your father told me some stories.” He shuddered. “I saw the scars.” He winced, rubbing the side of his head.

  “Stories? My father? Oh, ew.” I grimaced.

  “Yes I know, I know. I chatted with him earlier after the little ‘meeting’…it wa
s helpful since, you know, I can’t talk to my own parents,” he said dryly. “I won’t lie…I’m a little scared about all this. I’m pretending not to be, for you but…”

  I sat up a little higher, offering a sympathetic smile. “Maxx…it’s okay. I can deal with a bruised ego and some—whatever. Just not being elusive.”

  Maxxus wrapped his arms around his upper body, trying to shield himself from the cold castle air. “I don’t suppose you want some company? It’s freezing out here.”

  I grinned mischievously. “Well, perhaps but don’t get any ideas.”

  Maxxus chuckled. He dropped his underwear before climbing into the tub, tangling his legs with mine and leaning against the opposite end of the large tub. “I’m sorry if you thought…if you thought I didn’t want you,” he said, a flush to his cheeks that I wasn’t sure if it was the cold, or embarrassment. “I always do, I guess I was just a little tired. I sort of wore myself out tonight.”

  I pulled my legs into my chest and wrapped my arms around my knees, suddenly feeling very exposed. I lifted a brow and asked, “Where were you?”

  A glint of playfulness danced across his lips. “A surprise. Please. Just…let it be a surprise.”

  “Oh?”

  He nodded. “Yes. It…it makes me feel better to do something for us.”

  “Us?” I retorted.

  He leaned forward and peeled my hands off my legs, pushing them to the side. “Yes. Us.” He pried apart my legs and inched closer to my center. I felt my breath catch as his body came dangerously close to my most sensitive area. He trailed his fingers ever so softly, playfully down my leg and rest on my lower stomach. “Us.” His fingers traced little circles around my belly button.

  “Whatever could it be?” I batted my eyes innocently at him.

  “You’ll find out, soon enough. Now, come here.” He took my hands in his and pulled me forward, smashing my breasts against his chest, chilled from the air. One of his hands traced upward my arm, lightly across my collarbone before crooking my dipped head upward. He pressed his lips against mine carefully.

  I moaned slightly and parted my lips to deepen the kiss, but he pushed against my shoulders.

  “Turn around,” he whispered huskily into my ear. I opened my eyes to give him a hesitant look before he winked at me. “Trust me.”

  I awkwardly shifted around, settling myself between his legs, careful to not sit on anything important. He pulled me close, urging my head against the crook of his neck. “I love you, Leorah. Don’t forget that. Everything I ever do is for you. You know that right?”

  I nodded slowly, as he grazed his tongue gently across my bottom lip. I grinned playfully and nipped at him, as his hands wrapped around my upper half and trailed down my chest and landing at the swollen mounds, bobbing in the water. I breathed in huskily as one hand squeezed the fullness, the other mastered the taut bud of a nipple that was raised under his touch. I let out a slight moan into his neck as he pulled and squeezed both nipples with just enough pressure to make me whimper for more.

  My hands floated through to water, resting on his taut stomach before I pushed down, reaching down to return the favor but he quickly pulled my hands away, pinning them behind me.

  “This time, it’s just for you,” he breathed throatily. He kept one hand around my wrists until I relaxed, and the other pushed down my front, grazing my breasts and down between my legs, where he continued to taunt and tease until I relented, coming undone blissfully around his hand.

  I sighed, feeling breathless as I rest my cheek against his chest. “I love you too, Maxxus.”

  The next day I was escorted to the refugee village by my brother, Kiarra and Maxxus. Though it was mid-morning, and a lot of Mythos preferred to sleep in, it was still relatively quiet.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked, noticing the empty ‘square’ and quiet ‘streets’.

  “The delegates from Northlands have been so swift and fast, that various parts of the town are being rebuilt in record time,” Kiarra explained. “Some of them have moved back into their homes; especially the ones on the outskirts who had minimal damage. Shadow scrubbing went well with the help of the talismans and such from you and Maxxus.”

  I beamed at her. “That is great news!”

  Maxxus clutched my hand and smiled at me. “Guess we make a good team?”

  I nodded. “Guess so.”

  “Evie is this way; she’s gathering up some supplies to take back to Castle Danger,” Kiarra said, leading us to the infirmary tent.

  Kiarra lifted the flap to the tent and peeked her head in, making sure it was empty before going in. “After you,” she motioned inside for me to go in.

  “You’ll be okay by yourself?” Maxxus asked. “I’m going to walk around and just chat with people; find out how things are going.”

  I exchanged a prompting glance with Braeden, who nodded. “Yep, I’ll be fine. Kiarra’s here anyways.”

  “Okay.” Maxxus leaned over and offered me a soft kiss on the cheek before departing further in the town.

  Evie spun around from the cabinet she was currently unpacking and placing into a canvas satchel. “Oh, Leo! You’re early!” She patted the gurney nearby, with fresh white linen sheets. “Come on over.”

  Kiarra and I gave my brother a pointed look and he rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes. I’m gone…but standing right outside the door, okay? So don’t talk about me!” He chuckled, and giving Kiarra a quick kiss on the lips, disappeared behind the makeshift “door”. We could still see the outline of his silhouette through the tent.

  “Oh come on, we have better things to talk about!” I called after him jokingly.

  “Ha ha!” He said back; I knew he was refraining from retorting further. Insulting the monarchy was a serious offense; sibling or not.

  I snickered. “Oh this is good, he can’t say anything. I could say the meanest things about him, like his small penis, or about how he cries every night if he doesn’t have his teddy bear and he can’t do a damn thing!” I cackled naughtily.

  Kiarra roared with laughter.

  “You won’t be Queen forever, Leorah—remember that!” He retorted.

  Evie shook her head, clicking her tongue. “Been a long time since I had a brother to fight with.” She sighed wistfully but shrugged it off.

  “Sorry,” I said, regrettably, as I took my seat on the gurney.

  “It’s fine.” She stared at me intently for a few moments, before her gaze fell lower, staring once again. She glanced at her wristwatch briefly before returning her eyes to me. “Heart rate seems fine, for both of you. Baby’s is a little fast, but it could just be that he or she was particularly active…not that you can feel it yet.”

  “Can you hear it?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Nope, not yet. There isn’t much there, yet. But it’ll grow fast once you get past these next couple weeks.”

  “I don’t suppose you can tell…” Kiarra bit her lip excitedly, clapping her hands together like a giddy school child.

  “What sort of dragon it is? No. But I do detect a strong presence…usually a presence I only feel in spirit magic, so I am going on a limb and guessing he or she is some sort of spirit user,” she replied, her tone bland as if she were ticking off multiplication facts.

  Kiarra let out a little squeal. “Oh—what if she is a—”

  “—don’t say it, Ki,” I warned, shaking my finger in her face.

  “—another silver dragon like Elder Aleron?” She blinked innocently, and I chuckled.

  “A distinct possibility,” Evie replied, wrapping her hand tightly against my wrist; I knew she was taking my blood pressure, vampire style.

  Despite my hesitation, I grinned at Kiarra.

  “Don’t get too excited yet, I could be completely wrong. The little one just could be very tied into your presence, Leo,” Evie said, with a half smile.

  “Um, question. Do you know know how to…umm…have you ever…?” I trailed off, feeling suddenly panicked and
uncomfortable with the idea.

  “Delivered a baby dragon? Yes, I have. I have the burn marks to prove it,” she said, with a wink, rolling up the short cap sleeve of her gray t-shirt, revealing a very faint scar on her shoulder. “This was when I was still a very young vamp. Baby was a black dragon—so, arcane. Arcane is about the only thing that can injure a vampire to any extent.”

  Kiarra chuckled. “Sounds painful.”

  “Nothing compared to the bite she gave me,” Evie replied, with a laugh. “I can’t believe you guys are born with teeth.”

  I swallowed nervously. “I guess I hadn’t thought about it?”

  Evie squeezed my hand briefly. “You’ll be fine, trust me. With your spirit magic and enough practice, you can actually fool your brain into not feeling pain.”

  My eyes widened. “Really?”

  She nodded. “Really. Back in the day, female pink dragons were often midwives for this very reason.”

  “That’s awesome,” Kiarra praised.

  “Quick prick.” Evie drew my blood rapidly, and by now I barely even felt the pinch in my arm she was so fast. She knew my veins so well now she didn’t even need a tourniquet.

  “I’ve never asked—and don’t be offended—but you’ve seen other pink dragons as midwives?” I questioned. “I just always assumed you were in your twenties or something and not old at all.”

  “Well, I turned in my twenties, yes. But I’m around four-hundred years old,” she said, with a wink. “I’m actually older than both of you. I never saw actual pink dragon midwives, but I heard stories passed on for generations of other mytho nurses shortly after I turned.” She turned around, rummaged in the canvas satchel quickly and handed me a plastic cup. “You know what to do.”

  Kiarra walked with me to the tiny little makeshift bathroom outside, attached to the tent with a hole in the ground where I did my quick “number one” business. Sealing the cup, carefully to not splash anything on myself, I brought the cup back to her. She didn’t even flinch taking it, knowing that the germs from urine wouldn’t affect her at all.

  She messed with a handful of machines and glass tubes, shaking this, pouring that and waiting. “While these are processing, why don’t you try healing something small real quick? Just to see what happens?”