Soultrade

by Arizona Tape

  “It went well.”

  “Yeah?” I asked, leaning in to inspect the egg. Silver speckles and markings decorated the shell in a pattern I’d recognise anywhere. The Orrin mark. The blessing was successful and Ayra was a real member of the Orrin clan now. “Beautiful.”

  “It really is,” Ayra sighed, rubbing her egg. “I suppose it’s a good thing we had a temple right nearby.”

  I laughed and squeezed Sian’s hand. “We did travel a long way for it and I’m glad I did. But I can’t wait to go home.”

  Chapter 14

  I was grateful to Sian and Tate for allowing us to come straight to our lake, and not let them go home first. But really, I think they understood just how important this was for me. Even if I didn’t want to part from my egg.

  Devon better hold true to his promise of finding me somewhere to live out here, because otherwise, he was in for eighteen months of a super grumpy wife. Meaning purposefully burnt food and no sex. Somehow, I didn’t think my dragon husband would like that. Not one bit.

  “You ready?” he asked, looking out onto the shimmering water along side me. Tate and Sian were back at the car, trying to plan what they could and couldn’t take back to the city with them on this trip. There was a lot of stuff still to sort out. I hadn’t properly quit my job yet, nor did I really have many clothes that I liked at Devon’s.

  But to be honest, that didn’t really matter to me any more. Not when I had a family of my own to look forward to.

  “When you are,” I replied, before unbuttoning the second shirt of Devon’s I’d ended up wearing. This one had even come with the added bonus of leaving Devon shirtless.

  If I kept looking at that, then he’d have me convinced to start working on a second baby right now.

  He stripped off his little remaining clothing, and dropped it into the pile at our feet. He should be glad we were out in public, and not back home, or I’d be giving him a stern talking to about keeping things tidy.

  “Let’s do this,” Devon said, and shifted in front of my eyes. I’d never get used to that sight.

  He held out a large clawed hand to me, and I gingerly placed our egg into it. Maybe I should have been wary about that after the almost dropping incident. But I trusted him. That hadn’t been his fault. Plus, realistically, if he hadn’t nearly dropped our child, then I wouldn’t have known that I could get into the temple.

  I still thought it was odd that Tate could get in and I couldn’t the first time. But Devon had pretty much decided that it was to do with the egg. He thought it made Tate belong more in the body her soul was wrongly tethered to. Which was a complete mouthful, if anyone asked me. They hadn’t though, so that was the explanation we were going with. It was a good thing not many people would ever have to hear it.

  Apart from Marcus. I wanted to tell him. If I didn’t, then I was going to lose the man who’d been my best friend for years. And I didn’t think I was ready for that. Marcus would understand, I was sure.

  Something nudged at my arm, and it took me a moment to realise it was just Devon.

  “Sorry, got lost in my own thoughts,” I apologised to him.

  Without saying another word, I transformed myself into a dragon, and catapulted myself into the air, doing a few loop the loops, before landing lightly beside Devon.

  I held out my claw and he passed the egg over to me. We’d discussed this in the car, so knew what we were doing. Really, I should have given birth to the egg right by the nest, but given the circumstances, there was nothing that could be done about that. And so, we were doing this the only way we could think of. Devon was going to lead the way, and I was going to protect our baby.

  Once we’d dived into the water, it was slow going. Dragons weren’t made to be carrying things while we swam. Nor were we designed to swim slowly. Which just made this all the worse. From the way his wings were twitching, he was getting pretty frustrated with it all.

  I didn’t blame him, I was pretty annoyed myself. It was just the thought of giving our child what he or she deserved that was keeping me going.

  Calling the egg he or she was starting to annoy me. But I refused to give in to Tate’s blind insistence that the egg was a girl. I had no way of knowing that, and Devon said I wouldn’t until we were just about half way through. Which meant nine more months of he or she for me.

  How were we supposed to think of baby names if we had no idea what sex our baby was. Though I’d had a few ideas. Mostly Blayne for a boy, or Tasmine for a girl. They weren’t set in stone, but anything meaning twin was going to be a winner for me. This child wasn’t just born of Devon and I, even if we were his or her biological parents.

  Tate and Sian should be honoured too. And I was sure Devon would agree with me.

  We reached the nest, and Devon held open the curtain of pond weeds that appeared to have grown over the entrance to it. Perfect. It could be made into a nice cosy home for us. I could come down here every day, and still have privacy from any of the other dragons who decided to use the lake. While I hadn’t seen anyone else in all the times I’d been here in the past few months, I wouldn’t kid myself into believing it was just us all the time.

  A dragon could dream. Maybe one day, Devon and I would own a lake of our own.

  I settled the egg into the centre of the nest, and nuzzled against it with my snout. Devon followed suit, and I’d never felt more complete. This moment would stay with me for my entire life, no matter what happened.

  After what was probably a lot longer than it felt like, Devon grabbed my claw and pulled me away. But instead of travelling to the surface where Sian and Tate were waiting, he pulled me in the opposite direction.

  Intrigued, I followed, eager to know what he was doing, even while I was conscious of the vampires we’d left on the bank.

  Within minutes, he pulled himself out of the water, and on to a sandy outcrop I’d never seen before. One look around told me why. It was hidden by one of the hills surrounding our sacred lake.

  Devon transformed back into his human self, and I followed his lead, not at all conscious about my nakedness. It was a little late for that considering he was my husband, but even so.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice slightly scratchy. Like it would be in the morning when we woke up together.

  A warm fuzzy feeling filled me as I realised there wouldn’t be any more mornings where I woke up and had to figure out if I was even in the right bed. Now, I always would be.

  “Tired, but great,” I replied.

  He opened his arms, and I collapsed into them, holding him to me and enjoying the warm feel of his skin against mine.

  I inhaled deeply, enjoying the salt water smell of him. This was home. The lake. Devon’s arms. The feeling of my dragon within me.

  And my egg. I couldn’t forget that. Not at all.

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  “Take me to bed and stay there for three or four days?” I asked, looking up at him from under my lashes and giving him the most seductive look I could. It must have worked, as his own eyes darkened, and he leaned down to press his lips to mine.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer against me. He growled deep in my throat, and nipped my lip, making me smile.

  If he thought that was going to put me off, then he had another thing coming. Very much the opposite.

  “Ayra,” he moaned against my lips.

  “Yes, Devon?”

  “We shouldn’t.” He pulled back a little bit, looking deep into my eyes, probably to check I was really okay with this.

  “Why ever not?”

  “Sian and Tate are waiting for us,” he pointed out.

  “Then we’d better be quick,” I teased, already trailing my hand over the hard planes of his chest. He wasn’t going to put up a fight for long if I kept going, I just knew it.

  “You’re going to be the death of me, Ayra,” he murmured.

  “I very much hope so.”

  Epilogue
r />   3 months later

  Headshot!” I shouted at my computer, dancing my fingers over the keyboard. The last Warlock burst in front of my eyes and the victory music blasted through the speakers.

  Lola24: _Damn, that was a good run!

  Tate114: _Hardest quest so far, but we did it!

  Lola24: _Want to do another raid?

  I checked the watch Ayra got me a good while back and smiled at the memory. Things used to be so complicated and I always feared my life would stay miserable and twisted. And yet, here I was. Happy. Living together with my blondie in a body that actually did what I wanted.

  Well, more or less. The blood addiction, that I reluctantly accepted that I had, definitely made things a bit more difficult. But it helped that I didn’t need to share my body with Ayra anymore. With Sian’s strict schedule and a lot of self-restraint, I managed to shake the worst of it. She still didn’t trust me completely, but I was working on it.

  The ping from my chatbox drew my attention back and I read Lola’s message.

  Lola24: _You there?

  Tate114: _Sorry, I’ll have to pass on the raid. I’m going out tonight.

  Lola24: _Ooooh, celebrating something special?

  Tate114: _No, just drinks

  Lola’s avatar made a bow and she waved her wand in the air. Flecks of fire rained over my character and I laughed. For the past weeks, she’d been in a great mood. I wondered if something changed, but I knew she’d tell me when she was ready.

  Lola24: _Say hi to your lady for me.

  Tate114: _Will do!

  Lola24: _Catch you tomorrow? JJ will finally join us again!

  Tate114: _Oh, yes! It’ll be great to have him with us again. I wonder how the Earth ceremony went.

  Lola24: _Probably awful, like all dragon ceremonies.

  Tate114: _Don’t you have another mating ritual coming up?

  A little nostalgic, I thought back to the water dragon community. I almost missed all their ridiculous traditions. Almost.

  Lola24: _Don’t mention it. I’m dreading it already...

  Tate114: _You can’t stay alone forever though.

  Lola24: _We can’t all be as lucky as you and your vampire.

  I chuckled as I recalled the moment I manned up and confessed the change to Lola. She asked me a bunch of questions about it, involving a detailed description of Sian. Apart from that, she’d been surprisingly okay with it. But then again, she always hated the conventional love stories. And Devon and mine ‘childhood sweetheart’ story always made her vomit. She seemed rather excited by knowing a vampire and I gladly told her everything I knew. Which wasn’t that much.

  Speaking of vampires...

  Tate114: _I got to meet my vampire now. Logging off.

  Lola24: _Later, Tate!

  The buzz of the city was still a little foreign to me, but Sian liked it. And that was good enough for me. I breathed out a white cloud of smoke and rubbed my hands together. I was a little early, but I didn’t mind waiting for her.

  “Hi.”

  Butterflies stirred in my stomach as I heard her voice. I smiled as she pecked me on the lips. “Hi,” I replied back, stupidly happy to see her even though I just saw her this morning. But eight hours was a long time not to see my blondie. Although there were definitely perks in her going to her job. The biggest was her coming back after it, dressed in her typical teacher outfit. She knew I had a weak spot for that pencil skirt and I would bet it wasn’t a coincidence she was wearing it now.

  “How was your day?”

  Her hand curled around mine as she tugged me closer into her. “A little exhausting. I’m glad the holiday break is coming up.”

  “So am I. I’ll get to see you more often,” I smiled, happily trotting next to Sian. I wasn’t sure where she was taking me, but I trusted her. She knew the best places in town anyway.

  “Do you remember?” Sian asked, brushing her thumb over the back of my hand.

  I looked up at the flashy sign and chuckled. “I do, yes.”

  With a smug grin, she ushered me through the fancy base level of the restaurant. The doors brushed past us as we moved to the familiar attic.

  “Sian, long time no see!” the waitress greeted us at the entrance, winking flirtily. A couple of months back, that annoyed me irrationally. Now, I didn’t care. I knew Sian only had eyes for me.

  “Hi, it’s been a while.”

  “Glad to have you back!” she showed us to the cosy booth in the corner and wiped the table for us. “What can I get you? The usual?”

  My blondie looked at me, her eyes softening under the dim light. “A bloody Mary, yes. And make that two.”

  9 Months Later...

  There were some points when I wasn’t so sure I’d ever get to this day. It’d really been touch and go when the egg was coming. But it was Blessing day now, and there were other problems I had to face. Like pretending to be Tate still.

  “You okay there?” Devon asked, setting a glass of water on the table beside me.

  “Yes.”

  “You don’t sound so certain.” He rested one of his hands on my shoulder, and I leaned towards him, eager for his comfort and protection.

  “I just wish they were here,” I admitted. With my egg about to be blessed, it seemed cruel that the women who’d been an important part of me even being able to birth it, were missing from the guest list. I understood why. It would be a little difficult to explain that Tate and I were virtually identical, especially now there wasn’t an egg bump to tell us apart.

  “Me too,” he admitted. I wasn’t surprised. He and Tate were still close. In a brother-sister type way. It was weird if any of us thought about the fact they used to be engaged. “Marcus is coming though, right?”

  “Yes.” I smiled, thinking of my best friend, and how grateful I was that he was going to be a part of my big day.

  It’d been nine months since I’d told him about everything that happened, and to say he’d been surprised by it all was an understatement. But, thankfully, he’d come around. Surprisingly quickly, and I had to wonder about that. Maybe he had soul secrets of his own? I hadn’t pried. He’d tell me when he was good and ready.

  “Do you know when he’s arriving?”

  Devon looked almost gleeful about my best friend’s arrival. And I was glad. I think Marcus was one of the only people Devon really felt himself around. Tate and Sian being two of the others. He’d taken it pretty hard knowing he had to introduce me as Tatiana still.

  “Let’s look at her then,” a warm older voice broke through our moment, and Devon’s mother and sister entered in the room, rushing towards me.

  Slowly, I rose to my feet, smiling at the two women.

  “You look beautiful, Ayra,” Miranda said, fluffing out the white lace of my dress so it fell the same way it would in a catalog picture.

  “Mum, you can’t call her that here.”

  “Oh shh, Devon. There’s no one about but us. And even if there was, they’d just think I was mad. Isn’t that what they say about me?”

  “Only when you do that rain dance of yours,” Devon teased.

  I smiled broadly just from watching them. There was so much love between Devon and the rest of the James family. It was the kind of thing I’d always wanted. Telling them the truth had been so nerve wracking. But completely worth it in the end. They’d welcomed me with open arms the moment they’d realised how much Devon loved me.

  “That dance worked, I’ll have you know.”

  “Sure it did.”

  “I think you’re right, Miranda,” I interrupted. Though I hadn’t been around for the event in question, I’d heard about it enough times to be certain.

  “See, your wife says it.”

  “And that means it has to be right,” Devon acknowledged. “But now, I need to go and take my place. You too Mum, Mariah.”

  “Can I talk to Ayra for a second?” his sister asked, sounding as soft spoken as ever. From all the childhood stories Devon had told, meek man
nered Mariah hadn’t been what I expected. Then again, I’d also heard what had happened for her to have her little boy, which could have been the catalyst.

  “Of course,” I replied, before either of the others could. Quite frankly, it wasn’t their place to be accepting invitations for me.

  Devon kissed the top of my head. “I’ll see you out there, Mrs. James,” he teased.

  “And you,” I replied, turning slightly so I could peck him on the lips. There wouldn’t be any deeper kisses while his family were about.

  “Good luck out there, Ayra. Know we’ll be replacing your name in our heads,” Miranda said, disappearing out the door as she did.

  “I love you,” Devon told me.

  “I love you, too,” I responded instantly.

  “See you shortly.”

  I half-smiled at his weird goodbye, but then, we spent time together every day now. Shifted and not shifted. Though the former was normally at the bottom of the lake, with me curled around our egg, and Devon’s head on top of my body.

  This was the longest time I was going to spend away from it since it’d been laid.

  Huh. I laid an egg. I still wasn’t used to thinking that.

  “You okay?” I asked Mariah, noticing the nerves written all over her face.

  “Yes, sorry. Erm....I just wanted to say thanks.”

  “I’m not sure what for, but you’re welcome,” I replied, fidgeting nervously. I always tried to include her in conversation, but we hadn’t really spent much alone time together.

  “For bringing new life to Devon. To our family.”

  “He was happy before,” I pointed out, a little defensively. Tate was my friend, after all. While she might not make Devon quite as happy as I did, and vice versa with Sian, she had still done her best.

  “I know. But there was something missing. We just didn’t realise it until you came along.”

  “Yeah, me neither,” I admitted, thinking back to my own, almost perfect, life before Devon.