“This is my house,” he was muttering to Ben, who just seemed lost like he did not belong. Apollo was eyeing Zuko strangely. Yes, he knew of Zuko, and yes, he knew who Zuko was in a general way, but he had not known that Zuko was Risa’s brother, and that annoyed him. Forrester was just grinning; he clearly was happy just to be here.
Sighing, she went and sat beside Ben, who looked at her, his eyes sad. “Maybe I should go home,” Ben said, making Risa frown. “What do you need with a human?”
Risa sighed and took his hand in hers. “Ben, you being human does not matter. I don’t care what you are. I want you here as long as you want to be.” She shot Apollo a dark look that shut him up before he opened his mouth. She was getting sick of Apollo talking for Ben. “Ben, tell me now, do you want me?” she asked, watching him. Ben looked at her. At first, he did not reply; he then took a deep breath and kissed her. She did not move as he took her by surprise. “I love you, Risa; I have for a long time. I don’t care if I am human; I want to belong to you, if you’ll have me,” he said, begging her, his eyes pleading not to be left behind.
Chapter Thirteen
Risa looked at Ben and made up her mind. But Zuko’s “Wait!” stopped her. Zuko walked over to Ben and kissed him, shocking everyone in the room. Ben tried pushing him away, but could not get Zuko off him.
“Zuko!” she growled darkly, not believing her brother would do this.
“Wait and watch,” came Onyx voice, making Risa frown as she looked at Zuko and Ben. It was then that she saw Ben go limp. Zuko turned back and frowned, rubbing his mouth. “He is not human,” he said, looking at Risa.
“What?” everyone said, looking shocked.
“He. Is. Not. Human,” Zuko said very slowly like they were all dumb or something.
“But, he is the son of the town's mayor—a very human male,” Risa said, frowning.
“No, he is not,” Zuko said again, now starting to annoy Risa a little.
“Okay, then, what and who is he?” she huffed.
Seeing he was annoying her by the look in her eyes, Zuko’s eyes went wide, and he rushed to hug her. “Don’t be mad at me, please,” he begged, pouting up at her. Again, how the hell did someone her own height make himself seem smaller? She had no clue, but it worked.
Risa sighed and looked at him. “Please, tell me what you mean, Zuko; I cannot take much more of this,” she said sadly.
“Sorry, Risa,” Zuko said, kissing her cheek. He looked to Ben, who was out cold on the chair now. “I am not sure what he is. He is some kind of magic being; I know that much. But, I do know he is not the son of anyone in that village; I happen to know who his family is,” he said, making Risa frown. “Twenty-two years ago, the son of a high-level magic being was stolen at his birth. His family has been looking for him everywhere. They asked The Dragons for help; I only found out about this a couple of years ago. The beings were very hidden about who and what they are; all they gave was a small magic ball that one could touch and get the feeling for their core magic. Since meeting Ben, he has always felt off to me, and so, I thought to test it. His core is sealed so deep, I don’t know how it will be freed, maybe mating with you will do it, or he may have to find his real family. For now, he may look human, but he is not,” Zuko said, shrugging as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
Risa blinked and walked over to Ben. “Do we tell him?” she asked, looking to Apollo, not sure how well Ben would take this. On the one hand, he was not human, which meant he would not feel so left out anymore. But, on the other hand, it made Risa worry why the mayor had a stolen magic child, and why he was sealed. What's more, did he have anything to do with it? If so, then did the mayor have anything to do with her family’s death? Did he have anything to do with the men who had burned the house down? Was he the one who tried to steal something from her home? At the last thought, she looked to Zuko, who seemed to be watching her, his eyes a little off, and he grinned. “Sorry,” he said, making her flip him off.
“Stop reading my mind,” she said but had no heat in her voice. Zuko just giggled. “I will take Ben to your room,” Zuko said, picking Ben up, left the room.
Apollo spoke at last. “I think we should tell him,” he said softly. “You would not know this, but Ben once thought he was adopted; he is nothing like the rest of them. But, at the same time, he looked like his mother, so he was unsure if he was just overthinking it. He has not said anything about it for years, so maybe it was a passing thing, but we cannot keep this from him,” he said, watching her.
“You are going to claim him as your second.”
Risa watched Apollo. “No, I am not,” she said. “Ben may be sweet, but he hurt me a lot growing up. I, well...a part of me wants to make him wait to know the pain. Is that mean of me?” she asked, looking down, feeling bad now.
“No, Ben hurt you badly; he betrayed you and then acted as if you should move on. I get it, I do,” Apollo said. “But, maybe don’t give him too much of a hard time,” he said, getting up.
“I know, but I feel he has yet to earn his place. Plus, if what Zuko said is true, maybe I should wait until he knows who he really is. He may not want me if he is the son of a high-level magic being. Then, he will have better options than me to pick for a bride,” she said, dejected.
“He will pick you every time. Ben may have been an ass and gone about everything wrong,” Apollo said, walking over to cup her cheek, “but, he loves you more than anything; just keep that in mind.”
“You know you can let him join in, just not claim him yet,” Forrester said.
Risa looked at him. “What do you mean? I don’t want to give the guy blue balls” That was just plain mean.
“No, I mean when you claim Apollo and me, you can let Ben join in. So, he gets you, but we can put him to work to make him earn his spot,” Forrester said, grinning now. He looked to Apollo, who was also smirking.
“Oh, Ben is a subby boy; he will love being told to kiss Risa, to touch her,” he said, moving behind Risa, now running his hand up her side. “We can tell him how to touch you, how to kiss, lick, suck and bite,” he purred in her ear, making Risa shiver.
Forrester walked in front of her. “And then, you watch as we fuck him. Letting him know that one day, he’ll be the one to fuck you as you claim him, but he has to earn it first. He has to prove whose side he is on, and who he loves before he gets his reward,” Forrester said in her other ear. Risa shivered again.
“Then, you can make him yours, once I say he has earned it,” this voice made everyone jump, Zuko was back and hugging Risa’s right arm.
Apollo growled at him, and Forrester sighed. “Zuko, remember our talk on space? This is one of those times you should not be getting close to Risa,” he said, trying to help.
But, Zuko pulled Risa away from the two. “She is my sister; I will touch her when I like. You can not take her from me,” his growling grew louder. Risa went to touch him, but another hand beat her to it.
Risa looked to Ash, who was cupping Zuko’s head. “Now, now, Zuko. Is that any way to speak to your soon-to-be brothers?” Ash purred.
Zuko calmed down a bit; however, he did not let go of Risa. “They should not be trying to steal her,” he said, clearly trying to calm down.
But, it was not until Risa hugged him and said softly, “I told you, you will always and forever be my brother and the most important person. As my soul twin, you are me, and I am you, just gender opposites of each other,” she said, and Zuko calmed down. He blushed and looked down. “Sorry,” he said, snuffling. Risa smiled and hugged him. Ash moved away. “We will work it out, Zuko. We will make your mind whole and sane again, even if I have to go in there myself and hold it together,” she said, making Zuko giggle. Pulling away, Zuko nodded and left. Risa felt he needed some space, so she turned back to Apollo and Forrester, who had two very different faces. Apollo just looked mad, where Forrester looked worried.
“Apollo, please don’t be mad at Zuko,” she said.
�
�I’m not. I am mad for what was done to him,” Apollo said, walking over to her and hugging her. “You are mine, even if I have not claimed you yet, and that makes him my brother, so don’t worry,” he said.
Forrester smiled and came over as well getting in on the hug. “I am so glad he has your back, Risa. We all feared for Zuko when we thought you were dead; he went so far over we thought we would have to kill him. But then we heard you were alive, and he came back as if he woke from a deep sleep. He is not fully right, but he is better by your side; you are amazing for how you handle him,” he said.
“He is me, and I am him,” Risa said, smirking. “We are soul twins, different sides of the same person. He is everything to me; just knowing he was alive, even in a coma, kept me going most of these years. He needs me, and that makes me happy to know after so long. Thank you for understanding,” she said, kissing them both before turning and heading to her room.
She got into bed beside Ben. “I feel like all I do here is sleep. Tomorrow, I am finding something to do,” she murmured. She felt someone slide in behind her. “I was wondering where you had gone,” she said as she felt Isaac pull her close.
“I went to show Onyx where he could stay. I felt bad for him. Unlike Ash and me, he cannot take human form,” he said.
“Oh, Onyx can become a human; he just doesn't like to,” Risa said, yawning.
“What? But he is a wild dragon!” Isaac said, shocked.
“He is, but being bonded to my mother for so long gave him some skills. One was to change his shape into that of a human; he just hates it and only does so when he has to, which is mainly when he has to go somewhere that is too small for him. Even then, if he can get away with just changing his size, he will,” she said, and before she heard Isaac’s reply, she was fast asleep, still worn out from her shift from this morning.
Chapter Fourteen
Risa woke to something sitting on her; she frowned and opened one eye. She then opened both as she looked at the cutest tiny dragon she had ever seen. Golden eyes watched her right back. “Zuko, you are so cute,” she said, grinning. Dragon Zuko moved closer to nuzzle under her chin. “You know I am starting to get sick of him being around so much,” came a cold voice from the end of the bed. Risa sat up a bit, which was hard seeing as Isaac was wrapped around her, and even Ben had linked her left arm to keep her at his side. She saw Apollo sending evil looks at Zuko, who is clearly trying to annoy Apollo more, wrapped himself around Risa’s neck, and shot a small fireball at Apollo, making him jump back.
Risa giggled. She then wiggled and got herself free of Isaac and Ben. Then, feeling a bit playful, she moved Ben just a bit, so Isaac ended up grabbing him. “oh, my goodness! They look hot,” Apollo said, forgetting Zuko for a second as he and Risa looked at them together. Risa walked into the bathroom carrying Zuko with her. She placed him on the side and turned on the water to wash her face. “Must you really try and annoy them so much?” she asked, looking down at him as he was up at her. Then, seeing she really did want a reply, he moved and jumped off the counter, shifting.
Zuko smiled. “Yes, yes I do,” he said. “It is my job and my right as your brother to annoy them and make their life hard.” He watched as Risa cupped some water in her hands. He leaned in, trying to work out what she was doing and got a face full of cold water. He let out an unhappy hiss and jumped back. “Hey!” he pouted, but Risa could see the smirk trying to make its way on his face.
“Really, Zuko, okay now, out; I need to shower.”
“But, I need to as well,” Zuko said, stomping. “I can wash your back like when we were kids,” he said hopefully. Risa watched him, part of her did not care at all; after all, they were twins, and it was not like they had not bathed together as kids.
“Sorry, Z,” she said, shaking her head. “No can do. Use one of the guy’s showers. I don’t think it is right for grownup siblings to shower together, not even soul twins.” The broken look on his face hurt her heart.
“But, but, but,” he said, sniffing and hugging her. “We are one; we should be able to do anything,” he said, shaking now. Risa frowned; she opened her link to him and was shocked at the feelings racing through him—fear, loneliness, pain, and worse; she grabbed him holding him tight.
Her brother was not whole anymore, but he would be, she would make sure of it. “Okay, okay, let me think,” she said and then looked at the bathtub. That gave her an idea. “Okay, we cannot bathe naked; however, if you get some swim trunks from one of the guys, we can use the bath.” He rushed out happily to go hunt some down. Her smile fell as she looked down.
“He will be okay, My Lady,” a deep voice said behind her. Risa turned to the side to see a man stepping out from the shadows. He was nude but for black scales, which covered his cock from view. “Onyx,” she said.
“I felt your pain. I came to see what was up,” he said bowing. As a human, Onyx was huge; he had pure black eyes and spiked black hair. He always made Risa think of a demon, but really, he just did not care and kept a lot of his dragoness about himself. He walked to Risa’s side, taking her hand, and calm came over her. “Hang in there; he was lost for a long time. He is now living fully; once we knew you were alive, all his thoughts were on returning to your side. He is happy now but scared of losing you, of losing the bond the two of your share. He doesn't want to lose his place in your heart; he wants the closeness you two had when you were kids. He just doesn't know, yet, what are the lines he can not cross—like bathing,” he said, smirking at her, which just looked plain evil on his face.
“You know the idea of bathing with him doesn't bother me. It is more about what others would think that worries me. A bath at least is mostly hidden, not like we shifters care about being nude around each other. I just want Zuko to be happy, and if taking a bath in swimwear will do it, then that is what I will do until my brother is whole and does not need to be with me all the time,” she said, nodding. She turned and left the room to hunt down some swimwear for herself. She did not see the look on Onyx’s face nor hear him speaking.
“He may never be whole again, My Lady. He will always need you to keep the darkness at bay. But one day, maybe others can help to lessen the weight that you carry.”
He turned, and walking into the shadows, returned to the cave. Isaac had shown him where he could change back to his true form and take a nap.
Zuko came back to the bathroom first, and when he did not see Risa, he started to worry. He turned as Isaac and Apollo came into the room. Both dressed in their swim trunks. “Come on, Zuko,” Apollo said. “Risa told us what is going on, and there is a huge freshwater lake here. Think of a huge bath, so we are all going there.”
Zuko frowned. “Why did Risa not tell me?” His voice took on a darker edge.
“Because she is too busy being carried there by Forrester, who wanted to throw her in,” Isaac said, grinning. “He said something about payback for all the times she pushed him while growing up,” he added, shrugging.
At this, Zuko grinned and took off, opening his link, he used it to find Risa and got there just in time to watch a grinning Forrester throwing Risa into the pool. He ran behind him and pushed the grinning Forrester in. “That’s what you get Forest,” he said, laughing, as Forrester came up coughing.
“Damn it!” he said, laughing. Risa giggled and dived under the water, lying on the bottom, just looking up. She watched as someone jumped in and swam to join her. She was about to head back up to take a breath when she felt lips on her own. She blinked as a shock went through her. She gasped, then panicked, thinking she was about to take in a lot of water, only to find she was breathing. “What the?” she said and watched as bubbles came out of her mouth.
Risa found she could also see better and saw it was Zuko grinning at her. “Zuko, what the hell happened?” she said, through their bond, him grinning at her.
“Calm down, Risa; it is just magic—a spell I learned and wanted to show you. You always wanted a water form, so you could breathe underwater.
So, when I found this spell, I learned it. It will last for an hour. You can come and go from the water if you want, but you can see and breathe underwater now. Amazing, right? I did good, yes?” he said in the bond, clearly like a puppy wanting praise for being good.
Risa smiled. “Yes, Zuko, you did well. Thank you,” she said and swam to the top to let the others know. It felt amazing. Risa had always wanted to have a water form, but her dad told her it was rare to get a water form when you did not live close to the water at all times. After all, most of the forms you got as you powered up had something to do with where you were or what you were doing at the time you got it.
“Risa, are you okay? You were down there a long time,” Ben asked. He was sitting on the side, kicking his legs.
“Yea seems my brother is showing off his magic. He learned a spell, so I can breathe underwater now,” she said, grinning.
“Oh, so he made you into an almost mermaid,” Forrester said, laughing. “You did always want to be able to shift into something that can live underwater.”
Risa nodded. “Yep,” she said, grinning, then went under, laughing as she moved, just enjoying herself. She felt arms come around her and smiled as she saw Apollo grinning at her. She kissed him and felt the same shock, watching as Apollo gasped and then breathed. He then got a wicked grin on his face. Looking around, he found a tunnel right at the bottom of the lake. Taking her hand, he pulled her down and through the tunnel, just before going all the way in, he stopped and turned. Zuko was watching them, a lost look on his face. Apollo waved him over and tried to tell him something, but he might have been able to see and breathe underwater now, but talking was not something the spell helped with. Zuko, seeing the problem, placed his hand on Apollo's head. “Okay, Apollo, for now, you can speak into mine and Risa’s link. What were you trying to say?” he asked.
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