Page 85 of The Flame King's Queen

Esmeral’s hatchlings chip their way out of their hard, pale shells just three and a half days later. Zabriel is with me, and so are Fiala and Dusan, as they all come out hissing and baring their tiny little teeth. Two of them are black with turquoise tips, one is black with gold tips, and one is pure gold. After a few clumsy minutes, they’re up on their little feet and running around. Esmeral gnashes up chicken necks with her sharp teeth and feeds small pieces to the baby dragons, who all wolf down the raw meat in seconds.

The golden hatchling curls up on my knee and goes to sleep. She’s so dainty and beautiful that I can’t help but wonder hopefully—Omega?

The other three hatchlings swarm up Zabriel’s legs and chest. One of them is tangled in his hair, and he laughs and sits down on the ground next to me. “I’m no dragonmaster, but these are four healthy, strong little dragons. Esmeral, you are a queen among dragons.”

Esmeral rests her head tiredly on his shoulder and sighs heavily. Her attitude is so human that I can’t help but smile. I don’t believe she’s slept for more than a few moments for over a week.

My mate reaches up and strokes her snout. “I worried for you when your designation emerged. Maledin’s newest Omega, and the flare was at war. All the dragons were restless, violent, and scared, which is the worst time for them to welcome a new Omega. But you won them over, Esmeral.”

With my belly large with child and the most beautiful hatchling I’ve ever seen asleep in my lap, I feel very warm gazing at my beautiful dragon and loving Alpha.

The hatchling Zabriel is holding sinks its sharp little teeth into his thumb.

“Ow.” Zabriel flinches a little as he disentangles the hatchling from his flesh. “Feisty little creature. What a bite you have. You’re going to grow up to be just as ferocious as your father, aren’t you?”

“I wish Scourge could come in here and meet his babies.”

“Scourge will be happy that they’re well protected within the nesting caves, and he’ll stand guard until Esmeral is ready to bring them out to him.” Zabriel kisses me softly. “I must congratulate Scourge and then return to the castle. Fiala, Dusan, send for me at once if the queen goes into labor.”

“Of course,Ma’len,” Fiala says, smiling at two of the hatchlings that are play fighting together.

I stay with the hatchlings for a long time, speaking softly with Fiala and Dusan as Esmeral takes a nap. Sometime later, we hear the beating of wings as a dragon circles to land. It sounds like a large one, and there are cries of greeting from the flare.

Could this be Stesha and Zenevieve at last?

Dusan goes to the cave entrance to see, and then calls out and waves both arms over his head. “Dragonmaster.”

A few moments later, Stesha ducks his head and enters the cave. “What is it? What has happened?” But he can see for himself as his eyes adjust to the dim light. “Esmeral has had her hatchlings? Let me see them.”

He kneels down in the dust and examines the four little dragons with practiced hands and eyes. “Two males. Two females. All in excellent condition, and as strong as their mother and father.”

“This little gold one. A female? An Omega, perhaps?” I ask him.

He puts the golden dragon back on my knee and she curls into a tight ball and goes to sleep again. “Time will tell. But yes, a female. One of the loveliest hatchlings I’ve ever seen.”

I sit up proudly and caress the golden scales with a smile on my face. Esmeral has opened one eye so she can watch who is handling her babies. “Did you hear that, Esmeral? This little golden baby is one of the loveliest the dragonmaster has ever seen.”

He smiles slightly. “But of course, Nilak hasn’t had her hatchlings yet. She herself was a stunning young dragon.”

“Nilak?” I exclaim. “She’s going to lay a clutch of eggs?”

“In time I believe she will. Pavel’s dragon has shown interest in her, but so far, she’s refused him as a mate. Lethis is out there now trying to groom her wings.”

There’s a loud, angry hiss from outside the caves that sounds very much like Nilak.

“Good luck to him,” I murmur under my breath. Lethis will need it. Even though he’s an Alpha and bigger than Nilak, she’s a force of nature.

“These two slightly larger ones, I think they may be Alphas.” Stesha points out one of the black and turquoise hatchlings, and the black and gold hatchling. These are the two that won’t stop play fighting.

We watch them together for a while, and then I work up the courage to ask the question that’s burning on my tongue.

“Where’s Zenevieve? Is she with you?”

“I presume she’s going to her rooms. She mentioned being tired,” he says blandly. He himself looks exhausted, and I can’t tell from his face if it’s the happy kind of tired or the heartbroken kind of tired.

“You and Zenevieve have been gone for days and days. Did anything important develop between the two of you?”

Stesha fixes me with a silent glare. Then his attention is snared by the shimmer of tiny scales. The golden dragon is gnawing on my finger, but she isn’t biting very hard.

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