Page 76 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
I shook my head, looking at the sheet of paper.The burden you were born with.That was what they were going with?
"What are you reading?" Lowen's voice pulled me out of my reverie. When had he come home?
"There was a letter in the box," I explained. "Here." I handed it to him. "Is it as bad as I think it is?"
He read it with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"I don't think I can forgive them as long as they think my omega status is a burden," I muttered.
"No, you're right," Lowen agreed with me. "It's not a burden and it's sad that they can't see that." He sat on the edge of the bed with me. "If you weren't omega we could never have children."
"I thought you didn't want to have children anyway."
"That was before I met you." He laid an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close as his words warmed me on the inside. "You changed everything."
"For the better?"
Lowen laughed, as if he couldn't believe I was even asking such a ridiculous question. "Absolutely." He pressed his lips to mine, and for a moment, I lost myself in him. It was so easy to do. Not that the world was a friendlier place when I was with my dragon, simply that it ceased to matter.
"You're in a good mood," I said when we broke apart again.
His eyes twinkled. "I have reason to be."
"Yeah?" I felt my own lips quirk up. It was fantastic to see Lowen happy again after all the drama of the recent weeks—and his happiness had another meaning for me too. He must have found what he was looking for. He had the dragonshine, he could make the tea and if his vision was correct, we could live out the rest of our days together.
"The priestess gave me the plant. She even explained to me exactly how it's going to save you, so I feel pretty confident now."
"Yeah? How's it going to work?" I asked, intrigued—and a little bit cautious. What exactly was this plant going to do to me?
"It's going to transfer magic from me to you. Or rather, from me to the babies growing inside of you, but it's going to make you stronger all the same. And you know what the best part is?"
"What?"
"It's going to dry up my own magic supplies for a while. I don't really care if they ever come back or not, because I never wanted these abilities to begin with, but guess who cares? The shrine. I'm going to be useless to them. Which means I'll finally be free of their nagging."
Wait, what? I replayed Lowen's voice in my head. "What do you mean your magic might never come back?"
"It's no big deal," he waved me off.
"You think that now, but... your magic is... it's apartof you," I struggled to put my thoughts into words. "You can't just seal that away for me."
"I really don't mind." He kissed my forehead as if trying to reassure me. "It's a small sacrifice to make in the grand scheme of things. We might have to get used to walking places for a while, though."
"Walking?"
"Yeah, the priestess said it might take a couple months before I'll get my ability to shift back."
My stomach dropped. He was going to give up eventhatfor me? "You won't be able to shift?"
"Temporarily."
"You told me how much you hated it even when you were only touring foronemonth. You said it made you feel caged in. Isn't it the whole reason you don't travel more?"
"Listen to me, Zim, no temporary discomfort can stop me from saving you. There's a difference between giving my dragon form up voluntarily and being forced to do it. It's the latter I object to. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. There's things far more important than being able to fly."
As much as his words moved me, I still had reservations. "It's not just being able to fly, though, is it? You’ve told me. It’s fully expressing who you are. You're notyouwithout your dragon."
"You had to suppress who you were for most of your life. I can bear with it for a few months. I realize now being a dragon is more than just the ability to fly. It’s also about doing whatever it takes." He gave me a small smile. "If you'll still have me while I can't impress you with my wings."
