Page 26 of Queen of the Cursed Egg
“You did like any powerful dragoness would. You are protecting what’s yours.” He kisses my temple, his lips leaving a trail of warmth, and when I finally open my eyes, only Vox and Cerce are left. The others’ scents linger in the air, already beginning to fade.
I glance over at Balor, and he shifts back, the sound of bones cracking and reforming filling the silence, exposing my eggs. They gleam in the firelight, their shells smooth and perfect, radiating warmth. “Don’t approach them, please. I’m not good with people outside of my nest near my eggs.” My voice is steady now, but the warning in it is clear.
“You had your first clutch!” Cerce moves a little closer, her eyes bright with excitement. The rustle of her silk dress accompanies her movement. “Your eggs are enormous.”
“I laid them as my dragon.” I press the bridge of my nose under Klauth’s jaw, inhaling his comforting scent, before stepping away. The floor is cool beneath my feet as I move. Abraxis and Ziggy join me as I motion to the eggs. “One is Abraxis’s, and the other is Ziggy’s.” The pride in my voice is unmistakable as I look at my precious clutch.
“How did a displacer beast have an egg? He’s a mammal?” Vox asks, and I growl low in the back of my throat. The sound reverberates through the room, a warning that even a non-dragon can understand.
“We are working on a theory that it’s because I have one of Mina’s scales.” Ziggy smiles and starts purring as he presses his cheek to mine. His skin is cool against my feverish heat, his purr a soothing vibration.
“When did you lay them?” Cerce asks, and I look at Thauglor. The ancient dragon’s face is impassive, but I can see the calculation in his eyes.
“For the safety of the clutch, we are not announcing when they were laid. We’ve captured two Shadowblades in the last week.” He mentions offhandedly, then freezes, realizing his slip. The air in the room grows still, tension rising like a tide.
I only knew about one, that makes three total.My mates have been hiding the attempts on my life. A cold knot forms in my stomach as I process this betrayal. I walk over to my eggs and sit with them, the carpet soft beneath me. The lives within them thrum through theshells to me, a rhythm that syncs with my heartbeat. They are halfway to hatching, and I can hear their fast little heartbeats, like tiny drums against the shell. I press my ear to the egg that has Ziggy’s progeny in it and hear the two distinct heartbeats, a beautiful duet of life.‘Shift,’I say to Ziggy, pushing the thought into his head.
He shifts into his displacer beast; the transformation accompanied by the rustle of fur and the click of claws on the stone floor. He curls around his egg, his warm body a contrast to the cool stone beneath them. Gently, I move his head over the egg to where I know one baby is. I watch him close his eyes, listening, his whiskers twitching slightly. His paw reaches out and holds onto my thigh, the fur soft but the claws just pricking my skin, as a tentacle wraps around his egg, holding it. The smooth scales of the tentacle slide over the shell with a whisper.
“Is that one his?” Cerce asks softly, her voice barely disturbing the intimate tableau.
“Yes.” I look over at Abraxis, his eyes reflecting the firelight. “You can come and take your egg to show your parents. No one but you holds it. The change in scent may upset me; I’m very protective of them both.” I lay on my side, placing my head on Ziggy’s ribs, listening to his displacer beast purr to his babies. The vibration travels through his fur into my cheek, a lullaby without words.
Abraxis takes the egg and moves closer to his parents with it. The shell is warm in his hands, pulsing with life. They lean in close to sniff at it and tilt their heads to listen, their expressions a mixture of awe and curiosity. “I hear its heartbeat,” Vox says, and I growl, the sound rippling through the quiet room.
“You heard nothing.” I stare at him, trying to get the point across. My eyes burn with intensity, the message clear in my gaze.
“What our mate means is that no one can find out the true age of theeggs for their safety,” Thauglor looks over at me, and I nod. His understanding is a balm to my frayed nerves.
“My father will come for the eggs if he thinks there’s a chance one of them was sired by Klauth or Thauglor. Until he’s either locked up or killed, my babies are not safe.” I state plainly as I run my fingers through Ziggy’s fur, feeling the soft texture against my skin, grounding myself in the sensation. The next thirty days are going to be hell on my nerves. I can already feel them stretching thin, like piano wire ready to snap at the slightest touch.
CHAPTER 17
Klauth
It has been heavenand hell through the first forty days of the eggs in the nest. The scent of new life permeates our home, a sweet, almost earthy aroma that stirs ancient instincts within me. I never got to witness the laying of my first clutches. With Mina, I get to see all the miracles as they unfold. We are exactly forty days into their incubation, and Mina’s drive to be close to them hasn’t lessened.
We had to hold a meeting with Balor curled around them behind where Mina was sitting. Every few minutes, she would reach back and touch his scales. Her slender fingers seeking reassurance against the cool, rough surface, then go back to what she was doing, the tension in her shoulders easing momentarily.
I never understood the drive a dragoness has when the eggs are laid. The maternal instinct that burns like wildfire within them, consuming all other priorities. Drakes, unfortunately, don’t have that drive. We do, however, become more defensive of our territory and female. Thauglor has been an absolute terror. When he’s not with Mina, he’s shifted in the courtyard, blocking the only way into the nest. His massive form casts long shadows across the stone, hissapphire blue eyes scanning constantly for threats, nostrils flaring to catch any unfamiliar scent.
Without telling Mina, the kill count is now up to seven shadowblades. Their blood has seeped into the earth around our territory, a dark offering to protect what’s ours. Her father either knows something has happened or suspects something has happened or is happening. Or the last possibility is that he just wants to take her to turn her into a Dracolich. The thought makes my blood run cold, despite the fire that always smolders in my veins.
I walk through the halls of our home, my boots barely making a sound against the stone floor, and oddly enough, I can’t find anyone. The silence presses against my eardrums, unusual and unsettling. There are eight other beings in the nest, and the house is as silent as a grave. The only sound is my breathing echoing off the walls. Stepping outside, the sudden brightness momentarily blinds me, and I find where everyone is. The entire nest is behind Thauglor and under his extended wing, the massive leathery membrane creating a living pavilion.
“What am I missing?” I ask, my voice rumbling in my chest. Mina is sitting on a blanket with the eggs, their shells gleaming in the dappled sunlight that filters through. The guys are sitting close by, sipping on their drinks, the sweet and bitter aromas of various beverages mingling in the air.
“I wanted to take the eggs outside for the first time. So Thauglor is shielding us from view so I can do it,” she shrugs her shoulders and sighs, her silver and green hair catching the light like metallic thread. “I was tired of being inside and wanted some stress-free fresh air.” She smiles before coming over and wrapping her arms around me, her warmth seeping through my clothes. Her scent—ozone and something uniquely dragonic—filling my nostrils.
“That’s understandable.” I kiss her temple, her skin soft beneath my lips, and take her out from under Thauglor’s wing to stand in the sunfor a moment. The softest purr escapes her lips as she tilts her head back, basking in the sunlight, her skin glowing golden in the afternoon light. It’s tough for a young dragoness to go to ground for so long, to deny the primal urge to soar through open skies.
“The sun feels so good,” she says on a sigh, her body relaxing against mine as the warmth penetrates her skin.
“We can come out more often. It’s not hard to talk Thauglor into basking in the sun for a while.” I smile down at my mate, watching her open an eye and smile, looking at me. Her iris catches the light, golden and luminous, a treasure in itself. Thauglor rumbles deeply, the sound vibrating through the ground beneath our feet, expressing how much he’s enjoying the sun on his scales.
“Can we go for a quick flight? It’s been forever,” Mina asks as she backs towards the cliff’s edge, her movements eager and light, like a child about to receive a longed-for gift.
“We can fly for however long or far you feel comfortable with.” I press my lips to her temple again and listen to her soft purring. The vibration is a tactile expression of her happiness.
