Page 69 of Queen of the Cursed Egg
Thauglor’s arms tighten around my waist, pulling me more firmly against them both, creating a cocoon of warmth and safety that I never want to leave. His sapphire eyes are storm-dark with emotion, the careful control he usually maintains shattered completely. “My eternal treasure,” he whispers against my temple, his breath warm against my skin, voice cracking with the depth of his relief. “When we felt your terror through the bond, when we knew the mages had found you...” He can’t finish the sentence, his throat working as he swallows hard against the memory.
I can taste the salt of my own tears on my lips, feel the way my chest hitches with each sob that tears through me. The adrenaline from the fight is fading, leaving me shaky and hollow, like a vessel that’s been emptied of everything but raw emotion. My hands fist in their shirts, fabric damp with sweat and blood and the evidence of their battles, and I hold on like they might disappear if I let go even for a moment.
“I thought I’d lost you both,” I choke out between sobs, the words scraping my throat raw. “The bond felt so distant, and there was so much rage, so much pain...” My voice breaks completely, and fresh tears spill over, tracking hot paths down my cheeks to drip onto Klauth’s hands.
Around us, I’m dimly aware of the others giving us space, their presence a protective circle but their attention tactfully averted. I canhear Abraxis’s ragged breathing, smell the metallic tang of blood in the air mixing with the acrid scent of dragon fire that clings to my returned mates. The courtyard stones beneath our feet are still warm from the afternoon sun, but nothing compares to the heat radiating from Klauth and Thauglor’s bodies, their natural dragonic temperature elevated by emotion and exertion.
Thauglor’s hand finds the back of my neck, fingers threading through my hair where Balor’s careful braid has come undone in the chaos. His touch sends shivers down my spine, a reminder of intimacy and connection that makes the fear finally begin to recede. “Never again,” he vows, his voice carrying the weight of an ancient promise. “We’ll never leave you to face danger alone again.”
Klauth’s forehead touches mine, and I can feel the slight tremor in his hands that betrays just how close he came to losing control completely. His breath mingles with mine, warm and carrying the faint sulfur scent that always clings to him after he’s used his breath weapon. “The mages who dared to threaten our nest, our family, our mate—they’re ash on the wind now,” he growls, the words both promise and threat. “Nothing will ever touch you again while we draw breath.”
The fierce protectiveness in his voice makes something deep in my chest unclench for the first time in days. I press closer to them both, needing the physical proof of their presence, their warmth seeping through my armor and into my bones. My dragon purrs deep in my chest, a sound of contentment and relief that I haven’t felt since they left, and I feel their own dragonic natures respond, a harmony of satisfaction that resonates through our shared bonds.
Slowly, the sobs subside, leaving me exhausted but finally, truly safe. The nightmare of separation is over, the family whole once more despite all the trials that have tested the very foundations of what we’ve built together.
I honestly don’t know what happened to the other males, and for all I care, they could have been melted by Abraxis’s acid, their remains scattered to the winds. The only thing I know for certain is that everyone is back in my nest, where they belong. The nightmare is over, and we have survived—scarred perhaps, but stronger for having endured the fire and emerged together on the other side.
CHAPTER 47
Mina
The ancients are back,and I feel like for the first time in days I can draw in a deep breath without panicking. The air fills my lungs completely without the tight band of anxiety that has been constricting my chest. They kiss me, their lips warm and slightly chapped from battle, tasting faintly of smoke and something uniquely theirs that makes my heart race for entirely different reasons than fear.
The brief contact sends warmth spiraling through my body, a promise of longer reunions to come, before they head to their rooms to shower and get changed, leaving traces of their scent—brimstone and cedar mixed with the metallic tang of dried blood—lingering in the surrounding air.
Ziggy, Leander, and the babies return when I send a caress down the bond. The mental touch as gentle as a physical stroke, carrying my relief and love to them across the distance. Their familiar emotional signatures bloom in my awareness like flowers opening to sunlight, warm and comforting after the void of separation. Callan catches them up on what happened, his voice a low rumble in thebackground as I climb onto Abraxis’s lap, seeking the comfort of physical contact after the emotional upheaval of the day. My emotions are all over the place, swinging from relief to exhaustion to a bone-deep need for closeness. To be honest, I’m exhausted in ways that go beyond the physical, my soul feeling wrung out like a cloth that’s been twisted dry.
Abraxis purrs deeply as he wraps his wings around me. The leathery membrane creating a cocoon of warmth and darkness that shuts out the world. The sound vibrates through his chest and into mine, a rumbling comfort that speaks of something primal deep within me. His body heat seeps through my skin and into my bones, chasing away the last chill of fear, while the familiar scent of him—clean sweat and the faint musk that marks him as mine—fills my nostrils.
He knows the ancients are going to need me with them tonight, and I can feel his acceptance of that fact through our bond, tinged with only the faintest shadow of his old jealousy. Selfishly, I want to go into heat again soon and have my next clutch, the desire a warm pulse low in my belly that makes me press closer to him. Between the warmth of Abraxis’s body and the darkness his wings grants me, I drift off to sleep in his arms, feeling safe and protected for the first time in what feels like an eternity.
I don’t know how long I was allowed to sleep, but the smell of bacon, steak, and spicy noodles wakes me up, the rich aromas making my mouth water instantly. The scents are layered and complex—the smoky saltiness of perfectly cooked bacon, the char-grilled richness of steak, and the tantalizing heat of spices that makes my sinuses tingle pleasantly. My stomach growls audibly, the sound embarrassingly loud in the quiet moment, and Abraxis laughs, the sound rumbling through his chest and vibrating against my back. “Someone’s hungry.” He opens his wings slowly, the membrane stretching with a soft whisper of displaced air, and smiles down at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners with genuine affection.
For all of his insecurities, he loves me so very much, and I can see it written in every line of his face, in the way his pupils dilate slightly when he looks at me, in the gentle curve of his mouth. Gently, his hand cups my cheek, palm warm and slightly rough with calluses, as he gazes deep into my eyes with an intensity that makes my breath catch. “You are my greatest love and my only treasure.” The words hit me like a physical blow, making my heart stutter in my chest. He’s finally called me his treasure—not just someone he loves, but his treasure, placing me above everyone and everything. Happy tears roll down my cheeks, warm and salty, as I lean in to kiss him, tasting the salt on my own lips as they meet his.
I feel him push all of his love and affection down the bond to me, the emotion flowing like warm honey through our connection, filling all the empty spaces that fear and exhaustion have carved out of my soul. My heart, which has felt fractured and incomplete for days, is finally full, swelling with the overwhelming certainty of being loved completely and without reservation.
“My beloved treasure,” I whisper against his lips, the words a promise and a vow, feeling the slight roughness of his skin and the warmth of his breath mixing with mine. I see tears rim his eyes as he struggles to hold the emotions back, his throat working as he swallows hard against the intensity of the moment.
He smiles and nods, joy clear in his broad smile that reaches his eyes, transforming his entire face with its radiance. “Go welcome your other mates home, Mina. I’m sure they’ve missed you.” For once, Abraxis isn’t jealous of the ancients, and I think seeing how I was with them missing helped him understand how I was when he left, the empathy born of shared experience finally bridging the gap between understanding and resentment.
When Abraxis disappeared the other night into the house, I had discussed with Balor my plans for my next clutch; the conversation filled with hopes and careful planning. He and the ancients wouldfather the next eggs, the thought sending a thrill of anticipation through me. I can feel echoing faintly now. When that is going to happen, I’m not sure yet, but the possibility hovers in the back of my mind like a pleasant daydream. For now, I just want to be with my family, whole and complete and safe.
I join Klauth and Thauglor at the table and sit between them, immediately surrounded by their familiar warmth and the complex scents that mark them as mine. Balor doesn’t miss a beat and hands me a large bowl of food that steams invitingly. The ceramic is warm against my palms, and a glass of my favorite wine, the deep red liquid catching the light like liquid rubies. The wine’s bouquet rises to greet me—rich and complex with hints of dark fruit and oak that make my mouth water. I dig in immediately, feeling like I’m starving from all the shifting and use of my lightning. The food tastes like ambrosia after days of eating mechanically, without pleasure.
“So my descendant tells me you had fun roasting mages too,” Thauglor says before taking a sip of his beer, the foam clinging to his upper lip before he wipes it away with the back of his hand. His tone is light, but I can hear the undercurrent of pride and concern that colors his words.
“My cousins and I roasted a good two and a half dozen.” I shrug my shoulders, staring down at my plate, the sight of the perfectly prepared food suddenly losing its appeal. I push the food around on my plate with my fork, the metal scraping softly against ceramic. My hunger is squashed by the weight of thinking about the destruction we’ve wrought, the lives we’ve taken in defense of our home.
“You don’t even want to know what we did,” Klauth’s voice is almost a whisper, barely audible over the gentle sounds of the nest settling around us.
I turn slowly, and I can see in those crimson-flecked amber eyes that they are haunted, the shimmering depths shadowed with memories too dark to share. The human emotions are finally catching up withwhat his dragon did, the weight of necessary violence settling on his shoulders like a mantle of lead. Sighing, I slide myself onto his lap, feeling the solid strength of his thighs beneath me and the way his arms automatically come up to circle my waist.
I rest my head on his shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of his skin—smoke and brimstone and something indefinably him that makes my dragon purr with contentment. “I know what I did in defense of my nest. You did what you did in defense of an entire continent.” I sit up and kiss his lips softly, tasting the faint bitterness of regret and the underlying sweetness that is purely him, and close my eyes as I rest my forehead against his, feeling the slight roughness of his skin and the warmth of his breath against my face. “They made my mother’s people almost extinct. According to the books, countless other species are extinct or close to being extinct because of them.”
“How did we end up with such a good mate?” Thauglor says as he kisses my shoulder, his lips warm through the thin fabric of my shirt, the heat from his body warming my back like a personal furnace. I just sigh, melting into the dual comfort of being held between them, feeling safer than I have in days. He kisses the side of my neck, his breath warm against my skin, making me shiver pleasantly. “You need to eat, my eternal treasure. It would please me greatly.”
The endearment wraps around me like silk, and I can hear the gentle command beneath the request, the ancient’s concern for my wellbeing clear in every word. I pick my head up and look over my shoulder at him, meeting his sapphire eyes that glow with warmth and love, then over at the food that Balor set on the table for us, the aromatic steam still rising invitingly from the dishes. I slide back down onto the bench, sitting between my two ancient mates, their body heat creating a cocoon of warmth on either side of me, and dig into the food Balor left for me. The meat falls off the bone, seasoned perfectly with a dry rub that makes my taste buds sing, the smokyflavor grounding me in the simple pleasure of a good meal shared with those I love.
