Page 38 of Ruling in Flames (Reborn 5)
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MAYA
When I wokein the middle of the night, I could feel something pulling on my consciousness, almost like a memory…but it was fuzzy and unreachable. My eyes opened, confusion flooding my system as I tried to get my bearings. It was such a frustrating feeling, not being able to remember, and I could feel myself getting irritated with it, not liking the idea of something slipping my mind—especially when it was something that felt important.
For a single moment, I panicked, forgetting where I was. Then my ears picked up on a familiar heartbeat.Henry. I could hear Henry, who was sleeping next to me, with Marco on my other side, his breathing relaxed and deep. They were here in bed with me back at the compound.
A relieved sigh left me as I felt myself become centered once again.
I had fallen asleep on the way back; I remembered that now. When we left the mountain community, giving them time to think over my proposal, I was exhausted. I was proud of myself for being so bold and explaining my thoughts without hesitation, but following it, the bravery and energy had drained out of me. Everything felt heavy.
Despite that, there was something urging me to get up. Even though I didn’t really want to, I used the moment to relieve myself in the bathroom. Then I slipped into the hallway, the freezing breeze from the open windows making me relax.
“You got my call.” My mom suddenly appeared, dressed in a robe that was far heavier and fancier than the oversized shirt I’d been thrown into. I blinked sleepily and realized that she had somehow woken and called me out here.
“Is that what it was? I woke up so confused,” I mumbled.
She offered me a slightly embarrassed look. “I keep forgetting you’re not used to all these things. I promise they come naturally, but I’ll admit, they aren’t things you normally discover on your own. You’re taught by your parents or tutor.”
“A tutor like Nascha?” I asked, figuring my mates had filled my parents in upon our return. There was no surprise on my mom’s face as she nodded and leaned against the wall next to me, searching my face.
“How was it? How are all of them? I look forward to seeing Nascha again—she was fundamental to so much of my early life.” I could hear the affection in her words, and there was no anger there, which I thought could be a possibility since Nascha had chosen to leave the Dreki realm.
“Good. I mean, their situation isn’t ideal, but they seemed rather positive and happy,” I said, then nibbled my lip. “I just hope they come off the mountain. As much as I don’t find the idea of being a leader extremely appealing, I want to help them. And if that means being a leader, then I’ll do the best I can.”
My mom’s expression warmed. “And that is why you will be such an amazing leader.”
I didn’t fully understand her point, but I offered a polite smile and ‘thanks’ before looking back out the windows. I didn’t know how to express everything that was on my mind.
“You look worried,” my mom noted in concern.
“Not worried,” I hedged. “Well, maybe I am. I just have a lot on my mind. It sort of goes along with everything I don’t know.”
“Is there anything I can answer?”
I inhaled and tried to not feel awkward as I brought up the one topic that kept stirring around in my head. “I…I know I’m supposed to start my mating heat soon, and I’m not nervous exactly, but I don’t get why it hasn’t started, I guess?”
Instead of being weird about it, my mom’s expression turned thoughtful as she hummed in understanding. “Our magic, our phoenixes, are sometimes smarter than us, at least when it comes to that. Normally it takes all of your mates marking you and you marking them… Has that happened?”
“Marking, yes. I haven’t…” I teetered off as she nodded in understanding. “At least not with all of them.”
“It may be delayed because of your two non-dragon mates,” my mom pointed out. My eyes went wide as I realized she was including Az.
“You think Az is my mate?” I asked, wondering if he knew that. I knew there was something I had been missing between us, about our connection.
Her eyes darkened. “A sacrificial bond is the purest form of a mating bond.”
I frowned, feeling a flutter of panic. “Why wouldn’t he have told me that? And does that mean my magic is waiting until I mark him? I don’t want to put that on him; that’s a lot of pressure.”
“Breathe,” my mom reminded me. “First of all, Az, from what I can tell, would have no issue with that—he seems absolutely infatuated with you. Secondly, it is possible your magic is waiting, especially since it chose to mark him.”
“That’s…I don’t know what to make of that.”
“You may continue to exhibit signs of early heat like nesting or fevers, but if your phoenix is waiting, you have a bit more time. Our bodies don’t go into heat before they’re ready,” my mom assured me. “After all, you could end up pregnant—your magic considers that the absolute end goal.”
I shook my head at that, blushing. “The idea of me being pregnant is baffling.”
“Want to know a secret?” she asked. I nodded. “It doesn’t stop being baffling.” She smiled in amusement. “Even when I was pregnant with you, it blew my mind—of course, our magic makes it slightly easier on us, even before our mating heat. It starts to prepare us for the idea of having a child.”
