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  “I’ve made my decision,” Ēostre said. “I want this.”

  Max turned his great head. “You ask for this?”

  “Yes. It’s magnificent,” Ēostre said. She traced her finger over one of the polished wings, fascinated by the uncanny likeness between it and her dragon form. Without a doubt, there could be no argument about it, the figurine was a sculpture of her.

  “Did you carve these?”

  His silence was more telling than any words might have been. Max ducked his head and closed his eyes.

  “You have a remarkable talent. Why didn’t you ever tell me you were an artist?”

  “It has always been a private pleasure for me. Something to pass the time between long slumbers.” He turned toward a nearby brazier and blew out a breath, extinguishing it. It set off a chain reaction of dimming lights, smothering their flames one by one until only the orange glow from the magma remained.

  Ēostre caressed one of the statuette’s opal horns, awestruck by the precision, the detail, and the love that had gone into its craftsmanship. “Must we leave right away? The night is young, after all, and we have no other responsibilities at this hour,” she pointed out.

  Max’s eyes glowed in the dimmed light. He hesitated then with a tender touch of his claw, nudged an untamed lock of silver hair from her face. “I’m certain to return to exaggerated complaints if we are away for long, but…” The corner of his mouth raised and he slipped back down to the polished rock on his side. “For once, I don’t care. Shall I relight the lamps?”

  “No,” Ēostre said demurely. “It sets the atmosphere and adds a certain comfort to the mood, doesn’t it?” Once the figurine was safe on an adjacent pedestal, she chose Max’s ruby-colored side as a broad cushion to lay against. She crawled over him without invitation and heard his sharp intake of breath. He stilled beneath her, resembling one of his own statues, quiet aside from a subtle purr rumbling from his chest.

  It isn’t my imagination, Ēostre thought with determination. The way I feel and his affection for me are real. Although she didn’t dare to act on her desires, for fear he would believe the gift had influenced her intentions, the dragoness stroked her fingers through the dark red mane at the base of his neck. Age had weathered his hide over the centuries, giving it characteristics similar to suede, without the rough, cracking appearance some of the other ancient males acquired. He took care of himself.

  “Do you really think this will all work? That the humans will accept us?”

  “Kenneth believes a rocky start should be expected, but in the end, going forward and embracing the rest of the world can only benefit all of us.”

  Ēostre smiled. Max’s running mate, Ken Palmer, was the definition of staunch and upright, and had been as supportive as some of her friendlier dragon associates. “Kenneth is a good man. I hope the rest of humanity follows his example.”

  “As do I. Think of what the humans can learn from magic, from our wisdom, and think of the freedom we could enjoy once we no longer are forced to hide our true selves. Oh to fly again, Ēostre. To fly in the daylight sun and feel its golden kiss against my feathers. I’ve dreamed of such a day for so long,” he confessed.

  Ēostre wiggled around until she was nestled firmly against the shoulder of his wing. It made the perfect pillow for her cheek despite airy down feathers tickling her ear. “Mm. That doesn’t surprise me, Sun God,” she murmured. “I flew once with Astrid during an evening storm, but it wasn’t the same. There’s nothing sweeter than a summer storm at midday… than the afternoon sun gleaming over the dew on the wilderness below after the rains have ended. I want to show these things to her, Belenos. I want to show my new grandchild these beautiful things the humans take for granted.”

  “As do I. We have spent so long in the shadows, we no longer remember the blessing of being free. What for? For the pleasure of owning a slave?” He snorted in disgust, wisps of smoke curling from his nostrils.

  “I once had a slave,” Ēostre admitted. “But I never considered him one. He was a young boy Fafnir brought home, but I believe I mothered him more than anything. Saul hadn’t been born yet, and… I was quite lonely whenever Fafnir left to make war and trouble for knights. And you, my dear friend, hibernated that entire century.”

  Maximilian looked abashed. “I didn’t realize Fafnir left you alone so often. So what of the boy, then? You came to love him?”

  “I did. Griban became family, and I loved him very much. I suppose he cared for me as well since he refused to leave my side once granted freedom. He always stayed nearby, and continued to do the few tasks I’d always asked of him.”

  “And then?”

  “He died,” she said sadly. “But it was many years later when he was no longer a boy and had children of his own. But his time as my friend seemed too short. Too brief.”

  “What about his children?” Max asked curiously. “Surely you were able to make friends with many of them. Did you remain in touch?”

  “Of course I kept up with his progeny. One of them lives on Saul’s property now.”

  “Leiv?” Surprise filled his voice. “Fafnir chose bear shifters?”

  Ēostre nodded. “Fafnir decided he wanted a strong shifter rather than a fleet deer or timid squirrel. Wolves, he said, were too unpredictable. He didn’t trust creatures who relied on living in packs, he wanted a loner, like us.”

  “That sounds like him.”

  The memory was a bittersweet one and they both lapsed into silence, lost to their own thoughts. Thinking of her lost mate brought pain, but only a shadow of the despair she’d felt a few years ago. Each day since her reawakening had lessened the heartache.

  And each day with Max since made her feel more alive.

  “We’re going to win this, Bel,” she murmured as she snuggled in. “And we’ll fly sun-filled skies again. You’ll see.”

  “It’s a dream to hold onto.” His voice rumbled beneath her ear.

  Only nights had passed since Ēostre first wished to fall asleep in Maximilian’s arms. With her desire made a reality, she turned her face against the softer hide at his throat and dreamed only of him.

  Chapter 10

  Ēostre and Max overslept. By the time she returned him to the governor’s mansion, Lynette had realized he was missing, alerted the wolves, and a grumpy pack of were-creatures awaited them in the parlor. Despite their irritable words and slyly veiled comments, Ēostre smiled because she’d had one precious night alone with Max.

  “As far as anyone knows, Maximilian was here the entire night.”

  “And what would we have done if a government emergency arose requiring his immediate attention?” Andrew demanded.

  “You would have called my son, who would have in turn had his genie track me as I’ve given her permission to do,” Ēostre countered calmly while smoothing her fingers down her dress. “You know this, Andrew. We discussed the course of action to take in the past.”

  Carl shook his head. He was a big, dark-skinned werewolf with chocolate brown eyes. Ēostre had never seen him in his wolf form, unlike Andrew, but she imagined his fur would be dark as pitch and his huge wolf as big as a Buick. “Ian hired us to do more than keep him safe, ma’am, as you are well aware. In the future, we’d appreciate having a direct line to contact Governor Emberthorn.”

  “Please,” Max spoke up, raising his hands. “Let’s not turn this into another argument. We’ve been here before. You’re both right, but unfortunately, there’s no easy solution to this. I want to enjoy the time I have left before the door slams shut on my freedom. While in public, you are my security. While alone in our natural states, she will hold that honor. Is this understood?”

  Carl grunted. The three men weren’t happy when they left, but Megan flashed them an apologetic smile and mouthed, “Sorry,” to Ēostre in passing. The girl had a more laid-back approach to guarding Maximilian, unlike the male lycan members of the team. Ēostre had to wonder if it was a werewolf trait or if the raven shifters were natur
ally more relaxed.

  Once they were gone, Lynette sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told them you weren’t home. When I saw you weren’t back, I panicked and worried that something had happened while you were both gone.”

  “Don’t trouble yourself over it, Lynette. The wolves will always find a reason to fret. It’s what they’re paid to do, after all, and I wouldn’t have them any other way.” Max shot the girl a reassuring grin before adding, “Andrew is the alpha, but I suspect the other two would make fine candidates.”

  Lynette delicately pursed her lips, uncertainty creasing her brow and squinting her eyes. “Okay, well… Anyway, do you two want something to eat or did you do your Indominus rex thing and run down fluffy creatures in the wilderness?”

  Max shot her a look. “I have more grace than that terrible creature, thank you.”

  “We’re starved,” Ēostre spoke for both of them. She stepped up, slid her arm around Max’s shoulders, and smiled at Lynette. “We would love a breakfast, thank you.”

  They dined at the kitchen nook on an immense pile of eggs and bacon, chatted about his promise to visit Drakenstone Manor, and her plans to laze with her family for the day.

  “Speaking of my family, I had wondered if you would take Astrid under your wing, so to speak.”

  “For what purpose?”

  “Her breath. She’s at the age, physically at least, when we’d expect her to use a breath weapon. And like her father, she’s…”

  Max stared across the table at her with a deep furrow creasing his brow beneath his mussed auburn hair. He looked like a man freshly risen from bed despite wearing unwrinkled clothes from the previous day. “Saul will not teach her?”

  “No, no, that isn’t it,” Ēostre clarified with haste. “Saul loves to instruct her and has taken great joy in teaching Astrid the finer points of using her dragon form. Yet another difference between him and his father.” She sighed and stirred her eggs around on the plate, spearing a chunk of thick, diced bacon with the fork. When she glanced up, Maximilian’s features were sympathetic.

  “I see. It isn’t that he has not tried, but that they’re both inexperienced. Saul is a rather young father, after all.”

  “He is,” Ēostre agreed. “I’m proud of what he’s done with her so far, and I’ve given what help I can, but… you taught Saul, Max. I was not the one to draw that potential from him. You did it, and I can never tell you how much I appreciate the kindness you showed my child.”

  “Ēostre,” Max began after a heavy pause. He set the fork aside and wiped his mouth with a napkin, his plate glistening with bacon crumbs and a smattering of scrambled egg. “If Saul is agreeable, I will gladly help in whatever way he finds most appropriate.”

  “Good, because he’s agreed already,” Ēostre said cheekily. “Chloe and I discussed it first then when I brought the topic to him, he pleaded with me to ask you.”

  Max became speechless. His stare continued for the length of several heartbeats before the stunned dragon found his words. “He trusts me with Astrid?”

  “He does.”

  “Even after what happened?”

  “Even after,” she confirmed with a smile. “Saul has never truly stopped adoring you, Maximilian. So please, worry no further about the dark times we’ve all put behind us, and know that you’re a part of our family now.”

  Ēostre found it amusing that her son was very like Maximilian in some ways and had expressed his doubts personally about the great fire wyrm agreeing. Not that he ever distrusted the other dragon. According to Saul, Max had better things to do than to teach another dragon’s cub.

  As an inner sense of accomplishment welled within her for a match well made, Ēostre raised her cup of sweet coffee for a sip. The fragrant aroma of vanilla washed over her, and once she finished the sweet latte, she rose from the table and mussed Max’s already messy hair.

  “Thank you for the meal, Lynette. Max, we’ll speak later.”

  Ēostre returned promptly to her apartment where she spent the next ten minutes seated on the edge of the bed with her new silver figurine balanced on her knee. It wasn’t small by any means, at least twelve inches high, but it was a perfect replica of her pre-Saul figure. Before she’d thickened at the waist and she’d grown her second pair of maternal horns. Then, she was a sleek figure with a svelte body, and he’d captured even the subtle nuances that made up her natural poise. The head was slightly canted, the eyes lively, the feathers chiseled from hundreds of diamonds.

  Human beings would put a worth on it leading into the millions, but to Ēostre, its price was beyond measure.

  As her fingers slid over the smooth silver back, she channeled her magic into three layers of defense to guard it, beginning with a single spell of protection to hide it from mortal eyes. Afterward, she wove a spell of limitation — no human could ever touch it without her express permission, if they could somehow see it, and if such a human were able to circumvent her powerful spell, they wouldn’t dare try to steal it. Instead, they would feel an intense, insatiable burning itch in the nether regions regardless of how much they scratched, rubbed, or bathed. And finally, if all other methods of deterrence failed, the thief would be rendered blind. That usually made people throw away their ill-gotten gains and stumble around until she discovered them in the hoard.

  She touched the smooth nose of the dragoness sculpture again, smiling at the sight of it. Max cared. He had to, and soon, he’d know she felt the same way.

  ***

  “When did you get here!?”

  Astrid’s enthusiastic squeal startled Ēostre awake before the child bellyflopped onto her in bed. After breakfast with Max and a few routine errands, she’d snuck into her bedroom at the manor for an impromptu afternoon nap, deciding the rest was needed before she devoted time to family activities. So much for that idea.

  Ēostre groggily rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock. “Thirty minutes ago, give or take.”

  She was then dragged from bed and treated to cookies and tea with her two favorite girls. Her son lumbered onto the veranda an hour later on the tail end of their chat about taking Astrid shopping for new clothes. He yawned, stole two of Ēostre’s cookies, and peered out over the swaying grass while devouring them both in a bite.

  “I see where Astrid gets it from,” Chloe muttered.

  “They never grow out of it,” Ēostre agreed. She shook her head.

  Saul finally turned back to them. “I plan to take Astrid hunting this evening, Chloe.”

  “Don’t make dinner. Check. Do you plan to bring anything home to me or will I be left here to starve and eat frozen chicken nuggets with Kraft macaroni again?”

  A rush of color overtook Saul’s cheeks, and Ēostre grinned at her son’s embarrassment. “That won’t happen again. We were a little carried away that time.”

  They ended up dragging Ēostre along. The adults trailed behind Astrid in their dragon forms, allowing her to take the lead through the wooded wilderness to the rear of Drakenstone Manor. The trees grew thick, untamed by Leiv’s landscaping, but the deer were plentiful and oblivious the predators stalking them.

  Saul’s family owned all of the surrounding area near their home, leading up and past the mountains. Everything for miles had been claimed as part of the Drakenstone Estate, and some years ago, he’d even had it declared a forest preserve by the state. With high, twelve-foot privacy fences marking the perimeter, it wasn’t worth it for human hunters to poach on the property.

  He’d left much of it unchanged since Ēostre’s last awakening, claiming he appreciated the untamed wilderness of it all. She smiled as she picked her way across the leaf-littered forest floor, silent but deadly despite her draconic form. Her son surpassed her in size, and the realization of how much her wee cub had grown over the centuries made Ēostre’s heart swell.

  He is a wonderful dragon and an even better man, she realized. I raised him well. I truly did. And now he has a child he loves and nurtures with all of his hear
t. I couldn’t ask for more.

  Ahead of them, Astrid balked on the trail. The scent of the herd was all around them, but she hesitated and lingered, uncertain of herself. She hadn’t yet developed the sharp sense of smell that would come with age and second-guessed herself frequently while with her father.

  At her size, she wasn’t yet too large to give the deer a good chase between the trees and abundant growth. Venison was a staple in the diet of most cubs, the next prey creature they learned to hunt after bunnies and foxes.

  “Is she truly ready to take on a buck, Saul? What if it hurts her?”

  Saul twisted around to stare at his mother. “I wasn’t yet half her size when you challenged me to take my first buck.”

  “I suppose so…” She tried to think back and wondered at her decision. Had it been her idea? Fafnir’s? Probably the latter. He’d always urged and pushed Saul to mature before he was ready, too impatient to father him, and equally unwilling to allow him to be a child. “You were almost knocked out.” The memory of Saul’s injuries surfaced in her mind. The buck had slammed his hooves multiple times into Saul’s little body, the frenzied attack pummeling him before he caught the upper hand.

  “Almost being the important distinction,” her son quipped. “But I remember at the end, I was the one to best him and Father was never prouder.”

  “I can do it,” Astrid spoke up. She turned in a full circle, sniffing the air. After a moment she headed eastward through the trees. Ēostre couldn’t help but smile. She had caught the scent of the small group in that direction as well.

  “Should—”

  “Shh,” Saul hushed her before whispering, “Or I will send you home.”

  Ēostre shot him a dirty look. Falling back, they allowed Astrid to continue alone, relying on their honed, adult senses to monitor her progress through the wood. If they moved any closer, their larger sizes and the noise made by their steps would alarm the herd of their presence. Astrid on the other hand, pressed her body low to the ground and snaked beneath branches, moving with light steps. Suddenly, she stopped.