Dragon Storm (23 page)

“What will our children be?” To her shock and chagrin, her voice shook.

“Be?” Darius was clearly confused. Connor, though, she could see he knew what she meant. He came over and knelt before her, taking one of her hands in his.

“Our children will be loved, Josie. Be they dragon, snowcat or even if they cannot shift at all. They will be ours, and they will be loved.”

A single tear ran down her face, and she reached out to hug him, feeling Darius’s arms come around her from behind. They stayed that way for a long minute, her mates reassuring her with their warm presence. At length she pulled back, wiping her wet cheeks.

“I’m sorry. It just hit me. I hadn’t thought about it before, and it took me by surprise.” She stood, her mates standing also, one holding each of her hands.

“To be perfectly honest,” Darius said, grinning sheepishly, “I hadn’t given it any thought either. Con’s the planner. You tell him what you want done with the place, and he’ll be certain to get it done right.” Darius pulled her back against his chest, his arms around her waist. “I like the idea of you round with our child, Josie. It makes me want to see it for real. As soon as possible.” He growled and nipped her earlobe, making her squeak.

“Not too soon, dragon. I need a little time to get used to this place first.”

Connor stole her out of his twin’s arms and hugged her close. “No rush, sweetheart. We want what you want. Your happiness is our goal. We know you gave up a lot to come here and be with us. We will never forget that. Take all the time you want to get used to our world. We have many years of love ahead of us.”

“Speaking of that.” She tugged out of his arms and moved a short distance away where she could face them both. “I omitted to tell you something before, when your brothers asked in what ways snowcats are more magical than other shifters in my world. I hope you won’t be angry. I wanted to tell you two first, before your brothers found out.”

Both men looked concerned. “You can tell us anything,” Darius said. “We will not be angry.”

“What is it, beloved?” Connor’s voice was as gentle as she’d ever heard it.

“Snowcats—full-blooded snowcats—are nearly immortal. My grandfather isn’t actually
my
grandfather. He’s my grandfather’s grandfather. Snowcats live very long life spans unless they are killed somehow.”

“But you’re only half snowcat,” Connor pointed out.

“I’ll live a very long life, but not quite that of my grandfather.”

“That’s good, because dragons live very long lives too, but nothing like the fair folk, for example. They are said to be immortal as well, but they do age and can be killed. I think they are probably a lot like your grandfather’s people.”

Relief coursed through her veins. “I was afraid you’d be upset. Most shifters in my world live a few hundred years. Snowcats can live a few thousand. I’m probably somewhere in between.”

Grins spread across the twins’ handsome faces. “As are we,” Darius confirmed.

Connor walked up to her and took her hand again. “The Mother of All brought us together, my love. She knows what She is doing.”

“Although” Darius interjected, his expression somber, “in recent generations, we black dragons have been dying much too young. Assassins and so-called accidents almost destroyed our family in the not-too-distant past. We will do all we can to protect you from our enemies, but this is not a peaceful world we’ve brought you to.”

Josie reached out to cup his cheek. “No place is ever truly safe, Darius. I was in constant danger of discovery in my world. If the wrong people had learned of my existence, I could have been imprisoned, hunted, used as a lab rat or tortured in many different ways. That’s why I was always careful not to be seen by humans. Other shifters and some other supernatural races would’ve challenged me to a death match just for being what I am. No, no place is truly safe. I’d rather be here, with you, for as long as we have, than hiding in my cabin in the woods.”

“I’m glad you said that.” Darius swept her off her feet and walked with her toward one of the doors. “I think it’s time I showed you my bedchamber. You should test out the mattress to see if it is to your liking.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

After a romp that involved testing both Darius’s and Connor’s mattresses for comfort, a discreet knock on the outer door roused Connor enough to go answer the summons. He came back to his bedroom a short time later, his arms laden with mounds of sparkling fabric.

“What’s that?” Her voice sounded rough from all the moaning and pleading her men had made her do. They’d even made her scream once or twice. Good thing these chambers had thick stone walls that didn’t allow sound to travel too far.

“Our wedding finery.” Connor grinned as he threw a pile of the clothing at Darius, who’d only just risen on one elbow to watch the proceedings. He took a smaller pile of fabric and presented them to her. “These are for you, milady.” The teasing grin and obsequious bow made her laugh as she leapt from the bed to check out her new clothes.

She didn’t understand the various strips of fabric and leather at first, but her mates soon set her straight. This was like no wedding dress she’d ever seen. Now the movements of the dances they’d taught her became clearer. This outfit consisted of a series of layers, each more risqué than the last. She’d be peeled out of them during the dance, as she peeled quite a few less layers off her mates in return.

The fabric was silk, satin and brocade, heavily embroidered and gorgeous. Everything was sensuous, including the buttery-soft leather and suede that showed up here and there. The designs embroidered into the fabric were a dragon motif, of course. As she picked up the final garment, a sort of coat-like thing that went over all the rest, her breath caught in her throat.

There was her snowcat, in all her glory, surrounded by the dragons, one on either side, their wings extended protectively over her even as she stood tall and strong.

“I love this.” Connor came over to look at the garment as Darius stirred himself to roll out of bed and take a look. “How did they know?”

The twins looked at each other, both grinning. “Shanya,” they said together.

“It had to be her.” Connor clarified, “She is a seer. She’s the one who told us we’d be going on a journey to a place she could barely describe. I have no doubt about her abilities.”

Josie ran her fingers lightly over the design and was met with a magical tingle.

“I think she embroidered this herself.” She looked up at her mates, a feeling of wonder running through her. “What a nice thing to do. This is one of the nicest things anyone’s every done for me, and I’d never even met the woman when she probably started working on this. Wow.”

“The more I learn of Shanya, the more I like her.” Darius touched Josie’s head, stroking her hair.

“She brought us together,” Connor said quietly. “For that alone, we owe her more than we can ever repay.”

The wedding feast was totally unexpected no matter how much her mates had tried to prepare her for it. All the princes were there. All were tall, strongly built men, even the youngest of them who looked to be in their late teens. They all had green eyes, most of the striking emerald variety. Lana and Riki looked beautiful in their finery, as did their younger sister and their mother, who were both married to sets of knights that had been introduced with the title of Prince-Consort. Many, many others had gathered to celebrate their wedding, including what looked to be every last dragon in the land.

When Darius and Connor took her out of the huge great hall for a breath of air, Josie realized that the party spilled over to every part of the castle and out into the town beyond. She could see the light of a hundred bonfires in every part of the city, and the sound of music and laughter floated on the air.

“Is all of that merrymaking for us?” she asked her mates.

“We sent money to every innkeeper in Castleton to pay for drinks and food for every soul in the town,” Connor said quietly, stroking her cheek and looking deep into her eyes.

Darius came up behind her, nibbling on her ear. “It’s good to share our happiness with a celebration everyone will remember.”

“But the expense,” she protested faintly as her mates sandwiched her between them.

“You’re worth everything we have,” Connor answered, his lips hovering over hers.

“Everything and more,” Darius agreed, biting her earlobe gently as she shivered.

“Aren’t you three getting a little ahead of yourselves?”
A booming dragon voice sounded with amusement through all their minds. Distracted, Josie looked upward to find a stunning blue green dragon looming over them from the battlement above. She was hanging at a precarious angle and smoky laughter issued from her mouth. Beside her, other dragons perched, looking down at them with interest. A gleaming golden male sat beside a marvelous female red. Next to them was a gorgeous female peach dragon and a shiny bronze male. She was looking at mated pairs, she realized. The blue green female seemed older somehow, than the others, as did the shining bronze male who sat on her other side.

“Lady Kelzy, you know what it is to be newly united with your mate,” Connor said in as close to a wheedling tone as she’d ever heard from him.

“Give us some wing room, dragon mother,” Darius added with a winning smile.

“You’ve had enough wing room for now, younglings,”
the dragon answered in their minds.
“You have a party to attend and a dance to perform, then we will join you in a mating flight. We’re all looking forward to it.”

“She knows I can’t fly, right?” Josie whispered to Connor, but the dragons heard, much to her embarrassment.

“There is no shame in what you are, earthbound child,”
the dragon named Kelzy said.
“Besides, a triple flight would be foolhardy at best. It is not the way we dragons do things, but for those of you in human form, I understand it is very pleasurable. At least our partners think so.”

The dragons chuckled again at her words, and she realized they were all part of family units made up of two knights, two dragons and one very lucky woman. This land was certainly strange, but the people and dragons she’d met so far had been wonderful and accepting of her differences.

“Thank you, Lady Kelzy, is it?” She tried to be polite and wasn’t quite sure of the name. Connor came to her rescue.

“You heard right, my love. Forgive me. This is Lady Kelzy and her mate, Sir Sandor. Next to her is Sir Arlis and his mate, Lady Lilla. Next to them is their daughter, Lady Jenet and her mate, Sir Nelin. They are newly mated.”

“It’s nice to meet you all. Thank you for helping us celebrate our mating.” Josie tried to meet every dragon’s gaze with her smile.

“My lady is right,”
Sir Sandor spoke in their minds in a booming voice different from his mate’s. It was rougher and deeper, but still an exceedingly pleasant rumble in her mind.
“We all look forward to the mating flight. You’d best get back in there and perform the dances, younglings. Then the real fun can begin.”

His suggestion was followed by a pointed wingbeat that stirred a wind, almost pushing them toward the door that led inside. Josie laughed outright at being blown around by the bronze’s huge wings.

“Welcome to Draconia, Princess Josie,”
Kelzy said, echoed by the other dragons.

“Ah, there they are.” A cultured voice projected over the background noise, drawing her attention from the dragons. She looked over to find a gorgeous blond man walking toward them from the direction of the great hall.

“Drake.” Darius reached out to greet the other man with a hand-to-elbow arm clasp, a back pounding half-hug and a big smile. When he stepped back, Connor did the same as Darius turned to another knight who had come up behind the flashy blond.

Connor turned to her, bringing the handsome man forward. Connor’s expression was filled with welcome, and she knew without them saying anything more that these two men were very close friends.

“Josie, this is Drake, partner to Jenet. And this is Mace, partner to Nelin.” He gestured toward the dragons as he introduced their knights. The magnificent metallic peach dragon was paired with an equally handsome man, and both her bronze mate and his fighting partner looked to be solid, less flashy but still formidable beings.

Josie unconsciously held out her hand, expecting a shake. The blond Adonis surprised her by placing a courtly kiss on her knuckles as he swept her a theatrical bow. She chuckled at his antics.

“Drake of the Five Lands, at your service.”

She looked at her mates for explanation. The trained speaking voice, theatricality and handsome visage all made her think this guy was some kind of actor or something.

“Drake worked for our brother Nico secretly for the many years he spent in an exile of his own making,” Connor explained. She already knew Nico was called the Prince of Spies. This guy had to be one of his agents.

“He is a gifted bard,” Darius added. “Will you play for us tonight, my friend?”

“But of course,” Drake answered with a sparkling grin.

Josie tried not to be too starstruck by his charm, turning to the other knight. Mace took her hand and gave her a much less showy greeting.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said to the more somber knight.

“Thank you for bringing the twins home safely.” Mace seemed truly thankful, which made her feel really good. No one had thanked her for her part in bringing them all here, she realized, yet this quiet knight recognized her contribution and took the time to thank her for it. Still waters ran deep with this one, she surmised.

“Saves us the trouble of trying to find yet another prince of the realm,” Drake joked. It was then she realized these two were the knights she’d been told about who’d gone after Prince Wil.

“You’re the firedrakes.” The words popped out of her mouth before she realized she’d spoken aloud.

Both men seemed surprised but recovered quickly. “You are correct, milady,” Mace said in deep tones. “But that is our secret for now, until we learn how to better control the power.”