Twin Dragons: Dragon Lords of Valdier Book 7 (9 page)

“Cree and I will think of something,” Calo
replied. “I do know that letting the youngling return to his world
will not be an option.”

Ha’ven grinned. “If you need a warship, I’ll
contact Bahadur to dispatch one,” he promised. “He loves to
irritate Creon and his brothers every chance he gets. Last I heard,
he was trying to sweet talk Mandra’s mate away from him.”

“Mandra will cut your Admiral into little
pieces if you aren’t careful,” Calo chuckled. “Bahadur always did
have a death wish. He was a hard bastard to out maneuver during the
Great War.”

Ha’ven sobered as he thought of all the
senseless lives that had been lost through the greed of a few.
There were still those out there that needed to be brought to
justice, including those that had kidnapped Vox and two of the
Valdier Princes’ mates, Cara and Trisha.

“Has there been any word on the fate of Lady
Cara and Lady Trisha?” Calo suddenly asked, as if he was reading
Ha’ven’s mind.

“Trelon and Kelan are in pursuit. That is
all we know at this time,” Ha’ven replied. “Raffvin and his
followers have much to answer for.”

“If the Royal family needs my brother and my
assistance, we will help,” Calo volunteered.

“Keeping Creon’s mate safe is more
important. Raffvin or any of his followers would love to take him
out. He made a lot of enemies when he saw through their plans and
united the Valdier, Sarafin, and Curizan,” Ha’ven replied.

“My brother and I will protect Carmen with
our lives,” Calo promised even as his dragon snarled at him in
denial.

We pledged to protect and serve the Royal
family,
he reminded his dragon who hissed in anger.

Protect and serve mate,
his dragon
snapped back.
I feel mate. Want… need mate.

That… may be a little difficult,
Calo
carefully pointed out.
Our mate is not exactly what we were
expecting.

Care not what expect,
his dragon
insisted.
Want mate.

We have to be able to be in the same room
first without being attacked before we can do anything else,
Calo reminded his dragon.

Get in room,
his dragon retorted.
Grab, hold. I do rest.

Yeah, and have Lady Carmen kicking both
of our asses and then some,
Calo snorted, reaching up and
touching the shorter strand of hair on the side of his head.

“Are you and your dragon having an
argument?” Ha’ven asked with a knowing grin.

“Yes, I’m reminding him that pissing Lady
Carmen off is not a good idea,” Calo said with a rueful smile.

Ha’ven reached up and touched his own
shortened strand of hair. He shook his head as he laughed. He
couldn’t argue with that.

“Good luck with your mate,” Ha’ven said. “It
will be interesting to see how you and Cree win this battle.”

“We have to get close enough to have a
battle first,” Calo laughed. “Getting a shovel full of Pactor dung
slung at me is not exactly something I look forward to facing
again.”

Ha’ven grimaced and looked at the door.
“Better you than me,” he snorted as he slapped Calo on the
shoulder. “May the Goddess bless that you are swift on your
feet.”

Calo watched as Ha’ven turned and walked
away. He turned back to the repair bay door and straightened his
shoulders. He rolled his head from side to side to ease the tense
feeling in his shoulders.

Okay, round two,
he thought with
determination.
Let’s see if we can get the old man to help
us.

Just grab,
his dragon snorted and
rolled over.
I bite, problem solved.

You were not the one almost wearing
Pactor dung,
Calo reminded his dragon.
Be careful or I’ll
let you deal with it.

Pactor dung stinks,
his dragon
reluctantly agreed.

Cal watched in amusement as either Calo or
Cree hesitantly called out from the doorway. The warrior nervously
glanced around. His eyes paused on the small Pactor who was eating
leftovers out of a bucket that Zuk, one of the men who oversaw the
kitchens, brought twice a day for Melina to feed the baby
animal.

It had taken almost three days for Cal to
realize that there were actually two warriors constantly trying to
get into the repair bay instead of just the one. He had never seen
a set of twins who looked so much alike that he couldn’t tell them
apart.

He still couldn’t tell who was Cree and who
was Calo until after they started talking. He had been shocked
yesterday when he saw Melina standing staring back at the warrior.
So far, he had been successful in only allowing Carmen and Zuk into
the area even though the other two did their damnedest to try to
work their way in, at least he had until the day before.

A sigh escaped him as he remembered how
Melina had blushed when she admitted that the two warriors had made
it in twice now. Yesterday, when he had caught Calo trying to talk
to her and again about a half hour before. Cal had been surprised
when he got out of the shower a short time ago and discovered
Melina scrubbing Pactor dung off the wall next to the door. She
reluctantly admitted she had panicked when the man had walked in on
her. She had left her hat on the chair and Hobbler was between her
and the crates.

“I tossed a shovel of it at Calo to get him
out of here,” she admitted as she placed the soiled rags in the
bucket of disinfectant Doc Tandor sent down. “He startled me when
he came in while I was mucking out the pen.”

“Startled, huh?” Cal remembered asking
Melina as she blushed again and looked down. “You did good, Mel.
I’m proud of you.”

He knew it had been more than her being
startled. He saw the way the men searched for his granddaughter
every time they entered the repair bay with Carmen or for some
other excuse. Hell, he would have had to have been blind and deaf
yesterday to not see and hear the desperation in the man’s voice
and eyes when he tried to talk to Melina.

What worried him was the way Melina searched
for them as well. There were just some things in life that found a
way around any obstacle. While the men may think Melina was a boy,
Melina was all too aware that they were men. He could see the
curiosity in her eyes and hear it in her voice when she made casual
comments about them.

Right now, Cal lips twisted into an amused
grin as he watched the warrior step cautiously into the room. He’d
be pretty damn cautious too if someone had just tossed a load of
manure at him. He waited until the man turned his gaze back to him
before he spoke.

“Do those two gold creatures belong to you?”
Cal asked, folding his arms across his chest and jerking his head
toward the stack of crates where Melina had reluctantly retreated.
“I hope they aren’t stealing the things they keep bringing to Mel.
The boy won’t have any room to sleep if they keep fetching him
stuff.”

“One… one belongs to me. The other is my
brother, Cree’s, symbiot,” Calo said, glancing over to the crates
where he could sense his symbiot. “I wished to speak with you
today, if I may.”

Cal relaxed and nodded his head to the
chairs sitting out in front of the office. After so many years of
being cooped up in the narrow, dark tunnels of the mines it was
nice to sit outside in the open area of the repair bay. He could
drink the coffee that he replicated and watch Melina as she played
with the two symbiots that had become her constant companions or
care for Hobbler who liked to join in.

“Would you like some?” Cal asked as he
poured himself a cup of coffee. He raised his cup to the warrior
who shook his head at the offer. “Before you say what’s on your
mind, can you tell me why your symbiots and you and your brother
keep coming around so much?”

Calo swallowed. Cree and he decided that
they would approach the grandfather and see if perhaps the old man
would allow them to work with training his grandson. Since he was
the easy going one of the two, Calo suggested it would be best if
he talked to the man. They also decided that it would be best if
they didn’t mention that Mel was their mate. They were afraid the
old man would resist if he knew that.

“I have never formally introduced myself. I
am Calo Aryeh. My brother, Cree, and I are from the Northern
Mountains of Valdier,” Calo said with a nervous grin as he sat
down. “We are known as twins.”

Cal chuckled softly. “I finally figured that
one out. Took me a couple of days. We have twins back home.”

“You do?” Calo asked startled. “Then you
understand how difficult it is for them.”

“I guess it can be at times,” Cal finally
said after thinking it over.

“Yes, yes, it can be,” Calo said, sitting
back in the chair across from Cal. “My brother and I were thinking
that it might be good if your grandson spent some time with other
males.”

Cal rubbed the whiskers on his chin as he
thought about it. “Mel don’t care about spending time with others.
He’s more comfortable around animals, and those gold creatures,” he
added thoughtfully.

Calo leaned forward and spread his hands
wide. “Yes, but surely it would help him if he had others to talk
to. I mean, I know he can’t talk, but if he were to spend time
around others…” Calo’s voice faded as he ground his teeth in
frustration. Nothing he was wanting to say was coming out right.
“We would like to train the boy.”

Cal’s eyebrows rose at Calo’s sudden
statement. It was taking everything in him not to laugh. He knew
exactly what was going on. The two young men had no idea that Mel
was a girl, but their hormones did. Subconsciously, they must be
recognizing the difference.

He knew that Melina was attracted to at
least one of the twins. He wasn’t sure which one. Hell, it could be
both for all he knew. She was a beautiful young woman and she had
never even had a boyfriend… well, except for maybe a puppy love
with Stuart that one summer.

“Why would you want to train Mel?” Cal
asked.

“Well, he is small… and delicate,” Calo
started. “He should build up some muscle and it will help him eat
more so he can put on some weight. Every boy should know how to
protect himself. It would also be good for him. Cree and I can work
with him. It might help him with his… well, with his… mental issues
as well.”

“Son, I don’t think Mel is ready for
training to be a warrior,” Cal commented. “Besides, we’re hoping to
be going home so it won’t be necessary for Mel to learn all those
things.”

*.*.*

Melina sat back in the shadows and listened
to the conversation between her grandpa and Calo. Leaning her head
back, she grinned as Calo offered to train her to become a warrior.
She loved the sound of the two men’s voices. Both had deep, rich
ones that made her think of fresh made peach ice cream on a hot
summer day. One taste just made her crave more. It was as if she
couldn’t get enough.

She bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing
when she heard Calo comment about her being small and delicate. If
only he knew the truth. She moaned silently as she felt her body
react to the thought of both men knowing that she was a woman
instead of a boy.

She didn’t understand what it was about
them. The fact that she responded the same way to both men worried
her. Was there something wrong with her? It didn’t make sense for
her to be attracted to both of them.

“I wish I had my mom and Nana. They would
know what was wrong with me?” Melina whispered to the symbiots
lying beside her in the narrow slit between the crates. “Or if I
could talk to Carmen. She might understand why I am attracted to
them.”

Melina pulled her knees closer to her chest
and wrapped her arms around the small Teddy Bear Cree’s symbiot had
given her. She instinctively knew the difference between the two
symbiots. She didn’t know how or why, she just did. It was very
similar to how she could tell the two men apart the moment they
walked in. She had changed into the new clothes that Calo’s symbiot
had brought her recently. The shirt and pants were too big, but at
least they were thicker than the ones she had before.

She listened as Calo tried to convince her
grandfather all the reasons he should let the twins train her. She
rubbed her cheek along the soft material of the bear in her arms as
Calo finally stood to leave. Something told her neither he or his
brother would give up on the idea of trying to help her become
stronger.

She leaned forward and peeked around the
side when she heard the door open. She caught a brief glimpse of
Calo as he strode out of the repair bay. A goofy grin spread across
her face as she admired his cute butt in the tight, black fabric
pants he was wearing. A blush stole up her neck as she stared at
it, but she didn’t look away until he was gone. The view had just
been too mesmerizing to resist.

Once the door closed behind him, she stood
up and walked over to where her grandfather was sipping his coffee.
The two symbiots followed her, pressing against her before sitting
on the floor next to the chair when she sat down.

“You heard everything?” Cal asked as she
pulled her feet up so that her heels rested on the edge of the
chair. His eyes immediately went to the Teddy Bear she was
cuddling. “Are you okay, honey? I worry about you.”

Melina smiled at her grandfather. “I heard
everything. It is sort of funny when you think of the fact that
I’ve been able to survive for four years without having to know how
to ‘fight’. Still, it was sweet of them to ask you and to worry
about me.”

“You’ve done a good job, especially when you
have a shovel full of Pactor dung,” Cal reflected dryly.

Melina giggled and nodded. “Who needs a
sword or blaster thingy when you can have a pile of poop?”

Cal chuckled before he sobered. “You didn’t
answer my second question,” he pointed out. “How are you doing with
all of this?”