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Story: Cosmo

“Cosmo!” Corbin’s big, booming voice reached him through the fog, those hard hands on his shoulders. “I got you, bro. Come on. You’re scaring us.”

He snapped back to the present, choking on his own spit a little.

“What the hell?” Cullen asked him. “You were foaming.”

He shook his head, trying desperately to warn them, to breathe, but he couldn’t quite make his brain work.

“Inside,” Corbin barked, and Cullen helped lift him and carry him in, wrapping him in a blanket so he could stretch out onthe couch. His lips felt numb. Who was that and why was he, because it was a big male alpha dragon, no doubt, after them?

“Brother. Brother, we’re good. We’re good. Don’t panic, please.” Cullen sounded worried, like he was panicked himself.

He sucked in a deep breath, then let it out. “I saw a huge male dragon. He was flying over the house, and I felt this pull, as if he was trying to get us to come out so he could flame us.”

“It was a fire dragon?” Corbin asked.

“Yes. A giant one. Old. Older than Gavin, maybe.”

“Why would he come after us?” Cullen asked.

“Because we guard the veil?”

“It could be, but no one knows we’re here yet, right? Just the clutch.” Corbin waved toward the hallway that led to Lunastra and Gavin and Austin and Dustin and all the babies. “They won’t harm us.”

“No. No, but what if someone thought they were going to get across the veil, and he didn’t?” He wrapped his arms around himself as he sat up. “What if someone was pissed?”

“No way. If someone is still here, it’s for a reason. That means they have no real reason to come after us.” That was Cullen.

“Okay, then why was he spitting fire in my vision?”

Corbin shrugged. “Heartburn?”

“Melting snow,” Cullen offered.

“Uh…he was boiling water for tea?”

“Could be smelting.”

Cosmo arched an eyebrow. “Smelting.”

“Ore. For his hoard.”

“You don’t tend to do that in the air,” Cosmo said drily. But the image did make him laugh.

“No, but who knows?” Cullen put a hand on his arm. “It was just me talking about the house being weird. That’s all.”

“I bet.” But he wanted to get out there and finish painting his gate. “Can someone get me a Coke? The sugar will do me good.”

“Totally. We had a bunch of supplies delivered today—including snacks for the dragons.” Corbin shook his head. “They do love Doritos.”

“They really do.” Cullen chuckled, going to grab him a Coke, bringing it to him. “Here, bro. Sugar and bubbles.”

“Two of my favorite things!” Better than visions, that was for damn sure.

“Mine too!” Cullen sat next to him after shoving his feet off the couch. He also had a Coke, and Corbin brought some Oreos for them all to share. He snuggled into his brothers, letting their nearness comfort him.

He loved times like this, where they could all sit and be together and support each other. No rivalry, none of the weirdness of the last few years in their worlds. So much magic, and it had needed somewhere to go, so it had crossed the veil into other realms.

Which was why he didn’t understand his vision.