Page 65

They rounded the house, and he saw a much shorter, leaner man bent over, tilling a little with some kind of tool.

“Da! Come meet Cullen.”

“Ah!” The man straightened. “Hello, Cullen. I am Alnitak. Pleasure to meet you.” This one was all earth, from his deep green eyes to his loam-colored hair. He was lovely. And he was hugging Cullen hard. His hugs were like Mom’s. Magical.

Then he was spun into a hug like Dad’s. Bone crushing. “Welcome to our new son.”

Tears stung his eyes. “Thank you. I—” He looked at Orion, who winked and mouthed,Hormones.

He stuck out his tongue. “Come. I’ll make tea. I was going to for Orion, but then he told us about you, and we made him go get you.” Alnitak moved close and put a hand on his belly. “Hello, butterfly!”

“That’s what I think of her as.” He was doomed to be a watering pot this whole meeting, he could tell.

Before he could blink away the tears, a host of little lights that sounded like hummingbirds surrounded them. “Baby?” he heard tiny, high-pitched voices asking. “Orion’s baby?”

Cullen nodded, offering the little fluttering lights a smile. Of course, a rush of butterflies in every color of the rainbow began to flutter around them, the magic refusing to be held back, even a bit.

Orion came to him, holding him easily. “Yes, lovelies. This is my mate. He’s having our child. A new baby.”

“Finally!” One of them came right up to Orion and popped him on the nose, even as the others explored him, tugging at his hand and clothes, the touches of light hot and a bit shocking.

“Be nice, dears. Cullen has come a long way.” Alnitak waved his hand gently, dislodging them, before wrapping one hand around Cullen. “Tea and cakes, I think. There hasn’t been a dragon here in a millennium.”

“So long?” Orion teased his father.

“Maybe longer.” Alnitak shot back, and Orion’s laughter filled the air.

Rigel watched him, eyes so stormy, so serious. “And your other people—the Ildathach?”

He nodded, smiled. He hadn’t used that term in a while. “My mother is Calla of the Flower Mound.”

“Then she would fall right in with my mate, eh?” When Rigel looked at Alnitak, the love there humbled him, made him happy. That was what he wanted for him and Orion in however many years. He already had all these feelings for his unicorn that he could never put into words.

Just think how he would feel after having children and spending decades together.

“I like how you look at him,” Alnitak murmured to him. “You are fully invested in this, dragon-fae.”

“I—yeah, I guess I am. I want to keep him safe. I want to be with him.”

Rigel shook his head. “Protect him?”

“Of course!” Cullen blinked over them, shaking his head. “Orion’s magical. I can’t bear the thought of someone hurting him! I love him, and I won’t allow anyone to hurt him, ever.”

Alnitak came to him, hugged him again. “You are amazing, sweet dragon-fae.”

“He’s a guardian. He protects the Land of Summer and the dragon world.” Orion sounded so very pleased, so proud. “Him and his brothers.”

A cup of tea was offered to him, the cup paper thin and delicate, the most delicate robin’s egg blue with a bright yellow foot and handle. It was amazing.

The tea itself was deep, dark and rich, and it smelled like the earth and growing.

He drank deep, and he swore, for half of a heartbeat, he could hear their baby girl laughing. “Oh!”

Orion smiled at him. “Are you well, mate?”

“More than. I heard her. I honestly heard her laugh, and it was perfect. She is going to be amazing.”

The smile widened. “I can’t wait until I can hear her,” Orion said.