Page 56 of Awakening

Chapter 13

A beam of light cascaded across Trystan’s face, waking him from a restful night’s sleep. He blinked and squinted, twisting his face away from the intruding sun to nuzzle the warmth surrounding him. A soft puff of air tickled the hair on his nape.

A warm body pressed against him from behind, skin to skin. The hand on his hip slid upward over his abdomen before pausing on his chest. Lips nipped at his ear as a semi hard member prodded his ass, eliciting a low, rumbling moan from Trystan.

“Mmm… angel.”

Myrddin’s voice behind Trystan was gravelly from sleep. The strong arm around Trystan squeezed him tighter, pulling him closer.

“Let’s not get up yet,” Myrddin mumbled.

“All right.”

Trystan settled into Myrddin’s embrace. His eyes closed, he let his mind drift. As he lay between sleep and awake, a faint voice echoed in the distance followed by an excited bark.

“Da! Papa!” The little girl’s voice grew louder. “Da! Papa! Hurry! You must get up!”

Myrddin groaned quietly, and Trystan chuckled softly as two little feet and four paws padded and scraped across the hard, compacted dirt floor. Both men kept their eyes closed, pretending to sleep.

“Iknowyou’re awake,” she said.

Trystan couldn’t help his smile. He opened one eye and looked at his daughter. She beamed back.

“Told you she’s already too smart for her own good,” Myrddin said. “So what is it we must get up for, Emma?”

“There’s a firebow. A dragon is being born, and you said it is rare. Da loves dragons. I do not want him to miss it. He will be sad if he misses it. Won’t you, Da?”

“You are right, bug.” Trystan pushed himself up to his elbow, Myrddin’s hand falling loosely to his hip. “I would be terribly sad if I missed the birth of a dragon.”

“I knew it!” Emma beamed as Trystan clambered out of bed. She waited just long enough for him to cinch his leather pants snugly around his waist before grabbing Trystan’s hand. She tugged him toward the wooden door that led outside. “Come quickly, Da!”

Myrddin couldn’t help his chuckle as their daughter nearly dragged Trystan out of the bed chamber. The moment they were out of sight, he hopped out of bed, pulled on his pants, and went to follow. Myrddin strode up behind them where his husband and daughter stood in the field of patchy grass and rock, staring at the swirl of rainbow fire in the eastern sky.

“Why do we not see them, Papa?”

“The dragons? Because they live in another realm, Em. Earth is a dangerous world for a dragon.”

The five-year-old blonde girl released Trystan’s hand. She wrapped her arms around the neck of the gray and white wolf with muddy paws standing at her side and hugged it.

“Do you see it too, Artemis?”

Trystan smiled and stepped back to stand beside Myrddin, threading their fingers together.

“I haven’t seen a firebow since I was a child,” Trystan said. “I’d almost forgotten how beautiful they are.”

“Why is Earth dangerous for them?” Emma asked as she nuzzled her wolf.

“The air here is toxic to them,” Myrddin answered. “They can survive only a few days here. After that, they begin to suffocate. Unfortunate, as dragons would love the vastness and beauty of this world. And they are notoriously protective.”

Trystan fixed his gaze on the iridescent orange, yellow, blue, and purple swirls of light as they shimmered and slowly faded.

“All right, Em,” Myrddin said. “I think it’s time you get on with your chores.”

“Yes, Papa.” Emma stood. “Let’s go, Artemis.”

The wolf followed her on command.

“Those two are nigh inseparable,” Trystan said.