Page 29 of Buzz Kill (Smoke & Mirrors Tavern #7)

Chapter twenty-nine

ALWIN

Declan’s jaw fell open, telling me he hadn’t expected me to propose we spend our futures together out here in my brother’s backyard. It hadn’t been the right time or the right place, but I feared waiting would only give him time to run through every worst-case scenario in his head and talk himself out of trying for the life he deserved.

“I… but… you…” Declan stammered.

I cupped his jaw in my hands and forced his whiskey brown eyes to look at me. “Declan, do you want to be with me?” If he truly didn’t, then nothing else mattered. But every time he’d backed away, his family had been the excuse. His actions told me he cared for me deeply, but his words never seemed to agree with the things he did. “Ignore everything else. If your family and my court didn’t exist, would you want me?”

Declan’s eyes fell closed as he huffed out a laugh. “Are you serious?”

His hands wrapped around my wrists and pulled my hands away from his face so he could escape my stare. But even as he stared at the ground, he didn’t let go. His thumbs brushed over the pulse racing in my wrists and he froze. His eyes snapped up to mine in surprise, though I wasn’t sure why. Then he placed one palm over my chest, as if to confirm how hard my heart was pounding as I waited for his answer.

“You are serious,” he finally murmured, confusion clouding his expression. “How could you not know how I feel about you? It’s honestly pathetic. I don’t even know what to do with these feelings. Sometimes they make me feel like my chest is going to explode because I just don’t have the capacity to contain whatever my heart is trying to tell me, and sometimes I feel like it’s been hollowed out and won’t recover until I see you again. I knew it was a terrible idea getting close to you when my time here is limited, but I couldn’t stay away. It was reckless and stupid, but when you looked at me, it was like you could really see me as something more than just a vessel for magic. And when my world was falling apart, I would look up and see your face, and it was suddenly like I could breathe again. I’m more attached than I can afford to be and I don’t know what to do about it anymore. You make my chest ache and my skin burn and my heart race, and I don’t know how to make it stop! All I know is that the thought of losing you is unbearable and every time I think about the things that could happen… the things that almost did happen...”

Declan shook his head and sucked in a slightly panicked breath. “I don’t know how to do this, Alwin. I don’t know how to love, I don’t know how to be family, I don’t know how to protect you from everything that could happen. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever regretted not learning magic. Maybe then I would feel like I could stand by your side and not be a liability. But I didn’t, and I don’t think I can.”

I pulled the man into my arms and most of the tension eased as he melted into my embrace. “You are already doing everything you need to,” I assured him. “I don’t need a Prescott Sorcerer at my side, I only need you. You have saved my life and protected me over and over and proven to me the type of person you are. I would be honored to have you as my mate.”

Declan squeezed the shoulder he was buried against. “Then why do you feel like you’re about to murder someone?”

It truly amazed me that he saw through me so easily. I’d made sure my words and tone were gentle, but somehow he still picked up on the anger burning in my chest.

“Because after all your family has done to you, I’m not sure how to make you realize that you are worth more than your magic. That the person I want to share my life with me is simply you, not the heir to the Prescott Sorcerers, not a powerful magic user, not someone to defend my court or my family. If your family is all that stands in your way, I won’t let them take you from me. I don’t want you for what you can do for me, I just want you.”

Declan let out a self deprecating snort into my chest. “Why?”

“Is it not obvious that I enjoy spending time with you? I’ve been seeking you out at every opportunity for almost as long as you’ve been in Eastbend.”

Finally, he looked up and met my eyes, surprise and confusion written all over his face. “You said you were making sure I wasn’t causing trouble for Eastbend.”

I felt my lips twitch. “That may have been true before I came to know you, but it quickly became a rather thinly veiled excuse to spend time with you. With how easily you usually read me, that should have been obvious.”

“Should it? I flirted with you at every opportunity, but you kept shooting me down.”

“Because what you were offering at the time was merely physical and that wasn’t enough for me. Though I did a rather poor job of restraining myself. Only with you have I ever had so much trouble holding myself back.”

Declan seemed to understand the weight of that statement and his eyes softened. “Then don’t. At least, not around me.”

My heart pounded in my chest. “Do you understand what you’re saying?”

“I do, but if you’re giving me permission to be selfish about this, then I will at least be honest with you. I’m still not convinced it’s really possible. My family will eventually show up and try to tear it all away. But if you’re willing to take the chance, then I won’t lie to you and tell you I don’t want it. I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.”

The words were barely past his lips before I sealed them between us with my own. A weight lifted from my chest with his admission. He wanted me. Anything else we would handle, as long as a life with me was what he wanted.

Declan’s arms tightened around me and one hand crept up under my shirt. I slid both hands down and pulled his hips more firmly against me so I could feel the effect I had on him. The kiss turned a little desperate and our tongues were still tangled, my hands palming his ass when the back door opened and someone cleared their throat.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt,” Elliot stammered. “Aiden sent me to fetch you. It looks like it’s time.”

This time when we made our way to my brother’s side, I didn’t let go of Declan’s hand until I’d returned to my original spot. Declan took a seat slightly behind me, likely in an effort to soothe the dragon’s instincts about having a stranger so close to the egg, but Bastian only smiled at him.

It was obvious to everyone in the room what we’d been doing, but the dragons would be able to pick up my scent all over him. We didn’t need to say anything for them to understand that Declan agreed to accept our mating and as such, was a new member of their clan. I’d been claimed as part of their clan since they’d established themselves here in Eastbend, and likewise, Bastian’s mating to Aiden meant they were part of my court. We’d had a feast in Faerie after their mating to introduce the two groups and word that my court now held a mating contract with dragons had spread.

While we would normally celebrate the birth of my brother’s new child as well, it was important that the new Frystfyre heir be kept a secret from Bastian’s old clan so all celebrations would have to be held in Eastbend for now. Declan and I would represent my court on our own until we could ensure their safety in Faerie.

Aiden grabbed my arm as a tiny dragon snout became visible, breaking away the hard pieces of shell.

“Should we help?” Aiden asked anxiously. “If they’re ready now, wouldn’t it be okay?”

Lachlan was on the other side of the bassinet and he shook his head. “The magic protecting the egg will seal if there is outside interference. It’ll only make it harder for the hatchling. There’s nothing to worry about, the little one’s got it. See? She took her time getting started, but now that she’s ready, she’s quite spunky, isn’t she?”

“She?” Aiden questioned.

Lachlan shrugged. “Just a hunch. The magic on the shell hasn’t broken away enough yet to tell, but old dragon legends say that female hatchlings tend to be more aggressive than their male counterparts.”

Aiden let out a breath and leaned into Bastian. “I’m just relieved the hatchling is a dragon capable of breaking the shell. I had nightmares about a little human baby being trapped in there.”

Lachlan smiled. “That’s why we didn’t tell you we couldn’t interfere with the hatching earlier, but you can see there was nothing to worry about.”

A large piece of the shell finally broke and a tiny blue dragon forced her way out. Lachlan frowned but reached out to look her over and dry her off. When he attempted to wrap her up in a blanket, the hatchling tiredly nipped at his fingers.

Aiden scooped up the little dragon and nuzzled her with tears in his eyes. “Hey little one,” he whispered. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

My niece relaxed in her parent’s arms for a few moments before forcing her way back toward the nest. Her little legs were still weak, but when Aiden saw what she was doing, he placed her back in the bassinet. Lachlan reached to clear the shell away, but he’d barely picked it up before once again receiving a nip along with an angry chirp. He yanked his hands back, eyes wide.

Aiden soothed the little dragon with a frown. “Why does she keep doing that?”

Unexpectedly, Lachlan’s face broke into a huge smile. “Because she’s a protective big sister.”

“What?” Aiden breathed.

“She’s so small for an egg that big, and when I tried to take the shell, it was far too heavy.”

Understanding dawned and I risked getting nipped to peek into the opening in the shell. Nestled inside, still protected by the dragon magic that hadn’t yet dissipated, was a tiny human baby with slightly pointed ears and a touch of dark auburn hair. He looked so much like Aiden had as a baby that I nearly reached for him myself, but Aiden beat me to it. While my niece continued to chip away at the shell, Aiden reached inside and carefully lifted the other baby.

The moment he was free, Lachlan risked his fingers to check him over and swaddle the child in blankets, but this time he received no rebuttal from the little dragon. Aiden cradled their son while Bastian scooped up his exhausted daughter and stroked a finger over her scales.

“You made your papa proud,” Bastian told his daughter. “You have the heart of a warrior and guardian, my princess.”

Aiden flicked his mate, ruining the emotional moment. “Unless she wants to have the heart of an artist.”

Bastian grinned and kissed Aiden’s temple. “You are proof that she can have both the heart of an artist and a guardian, my love.”

After the new parents had a few moments with their hatchlings, Aiden turned and placed his son into my impatiently waiting arms while Ollie slipped past Titus to make grabby hands for his daughter. It had been more than fifty years since I held a child this young, but it all came flooding back the moment he was in my arms. The sense of responsibility and fierce protectiveness that came with raising a baby. And this one especially, like Aiden, was likely to experience some trials of his own.

Prince and heir to the Frystfyre dragon clan, but he was born in human form and clearly took after my brother more so than Bastian. My niece already had the unmistakable dual eye colors of a fire and ice dragon, but my nephew had yet to open his eyes. Whatever his species, his parents and his clan would love him without fail, but that didn’t mean he would never face adversity among his own people should he ever return to Faerie. Just like Aiden.

Likely sensing my emotional moment, Declan rubbed a hand up and down my back. “Who would dare mess with these kids?” he murmured to me softly. “If their parents didn’t tear anyone who tried to shreds, they’d still have you, me, a court of elven soldiers and a dragon clan at their backs. Bullies would piss themselves before they laid a finger on them. You might not see it because you’re so close, but Aiden can be pretty damn scary when he wants to be.”

I felt my chest loosen and my lips curve at his reassurances. My brother had a fiery and defiant personality from the day he was born that had carried him through many tough times. There was every reason to believe his children would be the same. And if they weren’t, Declan was right. Much like I’d assured him earlier, we were not a family to be taken lightly. I may have been on my own when Aiden was young, but that wasn’t the case anymore. These children would grow up in a community that celebrated their differences, and it was more important than ever that we protect the haven that Eastbend had become.