Page 40 of Gift from the Source (Source of Elementra #5)

Thirty-five

Draken

Fifty-four years later

“Come on, little man, you can do it. Come meet your favorite dragon. You got it.”

“You don’t know he’s a boy. Also, why do you get to be the favorite dragon? It may like Tanith or Willow better.”

I scoff at my dad and the ridiculousness that just came out of his mouth.

I’m going to be the favorite.

I rescued him.

Well, I mean…it was a joint effort. But I’m the funniest one.

Definitely.

“I do know he’s a boy. A strong, healthy boy at that. Ignorant flight has no idea what they’re going to miss out on. He’s going to be brilliant.”

“I don’t doubt that, son, but…do you think we should head back to the Keep? According to Tanith, he’s ten days past—”

My eyes shift and I growl. “We are not taking him back to the Keep, nor will I hear another word about how he’s past his hatching cycle. His heart is strong, and he will do it.”

My chest rises and falls fast as my dragon pushes to the surface. He’s so protective over the little egg and I am as well. Add us together and it doesn’t take much to set us off when it comes to our little hatchling.

I shake my head out as I reassure my beast we’re not taking him back.

“I’m sorry. Let’s just…we’re not bringing that up again.”

“I’m sorry, Draken, I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m just worried, but I don’t sense things as you do, so if this is what’s best for him, then okay.”

He holds my gaze with his hand on my shoulder and the confidence he has in me simmers me down even more.

That look is so much better than the one he arrived here with a month ago. The fear that colored his whole face as he busted through the south wing screaming our names was a look I’ll never forget.

Willow, my brothers, and I jumped off the couch in her foyer, ready for war, faster than he could blink.

He was out of breath and my little wanderer had to fill his lungs with air just so he could explain what was going on.

Tanith and him had been going for a flight when they ran across a flight of dragons preparing to perform what they call a Hatchling Stoning.

It’s a very heartbreaking process.

Sadly, the parents of the egg can tell if there’s something wrong with the little dragon or if for whatever reason, the little one didn’t make it.

The flight will breathe their fire around the egg until it’s as hard as stone. It’s their version of our remembrance ceremonies and it’s incredibly powerful and emotional.

Well, Keeper and Tanith stopped their flight to pay their respects.

Tanith, though, sensed that there was something different about the little dragon inside. She attempted to stop the flight and somewhat understandably, they didn’t take it well.

She tried to reason with them and get them to sense that the difference didn’t mean something was wrong. It just simply meant different.

The flight didn’t want to hear it, nor did they want different .

Before they could breathe their first breath of flames…

Well, Tanith stole the egg and flew off.

The flight took chase.

She managed to get low enough to the ground that Keeper could jump off. She ordered him to come and get me.

Willow opened a portal right there in the foyer as soon as he explained that and we stepped through right where the battle was taking place.

The two of us shifted instantly and I released a vicious roar.

One that, according to my grandparents, shook the whole realm and scared the blood from their veins.

It was only for Tanith’s request that I didn’t burn them all to a crisp where they stood for the damage they did to her.

Her reasonings were, “This is the way of dragons.”

Fuck that.

No one was going to fuck with my golden sassy-ass pseudo aunt dragon.

My little wanderer told me to respect Tanith’s request, so then I had no choice but to listen.

I gave the flight two choices.

They could willingly allow us to take the egg if they were going to go forward with the Stoning or they could face my flame.

They willingly gave us the egg.

The father of the hatchling told me not to bring the deformity back to their flight if it survives.

So I bit a chunk out of his wing and told him to enjoy his fucking deformity.

The memory makes me mental every time I think about it.

I completely understand it’s the way of animals to get rid of members of their groups that are too weak to survive or help. But this is a flight of one of the most intelligent species in all the realms.

They have zero reason to be so intolerant. The knowledge they’d share with the little guy would be plenty enough for him to survive. If there are physical variations in him, they wouldn’t stop him. He’d find another way.

That’s the way of dragons.

“Draken… ”

My dad’s quiet whisper pulls me from my mind and the paling of his face has me slowly turning toward the nest. The small rocking has the ground vibrating beneath my feet.

“Oh my Elementra, it’s happening!” I pick Keeper up and spin him around as I laugh manically. “It’s happening. It’s so fucking happening. Go get the others, please. I can’t leave him.”

He catches himself as I throw him through the air. His little chuckle whispers back to me as he hauls ass.

“Come on, little man. You can do this. You got it. I’m right here,” I purr.

“Draken, what’s going—Oh my goodness,” my little wanderer says as she and my brothers step out of the shadows and my dad appears behind them with Gaster in tow.

“It’s happening. Everyone, get ready.”

“You and the Adored need to shift, young lord.”

“So right, Tanith. Fuck, of course.”

I grip Willow by the arm and zoom us away from the others. Her excited squeal makes my smile grow even larger.

“It’s happening, dragon. We’re about to have a little hatchling flying around.”

My heart stops beating for a moment.

For the past one hundred years spent with her, she’s never doubted me. Even in this. This isn’t the first time she’s said those words, but just like the first time I heard them, the confidence she has in me warms my body from the inside out.

“Yeah, we are, little wanderer.”

Our shifts take over and we reappear in the same size as Tanith.

My brothers and dad nod to the two of us as we join their circle here in the middle of the mansion’s lawn.

Purrs start up in Willow’s, Tanith’s, and my throats. Everyone else hums like I made them practice.

The louder our melody grows, the more the little egg vibrates.

“Come on, little man, we believe in you.”

“Come on, baby, we’ve got you. Your family is here waiting on you. ”

Willow’s and my words continue to filter through our minds. We push as much encouragement as possible. When my brothers start murmuring sweet words as well, my heart melts.

The first ground-quaking shake has the birds in the forest squawking as they take flight.

The second sends a split down the center of the egg.

“One more big push. You’ve got this.”

Tillman’s gift flows from his fingers as he pulls the earth back together as it cracks open all around us. Gaster’s flows to the forest to hold up the trees.

Every window in the mansions rattles as the third vibration is accompanied by a bright flash of light as the pieces of the egg shatter all around.

As it dims, it seems to drag Willow, my brothers, and myself closer. We couldn’t stop ourselves even if we wanted to.

Shock races through my chest as we all lay eyes on our hatchling. A deep, primal connection flows through me and into him. It’s so strong, it’s hard to draw in any air.

His little head pokes up and a small wail pours from his throat.

I immediately react.

My head gently lays against his and I purr until he tries to mimic my sounds.

“You’re perfect.”

I breathe the words as an unbelievable sensation crawls through me. The information I’ve been blessed to receive over the last one hundred years flows from me and into him. The line of connection between the two of us stays taut until there’s nothing left from me to give.

As I pull back, another little sound has Willow moving into my place. I’ve never seen a tear fall from a dragon’s eye before, but the one that slides down her cheek has my own forming.

My brothers all move in around him and he’s just as receptive to them as he was to me and Willow.

“Glorious,” Cas whispers as the little guy nuzzles his head into his hand.

He, Corentin, and Tillman fall completely still, and my breathing grows deeper as their emotions sear through my skin .

When they pull away, their misty eyes meet mine, asking a question I don’t completely have an answer to.

Tanith moves in next and lays her forehead to his. Her purr shakes me to my core. The love she has for him vibrates through my claws in the dirt all the way to my heart.

Keeper and Gaster move in together. The little guy ruffles himself out like he knows he’s about to be spoiled.

The energy in the air changes beside me as Willow shifts back and I follow her.

Our little guy gets so excited when he sees her, he attempts to flap his wings and run toward her. She’s there in a flash to catch him as he stubbles.

“Whoa, little one. Take it easy,” she coos as she sits on the ground, and he makes himself comfortable in her lap.

“In all my years, I’ve never seen his color on a dragon before,” Keeper says softly to Gaster, but we all hear him.

“In all my years, I’ve learned there are no such things as coincidences.”

Our eyes meet the old man’s.

It’s definitely not a coincidence his scales are midnight purple.

I just don’t understand why.

“Well, what are we going to name this little guy?” I ask as I sit on the ground across from Willow and him.

He pokes his head up and tilts his snout at me but chuffs and lays it back down when I try to coax him to come here. He snuggles in deeper, burying his face more into her side to hide from me the harder I try.

Not gonna lie, I pout a smidge.

So much for being his favorite.

Willow’s eyes light for a second with humor before clouding over. It’s over in a millisecond and she smiles softly as she runs her hand down his back. “His name is Prio.”

We all repeat his name, and he pops his head up to look at us. Our chuckles echo around, and he quickly loses interest in us.

“There’s not a thing wrong with him, but there is still something…different,” Tanith says.

“Different is perfectly fine. ”

“I never said it wasn’t. I just figured we’d know immediately what it was that I sensed when he hatched. I haven’t the slightest clue.”

“Sometimes…it isn’t best to have all the answers right away. For now, all we need to know is he’s meant to be here with us. Whatever that purpose proves to be later, we will accept,” Willow says as she leans down and kisses Prio on the head.

Cas kneels beside Willow and Prio again huffs as he lifts his head back up like he’s so incredibly tired of being bothered. Granted, I bet he is after all that hard work he put in. It can’t be easy being born.

“Can he understand us like you can, Tanith? Will the naughty little Primary need to watch her mouth around him?”

“He can understand you all just fine, but his communication skills will take time to develop.”

“Then you all will be wishing otherwise,” my dad grumbles.

“Hilarious little vampire man,” she teases back. “Draken knows all of this, but for the rest of your information, young dragons do not develop like you all do. There isn’t much of a ‘baby’ phase, per se. He’ll be able to walk on his own within a few hours. Then for the next two or so days, he’ll be clingy to us all. Following everywhere one of us goes, more likely one of you all. He won’t want to be alone. From there, he’ll move on to wanting to be more independent as his first bouts of communal knowledge settle in. It’ll be eight or so years before he can fly, but he’ll get to a point before then where he won’t care for your constant attention. Overall, it will feel like having a small child who loves you to having a teenager who only wants to be around you sometimes, but they constantly need to be watched because their curiosity can cause trouble. That will last many, many years.”

Petrifying fear sears through my Nexus and we all glance at each other with wide eyes.

“Shit, guys. What did we get ourselves into?”

“The fuck do you mean we, dragon? You did this. We just supported you every step of the way. Now we’re damn…dragon parents.”

The hysteria in Cas’s tone causes a surprised laugh to bubble out of me. It starts out as a series of small snorts that I try to choke back. The more his eyes darken on me, the harder and louder the laugh becomes.

My little wanderer is the first to break.

Her laugh has the others falling apart shortly after.

That fear that was so stark in us a second ago slowly fades away as we each get on the same page. There’s a shared understanding that just like Gaster said, there are no coincidences.

Prio is supposed to be here and we’re going to take care of him.

The little guy must sense Cas’s lingering worry. He wiggles his head underneath Willow’s arm until she lifts it up out of his way and he crawls into Caspian’s lap.

His body is tense for a moment, then he gives in, and his shadows caress the little creature.

“Caspian Vito. Shadow dragon daddy.”

My little wanderer’s eyes blaze with my words and I purr at her.

Elementra.

In some hundred-plus years, I’m gonna put a baby in her.