Page 7 of Singing the Dragon’s Heart

Chapter

Seven

R eno was out doing something martial.

Kami had no idea what, but he knew it had to do with throwing other dragons around and barking orders and such.

He was still on mandatory bedrest, which felt silly, but at the same time, it meant he got to lay in bed and listen to his, and Reno’s, stone’s songs. They twined beautifully together, the harmony kind of amazing.

He was also catching up on shows he liked, which included cooking and baking ones from England. So nice to each other, those folks. They always made him smile.

He was just starting a new season with a glass of milk next to him and a piece of leftover pizza hanging out of his mouth when the door chime went off.

Dammit.

He sighed and put his pizza down, then climbed out of bed. He didn’t really know anyone here, so that was probably Talon. Which was fine. Talon liked the British baking series too.

He got to the door, opened it, and he wished he’d put on his robe over his boxer briefs and one of Reno’s T-shirts…

“Hi!” Two omegas stood there, smiling. One held a box of doughnuts, and the other one held a drink carrier.

“Uh. Hi.” Kami smiled, or tried to. He wasn’t sure if it translated into that or a teeth baring.

“I’m Lake.”

“And I’m Eyv.”

“We’re Boone and Durango’s mates. They’re Reno’s best friends.”

“Oh.” He blinked several times. “Uh. I’m Kami. Nice to meet you.”

“Can we come in? We brought doughnuts.”

“Sure.” He stepped back, totally unsure what to expect. Was this the omega welcome wagon?

“Here you go!” The one called Lake handed him the doughnuts.

“Thank you. Come and sit down.” He felt a little odd offering to entertain guests in Reno’s apartment…

“Reno said you liked caramel lattes. I hope he wasn’t blowing smoke out of his ass,” Eyv said.

That made him cackle. “I doubt he could do that, but one never knows. He’s a talented guy.”

That had the other two chuckling, and they handed him his coffee.

“So, is that your heartstone?” Lake asked.

He touched the pendant against his chest, feeling the stone throb with power. “Yeah. Morganite.”

“It’s lovely.”

“Thanks.” He studied the doughnuts, because this was an important choice. How many did they get of what? What did that tell him about which ones they wanted? “Reno told me a little about how rough it was on you both to bond with a new stone.”

Lake rolled his eyes. “Almost killed Eyv.”

Eyv snorted. “It almost killed you too, Kami. Just sort of front-loaded.”

“Yeah. I felt like it went fast as soon as I handed it over to Talon.”

”How do you even do that?” Lake’s eyes went wide.

Kami shrugged, his cheeks heating. “I don’t know. I mean, I just did it, you know? Cain says I’m some sort of stone magician, so maybe it just did what I told it to.”

Eyv grinned. “I’ve never met a stone singer before.”

Kami rolled his eyes. “Neither have I. I grew up in a weird little commune in the desert with like, three families.”

“That’s wild.” Lake finally grabbed a jelly doughnut.

Okay, whew. He grabbed a Boston creme, because that was his fave, and there were three of those…

“Oh, yum.” That had to be the best doughnut he’d ever had.

“Right? The head pastry chef makes them herself, and they’re so yum. Like, just right. Fluffy and light but crispy on the outside…”

“And she actually fills them,” Eyv agreed. “No wimpy dot of jelly for her.”

He grinned. “You guys get me.”

“Yay!” Lake sipped his coffee. “Man, it’s so quiet in here. I’ve forgotten what a room sounds like without kids in it.”

“Oh my God, so many children.” Eyv grabbed a lemon filled, from the smell of it.

They all munched for a bit before he asked, “What should I save for Reno?”

“The apple fritters and the blueberry one.”

“Okay cool.” So he could have another Boston. “So what do you guys do around here?”

Lake just chuckled, cheeks pink. “I take care of kids.”

“That seems to be a theme.”

“It kinda happens when we mate with our braaken.” Eyv shrugged.

“Mmm.” He kept that noncommittal. “I can tell Reno is a good uncle.”

“He’s amazing,” Lake said. “So is Triton. Is Talon a lot like him?”

He blinked. “I have no idea. I met Talon after he was banished.”

“Oh.” Eyv stared at him. “Oh! So have you even met Triton?”

“Not yet, no. I think it’s pretty complicated still, so I’m hanging back.” And he was supposed to be on bed rest.

Which was boring. Doughnuts were better.

“Well, I think you’ll like him. He’s really loosened up a lot. He was kind of formal when he showed up here. But his mates have really made his life better.”

“I’m glad.” He really did hope Triton and Talon could come back around to being brothers in all the good ways.

He was all over that. Seriously.

He yawned, surprising himself, and he gave the guys a sheepish grin. “Sorry. I guess I’m still sleepy.”

“It’s hard on a body, going through all that.”

“No shit on that. It’s brutal, but I’m feeling so much better.” He had to smile, even chuckle. “I mean, it sucked, that dying thing. This is way more fun…”

Eyv snorted. “I’m the head teacher. It sucks worse than a class of hormonal teenagers, and let me tell you?—”

“Oh man…” Now that was something else. “This is a growing keep, is it?”

He wasn’t going to be adding to that growing thing, at least he didn’t think so. He’d never had hot monkey heat sex, so that meant that he wasn’t super-duper fertile dude, right?

Kami hadn’t been in a situation where the other teenagers he’d known were appealing in the least, so when he’d left home and had sex—and there had been a lot of that, thank you—he’d never done that whole heat thing.

Maybe that had to do with the stone singing stuff.

Maybe they couldn’t breed.

Kami didn’t care. He had Reno. He had his stone. He had his best friend. He had a mission.

Save the omegas and get them somewhere they could thrive.

“Are you okay? Should we go?” Lake touched his arm, expression all pinched and worried. “We just wanted to stop by and introduce ourselves. Reno is important to us, and we wanted to meet his mate. He’s over the moon that you’re here.”

Eyv nodded. “I’ve never seen him so happy. He actually smiles at people. It’s amazing.”

“He is. He is down having patty melts with the guys right now.”

One of Kami’s eyebrows winged up. “He is?”

Jealousy didn’t suit him.

Lake nodded. “Boone, my mate—he was checking in. He’s going to bring supper home so I don’t have to worry about it.”

How very…domestic. “How many children do you have?”

“Six. For now.”

“Oh.” Are you bringing supper home to me too? he sent to Reno.

Did you want me to, hailee? You were sleeping.

I would like that, yes. I have apple fritters.

Lake grinned at him. “Is he going to bring you food?”

“I think so, yes. I’ve been wanting milkshakes. A patty melt sounds like just the thing.” How could he be hungry after—he checked—three doughnuts?

Eyv just chuckled. “Near-death makes one hungry. We’ll get out of your scales. We just wanted to tell you how welcome you are, and that you have friends here.”

“I appreciate that.” Patty melt, onion rings, and shake.

He could feel Reno grin . You got it.

Good deal, the welcome wagon came.

Did they? Innocence did not suit Reno at all.

Uh-huh. In fact, he remembered his manners and ushered Lake and Eyv out, closing the door behind them after a wave and a smile. They’re very nice.

You say that like it’s a bad thing. They want to make friends.

I don’t make friends, Reno.

Neither did I. They don’t give you much of a choice, so you just have to give in. They’re both very friendly.

I noticed. They did come bearing doughnuts and coffee, which was decent enough.

Soon he would just go work out with Boone and Durango and the rest of the warriors. Maybe teach the big lugs some tricks. Talon had been surprised to find out how much Kami learned on the streets. It was hard being a little guy trying to save whoever he could. You had to learn things, or you died.

The guys didn’t want you to feel alone. They’re worrywarts, but they’re kind, you know? You’ll be fine.

I am fine. Go do whatever it is you’re going to do, and don’t forget supper.

He was going to go back to bed and hide, licking his wounds, real and imagined.

Both Eyv and Lake, he could tell, were highborn , not just random assholes like him. He wasn’t sure that they’d even met random assholes like him. It was more than a little unnerving, if he was honest.

A little aggravating.

He wasn’t sure that any of them even had a scar.

Okay, that was unfair. They might not be scarred, but they did know what it was like to lose their stone, and they had survived. And they were Reno’s friends’ mates. So basically they were like family. It was just…

He didn’t know.

Kami wasn’t used to making random friends. He had Talon, who was another outcast like him, someone unconcerned with all the vagaries of the rules.

Okay, he didn’t want to think about this. It was too complicated.

So, the simplest answer was the best. He was going to go back to bed, crawl into the covers, and just let everything go so he could float in the clouds.

He had to get healed up so he could head back out. Maybe if he was lucky, the boss, whatever his name was, could help him out. Send Reno his way, so they could work together. Reno, him, and Talon, rescuing omegas everywhere they could.

It was a good thought. A pleasant one.

One he could sleep on.