Chapter Fifteen
Mac
I thought feeding Odessa and Rapture their cow quarters would be the most dramatic part of my morning, but I was wrong. All four of Punky and Lark's children tried to run from them when they announced it was time to go home.
"I want to go to the park one more time!" Ernie said. "We met a tadpole, and I wanna see it turn into a frog!"
"I didn't get to ride the underground rollercoaster," Grover whined. It was indoors, not underground, but it was the closest thing to the grotto we'd seen on Earth. It had been undergoing repairs while we were there.
"I haven't studied enough mosquitos!" Clementine shouted.
Punky and Lark locked gazes, and both rolled their eyes at the same time. "If she only knew how much I hated mosquitos growing up," Lark said. "They're the worst bugs on the planet."
"I don't get it," Punky whined. "They haven't bitten her, not once."
"I haven't gotten another mosquito bite since I turned twenty-five and they reversed the changeling spell," Lark said. "Mac, have you ever been bitten by a mosquito?"
I tried to recall my earlier trips to Earth. "I don't think so."
"It's the body temperature difference," Punky said. "We're spelled to look human, but we're not. Galen, have you been bothered by bugs?"
Galen laughed. "Anything that tried to bite me would ingest fire from my veins."
Lark laughed. "In other words, they don't know because whatever bit them turned into a tiny pile of ash."
"Yes." Galen's grin was almost feral beneath their bushy mustache.
"A well-deserved pile of ash," Punky said. "Come on, kids! It's time to go!"
Robin ran with Grover to the far end of the parking lot, but he was the first to return to the van.
"I want to go home," Robin said. "I'll be closer to Weld there."
Galen nodded. "You'll feel closer to him once we cross planes."
"How do you know so much about our bond?" Robin asked.
Galen shrugged and pointed to me. "It's the same kind of bond I have with Mac. You have what dragons call a dragon bond."
"Does that mean one of us is a dragon?" Robin's hopeful grin vanished when Galen shook their head.
"Sorry, little one. I'm more inclined to believe it's the number of years between your births. I am centuries older than Mac, and Weld is decades older than you. I knew even before I met Mac that he was my mate." Galen wrapped their arm around my waist. "It made my final molt easier."
"My final molt is forever away." Unshed tears filled the little boy's eyes. "He feels closer when we're at home, though. When I'm old enough, I'll go looking for him."
Galen nodded. "I'm sure he would like that."
Punky had Clementine clutched over his shoulder and Lark had death grips on the other boys' wrists as they crossed the parking lot to us. "Sorry for the delay," Punky said.
"Can I ride home with Uncle Mac?" Clementine asked.
"Only if you promise no shenanigans." Punky stared at Clementine until she crossed over her chest with an X.
"Fine. I promise, cross my heart and hope to die."
"Nobody's dying," Punky said, "but no shenanigans. No mosquitos. No begging Mac to stop somewhere before we leave, nothing."
"Fine!" She stamped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Three, going on six, going on sixteen," Lark said. "Is that all right with you two?"
"Yes!" Galen held their arms out, and Clementine rushed to them, launching into their arms. "You sit in the middle."
"Aw. I was hoping to sit in the back, maybe check around in the interdimensional space."
"Shenanigans," Punky warned. "You'll sit in the middle and buckle your seatbelt."
"Fine." This time, instead of being defiant, her tiny voice sounded defeated.
There were no shenanigans on the way home. Rapture launched us between planes before we reached the edge of the parking lot. The wheel vanished from my grip and the saddle returned with three seats. Clementine's was tucked between Galen and me so she wouldn't topple from our mount upon landing.
Rapture wheeled down from the sky, and Galen whooped. "I've missed this!" they shouted. "Would you like a ride home, Clementine?"
Rapture nose-dived toward the barn, and she screamed in delight. "Yes!"
I still had to unsaddle our little dragonet and scrub him down after a week in the human realm. Once I was satisfied he was clean and had gotten enough to eat and drink, I secured him in his enclosure.
He seemed upset to be caged after so much freedom. "I'll let you into the pasture tomorrow," I promised.
Outside, I saw my dragon still circling above Punky and Lark's cabin. One of the boys was saddled in. They must have already dropped Clementine off.
We'd been walking for our entire vacation, but I enjoyed the walk to Punky and Lark's cabin in my own skin without the human glamour hanging over me.
Galen landed as I arrived, and Ernie laughed when the harness disappeared, and he slid to the ground. He landed on his feet and grabbed Galen's wing, laughing. "That was so fun! I want to have my own dragon when I grow up."
"That's not how dragons work." Lark flashed Galen an apologetic grin. He fell to one knee and held his arms open. Ernie ran to him and squealed when Lark picked him up and carried him away.
"Thanks for the ride, Galen!" Ernie yelled and waved over Lark's shoulder.
My giant dragon surprised me when they morphed into their kobold alpha form, complete with horns and clothes. "You're welcome!" They waved.
I held my hand out to them, and they took it. Instead of leading me to the woods between Lark's cabin and their cave, they led me back toward the fortress instead.
"I thought you wanted to go home."
"I want to meet with Priestess Alma right away." Galen sniffed the air and bristled. "Except that will have to wait. Get on my back."
They dropped to the ground and shifted in one smooth motion, almost knocking me off my feet. A shadow darkened the surrounding grass, and I clambered up Galen's side to their back. As soon as I was seated, they leaped from the ground, jarring my bones. I leaned forward over their neck and held onto the blunt scales between their shoulder blades.
They roared and twisted away from a spout of flame. A blanket of magic pressed me closer to their scales and held me in place, or I would have dropped to the ground, now alarmingly far away.
We spun and twirled through the air, putting distance between us and the fortress. Soon, we reached the summit of Galen's mountain, and their cave. Instead of climbing inside with me, they puffed themself even bigger than the cave opening.
"Go inside, my heart. I need to speak with my paragon and siblings alone."
I knew better than to argue with them. I also had the perfect hiding place.