Chapter Nineteen
Mac
My return to the dragonet barn the morning after our visit to The Grid caused quite a stir. Many of my coworkers hadn't seen the other three dragons the day we returned. They'd only learned about them when Alma called everyone to the cathedral to warn them while we were gone.
"Are you sure the new dragons won't kill us?" Sunny asked.
How could I lie to his cute little face? "I don't know, but I don't think so."
Sunny snorted. "I knew it. They're here to kill us."
I laughed. "That is not what I said."
"I know." He grinned up at me and offered his clawed hand. "I like messing with you." He led me to the dragonet enclosure where the two wild dragonets he'd bonded shared the enclosure. Rapture was in the pen behind them. He flew to the gate and banged his snout on the bar, begging for a treat.
"Are you going to bond him for real?" Sunny asked.
"It doesn't seem fair," I said. "I'm bonded to a dragon. I don't want to keep Rapture from finding a family who needs transportation."
I still held the temporary bond with the dragonet. Through it, I could feel his disappointment, even after I gave him a sizeable chunk of dried meat from the bin by his gate.
Together, Sunny and I put the two juveniles he'd bonded through their paces. Sunny couldn't ride because his tail would get in the way, but he gave the instructions while I guided them in the saddle.
Afterward, we met with Han, the beta I'd recruited to help at the dragonet barn while I visited other kobold villages with Galen.
Both Han and Sunny took my pregnancy news in stride. Sunny wandered off to groom his bonded dragonets while I shared some additional instructions with Han.
Once I'd checked each dragonet's chart to confirm they were up to date on their magical shots and deworming and that Han was aware of their special eating instructions, I drew a blank. "You have my cell phone number. Text me if anything strange happens?"
"You got it, boss." He patted my shoulder. "Congratulations. You're going to be a great dad."
"You're taking this really well."
"Hey, you're mated to a dragon. If that isn't life goals, I don't know what is." He frowned. "One question, though."
I still felt like I was forgetting something, so I hoped Han jogged my memory.
"Should we be worried about feeding these new dragons?"
Sunny glanced at the wild dragonets he'd bonded and blanched. "No!"
"They prefer to hunt bovinji," I said. Their cave to the northeast had reeked of fresh kills when Galen and I had visited before our trip to The Grid.
"They can't have my dragonets!"
"They won't." I walked over to the enclosure to pet both, but my actions didn't reassure Sunny of their safety. "We'll find another burrow of wild dire weasels before I'll let them have your babies. They've already come so far in their training!"
Sunny's worry eased with the praise, but a frown ghosted across his brow when I bid him farewell. I wasn't good at comforting others, not when I didn't know Galen's family's eating habits. I also didn't trust them, though I tried to be brave for Galen.
Brave and foolish. That was me.
* * *
Even after Galen read all the books on kobold pregnancies to me, I still didn't know where I was carrying our little girl, exactly. The uncomfortable bloating started in my gut, but I could also feel it lower, in my balls. Most of the time, it settled in my chest. Galen tried to tell me it was heartburn from indigestion, but all I could see was a xenomorph bursting through my ribcage.
Sometimes, the pain shifted to between my hips. Every bodily function hurt worse with each passing day until I was sure I was going to birth this baby out my cock or ass any day now.
I didn't notice my belongings flying through the cave of their own accord until Galen dropped a packed bag at my feet with their magic.
"It's time to go to the gestation cave," they said.
"You think I'm about to have an egg?"
"Gods, I hope so." They chuffed a laugh, and smoke rolled over me when they bumped my chest with their snout. They dropped down so I could climb onto their back. I clutched the bag to my chest and leaned forward until it was pressed tight between me and Galen. Their spell washed over me, holding me in place for a rougher than usual takeoff and landing.
"Flying is not as easy as it once was," they admitted when we reached the birthing cave of their ancestors. "Another day, and I was afraid we would be stuck at our cave."
I saw nothing wrong with that, but the dragon pregnancy books had been adamant about following tradition. While I didn't agree with their paragon's decision to burn every kobold village to the ground for combining genes with humans, I could understand their frustration with kobolds' break from the past. I didn't always agree with Galen's insistence on tradition, either, but at least their demands were more reasonable.
This cave, for instance. It was cozy and filled with light, thanks to the bright stone at the entrance and along the walls. The mountain above us seemed to be made of the reflective stuff. Only the hollowed-out bowl in the middle of the cave floor didn't reflect the light. Upon closer inspection, I realized that was because massive amounts of blankets and pillows lined the space, most of which I recognized from Galen's stash. They'd been busy this morning while I'd been wallowing in my pain.
"Come cuddle with me." They sounded as weary as I felt. They curled into a ball in the nesting area, leaving room for me beneath their wing, close to their chest.
I snuggled in, content to be with my dragon. I had worried about laying my egg so far away from other kobolds, but they wouldn't be able to help me beyond Olaf's advice, anyway.
Magic, everyone said. Our baby girl would let us know she was ready to move outside my body, and we would use our combined magic to move her there. Unlike Galen's egg, which had already swelled the size of their right testicle, our little kobold was not yet surrounded by a shell. We would make the shell and everything she needed to live inside it from ... magic.
I'd had kobold magic since my second molt, like most betas. Thankfully, spells and skills came easily to me. I'd discovered my first clutch of baby dragonets by instinct. I hoped laying my first kobold egg would be just as easy.
I dozed off against Galen's chest. Their deep, even breaths lulled me to sleep.
I woke to stabbing pains. This time, I was certain an alien creature would poke through my ribcage. Instead, I heard a tiny voice in my head.
"It's time for me to come out."
The voice sounded both young and ancient at the same time. I didn't know what to make of it. I trembled against Galen's side, and they stirred awake.
"What is it?"
"Our little girl."
"It's time," she repeated.
"I hear her." Galen made a rumbling sound in their throat.
"I still don't know what to do," I muttered. She could probably hear me, but it couldn't be helped.
"I will guide you. Trust me, Pop."
She'd already picked a name for me, different from what I'd called my own parents. I loved the name already. I loved her already. I could not let her down.
"Paragon, you will build my shell from the same elements as this cave."
Galen seemed as awed by their honorific as I was by mine. Their magic swirled, glistening with the light from the reflective stones around us until the shell itself glowed with the same light.
"Pop, you will walk through the magic shell, making sure the area where you feel my presence passes directly through it."
Pain lanced through my chest, and I knew exactly where our little one perched behind my breastbone.
Galen helped me to my feet with their wing, and I walked toward the magical egg. It was no bigger than my fist, which surprised me. The circumference of pain was much larger than that.
I was awed to feel the hard eggshell against my palms when I cupped it over the area of shooting pain. How was I supposed to walk through something that solid? Wouldn't I push it with my body?
Once I had the egg lined up, I stepped forward, and it disappeared into my loose sleep shirt. Even if I lifted the shirt, I knew I wouldn't find the egg. It was inside me, stone shell and all, and our little girl was now inside it, as well.
"Keep walking," she urged. "I can't stay with you any longer."
I took another step forward, and Galen made a cooing sound I'd never heard before. I turned to find them with their wing claws wrapped around the tiny egg.
"She's beautiful," they said, lying her gently on the pile of blankets where I'd been sitting. "Come keep her warm."
I snuggled next to Galen once more, too stunned for words. One minute, I'd had chest pains. The next, we had an egg in our nest, and the area behind my sternum radiated with a new emotion. I loved this little baby who had helped us bring her into the world. I also loved Galen, somehow more than I had before our magic had combined to bring our egg into the world.
I'd expected to feel empty, or maybe a drain on my magic. Instead, I felt full to the brim with love for my dragon and our little ones. Someday, I would be able to tell them.