Page 18 of The Dragon’s Stormwoven Bond (Dragon Flight Academy #2)

Valen

“Just think, mate, the next time we come to an event like this, we’ll have five little dragonets in tow,” I whispered in my mate’s ear as we made our way through the row of tables and sat down with our plates.

Pep’s eyes went comically wide, and he sat down abruptly. “Holy scales, Valen. You can’t say shit like that. I’ll start freaking out.”

“Don’t do that. We’ll hopefully have two or more nannies and grandparents in tow.” I laughed.

I wasn’t kidding. We would probably have to have an entourage of people with us in order to wrangle that many children. Or we could just never leave the academy grounds. There was so much to figure out, but after talking to my father-in-law, I was feeling confident that we would figure it out.

That had been such a huge shift. Eryx had been a life-long friend.

He knew the best and worst versions of me from over the years.

And now? Now he was my father-in-law. I wouldn’t say our friendship had been fully mended after coming into town and doing the one thing he’d told me not to, but it was getting there.

He loved his son and wanted the best for him.

Always. I understood why he didn’t believe that was me.

I’d given him many reasons over the years to feel that way.

But this was my mate, the one dragon fate sent for me.

I had to believe I waited so long because I needed that time to grow into the alpha he needed me to be.

Eryx saw my sincerity and the bond Pep and I had. Not on his own. His eyes had been far too filled with flames and smoke for that initially. In hindsight, it was almost amusing—almost. But Katrina helped him see the way, and now we were on much better footing.

“Yes, I suppose that would help too. You know we’re never going to sleep again, right, Valen?”

According to his father, that was far more true than would be believed until it happened. Only time would tell if that was accurate or not.

“We only have four hands between the two of us, and we’re going to have five children. Valen. Five.” He held up his hand as a visual. I’d caught myself doing the same on multiple accounts.

“Indeed, we are.”

I knew my mate was struggling to wrap his head around the size of our clutch, and honestly, so was I.

Five babies. Five perfect little babies.

I wondered if they would be a fiery red color like me, or cyan like Pep, or maybe a combination.

I’d inherited my colors from my parents, and I knew that Pep resembled his mother’s color most.

“Did you guys see who was here?” Rhythe said as he sat down next to Pep.

“Who?” Pep asked.

“Commander Emmen.” He didn’t hide his enthusiasm. He was fanboying hard, and I didn’t quite understand why. But also, I knew him, so that could be why?

“Yeah, so?” I didn’t mean to be so blunt, but thankfully Rhythe didn’t take it as rude. He was the one person who had been on my side from the beginning. I’d like to keep him there.

Rhythe rolled his eyes. “I get that you don’t think that’s so special, Mister I-have-a-super-cool-elite-job , and you—” he looked at me “—Mr. Were-probably-there-when-the-dude-hatched . But did you know he single-handedly led his team to victory over the Ebonshire Clan back in the 1700s? That is one of the last times there was a perfect score for an Elite team.”

Oh yeah, he was fanboying to the max.

“I do recall that,” I said. “I was there.”

Rhythe rolled his eyes. “Of course you were. Is it true that he was trained by Commander Shane, the oldest living dragon ever? And that he did a void spiral that almost opened a portal to Hell?”

I choked on the mouthful of pasta salad. “A portal to Hell? I think I missed that. Why don’t you ask him?”

Rhythe scoffed and then his eyes fell to his plate. “And talk to him out loud? I don’t think so. Can you even imagine how that would go?”

I had a feeling he’d imagined it a lot, based on his response.

“He’s just another person,” Pep said.

“Easy for you to say. You’ve never been all that interested in the games.”

“I take it you’re a fan?” I asked.

“Yeah, I follow most of them. I—

“He even has a social media account on Snapfire.” Pep pulled out his phone, and his brother snatched it away, his ears a shade of red I rarely saw on anything other than tomatoes.

“Really?” I reached for it, and he pulled it closer. I hadn’t meant to embarrass him further. If anything, I saw it as a way for me to grow. “Remind me to take note of that later. I’d love to pick your brain about my team.”

Rhythe’s face lit up. “Scales yeah! I can tell you that you’re really not leaning into Olivia’s strengths as a—”

I held up a hand. “Rhythe, I love that you have ideas, but I’m not talking about work right now. We’re supposed to be having fun.”

“Dragon Games are fun.” He picked up an olive and popped it into his mouth.

“Yeah, when you’re a fan. Not when you’re the coach.” Well, they were still fun, but it was also work. Right now, lots of work as I adjusted to the new position.

“I’m sure it’s still fun.” Rhythe was beaming. I half wondered why he never competed, or maybe he had and it hadn’t come up in conversation yet. I’d ask my mate later, when it wouldn’t embarrass him. “But sure, we can talk about it later.”

“Perfect. In the meantime… Commander Emmen is right behind you.”

Rhythe jumped up from his seat and looked behind him. I laughed.

Pep smacked my shoulder. “That was a cruel joke. Besides, he’s over there.”

I meant it as lighthearted fun, but before I could apologize, Rhythe was in his own world. His head whipped around, his gaze finding Emmen in the crowd. He was talking with Lord Malric and his mate, Ollie.

“I’m going to see if I can get close to him.”

Pep rolled his eyes at his twin’s antics as his brother propelled himself in the direction of the unsuspecting dragon but then got nervous and hid behind a family chatting, peeking out from behind them every few seconds.

“I had no idea he was such a fan.” Or that anyone was anymore. Emmen’s glory days were behind him, possibly in front of him too, but he hadn’t been front and center in my mate’s lifetime.

“He always has been. We used to watch the games together. We still do sometimes. But it’s just not my thing.”

“And yet you are mated to a flight leader.”

“Well, computers aren’t your thing. Yet you’re mated to a media specialist.” He winked.

“Indeed I am.”

Pep’s parents came by and sat with us, most of the awkwardness having gone away since we came clean about being mated, but not 100%.

It was nice that they didn’t hesitate to join us.

That was a huge step forward. Katrina kept the conversation flowing, but not once did I smell any smoke coming from Eryx, which was a huge step from the first time he discovered our mating, that was for sure.

After we finished our meal, my mate and I linked hands and walked around socializing with some of our co-workers.

It was nice enough, but my mate was at the exhausted part of his pregnancy, so we excused ourselves from a lively conversation about one of the new meals in rotation at the cafeteria and found a place to sit on the lawn.

The two of us watched the kids play. A few dragonets took to the skies to fly around, having a good time. It was like watching a glimpse of our future, and by doing so, it made five seem a tad less scary to me.

“I think Rhythe’s going to get brave enough to say hi to Commander Emmen,” I said, pointing across the courtyard.

I hadn’t realized he was still playing the game of hide-and-peek. Poor Rhythe. In hindsight, I should’ve offered to introduce them. At the time, he seemed like he was good to go. He wasn’t. Now Rhythe stood ten feet away from Commander Emmen, his face a mix of admiration, excitement, and fear.

“Oh, he might actually start a conversation with him.” And if he didn’t, I’d offer. It was the brotherly thing to do, and he was my brother-in-law, so close enough.

He took one step forward, then two, then three. He stopped suddenly, his nostrils flaring. Then his eyes went wide.

“What’s going on?” I was at the ready to rescue Rhythe if need be. He might not have been my mate, but my dragon was very protective of him.

“I don’t know.” Pep put his hand on my arm, probably sensing my dragon getting close to the surface.

Then Rhythe turned around and ran. Actually ran away.

“What just happened?” I was so confused. Emmen hadn’t done a thing to him. I wasn’t even sure he noticed he was there.

“I don’t know. Maybe I should call him.” Pep went to pull out his phone when Lord Malric came forward, extending a hand.

“Pep, good to see you again.”

“Lord Malric, it’s great to see you too. And you, Ollie.” He clutched the phone in his hand. I got it. Lord Malric wasn’t someone you could ignore, but also, he was worried for his brother.

“I hear congratulations are in order.” Ollie sat beside my mate. “Many congratulations.”

I leaned in and whispered so low only my mate could here, “You’ll know if he needs you.” And he would. Those twins were scary in sync with each other.