005: Bells and Whistles

[Ona]

Ah, it’s time.

Finally

The crisp sound of two eggs rolling into one another as they rattle in their nest makes my heart race as I sit up straight, wrapping my tail around them. I’ve never been this close to hatchlings. Even when Carnelia hatched her eggs, I was in the next room.

This is even more special because these are my babies—children who almost didn’t make it into the world—and my very last clutch. I will never lay another egg again. The ability was taken from me with my womb at the birth of these little ones. We all almost died. If it weren’t for my daughter-in-law’s advanced skills in medicine, we would have all died.

I’ll never be able to repay her for the opportunity to experience this moment. Not in a thousand centuries.

My hands dance along the hard yet brittle shells of my little ones and I watch in joy and amazement as little lights within shine in response--Three new celestial dragons, each one unique, curled up inside their temporary confinement, their small talons stretching to touch the walls, so close to emerging. Any moment now they’ll begin tapping on the shells, forcing their little clawed hands outward as they press, kick, and bite their way out.

I never had a chance to experience this with Ursa and Orion. I was so overwhelmed with grief and driven by revenge that the only thing I could think of was reclaiming my mate and making my family pay for taking my mate from me. There was no space in my heart for me to be a mother, no room for me to grow attached to little lives that needed someone to give them her full attention.

So rather than disappoint them, I left my newly laid eggs to the care of my mother before I could become attached. Then I stayed away for 40 years until they became old enough to demand I pay attention to them--by then, they had grown resentful and mistrusting of me and my intentions towards them.

I have been able to create a bond with my son, but my daughter and heir, Ursa, still won’t let me close, resenting me for leaving them for so long without love or guidance.

Oh gods, what if I fail them too?

“You aren’t a failure,” sensing my thoughts through the bracelets we wear, binding us together as a family, Daax wraps his arms around me and presses me into his chest, rocking us both from side to side as he hums to me, calming my nerves. You are a wonderful mother—and a beautiful one, I might add.”

He places a gentle kiss on my neck, and as wonderful as it feels, I pull myself away before his need for me intensifies. The thought of intimacy is still terrifying for me. What if I’m too different for him now that I cannot conceive? Will he still want me for his mate? My body has changed and so have I.

Daax frowns, sensing my thoughts. “Please don’t pull away from me, Ona. I don’t know what you are thinking, but I do know that whatever it is, you are wrong.”

“How can you be so sure,” looking over my shoulder I peer through my eyelashes, frowning at his downturned lip and his cold glare. “I’m not the same. I’ll never…”

“I’ve grown up too, Ona,” his gaze hardens. “And if I remember correctly, a certain drakaina made sure I knew exactly how much she still loved me when I returned…different. I refuse to let you push me away. You’re mine, Ona. Now and forever. There is nothing about you that can make me want you less.”

He doesn’t understand. He can’t. Yes, he had been…altered, but this is different. He could still give me children if I could still make them. He wasn’t ruined, he was simply…damaged.

A low growl vibrates through his chest as he pulls me into him again. “Stop it, drakaina,” Daax hisses. “If our little ones weren’t about to emerge, I’d bend you over that table and show you exactly how perfect you are.”

He bites my neck hard enough to draw blood and my body relaxes against him naturally. He is my mate, and damn it he knows how to stir my blood like nobody before or after him. I’ve never had a lover in my bed as skilled and demanding as he is and now that he’s feeling like himself again, he’s even more amorous than before.

“When we’re done here, wife,” he growls in my ear. “I’m going to rut you until you believe I’m telling you the truth. I’m going to give you so much pleasure you’ll know I’m not lying when I say you are more than enough.”

“Daax,” I cry, hating myself for feeling so weak. “Don’t.”

“And then I’m going to love you like we’re trying to make a clutch,” he promises, “Filling you to the brim with my love until you admit you are as beautiful and wonderful as I know you to be and beg me to let you rest.” I turn my head slightly and our eyes meet, his glowing like warm honey, echoing his passion and desire with the intensity of their glow. “Only then will I be satisfied, Princess.”

“Princess,” I raise an eyebrow. He hasn’t called me that since he kidnapped me on the open seas and forced me to be his slave.

“You’re being a brat,” he grumbles as he kisses my hair. “Now stop it or you’ll miss it,” my husband points toward our little ones. “Look.”

Turning, I gasp as the first little talon breaks free, its curved blade poking the smallest hole from inside its onyx shell. A gentle trill calls to me from within, and I call back, matching the note. Our little one’s first sounds are unique to just that child, and the first connection a dragon makes to its mother.

Daax joins in, singing along, his note saying “I am here! I am your father! We are family!”

A claw breaks through the second shell. This little one has scales as golden as the sun. His little trill is deeper and quieter than his sister's but no less enthusiastic. I quickly return his call and he rocks his egg back and forth as he struggles to free himself. It takes all of my self-control not to reach forward and steady him, but a drake must make his way into the world if he's going to prove what type of dragon he will be.

As I send little notes of encouragement to my second newling, the oldest of this brood has already shed the last of her shell and is looking up at me with the biggest black eyes I've ever seen, like falling into pools of night. Her red scales and glowing white fin tell me that she's going to be a Starfire dragon, less fire, more star. "Welcome Bellatrix," I grin, holding out my hand for her to crawl onto. She crawls forward, placing her head on my hand as she rests and I marvel at the wonder of new life. She is a little miracle and my heart swells as I scoop her up and place her near my heart.

While we were paying attention to the first two, we missed the third one hatching, mostly because she didn't hatch at all. She just appeared next to a perfect shell, her white scales glowing as she peers up at us with crystalline eyes the color of glowing stars.

"You surprised me, little one," I grin down at her as I offer her my other hand. Without hesitation, she settles within my grasp, her whole body vibrating with a soundless note.

She's mute. And she is unlike any dragon I've ever seen before.

"Welcome Vela," I greet my new little one as she closes her eyes and settles in.

Daax reaches forward to help our still unhatched son and I bark a warning at him as his hand hovers above the shell. "Don't you dare," I threaten.

The egg rolls to the ground and shatters, releasing our last new little one, a silly but strong drake who shines like the sun. "Caelum," I name him as Daax picks him up from the ground. The little drake settles into his father's arms and I can't help but grin at their close resemblance.

As I reach forward to welcome my last little one, the door behind us slides open.

Turning, I see an attendant, his hands shaking, his brow dripping with sweat. My lips curl to scream for him to leave and not disturb this private family moment, but the fear in his eyes gives me pause.

"Can it wait," I ask calmly, breathing through my nose as I take deep breaths to keep from screaming. Daax squeezes my shoulders, grounding me as the youngling quivers before us.

"I'm sorry, My Queen," the young drake bends in half, his horns almost hitting the ground. "But it's happening again. You told us to fetch you if the machines woke, and this time, they are worse than before."

"Where?" I demand, keeping my ear open as I listen for my second hatchling.

"The main deck, My Queen." His eyes widen. "The broken control panel lit up all of the sudden and...there were voices."

There have never been voices before.

Handing Bellatrix and Vela to Daax, I rush from the room.

The building rocks, our entire world tilting to the side. Picking up speed, I slip into my fourth form and arrive at the deck seconds later, reassembling from a streak of lightning.

"What's happening!" I shout at the panicked crew manning our control deck.

"I'm not sure, my queen," a young drakaina apologizes. "But I think the Celestial Kingdom is being dragged to the surface."

"Where to?" I demand as I move closer to the viewing screen. "Is this our location?"

"Yes, My Queen," They confirm.

"And that dot," I query.

"Solaris," she breathes as she points to the mark in the center of a landmass listed as N'hor. "The Sun Kingdom's Capital."