Chapter 46

‘Wake up.’
Kalani groaned. “You're so loud, Gory.”
“Annie?,” he muttered sleepily. “What’s wrong?”
‘Get up, Kalani.’
She sat straight up, heart pounding hard. Gregory opened his eyes to stare at her. “Annie?”
She looked around wildly. “Don’t you hear that? There’s somebody in here.”
He closed his eyes and inhaled, before shaking his head. “Baby, there's nobody in here, but us.”
A feminine voice giggled in her head. ‘Do not be afraid, Annie, is it? Our mate is very tender with you.’
“Our mate? Who are you?”
Realization dawned on Gregory’s face and he smiled.
“Your dragon is fully awakened,” he told her excitedly.
“What?”
‘My name is Galina.’
She eyed Gregory. “What are you?,” she questioned out loud again.
He chuckled. “Do you ever talk to yourself inside your head?” She nodded. “Talking to your dragon is the same.”
‘What are you?’
‘I can show you. Close your eyes.’
Gregory shifted on the bed and he put her hand over his heart. His heart beat relaxed her.
“Whatever she is telling you, listen. You can trust her.”
She sighed. “Are you sure?”
Galina giggled in her head. ‘I will not hurt you. You are my human and I love you.’
Kalani blinked in surprise, before closing her eyes. The darkness behind her eyelids quickly shifted to a beautiful riverbank, overlooked by mountains covered in snow. She slowly turned in a circle, searching the area. A soft thud sounded behind her, making the ground she stood on, tremble. She completed her circle with her eyes closed. She felt a warm scaly face nudge her softly. She opened her eyes and uttered a small cry of shock.
A large beautiful, silver and seagreen dragon stood in front of her. Her red hued eyes were focused solely on Kalani. She put her hand on her snout and she exhaled. Smoke billowed out of her nose and her tongue flicked out, wrapping around Kalani who giggled when she became drenched with saliva. Her tongue left her and Kalani walked around Galina, basking in her unmatched beauty. The circle of sapphire scales surrounding her head looked like a crown. She ran her hands over her dragon, reveling in the calmness she got from her.
‘You are so beautiful.’
‘You are, too, human.’ She nuzzled into Kalani’s body as she ran her hands over the smooth, warm scales. ‘But you should get back. Our mate is waiting for you. We will get to know each other later. I am here with you forever.’
‘Okay.’
She opened her eyes to find Gregory beaming at her.
“So, what’s her name?,” he asked excitedly.
“Galina and she is gorgeous.”
He lifted her fingers to his mouth, gently sucking on her knuckles. “I have no doubt.” He sighed. “Aiden has called me to train with Lukas. I have to go, but you can stay here and sleep.”
She giggled. “I will go check on Sasha. It’s been four days since she.. Ummm… gave birth?”
He laughed. “We say ‘laid her egg’.”
She flushed. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I will teach you. I hope that one day soon we can have an egg,” he declared hopefully.
Her mouth dropped open. “You want me to have an egg?”
“I want us to have an egg, yes.”
“Alright, but I don’t want to be alone.”
“You won’t be. Come on. Let’s get ready. The rechoosing ceremony is supposed to be tomorrow. I hope your sister and Aiden mate in the next day so they can stay together.”
She nodded. “Me, too,” she agreed as they got dressed.
He walked her down to the king’s room and kissed her outside the door.
“Join me for dinner?”
She touched his cheek, her eyes softening. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
She walked into the room and was surprised to see Sasha sitting at the vanity as Ana brushed her hair. They turned toward her when she walked in. They both giggled.
“What?,” Kalani asked.
Sasha turned back to the mirror. “You mated with Gregory.”
Kalani’s hands slapped over her cheeks to try to hide her blush. “How did you know?”
“You smell like him.”
‘Be proud. Our mate loves us. I am proud he is ours,’ Galina purred.
Kalani straightened her back. “I did. It was amazing. When are you mating with Aiden?”
Sasha sighed. “I am afraid to.”
“Why?”
She laid her head on her folded arms on the vanity. “What if I don’t please him?”
“You will. Don’t worry about it. If he doesn’t like something, I’m sure he’ll teach you how to do it. Gregory told me.” She smirked slyly. “So, do you want to tell me how you two produced an egg without mating?”
“I don’t actually,” Sasha admitted.
“Come one, Sash. How did you two do it?,” Ana begged for answers.
Sasha sighed. “He came on my pussy and pushed it inside.”
Ana giggled. “My brother must have strong swimmers to accomplish that.”
“Anyways, can we go outside?”
Kalani raised her eyebrow. “Are you strong enough to go outside?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then. Whatever floats your goat then. Are you ready?”
“Yep,” Sasha said, trying to stifle her laughter at her sister’s intentional misuse of the phrase.
They linked their arms through hers and guided her out of the room. She hesitated at the door, glancing back at her egg. Ana rubbed her arm.
“It will be fine. Nobody is making it through Aiden’s fire. I promise you.”
“Okay.”
They took her outside and the sound of fighting came from behind the castle. Sasha’s nose went into the air and she moaned softly.
“Aiden.”
Ana showed them the way to the open field behind the castle. Gregory was sparring with a young shirtless, redheaded man. Kalani’s eyes passed over the criss- cross marks on his back and Galina perked up.
‘Who is that?,’ Kalani asked her.
‘I don’t know.’
Kalani dropped Sasha’s arm and her feet moved rapidly over the distance separating her from the man. Gregory saw her coming and called out to her. She ignored him to step up behind the man. Her fingers landed on his back, slowly tracing the scars. He drew in a shaky breath and stopped moving. Gregory growled and Aiden put a restraining hand on his shoulder. Moments later, Sasha joined her, moving her hands over his skin. The scars slowly started to disappear and he trembled. He slowly turned around to face them. The three of them studied each other for a minute, before he raised his hands to cup both of their cheeks. He smiled at them and they both stepped into his body, hugging him tight. His arms went around both of them and he clung to them.
“I thought I would never get to see you guys again,” he told them.
Sasha sobbed. “Luka? Is that really you?”
He nodded. She pulled back to grip his face. “Mom told me you died.”
He met her eyes. “Dad wanted to take you away. He wanted to protect you, but his mate… his mate did not want you two around. She thought you were a threat to her place in the kingdom.”
Sasha wiped at her tears. “I mourned for you.”
“Aja? Who is he?”
Sasha laughed. “Oh, Lani, I am so sorry.” She took one of her hands and placed it flat on Lukas’ chest over his heart. She placed hers over Kalani’s. “You were only a year old when mom left dad. I don’t remember him. Mom never let us see him.” She smiled at Kalani. “Lani, this is Lukas, our brother. Luka, this is Kalani, our little sister.”
He smiled at her. “It’s so good to meet you finally. Dad always talks about you two.”
“What in the actual fuck is going on?,” Gregory snapped.
They turned to the other two men present. Sasha walked over to tug Aiden back to Lukas.
“Baby, this is our brother.”
Aiden eyed him. “You knew?”
“Not at first.”
“Why did you ask all those questions then?”
“Because I was curious about them. My father and I don’t know much about them.”
“Was your story about the king of kings true, Aiden?”
“Yes.”
“That explains my mother’s hatred for dragons.” She turned to him, her smile falling off her face. She sighed as she walked a few feet away from him to pace agitatedly. “My mother forced me to come here to kill you. She made me pretend to be blind, so that I was less suspicious when I completed it.” Her head dropped. “I’m sorry. I should have told you weeks ago.”
He walked over to her and kissed her softly. “I know.”
Her heart rate picked up. “You did?”
He nodded. “I will show you all something, but it doesn’t leave this field.”
They all hurried to agree. Aiden took a step back and within seconds, had shifted down to the red skink she had spent the day with. Her mouth dropped open and she slapped her palm into her forehead.
“Oh, Goddess. Now it makes sense. It was you. That’s why I felt the way I did.”
He shifted back, chuckled and pulled her tightly against his body. “Yeah, it is. I love you, Ash, and trust me when I say that I trust you with my life, my queen.”
She kissed him softly. “I love you, too, my king.”
“Speaking of queen,” Lukas said, smiling at a once again ecstatic Sasha, before kneeling at her feet. He lowered his head. “Welcome home, Mother of Dragons, and rightful leader of our people.”