I hold my hands up to Solaris in a gesture of peace and offering. “May I heal you? You may have sustained injuries protecting our mate Raven during the crash landing.”
He rumbles deeply—a sound that vibrates through the ground beneath my feet—and looks toward Thauglor and Klauth for guidance or permission.
“He says he would appreciate it greatly,” Klauth translates the dragon’s rumbling before looking back toward his nest with obvious reluctance. “I’m going to head home and guard the eggs. If Raven hasn’t shifted back by dawn, I’ll switch out with you, Thauglor. We can’t leave our daughter and her mates unprotected this close to the Velician Mountains—not with enemies potentially pursuing.”
I rest my hand on Solaris’s neck, close to what would be his shoulder, and start passing healing energy through him. I can feel cracked ribs, strained muscles, torn wing membrane—all injuries from shielding Raven during the impact. My phoenix fire flows into him, knitting tissue and mending bone.
“Hopefully, I’ll be home soon,” Thauglor says, looking at Raven with paternal love and worry warring in his expression. “Everyone keeps trying to kill or kidnap my baby. First the drow, then the dominance challenges, now this.”
Solaris rumbles again—longer, more complex—and Thauglor nods sadly as Klauth shifts into his massive red dragon form and takes flight. The downdraft from his wings makes the torches gutter and flare.
“I know she’s a powerful female. There’s more to her than even you know yet,” Thauglor says quietly to Solaris. “She’s a chimera—blood daughter of mine, Klauth, and Balor, who is a basilisk. Her mother, Mina, is an iron dragon and green dragon crossbreed. She carries five distinct dragon bloodlines plus basilisk traits.”
Solaris’s head suddenly raises up sharply, and he looks down at Raven sleeping peacefully under his wing. Then he looks back at her father and rumbles again—a questioning sound.
“I know,” Thauglor confirms with a slight smile. “Any child you or Corvus father will probably become the strongest dragon on the continent, possibly all five continents. Raven’s immunities and gifts are unrivaled. She’s unique in all of dragon history.”
Thauglor steps forward and rests a hand on his friend’s wing with obvious affection. “Rest now, old friend. It is my honor to watch over the two of you tonight.”
Thauglor steps away and shifts into his Great Wyrm black dragon form—slightly larger than Solaris, ancient beyond measure—and sits close like a massive sentinel. His presence alone would give any enemy pause.
Corvus has fallen asleep again, slumped against the boulder with exhaustion written in every line of his body. Keir’s sand-colored blink hound form prowls the perimeter restlessly, his soulless black eyes scanning for threats. Hemlocke’s black unicorn keepslifting his head to put his nose to the wind, testing for unfamiliar scents carried on the breeze.
I settle near Raven where I can see her, shifting back to human form to conserve energy. The night air is cool against my skin after burning so hot as a phoenix.
This is going to be a very long night of standing guard, but I wouldn’t be anywhere else. My mate is home and safe, and that’s all that matters. Though when she wakes up, we’re going to have a very serious conversation about declaring war on the Western Continent.
