Chapter 23
Solaris
You need to wake up…Her dragoness’s voice echoes in my mind as I replay the memory in my head.
We’ve been drugged. We need you. She’s too proud to call for you …Her dragoness tells me, and I fight against my prison. The shell that’s held me for a thousand years cracks and splinters beneath my will.
The memory plays on, vivid and precious. The moment of seeing the darkening sky for the first time in a millennium without being immediately sucked back into the cursed prison. The exhilarating feeling of wind beneath my wings—goddess, I’d forgotten what flying felt like—and climbing into the star-filled sky with powerful beats that carry me higher and higher.
Then I feel her through our bond—my mate growing weaker with every wingbeat, her life force dimming. I find our connection and shove as much power down it as I possibly can, pouring my strength into her to keep her going. Her weak roar as she breaches the shoreline makes my heart seize with terror, and I roar back at her with everything I have, pulling harder on the bond, trying to guide her home.
When she breaches the Velician Mountains into her territory, I am struck with absolute awe of my mate. She is a mighty skull dragoness with wickedly curved horns shaped like scythes, the sharp points facing forward along her bone-white maw. She’s magnificent and terrifying, and perfect.
Her sapphire eyes flare for a moment in recognition when she sees me, and then her head drops forward and her body folds in on itself mid-flight. She passed out from sheer exhaustion and the drugs in her system. I dive hard without thinking, tucking my wings and dropping like a stone. I curl around her smaller form with absolutely no concern for my safety—only hers matters.
My mind flashes forward to the present moment. My drake is curled protectively around her slightly smaller dragoness in the warm embrace of the hot spring. My wing is draped over her body, holding her close against my side. My head is resting against her curved horn with tender care, and only our nostrils are above the water’s surface, steam rising around us in lazy curls.
There’s a sudden disturbance in the chamber—footsteps echoing on stone, the displacement of air—and the deepest, most terrifying rumble vibrates through my mate’s chest like thunder. She pulls her body back into deeper water with fluid grace, and her taloned hand reaches out to grab hold of my hind leg. She drags me back with her into the depths without hesitation, protecting me.
When we’re both fully submerged beneath the mineral-rich water, I see it clearly. Her sapphire eyes are glowing a brilliant, otherworldly blue—the color of lightning or the hottest flame. She breaches the water's surface and roars with enough force that everything shakes violently. Rocks fall from the cavernceiling, impacting the water like explosions that send up massive plumes.
I rise up beside her and see Klauth, Thauglor, and a male I don’t recognize standing on the edge of her private sanctum. They’ve violated her space uninvited. She turns to look at me—checking that I’m safe—then rises up and walks toward the shore, shifting to human form as she goes.
The transformation is fluid and practiced, and I can’t help but watch with appreciation.
“It’s rather dangerous, coming into my lair like this uninvited,” Raven says with deadly calm as she stands there in just her bra and panties, water streaming down her skin. She reaches down and grabs my discarded shirt from earlier, slipping it on backwards to accommodate her wings. The fabric falls to mid-thigh on her smaller frame.
“We wanted to see you’re okay, pumpkin,” the male I don’t know says with obvious affection and concern in his voice.
I move toward the shore and shift back to human form, deeply grateful that at least my undergarments are still on. The water streams off my body as I wade toward land. I hazard a questioning glance at the third male—tall, muscular, with the distinctive eyes of a basilisk. “Ye’re the basilisk father?” I ask as I pull my trousers back on with as much dignity as I can manage. It’s completely improper tae meet my mate’s fathers while indecently dressed.
“That I am. Balor Husk,” he says, extending a large hand to me with a friendly smile.
“Solaris MacLeod. Once High Lord of the Southern Continent. Ally tae Thauglor and Klauth,” I introduce myself formally,shaking his hand with a firm grip before releasing it slowly. I look between the three males, trying to gauge the situation and the threat level.
“I’m surprised the three of you can tolerate being down here this far into my space,” Raven observes, and there’s a very dangerous feel radiating from her—like barely contained violence waiting to be unleashed. Her eyes are still glowing faintly.
“It’s not without great difficulty, my most precious one,” Thauglor says to his daughter with obvious strain in his voice. I watch, fascinated, as Raven and Thauglor both adjust their wings at exactly the same time—a mirror image. They click the same wing claw and tilt their heads in the same direction simultaneously.
“If you think their mannerisms are similar, you should see her and her brother Orpheus,” Balor says with a proud smile that lights up his face. “They are mirror images of each other, especially in battle. Out of that clutch of four hatchlings, those two are still nest-bonded even now. They can find each other across any distance.”
“Nest bonding only happens with twins,” I say with dawning understanding, looking at my mate and then at Balor. “He’s a basilisk like ye?” I phrase it as more of a question than a statement, needing confirmation.
“Yes. Their eggs were laid one right after the other and had identical shells,” Thauglor confirms, and then his expression softens with paternal pride. “They both have mixed scales from both species in both forms.”
Klauth adjusts the bag he’s carrying and hands it to me. “We went shopping for you while you were resting. To update your wardrobe to the current era.”
Raven’s eyes are still glowing with that eerie inner light. “Please leave my sanctum. I’ll meet you upstairs once we’re properly dressed,” she orders with quiet authority. The three males slowly back away and leave the original egg chamber, clearly understanding they’ve pushed as far as they dare.
The moment they’re gone, I turn to Raven. “My love...” I say gently, reaching out to touch her arm. That’s when I finally notice the full extent of the scales she retains in human form—far more than any dragon I’ve ever encountered. They cover her shoulders, down her arms, across her ribs in intricate patterns.
“I’m barely holding it together, Solaris,” she admits, her voice tight with strain. “Two drakes and an adult male basilisk in my private nest area, near my unbonded mate.” When she says‘unbonded mate,’I notice her teeth have shifted to her dragon’s—elongated canines and sharper incisors designed for tearing flesh.
For one so young—barely twenty-two years old—she’s already at wyrm status. Having two Great Wyrm fathers, she’s probably the strongest female of her entire generation. The realization of just how powerful my mate truly is makes my chest swell with pride.
“Lead the way, my love. Let’s get dressed so I can properly meet yer third father, Balor,” I say softly, trying to calm her with my voice and presence. Raven seems to settle slightly at that, her breathing slowing. She steps out into the old egg chamber and then approaches the door. She hesitates there for a long moment, looking around cautiously before turning to the right and leading me deeper into her nest.
I have no idea how far underground we are, but I know it’s deep—the air pressure is different, and the temperature is warmer than the surface. The tunnel looks like it’s an addition to the original nest structure, newer stone mixing with ancient.
