At the very thought of it, Viraj’s dragon howled. No. It wasn’t an option. They needed no Dette. The three of them were perfect, and no other needed to be in his nest.
Pathetic nest.His dragon scoffed in his head.
Won’t be pathetic for long. Gatlin and Teige are redoing it.For what reason, Viraj refused to think of.Maybe they’re doing it up for a Dette for us?
His dragon snorted.We will claw our mate marks off before sharing our mates.
The thought hurt.
A curious pup nuzzled up to Viraj, his little thoughts chipping at his mind.What’s wrong?
“Nothing, little one.” Viraj patted the head of the pup, all golden scales and bright eyes.Lyam.
Dettes get sad a lot. Drakes mean.Such a tough lesson for one so little.
“Are Drakes being mean to you, little one?” Viraj raised his brows and stared the little one down with all the seriousness he could muster.
No. Daddies will kill mean Drakes.Lyam sniffed imperiously.Are Drakes mean to you? That why sad?
“No, my Drakes are nice to me.” Viraj patted the little one’s soft, feathery mane, idly playing with the golden strands, and before he knew it, he was doing as he did when younger with his siblings, plaiting a little braid down his back.
If they’re mean to Dettes, the council will kill them.Lyam beamed.
“Well, we don’t have any Dettes.”
You can have more than one Dette mate?
Lyam tilted his head.
“Well, sort of. Vritra don’t have many Drakes. We have Hijada, Drakes, and Dettes. About a third of all our pups are Dette. More than half are Hijada, and about one in a dozen or so is Drake.” Viraj searched around his office and came up empty, so he fished his own elastic from the short manbun he wore and used it to tie off the tail of Lyam’s braid while Faolan sniffed curiously, nosing at the braid.
Me next!Faolan huffed, and Lyam glared before grudgingly moving over to let Viraj at his mane. And Viraj almost told little Faolan that braids were for Hijada and Dettes only, but at the same time, it didn’t matter. Gender wasn’t a statement of hair or clothes.
What’s Hijada?Lyam preened with his little braid as Viraj got up and searched for a drawer in his desk for a hair tie, coming up with a ribbon instead.
An impatient Faolan followed him and sniffed at it before circling in place a few times with an excited huff.
Viraj smiled and sat down. “Well, Lyam, a Hijada is a dragon that cannot shift, and is neither Dette nor Drake.”
Lyam’s eyes got big.Really? Who do they mate?
“Hijada aren’t often interested in that. They prefer having friends instead of mates.” Viraj figured his parents could tell him more if they desired.
That seemed to satisfy the little one’s curiosity as Viraj worked on Faolan’s little mane, his hair a little coarser than Lyam’s. Whether it was the difference between Dette and Drake, Dior and Loch, or simple genetics, Viraj didn’t know.
How come more Vritra Dettes don’t come here. There’s lots of Drakes.
“They prefer it the way it is. Every Drake that leaves is given a Dette sibling to—” Viraj swallowed hard. It was a story he had to tread carefully.
“In the old days, some Drakes bought Dettes. And Drake sons who were sent away were given a Dette sibling. It was our job to find them a good Drake. And that money we’d use to build our fortune.” Viraj hesitated. “It was a cruel way.”
I won’t sell Lyam.Faolan huffed.
“Good.” Viraj finished the plait and tied it off while Faolan preened, happy with the work. Viraj almost started to tell him not to make the same mistake he did, but got caught off guard.
Who sold you and Pepa Ryan?
“I—” Viraj started to respond when a clipped step entered the room, Bastien staring his little ones down with a fond smile.
