Sam picked up his fork again, needing something to do with his hands. “Tell me more about Treasures. I’m guessing that, from what Urien said earlier about howdragons are dying out, you were hoping for a lady Treasure so you can have little dragons. That’s…I mean…” His face heated. “I’m male. I can’t…”
“You can. Dragon magic changes things,” Mabon said gently. “When a Treasure bonds with their triad, their body adapts. It’s not like a human pregnancy. The egg forms over months, and when it’s ready, you lay it. One egg at a time, maybe once every few decades if we’re fortunate.”
Sam’s fork clattered to his plate. “Excuse me. I could lay an egg?”
“Eventually,” Urien said. “If you choose to bond with us and you want children.”
“An egg,” Sam repeated faintly.
“Dragon eggs are beautiful,” Rux said, nodding his head. “They’re like giant opals, all iridescent and warm. We keep them in the hoard until they’re ready to hatch, usually three to five years…”
“I’m going to need a minute with the egg thing.” Sam was still trying to work out how something like thatcould happen. He took several deep breaths, trying not to get sidetracked.
“Okay,” he said finally. “Putting aside the biological impossibilities for now, tell me about the bonding part. You mentioned a mating bond.”
Mabon and Urien exchanged a look.
“A mating bond is permanent,” Mabon said slowly. “When a Treasure accepts their triad, and the bond forms, it’s forever. We would be connected emotionally and spiritually. You’d feel our emotions, we’d feel yours. Over time, the bond strengthens. Eventually, you’d be able to communicate telepathically with us, as well as sense where we are, or know if we’re in danger.”
“And I’m guessing I’d live as long as you do,” Sam said, trying to remember if Urien had mentioned that earlier.
“Yes.” Urien’s voice was soft. “Dragons live for millennia. The bond changes your physiology, so it would slow your aging and heal any injuryor illness you already had. In effect, it makes you nearly immortal.”
Nearly immortal. Sam looked at his plate and the normal food on it, trying to reconcile that with the fantastical conversation happening around him.
“What happens if I don’t want that?” Sam hated to ask, but he needed to know all sides of the Treasure business. “What if I just want to be human?”
The three of them went very still.
“Then we would cherish every human year you have,” Mabon said quietly. “We would never force the bond. It has to be your choice, freely given.”
“But you’d have to watch me age,” Sam said. “Watch me die.”
“Yes.” Rux’s voice cracked slightly. “And it would destroy us. But we’d still rather have you for whatever time you’re willing to give than never have you at all.”
Oh, my gods.Sam’s chest hurt. It was as if he could see the dragon’s raw emotions floating in the air. Unable to process, he picked up hisfork again, took another bite of risotto, and chewed mechanically.
“Tell me about your triad,” he said, more as a distraction than anything else. “How did you find each other?”
Urien smiled, and it transformed his usually serious face. “Mabon and I met first in 1923. I was in Wales, working as a gardener for an estate. Mabon was pretending to be the estate owner’s distant relative.”
“I was buying the estate, actually,” Mabon corrected. “Urien was planting roses, and I watched him for three hours before I realized what the feeling in my chest meant.”
“You watched me for three hours and didn’t say anything?” Urien’s eyebrow rose.
“I was processing.” Mabon looked slightly defensive.
“You were panicking,” Rux said, grinning. “He told me later he’d convinced himself it was indigestion.”
Sam found himself chuckling. “And you found Rux...?”
“Ten years later,” Rux said. “I was cooking in a Paris bistro, using human techniques, trying to understand their food. Mabon and Urien came in for dinner, and the moment I brought out the first course, both of them knew.”
“It was thebouillabaisse,” Mabon said fondly. “Rux had put so much love into it. His dragon was singing through every ingredient.”
“And now you’ve found me.” Sam looked at each of them. “In a coffee shop in Dinetell.”
“Technically, I saw you when I was in Harrisons,” Rux said. “But yes, that first time I came in to see you, you were smiling at Mrs. Henderson even though she changed her order three times.”
