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Soon we were all yawning as bright little sparks of the spawnlings flew away and the night grew quiet. Even Mr. Seahorse seemed to feel the drama was over because he flew back to Kaitlyn’s shoulder and nuzzled her cheek affectionately before promptly falling asleep and starting his squeaky snore.
“Aww, poor little guy,” Kaitlyn murmured. “Look, Ari—he’s all tuckered out. It’s hard having a hundred babies all in one night.”
“I know how he feels.” Ari yawned too. “I mean about being tired—not about having a hundred babies. I love you, L’lorna. But now that I know you’re safe, I’m going back to bed.”
“I will as well. Good night, my Witch Queen.” Griffin kissed Megan and then slid away into the shadows as silently as he had come.
The rest of us trooped back inside as quietly as we could, making certain the heavy wooden door didn’t slam behind us. I had to physically guide Jalli with one hand under her arm. She literally couldn’t drag her eyes away from her new pets long enough to see where she was going. That was okay, though—the shining, transcendent expression of joy on her pretty little face made me think of a kid on Christmas morning.
It was absolutely adorable to behold.
4
“Well, that was quite an adventure,” Kaitlyn remarked, collapsing on a couch when we finally got back to the Norm Dorm.
“Never a dull moment around here,” Avery agreed.
“Well? What happened?” Saint popped his head out the door and looked at us expectantly.
“Mr. Seahorse had about a hundred babies,” Jalli told him. “And look, Saint—I got three of them!” she exclaimed, holding her hand right under his eyes so he could see them.
But the minute the miniature chimelings got near the big Drake, they all chimed in shrill terror and scattered in three different directions.
“I was afraid of this.” Saint looked upset. “They fear the Blood Drake I hold within me.”
“Oh, no!” Jalli wailed, looking anxiously around. “Where did they go?”
“They should come back to you—I hope,” Saint said. “Here—I’ll go back into my room so they feel safe again.”
“Hold the door, roomie—I’m coming too,” Avery told him. He looked at Megan and me. “Can you help Jalli round up her babies?”
“I think they’ll be okay,” Megan said. “Look, they’re already coming back.”
Indeed, the three miniature chimelings had grouped together in one corner of the common area room and were eyeing Jalli as though they wanted to come back to her but didn’t quite dare, even though Saint was no longer visible.
“Offer them some more jellybeans, Jalli,” I suggested. “That might bring them around.”
“Oh, good idea!” She dug in the pocket of her robe again and came up with three or four more jellybeans. Holding them out, she crooned softly. “Come on, little guys. Come on Jelly Belly and Sweet Tooth and Spike—look what I’ve got for you.”
After a moment’s hesitation, the three chimeling babies at last flew back to her hand and began gorging on jellybeans once more.
“That’s right, guys! Good job. I’m sorry I scared you—I promise it won’t happen again,” Jalli crooned. Clearly she was delighted and the rest of us were relieved. Jalli was such a little ray of sunshine, nobody liked to see her unhappy.
“Okay, I’m going to bed now,” Megan announced. “Everybody else should too. It’s getting really late.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice—I was already yawning again.
“I’m coming,” I said. “Jalli? You need me to lead you so you don’t trip?”
“Huh?” Her eyes were glued to her little pets, making all of us laugh. Her absent-minded response was all I needed to know she wasn’t going to make it to bed without help. Hooking one hand under her arm, I led her into the girls’ bedroom, making sure she didn’t trip along the way.
As I did, I couldn’t help thinking how absolutely adorable the three little creatures were.
I had no idea how soon one of them was going to get me into big trouble, but I was about to find out…
5
The chimelings grew at a phenomenal pace—maybe because they found the half-eaten bag of jellybeans during the night and finished them off. By the time we woke up the next morning, they were already the size of Mini-Wheats cereal bites.
Now that they were bigger, it was easier to see their markings. Sweet Tooth and Jelly Belly both had golden wings like their sire, though Sweet Tooth had a cotton-candy pink body and Jelly Belly was the brilliant blue of a tropical punch jellybean.
But it was Spike who was the most colorful.
The little chimeling had rainbow wings, striped in blue, pink, orange, red, green, and yellow. His body, however, was royal purple—the exact color of the banner hanging over the Fae table in the Dining Hall, I thought.
Spike was also the biggest of the three chimelings and apparently the boss of the other two. He was constantly ordering them around in his squeaky, doorbell voice and they did what he told them too, at least as far as I could see.
