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Focusing on the people in the room instead of her dragon, Arabella said, "Right, then let's get everyone changed and fed so that when Layla gives the word, we can visit Fraser, Holly, and their twins."
Melanie, Tristan, and Finn all rushed to her side and helped. While it would be nice to have so much help every day, Arabella enjoyed the closeness of some alone time with her children.
Because she had a feeling that once they and their cousins were older, she would rarely be alone with her triplets. Not that it was a bad thing—Arabella wished that she'd had the same when she'd been younger—but she would treasure the little moments while she still could.
~~~
Finn had lost the battle to carry one of his own children to Fraser and Holly's room, so he followed his mate, Tristan, and Melanie, each of them with a bairn in tow.
Arabella's father had elected to stay in a hospital room, with Brenna watching over him. Since a breeze could've blown over the male, Finn hadn't fought it. Maybe George would even have his first peaceful sleep in years.
His dragon spoke up. So now you're being overly forgiving.
It's temporary. If I find anything that smells of betrayal or treason, I won't hesitate to change tactics. However, I doubt allowing him a nap will destroy the clan.
They finally reached the correct room. Aunt Lorna was the first to enter, with Ross at her side. Finn and the rest followed suit.
Fraser sat next to Holly on her bed, each of them holding a yellow-swaddled bundle. Fraser was family, so Finn blurted out, "And the shenanigans have begun. You could've put them in different colors so we could better keep track of which one is which."
Grinning, Fraser met his gaze. "We can tell them apart, so you should be able to as well."
Holly muttered, "Don't listen to him. The oldest, Skye, has an ink mark on her right hand."
Aunt Lorna clicked her tongue. "Finn knows that because of his own lads. Now, how about you introduce us? I'm anxious to hold my new grandbabies."
Fraser pointed to one and then the other as he said, "This here is Skye, and this is Summer."
"Such lovely names," Melanie said from the side of the room, where she gently jostled Grayson.
Finn looked down at the wee red faces. "They're so tiny."
Lorna answered as she picked up Skye. "They're early, so of course they're wee." She kissed Skye's cheek. "Gran will always have your back, little one. Remember that for the future, when your dad tries to protect you by locking you in your rooms. I might be able to help you escape for a little adventure, or argue for your freedom."
Ross took Summer into his arms. "Which means you two can run to granddad and I'll spoil you rotten when your father isn't looking."
"Just don't indulge them too much, Dad," Holly said with a smile.
"Has Fraser explained the significance of having twin females to you yet, Holly?" Arabella asked.
Holly moved her gaze to Arabella. "Aye, although I had no idea twin female dragon-shifters were rare. I just thought that Lochguard and Stonefire produced a lot of lads."
"Well, dragon-shifters skew male in the first place," Melanie chimed in. "Otherwise the DDA would never have agreed to the sacrifice program, and neither one of us would be here, Holly."
Both Melanie and Holly had volunteered to be sacrifices to the dragon-shifter clans in exchange for a vial of dragon's blood. Melanie had used it to heal her brother, and Holly had sold hers so that she could pay for her dad's experimental cancer treatment.
Holly sat up a little bit more. "Then maybe someone could explain the finer details of it all? I know they're meant to bring peace, but I haven't had a chance to ask for more than that."
Finn spoke up. "Aye, well, it's related to stories about Alviva, Queen of the British dragon-shifters shortly after the Roman conquest of Britain. Almost every dragon-shifter knows that she forged an agreement with the Romans for fair treatment and semi-autonomy. But she didn't do it alone. People tend to forget it was her and her twin sister, Edwina, who secured the deal."
Lorna chimed in. "Aye, and while the details have been lost to history, the peace brought on by two females was put down to them being identical twins. Even though it was their skill and cleverness that did it, the males needed a reason to justify as to why so-called weak females could be so successful."
Finn stepped in. "Regardless, it's happened a few more times throughout history. The sacrifice program, to ensure our species' survival, was also negotiated by twin females. And there are rumors about another pair here and there, although I'm sure Alistair Boyd could tell you more about it than I ever could."
Finn had known Alistair Boyd his whole life, and the male taught history to young dragon-shifters.
Holly frowned. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not going to force a future on my daughters. So if there's an expectation that I have to train them to be saviors, or what have you, I'm not going to do it."
Fraser answered, "There's no savior training, honey. But people will comment on it often, so it's better to prepare our daughters for the talk rather than to have others foist some fictional destiny on them."
