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The great meeting hall was still empty except for them but delicious smells were starting to waft down a tunnel at the far end of the room. Claire could hear the faint sounds of a busy kitchen as she took a seat between Malcolm and Everett. Puck bounced from Everett’s shoulder onto her lap and folded his wings in as he made himself comfortable.
Desmond, ever the talker, started off their story with the decision to go into the Forest and the events leading up to it at Brandlevine including Puck’s appearance and the Council visit. Claire picked up when the story entered into the Elven Forest. She talked about the attacks by the Feluas and the dark magic influences. She recounted meeting the Elven warriors and her uncle but kept out the part about her being royalty. She glossed over the details of her heritage just saying that they found out her mother was Elven but her father was Fae. She could feel her men’s confusion down their bond but their faces didn’t give anything away. She only talked about the final attack in terms of the implications that the Elves weren’t safe and Claire seemed to be the target. And they needed to find more details about her father so hence their trip to the Dragon Mountains.
Desmond picked the story back up with their return to the Academy and, following Claire’s lead, didn’t mention the Elven contingent of troops that waited on the other side of the gate. Claire was going to have to communicate with Synora’s tree tomorrow to let her know they were alright.
When he finished talking, Roderick looked thoughtful. “When did you say your magic’s bindings started unraveling again? Because you presented as a witch before that, correct?”
He looked at Malcolm who nodded. “When I called them and first told them about you that’s what I mentioned,” he murmured in Claire’s ear.
Claire answered his question by drawing her daggers out of the sheaths at her side, careful not to disturb Puck who let out a grumble anyways and went back to sleep. The flight had taken a lot out of him. She was briefly distracted examining her familiar’s Energy. Maybe she could feed him some extra magic tomorrow.
When Claire laid the daggers on the table, Roderick’s eyes flashed to Malcolm. “Is that…”
Malcolm nodded. “It’s the dagger you gave me at my coming of age. You told me at the time it was won in battle. That you showed a Fae warrior mercy and he gifted you the dagger.”
“Not just any Fae warrior,” Roderick began, his eyes wide as he looked from the dagger to Claire. He cut off as a large group of dragons entered the meeting hall talking and laughing loudly.
“We’ll discuss this later,” Roderick told them, clearly unwilling to discuss it in front of anyone else.
At the far end of the hall, several people were laying out large platters of food. Most dragons were heading to the food first, no particular order seemed to be happening, just a loud and rowdy cacophony of noises as they greeted each other and made jokes. Everett and Desmond rose to get them some food while Malcolm sat with Claire. Several people stopped them on their way to the table, the men well-known by the other dragons. Claire knew Everett grew up here but she had forgotten that Desmond had spent a lot of time here as well.
Her men had strong families and Claire’s heart ached a bit. Would she have grown up like this with the Elves and the Fae? The gathering of the Elves before the coronation ceremony attack reminded her a little bit of that but they were still cautiously optimistic about Claire. Maybe this type of group eating was something she could implement with the Elves later.
A few of the braver souls stopped by their table and Malcolm introduced her to them. Their smile was friendly, eyes curious, as they took Claire in from her place nestled under Malcolm’s arm. He was feeling a bit more possessive surrounded by other dragons and no one lingered long. Desmond kissed her cheek and stole Everett’s place next to her as he dropped a plate piled high in front of Claire. Meats of different types, a few vegetables, and some bread combined themselves in a delicious array of scents and Claire’s stomach grumbled. Malcolm frowned and she rolled her eyes at him, popping a piece of food in her mouth. She was eating, he could calm down.
She alternated bites of food from her to Puck, who had perked up when she held a piece of savory chicken under his nose. Around her, noise soared into the high ceilings and Claire took it all in, as Mara and Everina chatted away.
Tomorrow, they would have to check the locator orb and see if the Headmaster had sent over the list of Academy students and staff. Tomorrow, they would have to get back to work and reality and deal with all of the questions but tonight? Tonight was about family.
18
Claire must have fallen asleep on Desmond during dinner as she woke to him shifting her into his arms. She roused softly but he hushed her and she closed her eyes again. The events of the day had finally caught up with her. Hopefully, Roderick didn’t mind waiting to talk about the Fae daggers.
The next time she woke up, it was to unfamiliar walls, a lean arm thrown across her stomach and spearmint filling her nostrils. Desmond. The rock walls indicated that they were somewhere deep in the Dragon Mountains still. Claire relaxed back into Desmond’s warm body, determined to soak up this moment of peace and warmth before the day began. She didn’t know where Malcolm or Everett were but their bonds were quiet so they were comfortable somewhere.
Soft lips pressed to the back of her neck. Desmond was awake. “Good morning,” he murmured, voice husky with sleep.
“Good morning,” Claire murmured back. “Sorry for falling asleep on you last night.”
“That’s fine,” Desmond said. “I didn’t mind. Had to fight Malcolm to carry you back to our rooms.”
“Is that where we are?” From what Claire could see from the bed, the room was decorated in soft warm colors of maroon, gold,and navy. It didn’t really feel like any of the men’s rooms but teenage them might have different tastes.
“We are in your room in our suite,” Desmond placed another kiss on her neck.
“My room?” Claire arched an eyebrow although Desmond couldn’t see them.
Desmond let out a throaty chuckle. “Yep. When we decided we were a Triad at twelve, we demanded that we have a Triad suite in all of our young audacity. I think Malcolm’s parents humored us at first, not thinking we would last as a Triad but we proved them wrong. The mothers must have outfitted it when we told them about you since the room used to be bare.”
That made Claire feel good. Although she couldn’t begrudge them their pasts, the possessive part of her warmed, realizing she was the only woman to have been in these walls.
She must have been silent too long as Desmond spoke. “We can change whatever you want in it.”
Claire let out a soft laugh into the languid morning. “I’ll have to outfit multiple bedrooms at some point.” She’d gone from having no place to belong to several places and yet no where they could stay without bringing danger.
“How do you feel about that?” Desmond asked, his hand starting to stroke up and down her side in a comforting movement.
Claire bit her lip. “I went from not feeling like I was at home anywhere to having multiple homes. It’s not… a bad thing. But it has been an adjustment.”
