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I turned to my mom. “Má, do I have any living siblings?”
She gazed at me for a moment, as if me still calling her “Mom” shocked her or something, and then shook her head. “No. Of my sisters, I had the fewest children after the sacrifice. It was too painful to watch my children grow old and die, but I refused to have someone else raise them like my siblings chose to do. I raised each and every one with all the love I could offer, even knowing their lives would be short. That was my intention for you as well.”
“And you haven’t had any since leaving Pá and me?”
She shook her head again. “It was some time between my last mate and me meeting your father. And I have not been with anyone since.”
Was that because she took her vow to my dad that seriously? Maybe that would help mend the rift between them… if that was what they wanted. But that was on them. Whatever they did, it didn’t change what I wanted to do.
“If I have a dragon soul, does that make me a human shifter or a dragon?”
“Just as Astrid is no longer human, you are not, either,” she said. “There are no dragon shifters, like fictional tales would say, just dragons who have the ability to shift into anything they wish.”
“But there are shifters and they’re human?”
She nodded. “It is a nuance that you will understand more as you immerse yourself in the truth.”
“How long will it take for this whole, ‘You’re a dragon, my son,’ bit to seem more real?” I asked. It all was a lot to take in. And I now understood better what Astrid was going through these last few weeks.
“However long it takes for you to accept you’re a dragon,” Mom said. “And I mean, accept it at your core. A surface-level acceptance won’t work.”
“Will this help me protect Astrid?” I’d wanted a way to be better involved. I was doing my best, and I knew she appreciated everything I offered within my power, but if this gave me more ways to help, I would. At this point, I didn't care what that asked of me. I was growing used to the idea of Astrid needing to fight. I’d get used to it for myself if it meant she was safe.
“We dragons are both feared and respected. You may be young, but what you are carries weight and it will not hinder what you are capable of.”
“What are we capable of?”
She grinned in a way only an apex predator could. “More than anyone realizes.”
It may have been a vague response, but it was enough for me. “Then that’s what I am, and I need you to teach me everything I need to know.”
She reached out and touched my cheek, her eyes soft. “You want that? You don’t hate me?”
I grasped her hand with mine, relishing the familiar touch. “I’m still upset, but I understand why you did it. It’s going to take me some time to get past it, but I want to try. I’ve lost enough time with you. I don’t want to lose any more.”
Mom pulled me into a tight hug. “I love you. I made mistakes with my approach to Dahlia when her nature manifested. She doesn’t trust me, and as a result, I don’t believe Zeke does either, since she took on the task of teaching him. It is a regret I have. I won’t make that mistake with you. I promise I will make you into a proper dragon your mate will love.”
My lungs seized, and Darius choked on his drink. “His what?”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Astrid
Heat burned my cheeks.She didn’t just say that.She had not just said in front of my dad, no less.
From her confused look with the way Diego and I now stared at her…Oh, gods, she did.
“I don’t have a… mate.” The word sounded just as strange coming from him as it seemed for him to say.
Urd cocked her head. “Her scent is all over you, so I assumed…”
My scent?Shit, I forgot some immortals have that good of a nose.Oh gods, was it getting hotter in here? “It’s not that serious, yet.”
My words came out as a pathetic, rushed squeak, but I couldn’t help it. The way my dad stared did not make this any better.
“Oh, I apologize. By the strength of her scent, I thought you’d engaged in a mate claim. I”—she shook her head—“I didn’t mean to offend.”
I tugged on a lock of hair. “I’m not offended…”
