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“The young dragon,” Perry said as he continued up the stairs, leaving the distant laughter of children behind him, “had young dragons of his own, but he wanted a child with all his heart… only it never quite worked out, and the young dragon became very sad for such a very long time.”
At the top of the stairs, Perry went left, past rooms in which lived memories. Curious whelps perched in windows, looking over the grounds below. Midnight trysts with Sebastian. Conversations long forgotten, and faces of Attendants long since passed. It was painful to remember, but sweet at the same time. Nostalgic. But essential.
Who he was today had been shaped by those moments, so as difficult as they were on his heart, he welcomed them back all the same.
“Eventually,” Perry continued, “the young dragon became so sad that his heart broke, and even the young dragons he cared for and loved with all his heart and soul were not enough to fix it. So the handsome dragon he loved took him and their little family from the palace to another home, where the young dragon wouldn’t feel so sad anymore. For a time, at least.
“They moved many times over the next few hundred years to many beautiful places, each grander than the last. But no matter where they went, the young dragon never managed to have a baby, and he wept, and wept, and wept.”
The door to the nursery came into sight. It was at the end of the corridor, near a staircase leading to the Attendants’ quarters, so the nursemaids could better care for the human children they’d have.
Only there had been none, and the room had stayed empty.
And for each new loss, Perry’s heart had fractured until he couldn’t stand the sight of the room at all.
“But you see,” he said as he forged onward, Mira in his arms, “there was so much love in the young dragon’s heart that he never gave up hope, even when he was broken. And one day, that hope paid off. He and the handsome dragon had another clutch of dragon babies, and for a while he was able to forget all of his sadness… but the truth is, sadness never really goes away. It sits and waits for you to remember it’s there. And when the young dragon next discovered he was pregnant, it all came rushing back. What should have been a happy time was overshadowed by fear, because the young dragon had never managed to have a baby before, and he was afraid this time would be just like all the others, and another piece of his heart would break.”
Perry came to a stop outside the nursery door and looked down at Mira, who gazed up at him with love in her eyes. There was no magical bond between them through which he could channel love back, so Perry let his emotions play across his face. And as impossible as it seemed, he could have sworn Mira perked up as though she felt it.
“But you see, something magical happened,” Perry explained. “Despite his fear and all the dangerous obstacles in the way, the young dragon was able to keep the baby, and a princess was born. The most beautiful princess in all the land. And while it was not her job to stitch back together her father’s heart, she helped get the job started.”
Perry pressed a kiss to Mira’s forehead, and she made a breathy noise of delight that warmed him through and through. He kissed her again, overjoyed by her company, and continued on with the story. “With her help, the young dragon found the courage to confront the pain he kept inside so he could start to heal. And do you know what he did?”
Perry paused for dramatic effect.
“He brought the princess to the palace he’d loved all those years ago. The one he and the handsome dragon had to leave, because it hurt too much to stay. He brought her into the halls where no baby had ever been and laid her down for a nap in the nursery that went hundreds of years unused.”
Perry opened the nursery door, fully intending to lay Mira in her bassinet, but didn’t make it more than a few steps from the doorway. The room wasn’t empty like it should have been. It was filled with familiar faces.
There were the older boys, now tall and grown, all five of them grinning like they were young again and had just gotten away with a particularly devious prank. Alistair and Ignatius were there, although their boys were missing—but judging by the loud crash from downstairs, they were elsewhere in the palace. Everard and Harrison were there as well, and Geoffrey and his mates. Reynard and Misha stood near them, a smirk on Misha’s face like he’d just uncovered a scintillating secret. Hugh and Finch stood near the bassinet, Finch with their son, Theodore, in his arms. Even Grimbold and Walter were there, Walter’s gaze shyly averted to Pake, who he was petting like a dog. Pake was soaking up the attention. The Drakes must have banded together in order to carry him up the stairs.
But Perry’s thoughts didn’t linger long on how they’d transported his tortoise, because at the front and center of the group stood a dragon whose very presence made Perry’s heart skip a beat.
Sebastian.
He was dressed in a fine suit, his posture impeccable, and his expression as unreadable as ever. But when he saw Perry, he smiled. “Welcome home, my love.”
Tears fell down Perry’s cheeks before he could stop them. He blinked wildly, trying to chase them away, but couldn’t. “What is this? What’s going on? Why are you all here?”
Harrison looked left and right, then took a small step forward and smiled in his friendly way at Perry. “When everyone found out what had happened, and that your family would be leaving the country for a bit while Bertram handles things back home, all of us decided that since you couldn’t come to visit us, we’d come to visit you.”
“The security leaves much to be desired, but I suppose it will do.” Misha winked. “Wait until I tell you about what I’ve discovered about our troublesome friend. As it turns out, you and I have more in common than you’d think.”
“Can you stop orally vaguebooking?” Ignatius poked his head around Alistair to narrow his eyes at Misha. “You’ve been dropping all these little hints, but they’re never enough for any of us to figure out what you’re talking about, and it’s driving me batty. Either spill the beans or can them. This in-between bullshit is killing me.”
“Iggy,” Harrison said, “are you okay? Misha doesn’t have any beans.”
Ignatius sighed.
Misha snickered. “So testy. All will be revealed. You must simply give me time. And vodka. Drinks are in order. We have a new life to celebrate.”
“She is quite lovely,” said Hugh, who appeared quite enamored by Mira already. “What is her name?”
“Mira,” Perry said, but it was all he could muster before words failed him. How was this possible? It was hard enough to gather the entire family for a birthday, and now here they were half a world away. All of them. The only one missing was Bertram, but for good reason—despite Sebastian’s violent opposition, he’d taken the villainous omega into his custody and resolved to put an end to his crimes once and for all.
But with or without Bertram, the sentiment was the same.
They’d come for him.
