Page 29 of Accidentally a Dragon Daddy

“Sent by whom?”

The one with the golden stripes stepped forward. “The sovereign would have words with you, Damon. Now.”

Well, that doesn’t sound good …

Chapter Fifteen

Elanya

We touched down on the roof of his house, escorted by the two other dragons who circled above watchfully, waiting until Damon had shifted before one of them came in to land.

“Come on, we don’t have to wait for him,” Damon said, taking my hand as the azure-scaled dragon landed and shifted to his human form, his eyes tracking us closely as we went down the stairs.

“Don’t try anything,” the dragon-man called as we disappeared inside.

Damon just snorted his irritation.

“Are you planning on trying something?” I asked nervously, touching my stomach as if I could somehow feel the child growing inside me. “That could be … dangerous to our child.”

“No,” he said a bit shortly.

“Good,” I said, trying to hide my relief.

I neglected to mention the utter terror I’d fought during our flight back. Not for myself. Despite it only being my second time riding dragonback, it was a surprisingly natural thing.

But I couldn’t stop the worries about what was safe/practical for the baby from slithering deep into my mind and latching their claws on to my panic center. Everything had to be viewed with a different mindset now. It wasn’t about me anymore.

It was about them.

Whoever they were. Boy? Girl? Licking my lips, I took the house in with a fresh set of eyes. Damon’s house. The father of my child, assuming he wasn’t lying about me being pregnant.

Although the little issue of morning sickness and two missed periods were crucial backup that helped prove everything. I wanted to get lost in irritation at myself for not noticing. If I’d just known, perhaps—

Perhaps what? Perhaps the feds would have finally given you a phone call and let you out of jail or something? No, instead of being here, you would still be stuck in that cell. So, stop your moaning, and focus on what really matters. The baby.

At least there, I was with the father of the child. As impossible as that set of events seemed, it was happening.

“I need to shower and change before seeing the sovereign. Make yourself at home,” he said, waving a hand around. “I guess it’s your home now, too.”

Then he was gone.

He’s just focused on something else. It would be like you meeting the president. Of course, you’d be freaking out. That’s why his enthusiasm is limited. It’s there. It’s just being overruled by other things.

It was a flimsy excuse, but I clung to it anyway. I had to. There was no way I was ready to raise a child by myself in the dragon realm. Not at all. I needed Damon—as a parent if nothing else. I couldn’t do it alone. I couldn’t. Not in a strange land with strange people.

People my child would share heritage with.

“Oh, god,” I moaned, slumping over onto an extra wide armchair, curling my legs up into a ball.

Tears flowed without asking my permission as emotion after emotion piled up high, drowning me in a pile of stress, fear, anger, hope, loss, happiness, and utter helplessness. Sobs racked me, shoulder-shaking, full-body heaves as I crumbled under the pressure of it all.

Me, a mother? For years, I’d operated under the assumption that the role was something nature had denied me. I’d resolved to be the best aunt I could to the children of my three siblings, but that wasn’t the same thing as having my own baby.

“Hey, hey, why are you crying?” Damon asked as he came out of the shower, towel wrapped around his waist.

And nothing else on.

I sucked in a deep breath as he slicked his hair back with both hands, his stomach and chest rippling with the motion, arms twisting and bunching individual muscles.

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