Page 36 of Accidentally a Dragon Daddy

“I’ll never get to experience this,” she said, tilting her head to find my dragon’s eye. “It’s something I’ll never be able to share with them. Ever.”

“No,” I conceded. “You won’t. But there’s plenty more you will get to share and experience. You’ll be their mother, Elanya. That will never change.”

I wanted to say more, to find the words that would assure her she would be an amazing mom, but I didn’t know what they were.

There was a lot I didn’t know. I would have to fix that. Somehow.

Dropping lower, my wings out wide to catch the air, I lined up my approach to our destination.

“Just remember,” I said, angling toward a big open patch of grass near a single-story L-shaped building, “probably best to not mention the pregnancy. Okay? Let people get used to your presence first. Once they get to know you, they’ll care less about the baby. But a lot of my people can be sensitive. No need to poke the bear.”

“Or dragon.”

I glanced at her.

“Don’t worry, I understand,” she said more seriously. “I won’t say anything.”

We came in low across the lawn before I pulled my wings up and caught wind in them, slowing us down to land. A moment later, my claws dug into the soft soil, and we were grounded. Elanya slid from my back, and I shifted.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“This,” I said, looking around and swallowing, “is one of the schools for dragon children.”

“So, why do you seem so tense?” she asked, poking my arm.

“My sister is the teacher here,” I said. “She’s … not a big supporter of humans. But she loves me.”

“Oh.”

The doors opened, and a flood of children came pouring out, escorted by my sister.

“Hi, Damon!” a boisterous lad of five and a half shouted as he leaped at me. “You came back!”

I scooped him up with a big growl, flipping him casually around a few times and then setting him down. “Hey, Paiter.”

“Who she?” one of the little girls asked as she toddled over, careful to keep her distance from us both.

“Why don’t you ask her yourself, Soozanna,” my sister said as she reached us.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Elanya.”

“Eeya!” one of the youngest exclaimed, clapping her hands. “Eeya!”

Several others chimed in.

“Hey, sis,” I said as the kids ran around, eager to be outside without lessons. “This is Elanya. Elanya, my sister Jaklin.”

“Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Elanya said, sticking out a hand.

I winced as Jaklin looked her up and down, then fixed me with a glare. “Really? You brought a human here?”

“Yes,” I said. “I did. I thought it would do you good to see she’s a real person.”

“Why do you have a human? You were smart enough to not take part in the choosing. How did this happen?”

“Damon fought one of the others for me,” Elanya said. “I guess he thought I wasn’t so bad after all.”

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