Page 49 of Meet Me in the Stars

“Which one?”

“It’s a parasite,” I said, and Elio stopped in his tracks and dropped my hand.

“Why would I have a parasite? Did you bring me one? What---”

“I might’ve,” I laughed.

“You’re a jerk!” he slapped my chest laughing. “If I am carrying your egg, I’m going to tell our baby when they grow up you called them a parasite.”

“I call Teddy and them the egg brats. So, that won’t hurt my feelings.”

“Does it hurt theirs?” Elio asked, taking my hand again, the slightest of pink blushes marking his cheeks at the idea that he might already be carrying my egg.

“Naw,” I shook my head. “It’s a term of endearment and they know it. It’s a private club with only four members. Though, the membership might be open to expanding in the future.”

“I hope so,” Elio laughed. “Our hatchlings will be younger – a lot younger than their siblings.”

“Ah, they’ll still be egg brats,” I squeezed his hand.

***

Stepping back onto the Medwin 2 was like stepping into a press conference. Everyone had questions about the stars that had popped up on their chests. I let go of Elio’s hand to push past Castor and Casimir to get a look at Teddy. His scale was still a bit flesh colored as if it couldn’t make up its mind what color to be. I hugged him, ignoring the questions of our crewmates. Sure, I had to let the other three egg brats know the full story about Elio soon, but he was here and I didn’t want him to fear for a single second that I was trying to replace his mother. No one on any world could ever replace Lotus Cromwell.

“Dad, I knew he was telling the truth from the moment he came on the family link,” Teddy said before I could even start to explain anything. “It’s okay.”

“Do your siblings understand what’s going on? How far did the stars spread on Earthside?” I asked him.

“We’re not sure. Duke and his kids have them. Syre too. Not everyone. I don’t think we’re all that intertwined,” Teddy laughed. “It’s just sorta following your genes downward I think.”

I glanced over my shoulder at Elio explaining once again to Izora and the others what the stars meant. Their expressions were eager. I was sure any second now they might plow through Castor to get off the ship. He might’ve been the captain of the Medwin 2 but meeting their true-mates outranked even him. Though, he had a star too. I didn’t know how he was staying on the ship.

“QUIET!” Castor bellowed and everyone, including Elio, flinched away from him.

“Warn me next time,” Elio said, rubbing his ears.

“There are three worlds full of dragons here. They are fully populated worlds. No one is charging out there and acting like cave-dragons! I’ll need to inform Clarence and Medwin that we are willfully staying for the foreseeable future. We’ll need to talk long term plans and we’ll need Elio and some of the other Starscales to help with that. I’m sure the leadership here doesn’t want our ship in the landing field forever.”

“Meh,” Elio shrugged. “It’s a big field. Besides, if Uncle Hush hasn’t said anything yet, I wouldn’t worry about it. I think this would probably be a good time to tell you that you can have your bedroom back. Well, that is if, Fred wants to give it to you.”

“Huh?” I asked, we hadn’t talked about going anywhere else. As much as I trusted Castor, I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave my grown egg brat alone on the ship with the possibility of true-mates looming over everyone’s heads.

“Like I said, if you want,” Elio said. “I have a place. Not a place I share with Marsin either. It’s next door to his house, but that’s not the point. There will be housing options for the rest of you too, if you want them, but at the very least, Castor you can have your room back. Thank you for giving it up for our matingmoon.”

“You’re more than welcome,” Castor nodded at Elio. “Without you and your brother sending all those scrolls over I might’ve never gotten the chance to test out the Medwin 2.”

“It’s a nice ship,” Elio nodded.

“So what about our true-mates?” Sunny asked, his voice big and booming much like his sire’s.

“You have more chance to find them now than ever,” I cut into the conversation. “Don’t start in on the captain. If he didn’t build this damn ship, you’d never have known your true-mate wasn’t even on Earthside.”

Sunny pressed his lips together. I could almost see the gears in his brain turning as he decided which of his parents to act more like. In the end he said nothing but nodded his understanding. He might be the youngest one of the ship, but he was the son of the leaders. No matter what his raging hormones or lonely heart might want, he had to lead by example.

“We will see where we can fit into daily life here. We have enough supplies to survive years on the ship, but I think waiting around here for something to happen will make everyone stir-crazy. Even out there, we stick together. We’re Moonscales first and foremost. Until we get our bearing on this world, we check in with each other every day if we don’t have each other in our line of sight. Will housing be available close to where you and Fred will be?”

“I’ll have to run somethings by Marsin,” Elio said. “Our parents have moved to Starscale 3. We have an estate and with some work it could house everyone in their own space. I know, technically you could share a house, but we should plan for when you meet your true-mates.”

“And Teddy could stay with us if he wanted to,” I said, and Teddy shot me a look like I told him he had a curfew.

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