Page 102 of Catastrophe

He interrupted, with a shake of his head, “I’ve seen faith give hope to the most troubled souls. They might be my fathers and we might have our differences, but it doesn’t mean I don’t acknowledge their existence and their power offers comfort to many. Maybe one day you won’t need to hold the stone for support, but I won’t be the male to take that from you before you’re ready.”

“Your hair needs to be combed,” I told him, my voice stronger as I distracted myself with the task. “Turn around and let me do it.”

Baelen sat on the floor, his back against my legs as I picked up the brush and pulled it through his hair, curling the ends around the handle of the brush so the curls were smoother.

“Pizza’s ready,” Charlie called and both he and Clawdia entered the room, their hands full of plates and glasses which they placed on the small table in front of the television.

Clawdia smiled at Baelen and stroked the curl, sitting neatly on his shoulder. “I’ve never seen it look so shiny.”

“Dralie approves, reckons he can also hide you in the rusted gold pile of his hoard,” Charlie said as he added slices to a plate before handing it over to me. I took it, confused but also pleased that he was doting on me. He didn’t like to show his emotions, but he cared. I was upset, and I nodded my thanks.

Clawdia kissed me before she sat down next to me, her plate in her lap, and started eating. Charlie stroked her leg with one hand while devouring a pizza slice with the other, and Baelen kissed her calf as he watched the TV.

He didn’t show his fascination with the device like Savida and I had the first time we watched something at Charlie’s house, but I could tell he was impressed.

With every bite of my pizza, I offered another to Clawdia, and she took it, allowing me to take care of her and giving me a sense of calm, normalcy, and control. We were so in tune with one another. She gave me exactly what I needed without me having to ask for it, which is how I knew there was a storm brewing inside her that would no longer be pushed aside.

A storm of pain because she had taken a life.

“Dralie wants to hoard gold?” Baelen asked once Charlie slowed down from inhaling his food.

“I think if Clawdia told him she wanted pears, he’d fill my house full of every variety of pear across the realms, including things that taste like pear but doesn’t look like a pear.” He tilted his head, nodded, and Clawdia laughed as she also heard what the dragon replied. “He’s besotted. It’s disgusting.”

“So he’s not set on the gold, just looking for something that he can guard for Clawdia?” Baelen asked, and Charlie nodded as he chewed. “What about golden apples?”

Charlie swallowed. “What about them?”

“Perhaps Dralie would like to be the keeper of the golden apples on Tartarus.” Baelen suggested. “They are golden and many of the orchards are dying without titans to care for them, and many other have been ransacked. The fruit is a symbol of the titans and at the moment, it is fading into history.”

“Oh, no.” Clawdia gasped. “They are so beautiful in the dreamscape. They aren’t like that anymore?”

“The trees around the palace seem to survive on the power of my fathers, but that dwindles, too. Eventually they will die.” Baelen stroked her leg as he explained.

I asked, “How can he hoard the apples when we’ll be traveling? And shouldn’t a hoard be somewhere inaccessible to others?”

Charlie shook his head. “He’ll make it work. He’d like a job to feel part of the team and he’s pretty flexible on the hoard. He doesn’t want to be like other dragons. He thanks you for the suggestion.”

“Thank you, Dralie. This will help our efforts to restore Tartarus to its former glory,” Baelen said.

Clawdia smiled so widely and she squeezed my hand as happiness bubbled from her across our bond, but then a line formed between her brow as she frowned and turned to Charlie. “Are you all right with that?”

“What do you mean?” Charlie asked.

“I mean, we’ve just assumed that we are going to settle in Tartarus, but I haven’t asked you if you’re all right with that. You have a home here, in this realm. You won’t be able to hack anymore or use technology, no TV, it’s a huge change. Will that bother you?”

Charlie scoffed. “Fuck my house. Yeah, I might miss my phone and technology, but I think there’s something in magic tech that I really want to look into.”

“But you said you missed hacking earlier.”

He shrugged. “I’ll find another way to get the same rush. It won’t ruin my life.”

Clawdia sighed, relaxing into the cushions as she patted his leg. “I’m so glad. I know you enjoy it, but it’s always worried me you are going to get into trouble or be arrested.”

He blinked and shook his head. “Wait? What? You think I’m hacking illegally.”

“Is there a way to legally hack?” Clawdia asked slowly.

“Yes. And I’ve been doing it ever since you’ve been reborn. I stopped doing illegal stuff a while ago.” He laughed. “You thought I was courting arrest in my onesie at home?”

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