Page 27 of Spectacle

“It was a long, hard labor, and the pain was great, but he is fine—exhausted but fine. When I left them, they were sleeping. Nik nursed them, and his body is recovering like you predicted,” I assure the cyborg, and he nods, relief finally gleaming in his eyes as he smiles.

“That’s great. It should take a few hours for his birthing slit to close and return to normal. The more he feeds, the faster it should happen,” he explains distractedly, making more notes.

“The babies have voracious appetites. I bet Nik will be back to normal quicker than ever.”

“Yes, multiple births aren’t common on Aquilia, so you may be right. Twice the sucking action.” He types a few more notes.

“What about names?” Saxon asks, and I shake my head.

“I’m sorry, my friend. I don’t know. We didn’t get a chance to discuss it.”

He looks disappointed. “Never mind, I can’t wait to meet them. How long do you think they’ll nap for?” He looks longingly at the water, and I stifle the smile that wants to cross my lips. Who would have thought General Saxon would be so excited to meet babies?

“I’m not sure. Nikos was exhausted. It certainly wasn’t as easy as laying kraken eggs. Why don’t we all go have something to eat and check on the children? I’m sure they are nagging Ghosie to come visit, and then we can all return. If we write a list of names that we like, maybe that will help them with a decision.”

Xavier has been quiet all this time. I could tell he was still trying to figure out how he could get to the bottom of the pool. I’m sure if we were much longer, he would have conjured a bubble of air around his head and teleported into the pool, but my suggestion has him swinging his attention back to everyone.

“Caspian is right. We are excellent at naming babies and should definitely write a list of suggestions.”

One of the grandpas snorts indelicately, and Xavier scowls in their direction but can’t figure out which one it was. I’m almost certain it was Eric, but I decide not to drop him in the shit. I do wonder if Xavier will be so open to “suggestions” when it comes to naming his offspring.

William plays a card, and the rest of the men at the table groan loudly. He smirks and pulls the pot closer to him then starts to shove his winnings into his pockets. “Sounds like a great idea to me. I’m ready to eat something,” he announces.

“Of course you are,” John grumbles. “You just took us for all our money.”

I climb out of the pool, staying in my half kraken form, and Link tosses a towel at me so I can dry off. I’m eager to go back to our suite and snuggle with my own children and tell them about their new brother and sister. “Maybe the kids might have some name suggestions as well,” I say, tongue-in-cheek, knowing that if they had their way, our new babies would definitely be named after one of their favorite cartoon characters.

“It won’t hurt to have a list. With as many mates as Lila has, I’m sure there will be many more children,” Eric says gleefully, rubbing his hands together. “Lots and lots of grandbabies to spoil, not to mention many Adams to help with the circus. Maybe one day we will have enough that we won’t ever have to hire any acts. Right, brothers?” He slaps John on the shoulder, who nods his head.

“Wouldn’t that be lovely?”

Everyone makes their way up the stairs and back to the suite. There are a lot of names being tossed around, and I feel a small amount of pity for Nikos, but not too small, because I had to deal with the same thing, although it all worked out in the end.

Two hours later, Tirrian and I return to the Aquilian pool with three excited little kraken babies who are just about jumping out of their skin. The rest are going to follow in an hour or so, but they decided we should have a swim first so as not to overwhelm the new ones. I’m not sure if it’s the right decision, but Jack, Cordy, and Cally wouldn’t take no for an answer. Tirrian also has a list of names on the tablet tucked under his arm.

We leave it on the card table in the bottom cavern before the babies shift into their kraken forms. They don’t have a half form yet, but I caution them to be gentle with their new siblings and tell them that they are their protectors. I’m not sure if it will work, but thankfully the new little ones seemed quite sturdy when they were playing with my tentacles, so I’m hoping it won’t be too much for them. The four of us enter the water and wait for Tirrian to shift. He strips off his clothes, and before I can blink, he shifts into his water dragon form. I haven’t seen it before, and I know he is usually much bigger, but he has taken a smaller size so he can swim around the pool. Unlike his air dragon, this one is turquoise green, but his eye color is the same as his other dragon. His body is long, like a serpent, and his four legs don’t look like they could hold him up on land. This form doesn’t look to have wings, but he has webbing between each of his toes, and long, mustache-like tendrils draping down on either side of his elongated snout. He slithers elegantly into the water, barely splashing, and swims toward us, using his legs to propel himself through the water. The children swim around him, and their cries of delight are loud in my head.

Look at Daddy Dragon. He is so pretty, Cordelia says, brushing her body against him. So shiny.

He blows out a breath, and bubbles encase the children, who squeal with delight. I wince at the piercing sounds rattling my brain. They frolic a little, but then I remember that the others are sleeping, so I caution them to be quiet.

We need to be quiet now. We don’t want to give the new babies a fright. How about you jump on Daddy Dragon’s back, and we will go meet your new brother and sister?

All three of them suction onto Tirrian’s back, and the five of us swim downward. It’s not far to the bottom, and when they see the anemone, I can feel their curiosity, even though they stay silent.

We’re almost to the formation when Lila swims out with a huge smile on her face, and she opens her arms wide. My babies, I missed you. Come give Mama a cuddle, she calls to them. She looks radiant as the three krakens swarm her, giving her tentacles kisses. I can hear them chattering inside her head, asking question after question. She just laughs and does her best to answer them before swimming toward Tirrian and giving him a kiss on the nose.

Hello, beastie. I missed you too. I haven’t gotten to see you in this form since the mating dome, she teases him, and I remember the story of the large, horny water dragon and chuckle.

He blushes adorably, obviously able to hear her in his head too, and sticks out his tongue, slowly dragging it over her body. I see her shudder and wonder if it’s in disgust or a lustier feeling.

The children are impatient, and Jack tries to swim into the anemone but stops as soon as he brushes against one of its tentacles and it stings him. He starts to cry, and Lila quickly gathers him into her arms, soothing him.

You can’t swim in there, it will sting you. You have to wait. Daddy Nik will bring the babies out to you, but remember they are smaller than you, so you have to be gentle, she tells our children, and Jack stops sobbing and promises to be gentle.

How is he doing? I ask our wife, and she beams at me.

He’s wonderful. The babies have nursed every half hour or so, and his body has mostly recovered. He slept through most of it, but I have been watching over them. They have big appetites.

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