Page 7 of Dyson

“Nothing and everything. I feel like I’m sneaking around in the dark doing this, like when I skipped school that one time. Remember that? I was sick for a week because I’d done it. Come to find out, I didn’t skip at all because the school had been closed down due to the weather. Christ, I’m such a dork sometimes.” Madison told him that he was a dork all the time. “Thanks. I knew that I could depend on you to real things out for me.”

The three of them hugged then Sidney pulled out the planning sheets for his idea. After explaininga few things and answering a couple more questions, he could tell that Madison was finding fault. He asked him what he’d found wrong.

“No, I’m not. Just let me absorb, will you? You’re worse than Kyle when it comes to letting people help you out.” Madison looked over the plans again. He did ask some questions, good ones that he’d not thought of as he went through the blueprints, too. When he was finished with it, he told him that he liked it. “I don’t know that I’d make them furnished. That would be difficult to make everyone happy even if you gave them golden beds or something like that. But I would go ahead and do what you said about the kitchens. Having them a part of the walls would make it less likely that stuff would be stolen. But it’s a good, solid plan, Sid. You should be proud of yourself.”

After making notes on the things that both Madison Dyson had said, he and his brothers went to dinner. Layla, Madison’s mate, was out doing things with their mom, so she’d be out for a while. Sidney loved his new sisters-in-law, but he was terrified of them both, including his mom, too. But then he thought that everyone should have been terrified of their mom.

Madison leaned back in his chair and spoke to Dyson and Sidney. “Did I tell you about the dragons on us?” Sidney had told him that he’d only heard that they had them but not if they had any special meaning. “I didn’t either, so I asked Grandma. Mom wasn’t sure of all the details, so she had me go to her. Did you know that Mom is terrified of her mom? I didn’t know that. Bares some thinking on, I believe. Anyway, they’re there to protect us as humans. Even our mates. The reason that Fowler didn’t get one is because he is now living in the other world with Mom. But when he’s here, he’ll have one on his body as well. I think that’s fantastic. However, it’s the talking part that I need to get used to with her.”

Sidney laughed. “Her? You have a female dragon on your back? Cool Beans. So I guess that means that Layla has a male one.” He said that they balanced each other. “I guess I can see that. What does it feel like when they move around? I think I meant to ask that of you before, but I forgot.”

“It’s kind of creepy if you ask me. Layla thinks it’s like a warm blanket being pulled up and over her. I can understand that feeling, but I’m used to shifting and having a warm blanket, so to speak. But, as I said, she talks to me.” Sidney laughed, asking him if she would talk to him about his sex with Layla. “I knew you’d ask me that. But no, she doesn’t bother me in the bedroom. However, and this is the really strange part, she talks to Layla’s dragon. And this is wonderful. If she’s in real danger, like a house fire or flooding, I’m not sure what the circumstances might be, but he can lift her up and carry her to safety. We’ve not seen that yet, I don’t know that I ever want to be in a situation where she’s in that much danger, but it’s wonderful to know that she can be safe.” Sidney and Dyson both agreed.

“Will we all get them?” Madison told him that they would. “What if we find a dragon as our mate? I mean, that’s still possible, right?”

“I will have to ask about that. I didn’t think of…do you really think that’s possible? To find a dragon mate?” Sidney didn’t know, but it was something to think about. “At any given time, there are dragons around us. I don’t know how many, but I would say a few. Hiding in plain sight as we’ve been doing for centuries. Mom and Aunt Ember would know, too. They have the most power of all the others around. Even grandma.”

“It’s scary to think of the power that Mom has. I know that Dad has a great deal with him being an old vampire, but when I think of the length of time that Mom and Aunt Ember have been around, it boggles the mind.” Madison and Dyson both agreed just as their food was being brought to the three of them.

It was steak night at the restaurant. All you could eat night. They would come here to get a couple of their really wonderful steaks but never eat their fill. The place would have to shut down afterward if even one of them got enough to fill their dragon.

“Remember when we were younger, when there were fewer people around? How we’d fly the skies like we owned them? I miss those days a great deal.” Sidney told Dyson that he didn’t remember that period of time, he might have been too young. “Yeah, I guess so. But I do. We were so revered, too. Families would raise cattle just for us to come and eat.”

Sidney loved hearing about the stories from when they were younger. He didn’t have as many, of course, things were different when he came along, and they had to be hidden away. He did remember a time that was special to him and told his older brothers about it.

“There were unicorns around when I was a hatchling. Mom would set me in a field and let them watch over me so that I’d not get into trouble. She would work, checking on me occasionally, but they were more mischievous than I was then. They would steal whole pies from the kitchen and bring them out to share with me. Or entire gardens of flowers would be eaten by them.” Madison said that Mom probably knew, and Dyson agreed. “Yeah, Dad, too. He would come and get me before Mom would and get me cleaned up. I remember thinking at the time that I’d gotten away with something so grand. Those were the good times.”

“You miss that? I don’t. I know that you were never around when Grail was but he was terrifying. And then there was Great-Grandma. I don’t think that you had as much to do with her as we did, what with her being forced to retire. Some of the things that I could tell you would—”

“Tell me, Madison. Please when you think of something, tell me. I don’t want to sound whiney, but being the youngest, I missed a lot with that. I’m not saying that I’m jealous of the things that you guys had to go through. I know from Dad it was scary, but I would like to know about it. Please?” Madison told him that he would, that they all would get together sometimes and talk about the olden days. “Thanks. I know that some of it is painful for you guys. Like it still hurts Grandma to think about losing her mate. I don’t know that I could have taken it as well as she did.”

“She didn’t lose her mate, Sidney. He faded.” Sidney said he was sure that someone told him he was no longer around. “No, he’s not. He decided right after Grandma took over the realm that he wasn’t needed, so he faded into a garden. No one talks about it, of course. He wasn’t…you’ll have to have Grandma tell you. He wasn’t thrilled about being second best to Grandma. I mean, he wasn’t a mean person, and he didn’t cause any trouble but he didn’t care for when someone came to the castle to talk business, he was asked to leave. I might well have, too, but he was very jealous of the magic that they had.”

“I didn’t know that. See? This is why we have to talk about this stuff. I didn’t know that my grandfather, not that I’d go and look him up, but that he was still around ready to shoot the shit with me.” They both laughed and when they were finished with dinner, the three of them walked around the town. It really wasn’t much of a town here. But it did have about the best steak house he’d ever been to. “I’m going to have to look up the owner of this place. I bet I could talk them into having one closer to where we live. They have the best salmon filets that I’ve ever had.”

“And their desserts are perfection. I’m going to have to bring Dad back here when he’s ready. He loves all things lemon, and their lemon blueberry bread is the best that has ever been…now I want some.” They turned and headed back to the place when the lights went off. “Well damn it. Now, that’s all I can think about. I’ll have to come buy some for Layla tomorrow. I’ll make a list if you want me to pick some things up for you.”

He did give his brother a list. All he could think about now was their crunchy loaves of bread. It was the best with soup. Sidney could eat an entire dozen of them while barely touching whatever else he was having for a meal. Laughing, they made their way home, talking about how they would come back here for all major decisions as it was the best place to do that in.

Driving home, Sidney thought of himself having a mate. He really didn’t mind finding her. He’d seen enough of the mistakes that his older brothers had made that he felt like he was going to be the perfect mate for her when she came along. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

Pulling into his driveway, he thought of his grandma. He missed her and decided that he was going to go and visit her right then. Gathering up the magic that would be needed to take him to her, he was so happy that she seemed to be expecting him. After several hugs and her telling him how welcome he was, they settled down in the garden to enjoy each other’s company. It was her, oddly enough, that brought up her mate.

“He has missed so much since he’d gone away. I think about him often, but I don’t want him tocome to me just because I get lonely at times. With Fowler and Amy here all the time, the pain of being alone is lessened a great deal. And when one of you boys comes here like this, it will make my entire week in just being around you. What do you have going on? Tell me everything.”

He told her about the housing development that he was working on, and she agreed with what Madison and Dyson had said about the furniture. She told him that they’d not take care of it very well if they didn’t have to work for it. He agreed with her and said that he would make the changes in his plans. When she cried a little, he went to her and hugged her, asking her what he’d done.

“Nothing. Not at all. It’s just been a long time since I’ve had someone to agree with me and not do it because I’m their queen. Or I was at one time.” He told her that he thought that everyone still thought of her as the queen. “Thank you, Sidney. You’ve no idea how much that means to me.”

After talking well into the next morning, he decided to stay there in one of the rooms that was reserved for him. It was wonderful to be able to just relax and talk to someone without thought as to whether or not they were agreeing with him simply because he was a dragon. Or the grandson of the former queen.

“Your lordship? There is a phone call for you. It is very important, or I’d not have awakened you.” Sidney sat up and looked around, unsure of where he was for several minutes. “Sir, it’s a woman by the name of Emma Marshall. She said that you were acquainted with her from school.”

“Yes. Yes. Just give me a second here.” Wiping his face with his hand, he tried to remember how long it had been since he’d seen Emma, much less heard from her. Taking the phone, an odd-looking thing that he’d never used before, he said hello. “Emma, is everything all right?”

“I’ve been arrested.” He could hear both anger and her being upset in her voice. “I don’t know who else to call, Sidney. I have the money to bail me out, but they won’t allow me to get into my house to get my cards. I’ll pay you…I just realized how late it is. Listen, I’ll call you tomorrow if I can’t work something—”

“No, I’m awake, and I’m very happy that you called me. I’ll be there…do you still live in Trinway?” She told him that she did and that she was sorry to have woke him up. “Honey, it’s just fine. I promise you. I’ll be there in about half an hour. I hope everything is all right. Is it?”

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