Page 88 of The Accidental Dragon Baby

Ivo glared. Ace pretended to zip his lips, but he couldn’t ignore how hot Ivo was when he got all angry like this.

Ace settled for rubbing Ivo’s belly and kissing his temple. “Why don’t you rest, and I’ll get the things ready for our flight?”

“Fine.”

Ace triple-checked that they had everything. When they were ready, he brought Ivo and Mary to the backyard and wrapped them in a giant comfy blanket. Then he shifted into a gleaming onyx dragon. Harvey turned into a large pterodactyl, gripping Cartbreaker with his clawed feet.

As one, they took off into the night sky, Raptor trailing along behind them.

Ace, Harvey, and Raptor sang lullabies throughout the journey. It took a few hours; the chilly winds buffeted at them, and Ace had to take pit stops for Ivo to stretch his legs.

“Nothing’s coming out yet,” Ivo said. “But I think my belly squeezed.”

Ace exchanged a look with Harvey and Raptor.

“Better pick up speed,” Raptor said.

The three of them sped up; Ace gave an internal sigh of relief when he spotted his flight’s ancestral home tucked into the side of a mountain.

When they landed in the brightly lit cobblestone courtyard, the huge front doors burst open, and dragons swarmed out of the mansion.

“They’re here!”

“Where’s the baby?”

“Shush! Give them some space!”

Ace gently set down his bundle of Ivo and Mary. Then he landed next to them, and uncovered the bundle to show off his passengers. “Family! This is Ivo, the loveliest mink I’ve ever seen. And this is Mary, his sweet child.”

The dragons crowded around them, necks craning, eyes glowing red. When Mary saw them, she shifted into a tiny purple dragon, spreading her wings. Everyone cooed.

“Welcome to our family.” Ace’s dads, Thomas and Sen, stepped up and helped Ivo to his feet. Then they hugged both Ivo and Ace, and leaned in to coo at Mary.

Mary belched smoke in their faces; Ivo squawked.

But Ace’s dads only grinned.

“She’s adorable,” Sen said. He was a gleaming golden dragon, a little smaller in stature than Thomas.

Thomas was a large onyx dragon—Ace and Raptor had taken after him. He puffed up when Mary coughed some flames ontohis snout. “Hello, Mary! That was an amazing little display. We’re all so excited to meet you!”

Ivo stared at everyone and stepped closer to Ace, a little overwhelmed. Ace hurried to wrap his wing around his mate.

“Give us space,” Ace said. “Psst! Shoo! I want to bond with him before—”

Ivo grunted, hugging his belly. “Another contraction.”

Ace froze. “Do you think we should wait, or...?”

“I think we have enough time, if we make the ceremony quick.”

Ace gathered Ivo and Mary into his arms. He led the way through the mansion to the very back, where the wall opened up into a large cavern. Flickering wall sconces lit up the place. In the middle of the floor was a series of concentric circles carved into smooth rock. Simple drawings and Roman numerals filled the spaces between each circle, their edges worn by countless feet over the centuries.

This is amazing,” Ivo breathed.

“The Circle was carved by my ancestors,” Ace murmured reverently. “Generations of dragons have bonded with their mates here.”

Ivo shivered. Ace handed Mary over to Harvey, and took Ivo’s hand.

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