Page 59 of The Monster at the End of This Molt

"All I'm saying is, you might want to spend some time learning suppression spells."

Her chin wobbled as she glared at me over Tim's shoulder. "Fine. Point taken."

"That's not fair. You can't cry." If she cried, I would cry, and then we would both be huge fucking messes.

Her tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth, and a tear slipped down her cheek. "Fuck. Look what you made me do!"

"The dragon ruins." Weld changed the subject in perfect time. "Take her up there."

Tim and I both frowned at him. "There's so little room to move around in there," I said. "She'll set her own hair on fire!"

"The place has been abandoned since before my grandfather was born," Tim said. "I'd love to show you around, but?—"

"You might be surprised." Weld winked. He fucking winked at my sister! He'd gotten me pregnant without so much as a flirtatious smirk, but he had the audacity —

"Chill, Robin." He turned his attention to me and winked one eye closed while the other stayed perfectly still. He could arch one eyebrow higher than the other, too. I couldn't do either of those things, and I'd always been jealous.

Now, I considered myself lucky that my mate could do both. For the first time since I'd laid our eggs, my cock perked up and noticed how sexy he was.

"What did you do?" I struggled to keep the conversation on topic.

"Galen's siblings remembered the place from before it was destroyed. They've spent some time over the last week putting it back together with a few upgrades. Something about a laboratory and fire suppression spells."

Clementine's jaw went from clenched to completely unhinged while Weld talked. "They … what?"

"That's really sweet of them," Tim said. "They're not moving, are they?" Tim was impressed with our dragons, but he didn't hide his fear of them.

I laughed. "Not likely." Lux and Chance had settled in the mountains to either side of the ancestral birthing cave. They traveled to meet with other dragons on Ignitas, and even to the other dragon planes, but their homes were here at The Pavilion.

"Aw." Clementine hung her head. "Galen said they would come visit, but … you'll come visit us, once the babies are born?"

"As soon as we can." Alma still didn't recommend traveling with a girl until after her first molt, but afterward, we could take them anywhere.

Clementine hopped over Tim and wiggled her butt to make enough room between us. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek with a smack. "Good. I'm going to miss you the most."

Here came the waterworks again. Weld handed me a box of tissues, and between the two of us, we probably used half of it.

"Don't forget, we have Trickster," Tim said when we'd both calmed down. "It's only a fifteen-minute flight."

She sniffled. "That's unfair to you. I want to be a good mate, and that means staying by your side."

"I'm not tethered to my desk." He had made several trips back to The Meadows since the dragon reunion. "Everything is running smoothly in my absence. I see nothing wrong with an overnight trip once a month to visit your family."

Clementine pushed off me so hard my head spun. She twisted in her seat and planted a kiss on Tim's cheek while simultaneously squeezing the life out of him. "Really?"

Tim handled her antics better than I ever could. He stood with her in his arms and turned his head so their lips met in a swoon-worthy kiss. "Really," he said when they came up for air. "We can come back in a month, but only if we leave right now. I want to take you to the ruins before it gets dark."

He lowered Clementine back to her feet, and I stood, bracing for impact when she barreled into me. Weld stepped up behind me and turned the hug into a group sport.

Tim piled on, and my heart soared with love for both of them. He was her perfect mate. Only he could give her the freedom to start over in a new place while helping her stay connected to her family.

"Wait!" I said when Tim reached for the door handle. "There's something I want you to have." I raced back to our bedroom. At the back of our closet sat the four framed pictures I'd had made for my siblings and me. On top was our family picture from our first Earth trip. Papa had made the mistake of telling Clementine our human age was six, not three, and she demanded more birthday presents. Below it was a recreation of that picture, this time in front of the dragon pavilion sign. Galen had even captured our exact expressions, though I couldn't remember what they'd said.

So much had changed in the years between those pictures. In the first one, we were children with human glamours, while in the second, we were our adult kobold/human hybrid selves. The most important part was that we were together.

"These were supposed to be Christmas presents." I held the picture up for them to examine it, and then I spelled it with bubble wrap for their trip.

"I love it, and I love you." She gave me another squeeze and kissed my cheek. "See you soon."

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