Page 64 of The Wrath of Ashes
When sleep took them, bare and curled against one another, Rath pondered the two souls that had passed, and what their two children would make of their new lives.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Asha
Nobody told Asha that his belly would hurt, or his back—or his feet, for that matter. The swell of his stomach held what he’d been told were protective fluids that kept the eggs suspended and safe. Beyond that were the eggs themselves, which he couldn’t feel well unless he lay to one side or the other, which was all he seemed to do since he’d found himself gravid.
Despite nobody giving him a hard time—save for Lyss, guilt welled in his gut, like he should have been doing more. Would he need to prepare? He’d started making a list when speaking with Jeron, but it seemed as fast as he could come up with a worry, there one of Rath’s brothers was to fix it.
He wondered if he’d need more bedding, and by nightfall, Rath had stocked their bed with fine furs. He’d thought of ways to feed their babies and had been assured the butchers for half the kingdom would spare no speed in having things for the young ones to drink or eat. They’d need milk or blood—one of which Asha appeared to be able to give, if the tender swell of his pectorals had any say about it. His nipples had become permanently erect and shamelessly puffy, much to his shame.
“Asha,” Ghreid, of all people, called out as he entered Rath’s room, a sappy smile twisting his lips. His eyes, gold and fierce, lit with amusement at Asha, finding humor in his posture or predicament. Clothing hadn’t been his friend for a day or two, but for propriety’s sake, he’d taken to drawstring linen pants and a rather billowing shirt that, no matter how Asha arranged it, caused him no end of discomfort.
“Ghreid.” Asha glared up at him. Despite not being particularly angry at him over any specific thing, he wanted tobe. So, being that he was pregnant, irritable, and itchy, he made no attempt at pleasantries.
“I wanted to visit. Is that alright?” Ghreid approached the nest with a slow and steady pace, finding one of Rath’s armchairs to settle into. He turned it to face Asha’s resting place and smiled. “I’m heading out after you lay, to handle the ports. I’ll be back for the hatching come spring—if you like.”
“Why would I not want you to return?” Asha took a deep breath and adjusted his hips. The dead weight in his pelvis left him sore if he sat still for too long.
“I’m honestly not sure why. I’m anxious about my extended position. I’ve never been out of the castle for too long—you’re the only one I know that has lived outside of dragonkind. Have you any kind words for me?” Ghreid tented his fingers and fidgeted anxiously. For such an elegant and put-together male with an affinity for gold—down to the golden sheen in his hair, he fell apart so easily.
“You’re in a position of power, so there’s no chance you’ll be called out if you are of the flower persuasion.” Asha didn’t know which way Ghreid leaned.
“I’m not quite picky. Males or females. I’ve a penchant for scales, as it were. And hair. I love pretty hair,” Ghreid said, laughing a little to himself in some private joke Asha wasn’t keen to know.
“Avoid turning into a great beast and pillaging holes you’re not supposed to and you’ll get along swimmingly. That is, unless there’s any resistance from the Saurians taking over the ports…” Asha groaned and sat up more fully, drawing his legs beneath himself.
“There’s a fair bit of that. I’m not afraid of humans, though.” Ghreid fidgeted as if he didn’t believe his own words.
Asha sighed, righting himself to stand. “Want to go for a walk? I could use some fresh air. Do me a favor and slap anyone that makes fun of me.”
“Even Lyss?” Ghreid raised a brow, taken out of his moment of self pity.
“You’re welcome to try, but I think she’d slap you back.” Asha stood to full height and stretched, the weight of his belly tugging uncomfortably at his midsection. “And I won’t defend you.”
Ghreid nodded gravely and stood, gesturing for Asha to follow. “Lyss is determined enough that she may stand a chance at beating a dragon. She’s persuasive.”
“She is.” Asha shuffled after Ghreid, making his way to the castle’s gardens with a long stride. Everything still ached, but it felt good to move—necessary. Graylan, since their first meeting, had made quite a few visits to the castle to check on Asha’s progress. Diet, plenty of walks, and fresh air and, surprisingly, sex, had been things he’d heavily recommended. The union of his body with Rath’s served to keep things pliantdown there. His mind tended to fixate on sex, anyway, so it was no hardship.
As Asha’s mind drifted that way, he bade the start of an erection away, thinking cold thoughts. Being aroused in his brother-in-law’s presence wasn’t on his list of things to do.
Asha did his best to ignore the castle employees as they walked the halls, keeping the garden in mind. Ghreid’s step behind him plodded lightly.
“Hold your head up high. You’re a king’s consort.” Ghreid rested a hand on Asha’s shoulder, giving him a brotherly squeeze.
“It’s embarrassing. My state.” Asha strolled toward the great wooden doors at the garden entrance and waited for Ghreid to open them. They swung open with a slow creak revealing crisp evening sky, lush greenery, and air so fresh it tasted metallic.Carried from the distant snowy peaks, it stung his lungs with a fierce and pleasant sensation not unlike fire.
“I don’t really see why. But, I suppose it’s not natural for you.”
“What if you were the one with a belly like this?” Asha gestured at the swell of his abdomen.
“I think it’d be lovely. The ability to carry the life of a new generation. Do you feel them?” Ghreid glanced at Asha’s belly with a somewhat wistful expression, lips twisted.
“Wrong audience, I suppose. Are you even of the persuasion to enjoy the receiving part?” Asha stumbled over his words and gave Ghreid his best apologetic glance.
Ghreid frowned, brow creasing in thought as he walked. “I—I’ve never given it much thought.”
By the time they got to the garden, Asha’s heart thundered heavily in his chest and exhaustion tempted him to take a seat on a bench by a beautiful rosebush trained to grow over a trellis. Ghreid sat next to him, hands folded in his lap. He glanced over, trying to give a secretive glance at Asha’s belly again. Rath hadn’t been super permissive when it came to his brothers around Asha.
