Page 65 of The Wrath of Ashes
They were curious, Ghreid especially so.
“You can ask, you know?” Asha leaned back and gestured toward the swell of his stomach.
“I—” Ghreid hesitated for only a fraction of a second before reaching over, hand spread to rest atop Asha’s stomach. His nervous expression shifted to wonder. His pointed teeth rested on the edge of his lip, golden eyes glittering in childish excitement. “They’re alive. I can feel their life force.”
“Imagine how I feel. Constantly, their little chatter is piping up. It’s little ripples in the magic, like they’re talking.” Asha patted the side of his stomach as Ghreid concentrated andmoved his hand a little bit, adding a gentle pressure until his fingers met the hard shape within.
“What are they saying?”
“Mostly it’s feelings, like hunger or curiosity. They pique when Rath speaks.”
“May I say hello? Will they hear me?” Ghreid lowered his head, eyes ablaze as he tapped into the magic.
“Feel free.” Asha leaned back a little and smirked. Ghreid was always so serious, and the gentle wonder on his face, the submissive curiosity, it was all too much for Asha not to smile at.
“Hello, little ones. Naxima and Bessam.” Ghreid called them by their former names, ones that they would carry on in their new life.
Within Asha’s belly, the eggs weren’t all too well developed, but their magic sparked, something recognizing kin and name. “Oh?” The spark tickled Asha from within.
“I am your uncle Ghreiden. I won’t be around much after you’re born, but I shall fly home come spring to witness your hatch. I wish to hold my hatchling niblings.”
“Won’t they be boys, since Naxima and Bessam were male?”
“Not necessarily. Boys are born about four to one, so most likely boys—but the fates have a sense of humor, no? Didn’t Jeron speak with you about it?” Ghreid lifted his head but kept his hand in place.
“He spoke much, but I’m afraid my mind holds on to facts like cotton floss seeds in a breeze.” Asha laughed until a prick of pain twinged along his back. “Ugh.”
Ghreid drew his hand back as if burned and frowned. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“No, they’re just pressing on things. It’s drawing nearer to the moon, so any day now, I’ll have to figure out theoutpart.” Asha smiled and rubbed the dome of his stomach, easing the pinch of pain.
In the middle of his gesture, a shadow loomed over the two, making Ghreid slide away from Asha with a nervous gesture. “Rath.”
Asha turned his gaze up and smiled, catching Rath’s halfhearted sneer directed at Ghreid. Something delightful tickled at the pit of Asha’s belly at the thought of Rath’s overbearing protectiveness.
“He was touching you.” Rath’s eyes darkened.
“And I said he could. Our little ones were curious about their uncle. Would you deprive them?” Asha gave Rath an equally venomous glare—or at least he hoped it was one. Asha hadn’t quite mastered the skill.
“So, does that mean all my brothers should be permitted to fondle you?” Rath grumbled and stepped forward, pressing into Asha’s side before dropping a hand down to rest protectively over the hillock of his belly.
“Slath already has. I couldn’t keep Pryd away. Envi stared me down pouting until I gave in.” Asha sighed. “Falustus has avoided me like I carried plague. I don’t think he knows that babies aren’t contagious.”
“They’re transmissible, that’s for certain,” Ghreid said, earning a death glare from Rath.
In a sibling spat, they hissed at one another as if by old habit.
“Come, Asha. You really should be in our nest.” He glanced at the sky as if the oncoming moon was a threat. With only three months of gestation before one laid an egg, the oncoming moon was, in a way, a harbinger.
Asha sighed and stood, bidding Ghreid farewell, unable to take a full five steps before Rath scooped him up in a bridal carry. “Rath, I can walk fine.”
“And I can carry you finer.” Rath straightened his back and marched with more pride in his step than Lapryda, who carried the namesake of that particular sin.
“You aren’t to leave the nest until you lay. You know this, my love.” Rath leaned down to rub his chin along Asha’s jaw, savoring the contact with a contented sigh.
“Jeron said it was fine and Graylan said I needed to walk about. Fresh air is good.”
“And giving me a heart attack is not fine.” Rath kicked the door to the castle open and marched him back to their wing and into the nest. “Now, speaking of, where is Jeron?”
