Page 7 of Delinquent Dette
Frikka had noticed it before, and in their homeland, he’d have been a candidate for jarl, or even a gotha, the way he weaved his calming magic without even thinking. He’d make a Dette very happy one day. Hallr turned a page and ecstaticallypointed from one flower to one sitting in the window at full bloom. He yammered on in stilted English to the Dette about some purple flower, aviolet.
The Dette glanced up, eyes wide with fear for just a flash before settling. “Hello.”
Frikka’s heart broke for the poor creature.
“I apologize, Cairn. Frikka doesn’t like Dette trade and contracts and thinks you’re here unwillingly.” Sten pushed Frikka a step forward. Shame curled in his belly.
“Is that what all the commotion was about? Hallr came by to comfort me. I was afraid, but he’s a wonderful child.” Cairn smiled, but the way his face twisted as he did so, showed muscle damage beneath the surface.
“Can you reassure Frikka here? You’re free to be honest, dear.” Gaspard rested a too-soft hand on Frikka’s arm and gestured for him to join the Dette. With a soft whisper, the French dragon leaned in. “I’m well aware of his maladies. I’m working to heal them.”
“Oh, they’re very lovely Drakes. I do appreciate your kindness. They’re protecting me, truly. I’m not ready to try for a clutch again, not after…” Cairn cleared his throat as his eyes unfocused, and he turned his attention to Hallr and his book.
“So we’re clear. You’re not here to be bred and you’re here willingly and treated well?” Gaspard’s sweet tones didn’t draw Cairn’s gaze.
“Yes, I’m fine. They’re lovely Drakes, really.” He forced another tortured smile and Frikka’s eyes stung.
Colborn walked into the solarium as Frikka suddenly felt very small. Helpless. There was so much pain in the Dette. Flashes of Frikka’s second sight showed him horrors he never wanted to see. A den gone wrong. A clutch disputed. Three eggs that he’d been maimed protecting.
“Frikka?” Sten shook him by his arm, his tone worried and soft. A sweet-scented cloth covered his mouth and nose, snapping him from the vision.
Frikka fought the cloth away and too late realized it was Gaspard holding it to him, and it drew away bloody. Frikka sniffed and tasted copper on the back of his tongue.
“A vision? That’s old magic.” Gaspard stared him down.
“Frikka’s a völur and well trained by the gothar.” Sten took Gaspard’s cloth and handed it back to Frikka to stem the flow.
“Papa?” Hallr turned from his book and stared at him, blue eyes wide. Angelic curls framed his face, so pale and innocent.
“It is nothing, boy.” Frikka waved him off but turned to Gaspard. “You have my apologies. I will aid in the rebuilding of your stables. And your Dette? I will help you fix him. There is old magic.”
“Gaspard’s magic can work miracles, but Loki himself plays in Frikka’s.” Colborn stepped by and joined Cairn on a bench, sitting quietly before glancing down at Hallr’s book.
“You don’t have to do all this for me. You’ve been too generous as is for a Dette as unfortunate in appearance as I.” Cairn laughed, but the pain lingered still.
“We insist, Cairn. Let Gaspard dote on you. He so much loves to be around Dettes. And I appreciate it, too. He always comes back to the nest smelling like them.” Colborn flicked a brow toward Gaspard and earned a heated flush and flustered flutter of hands.
“Shh!” Gaspard cleared his throat.
Hallr looked up from the book, blinking at the Dette before turning his head. A wide grin spread across his face. “I think you’re a really pretty Dette. You have hair like wild tiger lilies, even have spots on your face like the inside of their petals.”
“They’re called freckles, Hallr. It is where the sun kisses him. It leaves marks.” Colborn laughed.
Cairn flushed deeply crimson.
“See! Just like a tiger lily! He gets redder.” Hallr abandoned his book and reached up to take Cairn’s hand. “When I get old, I want a tiger lily mate like you. Or I can be your mate!”
“Alright there, you little Casanova,” Colborn said, extending his foot to nudge at Hallr. “Take your book and go clean up the stables. Get some experience cleaning up after wild Dettes before you go chasing one.”
Cairn released Hallr. “I’m really not that pretty.”
“Yes, you are! You’re like a flower! Flowers are all pretty, see!” Hallr flipped to a page and pointed at the illustration. “And it’s not my book. It’s Lord Gaspard’s.”
“And it’s yours now. Go on.” Gaspard shooed Hallr off and he gathered the book to his chest and beamed before scampering away to go shovel ashes and prepare for work on Frikka’s mayhem.
Sten watched carefully and Frikka turned, making sure Hallr listened, his steps fading off and silencing before he went running through the backyard, a blond streak across the pasture toward the stables.
“That boy’s going to be mated before you two.” Gaspard laughed and stalked over to find a comfortable seat.
