Page 83 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
I was overdue to visit Trish and the others. They’d expected me sooner, but the trip to Fort Sill delayed things, andthen Aidan told me they had to move up the timeline for adding slayers to the training. I didn’t even get a full day off after battling the Kandoran and traveling back before I had to report to the dome.
“Yes,” I answered, then looked at the others. “Do you two want to come as well?”
Rayna shrugged. “Sure. The newest romance novel I found can wait a few more hours.”
“You know what she does at the house?” Conrad asked me, lifting his brows.
“I’m sure you’re gonna tell me.”
He ticked off his fingers. “Wash up, eat, read, and sleep. I gotta annoy her first if I want to get her to talk.”
Oh, the hardships he must suffer. A roommate who is quiet and keeps to herself.
“If I weren’t planning to leave after the war is over, I’d get my own place,” Rayna admitted, scrunching her nose. “This boy isn’t as funny as he thinks half the time. I only find their place tolerable because Rosalie is awesome, and they both know how to cook.”
The slayer had mentioned a few times that while she could prepare some basic stuff over a campfire or stove, she avoided it whenever possible. She only did what she needed to survive.
“Who you callin’ a boy?” Conrad asked, crossing his arms.
Freya smacked him on the back of the head. “You might be a slayer now, but you still act like a boy.”
“Ow!” He rubbed the injury. “Shifters be even meaner than slayers, or maybe it's just all females. Is it that time of the month or something for ya’ll?”
Rayna and I shoved him in the chest at the same time, knocking him to the ground. A few of the green dragons passing by had amusement glinting in their red eyes. We had made some headway today, showing we could work with them, so I figured that was a win. Knocking around one of our fellow slayers probably won us points as well.
“Are you coming with us or not?” I asked Conrad.
He got up, rubbing his butt. “Yeah. My girl’s in town right now, and we were gonna meet soon anyway.”
Their house was midway between the shifter fortress and Norman, close to Lake Thunderbird. It was a journey for them wherever they went, though at least Rosalie had her mule now. That made things easier for her, and it sometimes let Conrad ride it. Other times…well, he had to follow ten feet or so behind it on foot. Any closer, and he would get kicked. I really liked that mule.
“Alright, let me see if I can get a couple more shifters to give you all a lift,” I said, heading for Titan and Eliam. They stayed close to Rayna and me at the dome to watch our backs in case any dragons got murderous ideas.
***
Trish fed us shortly after we arrived and now, we sat on the porch watching the children play. Titan and Eliam returned to the fortress, but Aidan arrived with Orion while we ate. He’dsomehow managed to escape his duties for a little while to spend time with us. I imagined he needed a break and couldn’t have been happier to see him outside the fortress.
He had his arms wrapped around me, and I loved the feeling of him close. More often than not, we couldn’t cuddle in public because dragons always watched us. The only other one around now was Freya. She’d stayed for the food and as security for Aidan since he couldn’t go beyond the fortress without a guard. He hated it, but he’d be a high-priority target for the Kandoran to assassinate since he’d put our alliance of species together. While most of the people around us now could fight, at least one had to be a shifter to appease the elders’ council.
Thankfully, Freya wouldn’t judge our affectionate embrace.
Orion kicked a soccer ball toward Trish’s son, Blake. He was about six months younger than my son but surprisingly good for his age. He stopped it with his foot and kicked it back.
Aidan nuzzled my neck. “Have I told you that you’re beautiful?”
It clearly didn’t matter that I still had remnants of blood and dirt on my clothes, though I’d washed as best I could when we arrived at Trish’s house. Of course, it never stopped me from ogling him when he was roughed up.
“Not today,” I replied, angling for a kiss on the lips.
He didn’t disappoint me. The ever-growing power he couldn’t quite contain surrounded me like a warm, comforting blanket. I didn’t feel the slightest urge to attack him like I did other dragons. He was my mate, and somehow, that was cooling my instincts against him. Ever since I returned to Oklahoma, I’d noticed the change. Did producing a child with him make adifference, or was it the strengthening of our bond? There wasn’t a way to know for sure, and no book in the castle library had information on the subject. Kade did plan to write one about our relationship so it would be on record for the future, but I was dubious about the idea.
After a moment, Aidan pulled his mouth away. “We don’t get enough of these moments.”
I rested my head against his shoulder. “No, we don’t.”
Neither of us wanted to bring up the impending war. That was nearly all anyone talked about these days, so by silent agreement, we weren’t discussing it. Thankfully, the others seemed to be of the same mind. We’d put in the hard work for the day and now we deserved to relax.
Justin stepped outside, handing Trish a glass of water. “Here you go, baby.”
