Page 86 of Emerald Waves
“Cade,” I murmured, knowing Emerson would hear whether I kept my voice low or not. “Your daddy is one seriously hot dragon.”
Our little one giggled, while Emerson cast a glance back over his shoulder to grin at me.
“You just wanted me to be the one to go so you could stand around and watch me walk away,” he remarked.
“Maybe.”
“No maybe about it,” he called back, laughing on his way out the door.
I told the smart speaker to playPurple Rain, swaying while I cradled our egg and swayed to the music, as content as a dragon could be while I lulled Cade to sleep.
“Wow, when you said we were going for a walk, I pictured a quick wander around the pitch, not an actual hike,” Emerson said as we trekked hand in hand up the front side of the very mountain that Alex had scaled the backside of to get into the cave with the gemstones.
“It’s not far.”
“Oh, I’m not complaining,” he replied. “Maybe months ago, before you brought out my dragon, but only because it would have been a struggle for me to walk this far when I spent most of my time in a chair. Now, my dragon and I love all the opportunities you take to make sure we get some outdoor time and soak up the sun. I can’t believe that I have a tan for the first time in my life, and in winter too.”
“It looks good on you. Fresh air and sunlight are important, especially to baby dragons,” I replied. “I figured that if we got into the habit now it would be easier to take the breaks we need to so we can make sure Cade gets plenty of it too.”
“This trail looks well used.”
“Because it is,” I explained. “Especially by me and Odem, though he’s probably used it more than I have in recent decades. See that rock face right there?”
He followed where I pointed, cocked his head, and frowned, then shuffled over so he could stand in front of me and our egg cradled in his carrier.
“Is that a cave there?”
“Yup. Neither of us can fit into it anymore, unless I were to ask the earth to widen it for us, but when our dragons were much smaller, we’d crawl way back in there, to where it opens up a bit more, and explore the cave for buried treasure and gemstones. It was our own secret clubhouse, and we had a ton of adventures in there.”
“Did your mother know what the two of you were up to?”
“Nope. Neither did Ionus. It took him forever to find it, because I could make the rock move, so I’d block off the entrance, so it just looked like the rest of the mountain to him.”
“You guys were always getting into something, weren’t you?”
“You better believe it,” he said as we reached a bench shaped ledge that looked almost like it had been carved into the side of the mountain.
“You made this, didn’t you?” he asked as we sat down.
“Nope, that was all mother nature,” I explained. “There used to be a large rock here, but the remains of it are down at the base in pieces now, after a rockslide sent it plummeting down the side of the mountain several decades ago. The way it broke off left this piece behind. Over the years, pounding rains and fierce winds have polished it into this. Kind of fortuitous, isn’t it?”
“It truly is, and the view is magnificent.”
“Just wait until the show starts.”
“Show?”
“You’ll see,” I said as I wrapped one arm around him. My other cradled our egg and the gurgling little one who seemed to like the feel of the gentle breeze that flowed over us.
“When we were younger, we used to think that the horizon was the end of the world,” he explained. “Everything was so vast, and so unspoiled back then, with towering trees and thick, lush forests that we loved to run around playing hide and seek and tag in. Of course, Odem always had to add a bit of mischief to the game, especially tag, and would shoot fireballs at us to tag us, instead of using his hands, then Ionus got in on it, with his lightning bolts, and pretty soon Mattias joined in and started drenching Odem in response to the fireballs.”
“How did you tag them?”
“With hands or claws,” I explained. “Though from time to time I’d cause a tree root to trip one of them, or a branch to randomly swing and knock one of my brothers off their feet so I could tag them easier. It’s been so long since those days, and yet, with Alex’s four and our Cade, there will be five laughing, giggling dragons running through the forest again making mischief.”
“Is it safe? What happens if one of them gets lost. Or finds a hiding place, like you and Odem did, and refuses to come out.”
“There are way more elder dragons now to make sure that doesn’t happen,” I explained. “I promise that when the younglings are scrambling around looking for places to crawl into or climb, they will always be watched. Between their uncle Odem and I, we’ve mastered plenty of the tricks mischievous dragons use to try and get one over on their parents. We’ll be in the treetops or blending in with a pile of rocks, keeping watch over everyone.”
