Chapter Twenty-Five

“He isn’t dead?” Skye asked, incredulous. “How is that even possible?”

Kol shook his head and looked between Garen and Skye, scrutinizing them both. Garen wasn’t surprised, either by the revelation or by Kol’s constant study of them since Melody had left. The man was intuitive and very critical of dragon behavior.

They hadn’t come clean about all the details of their situation, including Melody’s wish for he and Skye to work on their own relationship. And they had. The intervening weeks had involved a lot of soul searching, and they’d finally openly admitted their own true feelings about each other, but Melody’s absence was like a dark cloud that refused to leave. The longer they took tracking down the man who had blessed Melody to begin with, the more agitated Skye became.

“He was one of the rare few without a mate or progeny when the time for our generation’s ascension came. Our laws have always required the old generation to give the world up to the new brood. And the old generation has always done so willingly. The Ultiori threat is the biggest piece of it. Our parents have a vested interest in our success—sacrificing their essence was one way they ensured we had ample resources to protect ourselves from our enemy.”

“But Alec had no one, so who would he give it to?” Skye asked, his hand reaching for the pocket where he’d kept his mother’s box for so long, until the day he’d thrown it in the bay.

The box itself now lay in the darkness of Garen’s pocket. He had found his way back to the inlet where Skye had discarded it. He’d spent a night of cold swimming and blind searching before he retrieved the object. When he’d found it, deep under water, the tiny cube had vibrated under his touch, and sprung open, surprising Garen enough that he’d dropped it and had to swim down again to find it. He still didn’t know exactly what it meant, but hoped when the time came, he would understand. Either way, he needed to ensure Skye and Melody wound up together before returning the box to his friend.

Skye pulled his hand back out of his pocket and left it resting on his knee, fingers tapping impatiently.

“Most bachelor dragons have loyalty to a Court dragon and offer their power to a dragonling’s legacy via his or her parents.”

“Are there never females with this issue?” Garen asked, sure he knew the answer already.

Kol eyed him steadily. “Not in my recollection, no. Females almost never have an issue finding a suitable mate, at least for the purposes of breeding. Males with the issue are frequently unable to perform until they find the right woman. Sometimes it takes so long it’s too late by the time they find a woman that they refuse to mate her at all—but they can always give their power to another dragon, and so they opt to do that instead. Thankfully, with the change in our laws we have more choices now, but Alec would have had limited options. Legally, he should have given his power to either the former Queen or the new Queen’s parents if he had no other options. It seems he did neither, however.”

“Where the hell has he been all this time?”

“He did what many do who break our laws—he found sanctuary with an enclave of one of our sister races—the Turul. He’s been with them for the last twenty years and enlisted the Turul’s help with keeping guard over Melody’s mother. He only just showed his face again, once our sister races got word of the amnesty we’ve granted to dragons in hiding.”

“So there is no legacy for Melody to inherit, or her mother,” Garen said, trying to decide if he admired the man or hated him for withholding that kind of benefit from Melody and her mother. The truth was, if he had a lover or a daughter—even one not by blood—he would have given everything he could even while still alive.

“No, but there is a powerful Gold still protecting them, which he’s done for Melody and her mother since before her birth. I haven’t spoken with the man—we’ve kept it secret that we’ve found him, too, but I’m willing to bet that he’s been supporting them both in some way from afar. We all have ways to bypass human customs.”

“Is he with her now? Of course, he must be,” Garen said, unable to imagine any other scenario if he’d been away from a lover for decades. Had Alec been with Melody’s mother in the intervening years, or had he stayed away rather than risk being discovered by the Council? He could understand how Alec had fallen through the cracks if he’d had no children of his own. The Council tended not to criticize or scrutinize dragons who were unfortunate enough to not find a mate. Most of them never had that issue, but Garen felt some sympathy for the man, considering he was faced with a similar life himself if Melody didn’t choose him.

“He is. How you two deal with your personal lives going forward is up to you, however. By standing law, you still should mate her.”

“Which of us, though? She rejected us both when she left.”

Kol expelled an exasperated sigh. “You two fools need to go to her and work it out. I’ve been lenient because I know how close you two are, but you forget I’ve been with her before. I understand her essence as well as my own mate’s. If she had even the glimmer of a bond with either of you, she didn’t leave because she doesn’t love you. She’d have been back in my office, if that were the case.”

“What of Alec?” Skye asked. “Perhaps he’s decided to mate both Melody and her mother.”

“The Shadows who reported said he treats her as a daughter, and that he shows every sign of being close to mating the mother, though he hasn’t done so yet. I don’t think Melody’s shared her knowledge with anyone, but you shouldn’t wait.”