Chapter Thirty-Nine

A sharp knock at their door made Melody aware of the sounds of commotion going on outside the lodge. She’d been dozing, flanked in their bed by Skye and Garen, and only subconsciously aware of an odd shift in the noises outside.

Anya’s voice carried through the heavy wood. “Melody! Alec’s back! We need you to get out here.”

She hastily climbed over Skye, who was already sitting up and clothing himself with a breath. She considered it cheating, but it was a handy skill to have.

“Do me,” she said, and by the time she made it to the door, the two men had managed to set her up with a comfortable dress and fix her hair into a tight twist on top of her head—all without any effort on her part.

The cavernous main room of the lodge was packed, the residents of the Enclave all drawn to the activity. At one end, Melody saw the shining golden head of a huge dragon, even bigger than Garen, but not by much. Her mother clung to his neck, her body shaking as though with sobs.

Melody’s chest tightened in alarm and made her way through the crowd, the pair of men leading the way and making a path for her to get to her parents.

She’d had no idea what to expect when Alec returned, or even whether he would be allowed to. The things Skye was able to tell her about how the Council operated hadn’t been comforting. And now here he was, in his full form, her mother crying beside him.

Alec’s head lifted when she came close, golden eyes finding hers. The look in them was so full of relief, it made her own worries dissipate.

“Melody, daughter,” he said in the deep, resonant timbre she’d grown used to from the throats of her lovers.

“Oh God, I’m so glad you’re back,” she said, reaching up to embrace him when her mother moved away, wiping her eyes on a sleeve. “What’s wrong? What happened?” She had so many other questions, but could only let out a shuddering sigh as he held her tight, warm breath gusting over her cheek.

“I’ll tell you everything as soon as I can get back to a manageable shape,” he said, letting out a deep chuckle.

“I don’t understand. Why can’t you just change?”

“He’s depleted his energy,” Skye said beside her. “It happens when we go too long away from our mates. Or when the Council drains us as punishment and binds our magic. Is this what happened to you? Are you able to take in energy from Julia, or did they bind you?”

Alec sighed. “I can see you are impatient for the news. No, they didn’t bind my magic. It seems the advice of your generation’s Court has started to sink in with them finally. They didn’t make it easy on me, but it was far easier than it could have gone. It was merely the burden of the trip that left me unable to shift, but that’s easily remedied.”

Looking between Alec and Skye, Melody finally understood. The act of shifting required magic. Every new shape they took, or breath they expelled, or pretty dress they conjured took a little bit out of them. Alec had simply exhausted his own reserves. The understanding that this gorgeous golden creature was the truth of their race hit home for the first time.

In an awed tone, she said, “You really aren’t even close to human, are you? Not even a little bit?” She rested her hands over her midsection, trying to imagine what kind of beautiful being she would be giving birth to the following summer.

“We are not,” Alec said. “But we have always enjoyed the company of humans, enough to live among you and take you as our mates. Our magic allows us to reproduce with you, but not even the child you carry will have any human genes. Don’t be fooled by the shape of the child when it is born—it may look like a newborn human child, but it will be wholly dragon.”

“And what kind of life can your grandchild expect to have?” Garen asked, his tone merely curious rather than accusatory. “Will we be spending the winter hidden on this mountain?”

“You can go where you wish. The Council has made a concession for the three of you but they do have several terms. First, they require a promise that you will not leave this child without siblings. If the two of you have no intention of mating other humans, that means the burden is on Melody to bear you more offspring.”

Melody nodded, not the least bit averse to the idea of having another. Skye had already confirmed that the child was without a doubt from his seed, so she hoped to have one of Garen’s, too. More would be ideal.

“But what about you?” she asked quietly. “That sounds like such an easy solution. Why did we have to hide?”

“I couldn’t risk them remaining as rigid about our laws as they used to be,” Alec said. “Keeping you three together and your mates able to provide for you was paramount in my mind. The other term of my agreement with the Council is to serve as an ambassador of sorts to others like me—because I am sure they exist. There are other enclaves like this—other races like the Turul that would harbor dragons seeking sanctuary from our own laws.”

Skye and Garen both stepped forward, bristling at the news. “You would give up others of us to the Council’s punishment?” Skye asked, the words carrying the gritty heat of anger.

“No,” Alec said. “They only wish for me to find the others and tell them they have been granted amnesty. The new dragon laws are still evolving, but the Council and the Court want the entire race aware of the changes that are being made. They want us united. The Turul in this enclave have agreed to help, but it requires me to spend the next several years flying.”

“You’re leaving again?” Melody asked. “But you just got back!” Her chest tightened with the thought of having to say goodbye to him—even worse of how it would affect her mother. She gave her mother a worried look.

“Honey, it’s all right,” her mother said. “I’m not letting him leave my sight again for a ~very~ long time. I’m going with him.”

Alec let out a gold-hued snort of smoke and peered down at his mate. “It was always your greatest desire to travel the world. You didn’t expect you’d be doing it by dragon-wing, did you?”

“I am hoping you’ll agree to use a human method once in a while,” Melody’s mother retorted.

The three dragons let out sardonic laughs that echoed through the huge room. The flock of Turul behind them chattered in amusement.

“Trust me, Mom, you’ll be better off avoiding airplanes when traveling with a dragon.”