Azy was yawning before they even got to the treehouse and Cage dropped her right into bed. She curled into the pillows. “You don’t think I made Ciara and the others mad by saying I wanted them to take over the wedding plans, do you?”
Cage shifted and stripped, crawling in beside her. “Ciara’s probably tickled pink. She’ll go completely overboard and love every second of it, I’m sure.”
“Okay, good.” She lifted her dress over her head and then snuggled up to him. “I feel kind of, I don’t know, awkward around them. No one has ever been so nice to me for no reason.”
That statement made Cage sad for the little girl she’d been. While he felt like he’d known her his entire life, in reality they’d only been mated a few months, and a big chunk of that he’d been away. He wanted to know everything about her. The good times and the bad, the things that made her happy and the sad.
He wouldn’t be leaving her side any more unless absolutely necessary to defend the Wyr. Not after what he’d seen happen with the death of one of his dragon’s mates.
What if he was killed in battle? Would Azy die too?
He couldn’t take that chance with her life. As soon as he could get the order out, he’d make sure no other golds with a mate took chances either.
Regardless of what Match said.
How had dragon warriors survived for millennia? Maybe it wasn’t a curse that they hadn’t been able to find the match for their souls these last few hundred years. Maybe it was a blessing.
Cage couldn’t figure out how he could be a mate and a warrior, or how he could be a Wyvern, leader of all gold dragons, if he couldn’t lead them in battle.
He would give it all up for her. That wasn’t an option. Being a dragon warrior meant protecting the world from the plague of demon dragons. Dragonkind had always kept humanity safe, they couldn’t suddenly stop now.
Cage wrapped his hands around her and gently caressed her stomach. If it was possible, the bump felt bigger than this morning. Azy snuffled softly and shifted to get comfortable. She’d be the only one, because she pushed her ass right against his cock which was hard in an instant.
He would have liked to make love to her again, assure that she was safe with him, lose himself in her body. For now, he’d settle for holding her close. He didn’t like the stress and exhaustion her body was undergoing.
Next on his agenda was to find that midwife and figure out exactly who she was and what in the hell was going on with his mate and his unborn children.
He fell asleep thinking about how to do that and awoke with a start what felt like hours later. The sun had barely moved in the sky and Azy still snored softly. Cage’s mind and body were rejuvenated from his power nap as if he’d slept a hundred years.
He wished all the answers had come to him in a dream, but they hadn’t. One thing had popped out of his subconscious though. The ring.
Cage knew how to get Azy a ring that might not have come directly from the White Witch, but from the First Dragon and that was the next best thing.
Don’t Look a Gift Dragon in the Mouth
Cage stood on top of the highest hill near their home he could find. He wanted direct access to the sun’s light and heat. The grassy knoll was unhindered by trees or rocks and the only shadows were from his own body and the sword he held over his head.
The sword the First Dragon had given Cage was shiny and strong. The magic imbued into it made it more than a mere weapon for slicing and dicing the enemy, it could move anyone he pierced with it through space when used in conjunction with Azy’s mirror.
He sure as hell hoped melting a piece from the hilt wouldn’t destroy the gift. The sword had saved his ass a few times in the past few months. Losing the ability to use it would be worth the sacrifice.
If his little plan worked.
Cage concentrated on the decorative metal on the hilt, drawing the power of the sun down into a hot ray, searing the metal around a particularly brilliant inlaid yellow diamond.
Even with all of his might, he’d barely melted a scratch into the metal. If it took weeks to make the ring, he would stand here all alone, day after day until he had Azy’s ring.
A strong breeze whipped around behind him and a dragon flew overhead careful not to block Cage’s light. A lot of gold dragons would be flying in to Spain now that the word was out that the wedding was back on.
He could tell this one was a gold because of the way it flew. One of his wings was askew, somehow broken, but still he flew like a champ using the wind like only one who had the power over that element could.
It was probably one of his warriors sent by Gris to give a report on the hunt for Geshtianna. A broken wing telegraphed bad news.
The thought of losing more dragon warriors and their mates broke his concentration and the sunbeam he was using fizzled and dissipated.
Damn.
The dragon landed behind him and a voice he recognized from somewhere else sounded in his head.Need help with that, son?
