Azy tensed in his arms and breathed in and out fast and hard like she was running a marathon. "Cage, oh God. This does not feel good."
She groaned and suppressed a cry into his chest. He held onto her so tight and pulled his own sun and wind down to comfort her as best as he could. "You can do it, Az. I'm here for you. Everyone is here for you."
The mermaids lowered their volume until their song was almost a whisper and the only distinct voices were that of Zambezi and the dragon warriors' mates. The white magic continued to swirl around them and Señora Boh began to shake with her effort.
Azy cried out again and Cage watched horrified as the skin on her stomach rippled. "Ooooow. Holy Mary, Mother of God. Ow."
"I'm sorry, love. I wish I could do anything else to help you. Tell me what you need, Azynsa."
"Ow, ow, ow, ow. If this is how dragon babies are born, we are never having sex ever again, you big dumb dragon." She squeezed his hand hard enough to cut off his circulation.
That was just the pain talking. He hoped. "Love, I will be your devoted celibate mate the rest of my days if you wish."
"Don't be an asshole. You are sexing me up the second I feel up to it." She sneered at him and wrinkled up her nose.
"Almost. Hold on. I've almost got them." Each of Señora Boh's words came out on a grunt. She was sweating and red in the face. This process was taking a toll on her as well. "Come on, you little stinkers."
Azy's eyes went wide and Cage's stomach clenched. She squeezed her face tight and gave a great wrenching scream. The world exploded into fireworks of every color and the land and sea shook beneath them.
Azy lay limp in his arms. No. Sun and sky, no."Azy? Azynsa. Baby, can you hear me?"
"They can hear you on the moon," she groaned.
Thank the First Dragon. Cage held her tight to him and brushed a kiss across her forehead. She opened her eyes and turned her gaze toward Señora Boh. The midwife held between her hands, in that egg of golden light, two tiny babies.
"Congratulations. You have a son... and a daughter."
A joy so intense burst from Cage's heart he thought it might explode. He was so happy, he didn't even register what the midwife had said for a moment. A son. The next Gold Wyvern.
And a daughter.
Uh. Wait a minute.
A daughter? "Señora. I think you need to check again. Dragons do not have daughters. There is no such thing as a female dragon."
The midwife floated the egg of light over to them and set it gently on Azy's chest. "They'll need to stay in the light until they are strong enough to face the world head on. A few weeks, maybe a month or so. We'll see how they grow. And I assure you, dragon or not, you do have a daughter."
Huh. "A daughter."
Azy smiled up at him and cradled the babies in their light. For all the fuss, they were fast asleep. No crying or wails, just the two cutest little babies on the face of the planet. She whispered to him. "Aren't they beautiful?"
Yes, they were. Cage gently lifted the babies and held them aloft. "We have a son and daughter!"
The dragons, mermaids, friends, and family erupted into cheers.
Who Wants to Get Married?
While Azy slept Cage kept watch over the incubator of light the witch had surrounded his children in. In the few short days since they’d been born they’d grown so much it was visible. Every time he looked at them, they were bigger and stronger.
He would do anything to protect them. They'd moved from the little treehouse into the main villa so there would be no more flying back and forth. A new elite guard of mixed dragons was on century duties twenty-four seven to keep watch over the children and the house.
“There’s this tradition, son, that when babies are born, the father hands out cigars to all of his friends to celebrate.” A warrior with a prosthetic arm stepped up beside Cage and looked down at the little egg of light.
He pulled two cigars from a pocket, and handed one over, biting off the end of the other. “My mate doesn’t like these things, but I say where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and I am a dragon after all, so fire is a good thing.” He blew a tight flame at the end of his cigar and got it burning.
Many dragons from all of the Wyrs had come through to see the new babies and pay their respects to him and Azy. There would be plenty of pomp and circumstance as the Wyrs transitioned to this new united state. So far none had challenged his status as the AllWyvern.
Cage didn't know this particular warrior by name. He was well into his Prime and with his scars had seen many battles. With the ability of dragon's fire, he was obviously a red, so Match must have brought some of the Red Wyr in to help prepare the battle strategy. Reds were ruthless in their hatred of demon dragons.