He stood and went over to Lottie. She’d prepared two cups of chunky vegetable puree for the twins and looked adorably flustered.
“It’s up to you,” he murmured. “You don’t have to do this today.”
Her blue eyes widened as she gazed up at him. “Will people there be happy to see us?”
Eiric thought of his brother. He didn’t want to lie to her, not even to comfort her. “Some of them might be difficult at first, but they’ll get over it.”
She set her jaw and was silent for a moment. Then she heaved a great sigh. “Let’s do it, then. I don’t want to cause arguments in your family.”
He brought her closer and kissed her forehead. She squirmed a little, and then, blushing furiously, pressed a quick kiss to his lips. Eiric grinned, happiness surging through him.
“You’ll love it,” he promised her. “It’s the most beautiful place in the world.”
Ten
Lottie
Eiric hadn’t exaggerated.Drageøy was magnificent.
Lottie held on to a fidgeting Elise—in her dragon form, the baby girl was much spikier and heavier—and gaped at the island rising from the sea in front of them.
“What do you think?” Grete called from behind her.
Lottie turned and glanced at Eiric’s mother. The woman’s unexpected visit had thrown Lottie at first, but she’d been so nice and eager to meet the twins, they’d immediately hit it off.
“Is that gold on the roofs?” she asked.
The town of Gyldenstad gleamed in the late afternoon light, reflecting the sun’s rays across the water. They’d passed the magical barrier a couple of minutes ago, the ear-popping feeling there and gone an instant later. Eiric had explained that she wouldn’t have been able to find the island on her own, but in their company, it was easy.
“My father thought it would showcase our clan’s affluence,” Eiric said, raising his voice over the slapping of the waves. “He had all the roofs coated in gold and renamed the town.”
His pinched expression told her he didn’t approve of the decision.
“It’s a mess to repair,” Grete explained, “so Eiric and Magnus are slowly stripping the gold off the roofs, but it’s a lengthy process. You can see that some of the houses have new shingle roofs.”
The cottages all seemed to be built of dark stone, rather than the more traditional wood that was predominant in human villages along the shore. Maybe it was a dragon thing—it might be a bad idea for them to live in flammable dwellings.
They were sailing to the island, the boat skimming the waves as its sails strained in the wind. The sea was choppy, and gray clouds gathered over the open sea, so Lottie clutched Elise’s scaly body with one arm, trying to avoid her wings, and the side of the boat with the other. Sailing wasn’t her favorite form of travel. She swallowed thickly, hoping she wouldn’t be sick in front of Eiric’s mother.
The island grew larger. Several smaller ones were dotted around the main rise. The slopes were covered with vibrant green pastures where sheep grazed, and the dark rocky cliffs plunged straight into the sea. It was a harsh, beautiful place that seemed just perfect for a sea dragon homeland.
A call came from the shore as they neared the stone pier, and by the time Eiric threw the mooring rope around the metal post, a small crowd had gathered to watch them land. She glanced at Eiric in apprehension. He gave her a smile, but it was fleeting, and his gaze hardened as it settled on the villagers.
He wasn’t completely sure how his clansmen would react.
Lottie held Elise tighter to her chest and tracked Grete who was carrying Aksel. Eiric hopped onto the pier and held out his hand for her. She took it, trying to hide her trembling, but he must have sensed it because he squeezed her fingers and didn’t let go as they faced the crowd.
Silence reigned for several tense seconds. The people of Drageøy stared at Lottie and the two dragon babies, their faces unreadable. Then one middle-aged woman heaved a quiet sob.
“They’re so beautiful,” she whispered.
The spell broke, and everyone started talking at once, asking questions Lottie could hardly hear in the din, let alone answer. They didn’t try to touch the twins, for which Lottie was grateful. And more than that: she was relieved beyond belief that these people seemed to welcome them to the island, that they were happy about the new additions to the clan, even though they must have smelled that Lottie was human.
“You’re pretty enough,” one elderly man boomed. His face was deeply wrinkled, and he leaned on a walking stick. He raised it to point at her general direction. “But your hips are a little narrow for bearing children.”
“Oh gods,” Eiric groaned. “Uncle Jorgen, you’re not supposed to say that to women.”
Lottie shook her head, unwilling to make a fuss out of it, even though the remark was insensitive. “It’s okay.” She’d heard much worse from some of the patients she’d visited over the years. “I gave birth to two kids, so I’d say my hips are doing just fine.” She knew how to handle old people—and sea dragons, at their core, weren’t that much different from the human population she dealt with on a daily basis.
