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I looked away, feeling that familiar stab of jealousy when Ember kissed my sister’s cheek.
Isa blew out a huff of air. Now that one nuisance is taken care of.
Radnor stomped a foot like a toddler throwing a tantrum. You can’t make me go.
No, you’ve always done what you want, and only what you want. She flicked her tail while turning up her nose. Fine. Stay. But as far as I’m concerned, you’re nothing more than a ghost, an annoying ghost.
Triss whimpered while batting her large eyes at her mother.
Isa snapped at her hatchling. Don’t contradict me, child.
Triss flinched, whimpering louder.
May I at least speak to my hatchling? Radnor asked.
Isa spun around, her tail slashing through the air like a snake as she bore down on Radnor with a roar.
My mates jumped in front of me, shielding me with their wings.
The girls gasped, trembling against their parents.
You take a step toward her, Isa snarled like a wounded animal while Radnor arched away from her, and it will be your last. Then she spun toward her child, her barbed tail coming within inches of slashing open Radnor’s face. Triss, go help the Maiadrans with the feast.
The little dragon skulked through the temple entrance, her tail dragging the ground.
Radnor let out a howl that sounded like a wounded hound.
Isa ignored him as she arched her neck and looked down at us with the regality of a queen. I will see you after the last of the sun’s rays have fallen.
I could think of no other response than a nod before Nikkos and Blaze took my hands while Drae took the lead, following the others toward the pyramid. Before we descended what appeared to be a ramp that sloped beneath the temple, I cast one last look behind me, feeling just a pang of pity for the rejected dragon, his wings dragging the ground as he watched us go. I didn’t want to get involved with Isa’s fight with Radnor, but I didn’t understand why Isa wouldn’t let him see his child. I’d be devastated if Tari kept me from the girls, and I couldn’t imagine turning any of my mates away after being separated from them for over two decades. Dragons certainly held grudges, a reminder to stay on Isa’s good side.
Shiri
COOL AIR BLEW THE HAIR off my nape, and we walked down the steep ramp, Nikkos and Blaze holding my hands when I slipped across the slick stones underfoot. The further we descended into the pit, the more various smells assailed me, from damp clay earth to sweet smoke mixed with garlic and butter. Words couldn’t describe my shock after we emerged deep within the earth in what I realized was a village beneath the pyramid. As we walked down one long ramp and turned the corner to another, I was struck by the scene below, a large gathering space with several long tables beneath a wide, flat stone dais. Satyrs were busy setting wooden plates and goblets on the table that was flanked by tall, flickering torches, their fires casting shadows across the stone walls.
When two satyr children dashed past us, chasing each other in a game of tag, the girls squirmed in Finn’s arms.
“May we play?” Aurora asked aloud.
“After we freshen up and eat, darlings,” I blurted, then bit my tongue when I realized it was no longer my place to tell the girls what to do.
When they pouted, giving Finn a look, he whispered loud enough for me to hear, “Let’s check out our rooms first. Then I’ll bring you back.”
Tari beamed up at Finn, as if to thank him for overruling me.
Embarrassment flushed my face and cheeks as I tightened my hold on my mates’ hands.
Blaze’s voice projected into my head. Do you want me to have a talk with Finn?
No, I reassured him, forcing a smile. He’s their parent, not me.
You’ve been more their parent than they have been, he reminded me.
I swallowed back my sorrow. Not anymore.
After we passed through the gathering place, I looked up to see what appeared to be dwellings carved into the walls, narrow ramps leading up to their cloth-covered doorways. The satyrs led us down a long, damp hall lit with softly glowing sconces to a suite of rooms carved into the earth which were connected to a singular bathing room.
I guess bathing room sex is out, Nikkos whispered to me through thought.
