Page 23 of Sapphire Seas

“It took less than two minutes before I started laughing,” Caspian explained. “I kept thinking about home and picturing Seadragons I knew as some of the characters. The show got even funnier after that until my sides ached from laughing so hard.”

“I’m glad you’ve chosen to spend the day relaxing together,” I said. “I’ll join you after Raven leaves. Ionus has given us until five tomorrow morning, then we are to embark upon our journey.”

“After she leaves, why don’t we go to the kitchen together and prepare a platter of snacks and some refreshments?” Kes said. “We can put them on the coffee table so they’re within arm’s reach and introduce you to the wonderful world of Bikini Bottom.”

“Brilliant,” Caspian said, “since it’s become clear that I have two mates who like to slip out of bed early in the morning.”

He cocked an eyebrow at me, one hand on his hip as he scowled from the couch.

“It was a meeting with my brothers,” I replied, squirming as I rubbed the back of my neck.

“I’m beginning to understand why Odem was so irritated the other night,” Caspian replied.

Kes cackled and even I couldn’t keep a straight face when I recalled Odem’s frustration that night.

“Fair enough,” I said.

“The worst is when you both do it,” Caspian declared, shooting a look at Kes now too. “I woke up this morning with blankets bunched up on both sides of me and not a trace of my mates to be found.”

His pout was adorable and grew when Kes shrugged.

“In my defense I was going to bring breakfast upstairs with me as soon as I’d finished making everything,” Kes said, narrowing his eyes at Caspian. “Some dragon got impatient and silently slipped downstairs like a slippery little eel through water and scared the crap out of me. Instead of sunny side up one of my eggs landed on the ceiling. That was not fun to get down, let me tell you. Your ceilings are high.”

“Our ceilings,” I said, “and you will get used to them because this is where you belong. No more asking if anyone wants you to leave. No more blaming yourself for the things you haven’t been able to tell us. None of it is your fault. The Gorynych preyed on young dragons for a reason. It’s because you’re still trusting of the elders around you and eager to learn. We’ve heard stories from other dragons who’ve found their way to the city claiming that the ones who were mentoring them or teaching them some sort of skill were the ones who ultimately betrayed them.”

Kes hung his head, nodding. “That’s what happened to us.”

Before he could say more, Raven arrived, leaving me with more questions I didn’t have time to ask my mate. If her visit could provide at least one answer than it would be worth the wait. He needed to be in tune with his dragon before we left to retrieve Torin or I feared that Quint’s mate wouldn’t be the only one in peril.

Chapter Eight

Kes

My dragon was free and he was pissed. Mercifully not at me but at the bastard who’d woven a spell in my mind to keep my dragon and I from communicating fully over the years. He was eager to return to the region where Torin was imprisoned, we’d always been drawn there though I’d never understood why until Raven had shattered the spell.

It was where we’d been stolen from.

Before the village where I’d met Canyon and Upalo, the desolate northern icepacks had been my home. My dragon recalled more than I did and eagerly relayed all that he remembered to Mattias and Caspian’s dragons now that he was free to converse with them clearly.

Meanwhile, I was getting a headache.

Dragons, please, one at a time. I complained. I’m not used hearing one dragon in my head, let alone three, so tone it down.

Mattias stood beside Raven, watching me struggle with the chatter. Dragons weren’t known for following orders so the pause in their conversation only lasted a minute or two before they were back at it again.

Kes!

Oh joy. That was Upalo and he sounded frazzled.

Your dragon roared at me, Upalo snapped. Your dragon is never loud, nor as clear as he is right now.

Raven detected a spell that had been cast on me. It was designed to act like a wall between me and my dragon, I explained. She removed it and now he’s uncontainable.

I’m thrilled for you, Kes, Upalo said, I haven’t felt this connection to you since the night we were forced to flee our village. I was afraid it would never happen again.

I didn’t want to try, I admitted, but my mates convinced me that it was better to try than to guess. They were right. I’m going to spend the rest of my life saying that. I just know it.

Better accept it now and come to terms with it, Upalo said. I have. It seems our new mates don’t appreciate when we’re hard on ourselves.