Kiss of the Dragon (41 page)

I turned slowly in a full circle and found him. One second a green scaled monster stood before me, the next he was overshadowed by the image of Michel. It had been disconcerting the first time I witnessed that. But not anymore. They may think separately, but they were definitely parts of the other. Which was why it surprised me that the dragon had kept this secret for so long. Usually they worked together, in near perfect harmony.

My sweet little one
, the dragon rasped in my mind, no hint of a French accent to soothe the tone. Y
ou came.

"Of course I came, how could I not eventually, what with the way you've been behaving?" I pointed out, taking a seat on one of the waiting benches. The dragon didn't come closer, clearly sensing my agitation from where he stood.

It was a necessary requirement.

"You have endangered us," I said, not without my fair share of anger lacing the words. "Compromised us," I further explained.

The dragon made an unusual movement then, that I swear was him shrugging his shoulders. I felt my Light accumulate around me and watched his magenta eyes hungrily eat up the image I must have been portraying.

You have no home anymore
, he said from out of nowhere, completely off track. Was he stalling?

My turn to shrug. It was rejuvenating here, in his garden. Even if I was still angry at him, I wasn't above taking the time to enjoy the sensations being here caused.

Where do you wish to live now?
he asked. I frowned.

"Why the questions? Why not just 'fess up to your crimes?" He couldn't exactly escape me here.

That received a snort; a mixture of hot air and sparks of cinder-like embers emitted from his long nose.

He was happy for the Palais to fall, was he not?
The dragon asked mysteriously.
And now the Château too,
he added with the cock of his head.

"Are you trying to deflect my anger onto Michel?" I replied, incredulously.

I merely seek to understand where you wish to reside. It is information he could sorely use.

"Oh, so
now
you wish to share your insight with Michel." My turn to snort at that.

Tell me, mate. Where would you live in all of the world, should the choice be purely yours?

I blinked up at his magenta eyes, so different from Michel's but then as familiar as his were too. What was he getting at with this? I decided, as he didn't look to be in any hurry to move things along, that I'd have to play his game for now. Furtive, cunning dragon.

"If I could choose anywhere, it would be Auckland," I admitted slowly.

A powerful location
, the dragon said with a satisfied air.
Many Ley Lines converge there.
He was silent for a while.
You chose wisely, little one.

"I'm not sure what you're playing at, dragon, but Michel is well aware of my desire to go home. A useless wish, considering our obligations."

Ah,
the dragon purred in my head.
But do you not think him capable of engineering his own destiny? And would he not engineer it around you?

I stared at the larger-than-life being before me, as real as Sebastian's alternate form. Michel's dragon may exist within him and not in the same realm as us, but he was real, nonetheless. And then I considered his words.

Michel had hinted that he had wanted a fresh start for the
Iunctio
. He'd told Gregor and I that the
Palais
, although important, was not as important as the others made out. I got the impression he had moved on from there. And even this evening, when the
Château
fell, I felt no twinge of sadness from Michel. His sole focus was winning the battle and now that I think about it, moving forward from there.

Michel's dragon-within had been hiding a secret from us both, but Michel, himself, had been secretly planning in the background too.

Michel is the dragon and the dragon is Michel. I started to laugh.

"You both planned this all along." The dragon didn't confirm or deny my suspicions.

What
was
it about Michel, that whatever he planned came to fruition? It was like everything he touched could turn to gold.

No, not just his touch. But his kiss.

The Ambrosia had said,
beware the kiss of the dragon, it's as lethal as its flame.
I wasn't so sure about 'lethal', I was going with
golden
on this.

All that was left was what the dragon had been hiding, would it be 'golden' too?

"Well?" I said, knowing the dragon had kept up with my thoughts as easily as Michel could.

He stepped forward then, his shadow blocking out the sun, but not hiding its warmth. I still felt bathed in its glow, even though the dragon stood over me. He reached up slowly and with the back of a claw stroked gently, affectionately, down my cheek.

Do you think all that makes up his possessive and protective side is from his vampyre?
he asked, his voice low and rough, but somehow still managing to caress. And, I noticed, answering a question with a question again. I raised my eyebrows at him, not getting where he was going with this little side trip.

Michel the man has reason to protect his mate at a time like this
, he added. I held my breath. There was weight to his words. Maybe, because he was all that made Michel a vampire, and words to vampires mean so much. But maybe, also, because I knew he was telling me something important here. Something that would make it all crystal clear.

Coupled with his vampyre-mate side, as well as what makes me dragon, you really didn't stand a chance,
the dragon pointed out dryly.

I shook my head, frustrated at the delay. "Just tell me already," I demanded.

Then without warning the dragon sent a barrage of images through my mind. Each one successively magnificent, increasingly beautiful, and entirely out of this world. Tears streamed down my cheeks at what this creature was showing me. Was it truth or fiction? How could he know these things?

How could he have kept them secret from us?

I sobbed into his clawed hand, a sense of wonder and bewilderment washing through me. But even as I doubted, I
knew
the reason for this extraordinary event was true. The Ambrosia, that voice of ancient wisdom, had warned at our recent rejoining that
anything
was possible, we only had to believe and it would come true.

I wasn't sure if I had ever truly believed, but I was certain that both Michel and I had wished with all of our hearts.

As a dragon I will always protect, provide, promote and placate my mate
, the dragon said softly as my tears of joy kept trickling down my cheeks. He wiped a few stray drops with the back of his claw, in such an infinitely gentle move it stole my breath away.
My initial reaction to your condition created a fierce desire to protect, but soon my role as your mate took over. Protection is only part of the equation,
he explained.
And had I divulged what was ailing you, Michel would have confined you completely.

He was right. Michel had reason to be over protective. Perhaps more so than a mystical dragon. Michel had lost his human family before he was turned because of what he was, and he hadn't even known they were in danger. That was a hell of a lot of psychological guilt to carry for five hundred years. What would he do for his family now, if given the chance to protect them?

I am a magical creature,
the dragon murmured.
Created by gods. And it was a goddess who made sure I knew how important your role in the battle was to be. Without your aid, Dark would have won. You are the balance. I had to keep counsel or the Light would have been lost.

Goddess. He meant Nut. Nut had told him to keep the secret, to save Michel from the anguish of desiring my safety above all else. I wasn't entirely sure it had been necessary. Michel is a master politician, a tactician with remarkable success. He would have seen the need to have me present at the final battle despite my 'condition', as the dragon had called it.

He is also a man, little one.

Yes. And a man who loved me more than life itself.

Go to him,
the dragon said softly, interrupting my awe-filled thoughts.
It is time for him to know. Your well-being is our paramount purpose in life. And the rest of our lives start now.

I nodded, a little stunned at what the dragon had been hiding, and why, but in light of the secret, eager to get back to my kindred and share the good news. I fell back down through the black nothingness to my body. Sitting up with a gasp and a start.

I had hoped, because I had Walked directly to the dragon, that Michel would not need the three hours rest he usually required when he used this skill to pull me into the dragon's realm. But he was out cold. Goddess, of all the times to catch a break, now would have been one of them.

I paced the entire time, too elated to lie beside him and snooze. Thoughts and ecstatic emotions tumbling through my mind and body. Michel had planned for us to move back to Auckland, to centre the new
Iunctio,
the New Order, there instead of France. And the dragon had told me what awaited us when we settled there. The future was filled with Light and love, and a home filled with both. I couldn't contain my excitement. I danced around the small, spare room we were in and sang every tune I could think of, as though I was floating on air.

I was still tired, but it didn't matter. I was still nauseated, but now I knew why, so I embraced it. Wrapped my arms around my stomach and rocked my myself lovingly from side to side. Everything made sense now. The nausea, the tiredness, the strange food cravings, the emotional roller-coaster I'd been on, and the increase in arousal. Even the change in my aura and Michel not being able to visit my dreams. It made perfect sense. I had never thought this possible. It was a dream Michel and I had shared that couldn't be ours.

But it was true. Because the dragon had promised, and deep down I knew he didn't lie. And because of the Ambrosia and everything he had hinted at over the past few days.

And although it was sudden, Michel and I
had
been extremely active together since my return fro
m
Álfheimr
.
So, the opportunity for this to eventuate had existed,
that
was for sure. An
d even though, what the dragon had shown me meant it was also happening quicker than a human would have expected, isn't that what the Ambrosia had meant?
"Things will progress much faster than anticipated. Light is potent when it creates."

Light. This...
miraculous
event was happening because of Michel's and my Light.

This was our future, one we had fought for and battled against insurmountable odds at times to reach. But true love prevails.

And true kindred joinings can achieve so very much.

Light shone in the room briefly, my Goddess letting me know she was there. Confirming with her presence that this was really happening. A new beginning. A New Order. A new life.

I had just managed another full circuit of the room, tunelessly humming some song from an old musical I'd once seen, when he woke. Michel sat bolt upright in the bed, his face telling me he'd heard and seen everything the dragon had shown me and said. I waited for him to shout out with joy, to run to me and crush me to his chest.

But for a brief moment he looked like every man does when confronted unexpectedly with such happy news. He looked lost and beyond ecstatic and truly unsure whether to believe his luck or not.

"Tell me," he rasped, needing to hear the words spoken aloud from my lips even though he knew what was running through my mind. "Say it,
ma douce,
" he pleaded, his eyes shining a combination of mauves and violets,
Sanguis Vitam
thrumming with excited anticipation on the air.

He crossed to me in a split second, wrapped his arms tenderly around my waist and tipped his face down to look me in the eye.

"Say the words that change everything," he whispered. "Say the words that mean the beginning of the rest of our lives."

I smiled up at him, feeling every joyous emotion that he was. I didn't need to sense them though, as he sensed mine. This went beyond even that sort of connection. This was from both of us, shared as only two souls, who live for the other, can share.

I licked my lips, watched as he sucked in a visible breath in preparation, then said the words that we had longed for,
so much
, and which meant the start of a brand new world.

And Goddess
, didn't they feel so good to say?

"We're pregnant."

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