Chapter 3
2581 Words
Dragons in Council
Chapter 3
Saura’s POV
I feed Oberon as Forsythe makes dinner. I haven’t seen the darkness in him yet, but Oberon is still awake. I fear it will come when he sleeps, but at least he won’t feed from me.
“What did Apep mean when he said you could take his claim?”, I ask him as I rock my feeding son.
“Dragonian have a code we live by. It all boils down to a mate for a mate. Dragonian are not to act against any female beneath or within five years of the age of maturity. Apep’s mate was only twenty when Vritra attacked her. The age of maturity is twenty-five. His fate was sealed the moment Apep’s mate showed him Vritra’s face. When Vritra acted against Apep’s mate, he offered you to him. Apep waved his claim, giving you to me in exchange for your oath.”, he answers.
So he may still feed from me? “I am yours now?”, I ask him.
He turns to study me, “By dragonian practice, yes. I claimed you and Oberon as my own. That is why he let you leave with me. You are no longer Vritra’s, therefore no longer offered to Apep. Why does that frighten you, Saura?”, he asks tilting his head.
“I’m not afraid.”, I answer, looking down at Oberon.
“Saura… I never told you before because I didn’t want Vritra to come down on you for speaking to me, but dragonian can hear lies. You can too. You’re lying to me, you’re afraid. Please tell me why.”, he explains and asks again gently.
“Are you going to feed from me, Forsythe?”, I ask him. His eyes widen for half a second then he looks down at the stove, turning it off. He covers the pan and comes to sit across from me.
“Saura, I’m going to answer you, but first I want you to know truth from lies. I will tell you a lie first. Listen to my words.” I nod and he continues, “I regret that you’re losing Vritra.”, he says. It sounds bitter and ugly.
“That was a lie?”, I ask and he bows his head.
“Now a truth. The only thing that will make me happier than taking you from Vritra will be his death.” It sounds clean, a soft hum to his voice, despite the malicious words. I nod understanding what he is showing me. “Saura, feeding your mate should not ever be painful. You’re meant to enjoy feeding your mate.”, I nod, knowing he is being truthful.
“Yes, Vritra told me that it hurts because I do not love him.”, I leave out the part about wanting Forsythe.
Forsythe furrows his brows, “No, Saura. That is not true. Whether or not it hurts has nothing at all to do with you. It is in him. If a dragon feeds from his mate in love or desire, she feels that from him and his bite is pleasurable. If a dragon feeds from his mate in anger, she feels pain. It was not ever you that caused his bite to be painful.”
I hear the truth, like he showed me earlier. I know Forsythe is telling me the truth, but does that mean he is telling me I will enjoy him feeding from me? I’m afraid of being bitten, I don’t wish to feed a dragon. “Are you going to feed from me, Forsythe?”, I ask again.
He frowns, “No, Saura. You are not my mate. You’re not meant to feed me.”
“What do you do in blood lust then?”, I ask him.
“I hunt, like every other unmated dragon in our world. Saura… did he tell you I was going to do something to you?”, he asks concerned. I nod slowly, searching his eyes. I feel the anger in him as he takes a deep breath and exhales, “What did he tell you I would do to you, Saura?”, he asks.
I shake my head, “We don’t have to talk about it. It’s fine.” Not wanting to repeat the things Vritra has said.
Forsythe closes his eyes and rubs his temples, “We won’t talk about it, if you don’t want to. I swear I’m not going to hurt you or Oberon, Saura. Vritra is a liar and a manipulator. He can pretend to be something he isn’t for a very long time. I was also already tied to him before I realized what he was and I am much older than you. Vritra has more than a few dragonian that wish death upon him.”
“If you knew what he was, why didn’t any of you stop him?” I ask, dreading the answer.
Forsythe sits up and replies hesitantly, “Dragonian are few in number, each only having a single child. If at all possible, we allow them to father their fledgling before we kill them. I hate that I didn’t get to you sooner. I hadn’t realized he had found you.”
They were letting him live to father a child… “I was a breeding vessel to you?”, I ask, more than a little hurt.
Forsythe frowns, “NO! Saura, I didn’t know you existed until after you were pregnant. What’s to say being mated didn’t change Vritra? He had to have made you fall in love with him, you carry his mark. I have been there every time you needed me, even when you wouldn’t ask. I’ve begged you to leave with me, Saura. Why would I do that for a breeding vessel? I could’ve just taken Oberon if that were the case.”, he defends.
“We were both hoping he would change.”, I say softly, looking back down at my now sleeping Oberon.
He sighs heavily, “I’m sorry, Saura. I thought you stayed because you loved him. If I had known he told you I’d do something to you… I’m not going to hurt you, I’d never hurt you.”
“I did love him, I thought I knew him. The version of him that I loved was gone the moment we knew I was pregnant. Like a switch in his mind flipped.”, I try to explain. It isn’t his fault. I shouldn’t have accused him of not caring.
Forsythe conjures a bassinet for Oberon and leans to take him from me. I try not to, but my whole body tenses and it gets a little harder to breathe. He pauses and releases Oberon. “Saura?”, he says softly, backing away. “Lay him down when you’re ready, okay?”, he asks as he returns to the kitchen. When I’m ready for what?
Forsythe’s POV
She got really nervous about me taking Oberon. I’m not sure what Vritra told her I would do to her, but she has it stuck in her mind. I not surprised that he would do that, but I’m pissed off. Had she just told me before, I could’ve gotten her out much sooner.
I make her plate and set it on the table. “Come eat, Saura.”, I call her to me softly. She slowly stands and places Oberon in the bassinet. She comes nervously to the kitchen, fidgeting with her napkin when she sits. I sit across from her and begin eating. I focus on my plate, hoping to make her less nervous. She slowly begins eating and starts to relax some. I want to talk to her, but I stop myself. Making her nervous again when she’s trying to eat is not the wisest plan I’ve ever had. We eat in silence. She finishes first and stands to take her plate. I stand, accepting her plate and taking it to the kitchen to rinse. She returns to Oberon. “You can take the room you used before, Saura. I will teach you to conjure rooms and we will make Oberon one of his own, if you’d like.’, I offer.
“I think I want him to stay with me tonight… if that’s okay.”, she asks more than she tells me.
“That’s fine, if that’s what you want.”, I assure her. “When Apep kills Vritra, his shield will fall. I’m sending a dragonian friend to collect anything of value from the house. Is there anything there that you need?”
She furrows her brows for a moment before responding, “Oberon’s milk. It is in the kitchen freezer.”
I bow my head slightly to her and she smiles. “Goodnight, Forsythe.”, she calls as she goes down the hall.
Laying in my bed, near midnight, I feel Vritra coming in. Little does he know; I am prepared for him. Carson waits, watching over my den. Vritra stands no chance against Carson. He will be forced to face Apep to have any claim to Saura ever again.
I get up and go down the hall, checking in on Saura and Oberon, they’re both sleeping. She doesn’t feel Vritra so close because she has him blocked.
By the time I return to my room, I feel Vritra moving away.
“Did you take care of it?”, I link Carson.
“He won’t come for her.”, is his only reply.
“Does he know Apep is after him?”
“Yes. He tried to force his way by me and I made him take a seat. I told him Apep came for Saura and that we all knew what he had been doing. He believes that if he defeats Apep, you will give Saura back.”, Carson says lazily. I can tell, without even seeing him, he is stretching out under the stars.
“I’m not giving her back, Carson. Why would you tell him that? Where are you now?”, I demand.
“I didn’t tell him that. He decided on his own. I just didn’t correct him because, one, Vritra’s whole face pisses me off and I don’t care to carry a conversation with him. Two, Apep is going to kill him, and three, I rolled him out of the sky. He wasn’t all there getting back up from that. It will take him a bit to clear his head. As for where I am now, I’m laying here in this soft grass, enjoying the moon, brother.”
“You’re going to have to show me that.”, I chuckle at my imaginings of Vritra being slammed viscously by Carson.
“I’ll save you an image, I do look rather delectable in this lighting.”, he teases.
“You’re too much, Carson.”
“Hmmm.”, he hums through the link, “I’ll be gentle.”, he replies in a low sultry voice.
“When Apep kills him, I’ll link you. Go to where his shield was and collect anything worth saving. Saura needs Oberon’s milk from the freezer.”
“Goodnight, brother.”, Carson replies.
Saura’s POV
I quietly change and dress Oberon before feeding him.
Then, sneak down the hall to the kitchen, trying not to wake Forsythe. My heart leaps into my throat when I come around the corner to find him standing shirtless, joggers tied low on his hips. He is a very large and muscular man, even more so than Vritra. My anxiety tries to consume me as he turns to face me, his eyes wandering over my body before returning to my face. “Good morning, Saura.”
“Uh… Good morning.”, I return, sincerely hoping he stays on the other side of the bar. He studies me for a moment before conjuring a shirt as he turns back toward the stove.
“Are you hungry?”
“Yes.”, I take a seat at the bar. He tells me what he is making and I assure him that’s perfect. I try to think of a way to approach the subject without angering him. “I think… I want to try and find an apartment in fae territory somewhere. I know things have changed, but I’m certain I can get work off the coast.” Daphne Lilith runs trades out of Tilmon Bay. I’ve read about her, all of her in-office people are female. She would hire someone of my skill as an assistant, without hesitation. We would be safe under her.
Forsythe turns to me, “Saura, if you want to work and live near the coast, I can go with you. I’ll keep Oberon, you won’t have to worry about him when you’re working.”
I appreciate his offer, but I really don’t want to tie up his life. I don’t want to be indebted to him more than I already am. “I can’t ask you to give up your own life, Forsythe. I appreciate all you’ve done for us; all you continue to do. I can take care of us now though… Once Vritra is dead.”
“Oberon needs dragonian, Saura. He is not fae. He has much to learn.”, he replies as he sets my plate in front of me.
“I can teach him.”, I answer as I lay him in his playpen to stretch and play with his toys.
“You’re a wonderful mother, Saura. I have no doubt in your love or loyalty to him. I know you would do anything in the world for him, but you can't teach something you don’t know or understand. He’ll end up a farm animal. If witches get a hold of him before his first shift, they'll keep him as livestock. Dragonian blood is valuable. Please let me help with Oberon. I can protect him and teach him what he needs to survive in our world. You can have all the freedom you want; I won’t get in your way. I will help as much as I can and when Oberon is grown, I won’t try to make you stay. I give you my word.”
“I won’t tell anyone what he is. They’ll never know. My power isn’t much against dragonian, but I can handle witches.”, I assure him.
Forsythe sits beside me and turns to face me, “Saura, you can’t hide him forever. They’ll know what he is long before his first shift. You’re strong and I know you’d fight for him, but you’re only one person. You can’t defeat a coven alone. They’ll kill you to have him. I can shield him, make you both completely untouchable. It won’t matter how many there are or what their abilities may be. You can raise your son as you choose, I only ask that you let me help keep him alive and teach him our ways.”
I don’t want him to be like them. If I let another dragonian raise him in their ways, he will become Vritra. “Can I think about it?”
“Of course. There’s no rush for decisions now.”, he replies as he turns to his plate and begins eating.
- Writer
