Ivo snickered. “And you know after just a couple of days? Come on.” He knew when someone was pulling his leg.
“The gestational period for a dragon, even a male, is shorter, just five months. For that reason, we know sooner if we are carrying.” “That isn’t funny, Vitki.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
Ivo frowned. “How—” He snapped his lips closed. He knew how. He just wasn’t sure he believed it. “Pregnant?”
“Yeah.” The hesitancy in Vitki’s voice was shadowed in his eyes. “Is that okay?”
Ivo didn’t answer immediately. He really wanted to search his feelings on it before giving Vitki some blanket response. What he found surprised him. He was actually overjoyed. Scared, but overjoyed. Freaked out, but overjoyed.
There was also an underlying satisfaction that Ivo was pretty sure came from his dragon, who was damn proud of himself for getting their mate pregnant.
“Ivo?”
Ivo sent Vitki a smile. “I was just checking with my dragon how we felt, and we’re good.”
The breath Vitki blew out could only be described as relieved. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. Hell, I didn’t think it could happen. I mean, legends are just that, legends. That doesn’t always mean they are true.”
“Well, apparently, this one is.”
Vitki’s eyes rounded owlishly. “Yeah.”
“Guess I’m going to have to claim my throne now.” Ivo shrugged when Vitki shot him a look. “For the kid and all.”
“Yes, for the kid.”
Ivo laughed as he hugged Vitki to his stomach. “We’re going to be dads, Vitki.”
He never in his wildest dreams thought that was possible. Of course, dragon shifters and pregnant men hadn’t even entered his wildest dreams, so… “Do you need crackers or ginger ale or something?”
“I just want to lie here until I don’t feel like I’m dying.”
Ivo stroked his fingers through Vitki’s hair again. “Okay, Vitki.” He’d sit there for however long Vitki needed him to. The silence was actually kind of refreshing. Granted, since they had basically locked themselves in the room two days ago, things had been quiet, but this was different. This was a comfortable silence, which was why Ivo was surprised when Vitki spoke.
“We need to find out who’s after you.”
Ivo’s heart thudded painfully when he realized whoever was after him might go after Vitki. “Who can we trust?”
Vitki’s dark-brown eyes were solemn when they met Ivo’s. “As of this moment, no one.”
“What about Yuval and Miro?”
“No one, Ivo. If someone is trying to keep you from claiming your throne, they are going to go ballistic when they learn we’ve created the next heir.”
Ivo swallowed hard. He glanced at the toilet when bile rose up in his throat. “Maybe we should go back to New York?”
“No, our child has a right to live in freedom. He could never do that living in the city. Here, we can teach him to fly and spit fire and be a dragon. In the city, he wouldn’t even be able to shift without fear of being discovered.”
Vitki had a point, but Ivo was still scared. He had a lot more riding on this than a claim to the throne. He held his entire world in his lap. If they trusted the wrong person, he could lose it all, and he couldn’t allow that to happen.
“How do I claim the throne?”
“Is that what you want to do?”
“I want you and our baby safe,” Ivo replied. “If I have to become king to accomplish that, so be it.”
“In order to become king, you have to assemble the clan and claim your throne.”
