His eyes widened. Slowly, he asked, “Can I?”
“’Course you can.”
Viol’s calloused hand trembled as he reached for the egg. He placed his palm on the shell with great reverence. The intensity of Viol’s dark eyes softened as he stroked the eggshell. Then, as if he couldn’t bear to touch it a second longer, he drew his hand back and abruptly stood up.
“Thanks,” he mumbled roughly.
“No prob.”
By the time I got the two words out, he’d already hurried out the door.
I shrugged and glanced down at the egg. “Uncle Viol’s a funny guy, isn’t—”
The rest of my sentence came out as incomprehensible gibberish.
Because there was a big hole in the egg.
And a tiny blue paw sticking out of it.
“Uh,” I said, my voice raising in volume. “Um, um, um?”
Cobalt stuck his head into the bedroom. “Is everything all right, Muzo?”
I flubbed my words until I finally blurted out, “Egg.”
Cobalt couldn’t see the hole from his angle. He furrowed his brow in confusion. “Yes, that’s right. We have an egg together.”
I grabbed the discarded piece of shell and waved it in the air frantically to get my message across.
Cobalt’s eyes widened with understanding. He rushed over to the bed, then gasped when he saw the hole.
“The egg,” he uttered.
“That’s what I’m saying!” I cried.
Cobalt’s breathing quickened as he leaned in to watch the dragonet’s tiny paw move around. I was shocked at the newborn’s mobility—hell, it wasn’t even technicallybornyet, since most of its body was still trapped inside the shell.
“C’mon, you can do it,” I urged.
“What’s going on out here?” Saffron asked, nosily sticking his head into the bedroom. When he saw me and Cobalt hovering next to the egg, he yelped and ran over. “Is the egg hatching? Oh Holy Drake, it’s hatching. Everyone, get your asses in here!”
The urgency in Saffron’s voice summoned all the dragons from the other room. Crimson and Thystle—the seasoned parents—gave us room to breathe, along with Jade, who naturally figured we needed space. On the other hand, Aurum and Saffron were all up in the egg’s business, unable to contain their curiosity. Saffron’s golden eyes beamed with interest, while Aurum’s gleamed with guarded wonder.
Cobalt squeezed my hand. “Look.”
Apparently, our egg appreciated an audience. It threw itself onto the quilt and rolled in a circle. A flurry of annoyed squeaks echoed inside the shell.
“Good, healthy pair of lungs,” Cobalt commented warmly. The baby hadn’t fully hatched yet and he already radiated with pride.
The dragonet kicked hard. A piece of shell flew off the egg and hit Aurum in the face.
“Ow!”
“Haha,” Saffron said a moment before another chunk of eggshell smacked him, too. “Ow!”
Aurum rubbed his cheek. “Damn, not even born and already attacking their uncles...”
I snorted with laughter. Our baby had a feisty attitude all right. It made me even more excited for the last pieces of the eggshell to fall.
