“Mama?”Kalen asked suddenly one morning, while the boys were helping Elowen brush her hair. “Why can’t we go into the sky with Papa?”
Auric perked up at that, the same curiosity piquing him.
Elowen's heart twisted. She pressed a kiss to Kalen’s hair, then another to Auric’s brow, letting the warmth of them soothe the rising ache in her chest. She could lie, and their tender hearts would accept it, but it didn’t feel right to hide this from them—not when the lie could cost them their lives.
She offered them the easiest answer first: “Well, I think your Papa still thinks your wings are too small for flight.” She sighed, deciding to tell them the true reason as well. “And because the world outside isn’t kind to those who are different.”
Auric frowned. “But we’re just a family right? I thought that was good.”
“It is,” she whispered, stroking his back. “And you are perfect, as is our family. But not everyone sees the way your papa and I do. Some humans…they are afraid of what they don’t understand.”
“Areyouafraid of us?” Kalen asked, voice small.
“Oh, never,” she breathed. “I love you more than the moon loves the sky. But other humans haven’t met you. All they would see is your strength. Your claws. Your wings. They would be afraid.”
The boys sat in silence, their golden eyes wide.
“Your papa fears for you,” she added gently. “He remembers what it felt like to be hunted. That day when the humans ambushed us at the lake, it broke your father. He blames himself for what happened. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to you again. He did not want you around the humans before, and he certainly doesn’t want to risk it now.”
“Butyou’rehuman,” Auric said, confused.
She nodded. “Yes, I am,” she said softly. “But the other humans were not kind to me either. They hurt me because I tried to help your father when they tried to hurt him.”
She lowered the collar of her dress to reveal her back down to her shoulder blades and turned to show them. She let them see the old scars mixed with the new ones, pale and pink across her skin.
Auric and Kalen gasped together, and Kalen asked: “They did that…because you helped Papa?”
“Yes,” she said, throat tight. “Because I showed kindness. Because I tried to protect someone they feared. That was the last time I saw the humans that I grew up with. I did not see another human until they attacked us at the lake, and I haven’t seen them since.”
The boys sat very still for a moment. Then, quietly, they shifted closer. Kalen leaned forward first, nuzzling gently into her shoulder at the edge of one scar. Auric followed suit, purring against her back with a low, comforting chirr in his throat. They did it just like their father had done many times before.
Elowen’s breath caught in her chest.
“You are so much of him,” she whispered, smiling through the burn in her eyes. “But you’re mine too. And I will never lie to you. You are both dragon and human, and one day, the world will learn to understand that.” She turned back to them and gathered them in her arms. “But until then,” she said, “you must stay close so we can protect each other.”
They nodded solemnly, their foreheads pressed against hers.
Midas watched from the shadows beyond the hearth, watching as the boys comforted the woman who had once comforted him.
And later that night, while Midas was watching the stars near the mouth of the cave, he heard the small pitter-patter of young footsteps approaching.
He turned slowly, as though he was afraid he had imagined the sound. But his eyes immediately fell to Kalen, sheepishly standing next to him.
“Papa?” he said. Midas huffed for him to continue. “Are you cold?”
Midas blinked, but shook his great head slightly. There was a long pause before Kalen spoke again.
“Do you want to come back to the nest?”
Midas tensed slightly, for it was a gift far greater than his son understood. He answered with the rumble of the dragons:
Only if you want me there.
Kalen nodded, then reached out his small fingers to wrap around Midas’ talon to tug, prompting him to follow, and Midas let himself be led.
When they reached the pile of blankets and pelts, Midas curled himself gently around the family once more. Elowen lay between the boys, and each of them reached toward him in sleep—one clutching his tail, the other curled near the crook of his arm.
Midas knew he would carry the scar of rejection for a long while after their young hearts moved on, but for tonight at least, the ache had finally lessened.
