A low rumble vibrated in Midas’ throat. Exhaustion from his own fear began dwindling, so he could finally see what he had done. He lowered himself until he was eye-level with his sons, his great head dipping toward the ground in submission.
I am sorry,he said softly to them, his words heavy in his chest. The boys did not answer, nor did he expect them to. They simply stayed behind the safety of their mother, hiding from him.
He lowered his head further, resting it completelyagainst the stone ground. For the first time in a long while, Midas felt powerless. Not against the humans, but against the simple, fragile love of his family.
He realized in that moment that he was not roaring in anger as he thought, it was because he was terrified of losing them.
But they did not know that, and so Midas had done the opposite of what he intended, and terrifiedtheminstead.
The cave was quiet now,only the faint drip of water from the ceiling, and the soft rhythm of his children breathing in their nest.
Midas laid near the entrance of their cave, his wings folded tight against his sides. His head was bowed low as he stared into the dark with his golden eyes. He had not moved for hours, not even to warm the bedtime nest with the great fire in his heart.
Elowen joined him only after she was sure the boys were fast asleep. The echo of her bare feet on the stone was louder than it should be in the uncomfortable silence of their home.
“Midas,” she said softly. “You should come and rest.”
He huffed in response. She knelt next to him, sighing in relief at his familiar warmth. His large eyes flickered to his mate, so small in comparison to him, yet never afraid to approach.
“You frightened them,” she said, as if he didn’t already know it.
Midas, after a long moment, shifted into his human form so he could speak to her. She waited for him to join her, sitting quietly at the edge of the cave.
“They disobeyed me.” His voice rumbled low in his chest. “They followed me to the humans. Don’t you understand what that could have meant? What could have happened if they were seen?”
“I do,” Elowen said. “But screaming at them until they cower behind me is not the same as protecting them.”
His nostrils flared, the terror of what could have happened still haunting him. “They needed to understand–”
“Understand that their father is something to be afraid of?”
Midas’ head snapped up, the gold of his eyes sharpening. “They should be afraid! Fear keeps you alive. Fear tells you when to run, when to hide, when to stay quiet. Fear is what saved me when–” He stopped suddenly, quieting his voice. “When I was a hatchling and the humans attacked, my mother, my siblings, they did not have enough fear, and they were slain. Isurvivedbecause I wasafraid.”
Elowen’s expression softened, but she didn’t look away. He looked away instead, his gaze sinking to the floor. His claws scraped at the stone like he was trying to carve his guilt into it.
“Icannotlose them,” he murmured. “Not them. Not you. Not us.”
“You won’t,” Elowen said, moving closer.Her fingers hovered over his chest, then rested lightly against the warmth there. “But you can’t let your fear speak louder than your love.”
He closed his eyes at her touch, his breath shuddering through his chest. “I do not know the difference.”
“I know,” she whispered. “That’s why I’m telling you now.” She brushed her thumb over the edge of one of his scales on his chest, and his body trembled. “When they followed you, they weren’t trying to defy you. They wanted to be like you. To be brave. To see what their father sees. To share the skies with you as you’ve always wanted. And you shouted at them for that.”
Midas opened his eyes again, the gold in them dimmer now, wounded. “They could have died.”
Elowen did not answer, because she knew he had to understand in his own way. It was not something she could explain with words. He let out a low sound—half growl, half broken exhale—and pressed his head to hers.
“I do not know how to be soft,” he admitted, his voice cracking like firewood. “I never wished to make them afraid of me.”
“I know.”
The silence that followed was deep, but it was different this time. No longer cold or empty, but heavy with mutual understanding. Elowen kept her hand on his chest until his breathing slowed.
She stayed with him until the night faded toward morning, her body pressed against the warmth of his, his tail curling faintly around her like an unspoken apology.
Midas did not sleep, not after Elowen’s voice faded tosilence and her hands fell still against his scales, and not after he carried her to bed and placed her in the nest next to Auric and Kalen.
Midas watched the glow of the fire dim and listened to the breaths of his sons rise and fall in soft unison. Every exhale wounded him. Every inhale tightened the guilt in his chest.
