“Yes, dear boy, they are.”
“I hear laughing.” Goddess, these dragonets were light years ahead of humans their own age.
“They’re laughing at their silly cousins,” Ronan rubbed Griffin’s head. “Are you excited to play with Opal and Ruby?”
“Yes, protect.” Well, he had that one down for sure. “Check on twins.” Griffin hopped down and went in search of the others while Emerson and Cade stayed nearby.
“Has Cade shown any other abilities yet?”
“Well, Caro thinks I’m nuts, but I swear I heard him speaking dragon tongue the other night. I’d rolled out an ancient scroll about a black dragon necromancer called Kieran.”
“Wait, what?” Ronan stopped him. “A black dragon?”
“Yes, he’s a necromancer. Strong, protective not a threat or danger. It’s believed he perished during the great Dragon War. Anyway, Cade sat beside me on the tabletop, pointing and speaking. At first I thought it was gibberish, my dragon tongue leaves a lot to be desired, but I swear I caught a couple of words he said.”
“Now, hear me out.” Anytime Ronan began a sentence with those words I cringed. “Remember when I saw something dark in the trees the other day.”
“Yes?” came out more of a question.
“I’m telling you, I saw another dragon. What if he didn’t die? What if the Goddess sent him here to watch over us since we have all these babies now?”
“There’s literally been nothing else written about him. No sightings, no nothing,” Emerson shook his head. “As much as I would love for him to be alive, history proves otherwise.”
I wouldn’t put it past the Goddess to send us such a protector. One who can control the dead and potentially conjure them to help in battle.
The battle she clearly knows is on the horizon.
“Emerson, Ronan may be onto something. Can you find that info again and bring it to Ionus for tonight’s briefing?”
“Sure, but I still think it’s a stretch.”
“Well, let’s at least share it with the others. Stranger things have happened as of late.” And right on cue, Cade’s wings fluttered and off he went with Emerson trailing behind him.
“Neck-o-mance,” Luna mumbled. “Yes, he’s good.”
My wide eyes met Ronan’s. With Ronan’s dragon being so new to him, aside from his lava launching abilities, I often wondered what else the Goddess gifted him with. Luna’s gifts strengthened with each passing day.
“Can I go to the meeting too?”
“I kinda think you have to, though I’ll tell you, they can get pretty boring.” Especially when Ionus droned on and on. I swear he got off on hearing himself talk.
Alex came around the corner carrying Kane and Hunter like footballs. Griffin, smoke streaming from his nostrils, walked alongside him, fists balled at his sides.
“Dare I ask?”
“Let’s just say Uncle Odem’s next class should be about the negative effects of burning bugs.”
“I’m not ready for this,” Ronan mumbled beside me, shaking his head.
I chuckled. “It’ll be fine. Kane and Hunter are unique, and Uncle Odem will be sure to show them how much they hurt the bugs when they do that. Bugs are important components to our eco system, boys, and they feel just as we do, and just like the flora and fauna I taught you about.”
“Sorry Unca O.”
“It’s not me you need to apologize to, it’s Mother Nature and all the wonderful creatures and plants she’s been kind enough to grace us with.” Tears came and I nearly apologized until I caught Alex’s head shaking as he mouthed,don’t you dare.
Emerson returned, carrying Cade football style as well. Was this the equivalent to the human version of the terrible twos? “Does anyone know if there’s a leash you can use for baby dragons? Like the kind they wear while surfing?”
“Ha-ha,” my laughter echoed through the canyon. “I’m sure we can find something. Come on, Ronan, let’s go check on the love birds.” Alex and Emerson headed toward their homes as we did the same.
