Urian dashed to Simi’s side, putting her between them. “Are you fireproof, Sim?”
“Bombproof, too.” She belched and shot out a stream of fire that caused several dragons to scramble for cover. “See!”
“Ah, you bunch of hatchlings.” With his hands on his hips, Falcyn finished putting Maddor back into his body.
The moment the Crom was himself again, he picked up his whip and went straight to Brogan.
Brogan held her hand up to let them know that it was all right. After a few seconds and a few whispered words in his ear, she nodded. “Peace to you, Crom.”
With a curt jerk of his coat, he flashed himself onto the back of his horse and vanished.
“What did he say?” Blaise asked.
She smiled warmly. “That he never wants to be a dragon again. You can keep your smelly old body.”
Urian scowled at Brogan. “That all?”
An evil light danced in her eyes. “I might have given him the name …—Morgen.”
Medea cleared her throat to remind them of the other dragons who were still glaring at them.
Xyn yawned. “How long have we slept?”
“Centuries,” Blaise and Falcyn said simultaneously.
An unhappy murmur ran through the dragon horde.
“Simi eat them now since they all grumbly?” Her wings twitched with expectation.
The dragons quieted immediately.
Medea laughed. “Nice to know you don’t just scare Daimons, Simi.”
Simi pressed her finger to her lips and cocked her head in an adorable expression. She scowled, then smiled at Medea. “The Simi knows you! I’s seens you lots and lots. You’re the evil princess who libs with the Simi’s akra in Kalosis!”
“She’s also my sister.”
Simi gasped at Urian’s words. Then caught herself. “Oh yeah. I should have … but wait. Your daddy is fake-akri.” She pressed her hands to her eyebrows. “The Simi is so confuseled!”
Urian laughed. “So am I most days.” Sobering, he gently pulled one of her hands down until she opened her eyes to look at him. “Just remember that I was taken out of my mother’s womb before I was born and put into the belly of another. So the Apollite who birthed me wasn’t really my mother. And Stryker wasn’t really my father. Styxx is my father and Bethany is my real mom.”
“Ah! Like Simi you’re adaptable!”
Urian’s grin widened. “Yeah.”
“Wait …” Brandor scowled. “Does she mean adopted?”
“No, silly!” Arms akimbo, Simi rolled her eyes. “Even though we both were adopted, the Simi meant adaptable ’cause akri-Uri had to libs with people not his people. He not really a Daimon, he a demigod. Which is better. Sometimes, anyway.” She tsked as she looked back at Urian. “I’m sorry, akri-Uri. That why you have sadness besides Phoebe-sadness?”
His eyes darkened. “No, Sim. Mostly I just have Phoebe-sadness.”
She held her barbecue sauce out toward him. “Wanna eat a dragon? Make you feel all better. Give you warm and fuzzies in the belly.”
And that succeeded in driving the dragons toward the shadows and Lombrey into a fit.
“No! No! No! You’re not to hide in my domain! Get out, mangy beasts!”
Brandor cleared his throat to disguise his laughter. “You know, with all this noise, Morgen is bound to realize what’s happened. We might want to think about getting out of here before she sends something or someone to investigate.”
