Page 181 of Shadowborne: Reckoning

Donavyn stopped trailing his hand on my back and went still, his eyes darkening, gazing at me like I’d just given him a gift.

“I think that is… the best compliment I have ever received,” he said quietly.

He drew out of me then, and I complained, but he only rolled me into him, holding me chest-to-chest as he leaned down to brush a kiss on my lips, then pulled back, his eyes warm with delight. Then, as if he’d had a second thought, he rolled me onto my back and himself over me, my breasts pressed flat against his chest as he drew fingers through my hair and stared down at me.

“Bren,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “There is nothing about you that I do not want. Absolutely nothing.”

Tears pinched in my throat. “Donavyn—”

“Believe me,” he whispered, tracing my cheek with his thumb. “Nothing.”

It was a long time before I trusted myself to speak. But it didn’t matter, because he curled me up into his chest and rolled us to our sides, and just held me.

And it was the safest and most secure I had ever felt.

Thank you, God, for making this man. And for giving him to me. He’s perfect.

~ DONAVYN ~

The next morning, as we walked in the early morning sun, the dragons were in the lake. But instead of calling to us as we appeared, Kgosi rushed out of the water towards us, the lake water streaming off his scales as he opened his mouth and rushed up on me.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I chuckled. He was coming at me as a dominant male, and as far as I knew, I’d done nothing to challenge him. “Keg, what’s—”

‘Leave us. Leave us for these hours. We will clean ourselves, then we will fly. We will return to bring you home, but these days… they are for us.’

“What is it?” Bren asked me quietly.

“He wants us to leave them alone here to wash… then he says they’re leaving until it’s time to go back home.”

Bren’s mouth twitched to a frown at those words—I didn’t want to think about that, either—but she shrugged. “I suppose they probably want time alone as much as we do.”

She turned to Akhane as I linked with Kgosi again. ‘Is something troubling you? Should I have found a better place for you two to nest here?’

‘No, Donavyn. But our time has come, and we will need time.’

‘That’s fine. Of course. You can leave us here. But—’

“Donavyn!” Bren gasped, grabbing my arm.

I startled—she sounded fearful, but while her eyes were wide over the hand she’d clamped to her mouth, she smiled under that palm and turned to meet my eyes. “Akhane’s going to lay an egg!”

“What?!” I turned on Kgosi, only to find my dragon lumbering back into the water, his tail lashing like a cat’s. “You dirty old man! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

‘Human men truly are oblivious,’ he sniffed in my head. When I laughed, he looked back at me, glaring. But I couldn’t stop laughing.

“Kgosi, that’s incredible news. Congratulations!”

His nostrils thinned, but he tossed his head, and I felt the pulse of delight in him—right alongside an edge of unease.

The laying of an egg was a precious time, and risky for the hatchling. No wonder Kgosi had gotten aggressive.

I backed away from the water, pulling Bren with me. “Don’t worry, old man,” I laughed. “We’ll leave you two to your… duties.”

“Congratulations, Akhane! And Kgosi!” Bren beamed, but I saw the glitter of tears in the corners of her eyes, as well.

We’d already discussed it. I knew this wasn’t the time, but I pulled her close and sent a rush of reassurance to her through the bond.

‘Your day will come, Donavyn,’ Kgosi sent gently.

I blinked. And cleared my throat. ‘Are you just being kind or—’

‘The Creator made it clear: Your day will come. I do not know when it will arrive, but it will come. Until then… enjoy your mate.’

My smile grew slowly because I was almost afraid to believe him.

Bren looked up at me. “What is it? What did he say?”

I stared down at her, love pouring from my heart into the bond—a giddy rush. “He said our lives are complete,” I whispered to her, then kissed her softly. “And one day we’ll have a hatchling of our own.”

Her eyes widened and tears threatened, but I kissed them away too and held her to me as she laughed and cried in each sob.

‘Thank you, Kgosi,’ I sent to my dragon, my heart heavy and light with gratitude. ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome, Donavyn. You are always welcome. You’re my purpose—and I am yours. Together… all of us together will become the best we were created to be. And I am eager to watch it happen.’

I smiled, brimming with joy. ‘Me too, old man. Me too.’