Dragon 7 Chapter 32 (Patreon)

All of the women in my life were here for dinner, milling about, getting ready to sit down, but chatting or finishing up a few last-minute things on their phone before we started.

I tried not to laugh as I watched Kelly just barely able to contain her excitement as she sat bouncing in her seat as our family gathered around the dinner table.

Based on the looks the women were giving each other, everyone knew exactly what had her so excited, but they waited.

The dining room was huge, and it had been decorated with a single oval table dominating the space. This one thankfully wasn’t an heirloom of the Sentarshaden tree.

I sat at the head of the table, where I could see all of the ladies as they sat around. The nymphs flitted in and out of the room, carrying the setting for the table and then platters of food to be served family style.

It felt like a dinner out of the regency era, but I knew that the ceremony of it all was still how the fae nobles operated. I’d grown more used to the extravagance of it all as we settled in for the meal.

I looked around, smiling at finally having us all under one roof once more. Even Agent Tills and Helena had joined us.

“Guess what? I’m pregnant!” Kelly blurted the news out as soon as the last butt touched the last chair. She vibrated in her seat.

“Congratulations!” A loud cheer sprang up from the other women, and several of the nymphs made a big show of setting down their platters and rushing over to surround the alpha wolf in a hug.

“When can we figure out if it’s a whelp or a pup?” Yev asked.

“I’ve been trying to read up on it. We should know within a month.” Trina speared a piece of meat and almost seemed upset at the news. But I knew she wanted her own child. “In this first month, pay attention to your magic. If you feel a big dip in it, we’ll have to monitor you. We have no idea what’s going to happen with an alpha wolf at the center of her pack, if the baby dragon starts to get mana hungry.”

Kelly cradled her flat stomach. “He’ll be a good boy. I just know it.” The sweet smile on her face melted my heart.

“Of course. He or she will be the best,” I encouraged her.

Kelly smiled up at me, her face lighting up with happiness at my words. She was a ball of sunshine at the table, nearly giving off her own glow.

I glanced at Morgana, waiting to see if she was going to share her news as well.

She pursed her lips but gave me a small nod before casually speaking into the flow of conversation. “I’m pregnant as well.”

Attention turned to her with a few gleeful squeals. She shook her head, taking a sip of blood before continuing. “It’s too early to be too excited. Vampires can have trouble in the early stages,” Morgana tried to temper the excitement.

But Yev wouldn’t let that happen, grabbing the apprehensive woman and squeezing her in a tight hug. “We’ll all have lovely children, and then we’ll raise them together.” She looked around the table. “Anyone else have good news?”

The rest of them shook their heads. It hadn’t been more than a month since I received The Dreamer’s blessing, but I knew that Kelly and Morgana were just the tip of the iceberg.

“The nymphs are hopeful though.” Pixie put her hands on my shoulders and stood behind me. “After today and the Dragon King’s and your generosity, we might have a few with good news in the coming weeks.” She kissed my cheek and scampered off.

My ladies were all looking at me with wry grins.

“What?” I waited for the conversation to flow on, but they all just kept looking at me with that same look. “Okay, so we got a little carried away today, but it was fun. And we are all consenting adults.”

I knew that the family was about to experience a population boom, but that had been inevitable ever since the dragon conclave. It just got sped up with the help of my trip into the fae Wilds.

“So, Summer, why don’t you tell us what we all missed?” Morgana put Summer on the spot. “Tell us how our not-a-magnet-for-trouble husband had everything in hand.”

The fae queen could handle the attention though.

Summer smiled at me and dabbed at her lips politely while everyone’s attention shifted to her. “Well, I missed a part of it. But Zach wound up in Faerie, and I was trapped by my daughter in the stonehenge to a duel to the death.”

The table leaned in, suddenly getting the details. She wasn’t exactly lying, but the order of events was a little off.

“How’d you get trapped?” Scarlett narrowed her eyes at me, as if it were my fault.

“A wonderful political maneuver by my daughter, along with Agent Norton’s help.” Summer shook her head as if she were lamenting it. “But Zach came to my aid. He summoned Nyske for her assistance. Norton had Dragonbane in his possession, limiting what Zach could do initially. Zach then used his magic to hold Norton at bay until he could destroy the spear.” She paused. “He actually used his magic to solve a problem.”

The whole table was in an uproar at her statement. Half in disbelief and the other half praising me.

Summer patted the air, signaling for them to calm down. “I know. But he did, though he used his portal magic to break the spear.”

Sabrina laughed. “And that caused the large explosion?”

“Yes, nearly wiping out Norton in the process. A brilliant move.” Summer continued to make it sound like I had it all in hand. “Then he took down Norton, but in the last moments, Iapetus took advantage of my daughter’s dire situation. He took her body and killed her.”

The table went quiet, and I was impressed at Summer’s composure. Sorrow filled her eyes, but she held her head high.

“Zach took care of that part too. I believe his blessing from Typhon allowed him to overcome Iapetus’s power and devour it rather than let it slip further into Faerie. For Iapetus has destroyed enough of all of our homes.” Summer ended the story.

“So sorry, Summer.” Yev reached across the table to hold her hand.

The fae queen took a deep breath. “Yes. Well, Aurora made her own decisions. She was certainly old enough to understand what she was doing.”

Several of the summer nymphs in the house came up behind her and hugged her in support.

“Anyway,” Summer continued. It was clear that she didn’t want to talk about it and people respected that. “It seems the Golden Plushy Society’s plans are successful.”

Jadelyn clapped and smiled. “Good. I think now that everything has settled we should have another meeting of the society.”

“Yes,” Summer agreed. “We ladies must support the Dragon King to our fullest.”

I frowned from the end of the table. “I’m right here.”

“Of course you are.” Scarlett rubbed my hand as her foxtails reached around the edge to bat me playfully. “Just let Jade have her secret society with the purpose of making sure your harem stays unified in helping you.” She gave me a flat stare, and I didn’t press.

“So, Nyske, did you get in on any of the action?” Kelly tried to direct the conversation into a new direction, and I shot her a look of thanks.

“Yes.” The nymph paused near the table. “Fighting with my king was an experience, but he did most of the heavy lifting. Lots of magic, like Summer said.”

There was almost a hum from my ladies as they tried to decide how true her statement was. In my defense, magic was hard. I had only learned I was a dragon less than a year ago.

I cleared my throat. “This wave of attack is over, but we need to work on what comes next. Helena, Tills, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to talk details with you two after. My understanding is that the Associate Director from the D.C. field office took the reins of everything in Philly during the transition?”

Tills nodded. “Yep. They are still working out who takes over from Norton and looking into his stuff.” She hesitated. “I don’t know how much of his investigation into the paranormal was formalized. But there’s a concern there.”

“What’s the chance you could get me a meeting with this Associate Director?” I asked.

The whole table shifted uncomfortably.

“We might have to play a game of smoke and mirrors, but we could get you into a room with her,” Helena promised. “If you use your portals, we could get her just about anywhere.”

“Husband, I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” Jadelyn hesitated.

“Please, let me handle this one. Don’t tell your father or the council. I’ll deal with the repercussions,” I promised her before turning to Helena. “We’ll discuss the details after dinner.”

Some rules needed to be broken if we were going to protect ourselves.

“We’ve had another recent turn of events.” I wanted everything in the open. It was the only way we could all have each other’s backs. “Sabrina’s glasses are broken. She needs to return to Hell, and I need to go send a long overdue message to Beelzebub and the rest of Hell. I won’t allow anybody to mess with my city without paying consequences. We will be preparing a trip to Hell.”

The table was quiet with my announcement.

“Well, then we’ll just have to prepare our husband as best as we can.” Jadelyn nodded. “If Sabrina needs to return, then we’ll support her and you. But we need to make absolutely sure you have everything you need before you go.”

There was a round of nodding at the table. It was always dangerous when they all agreed. They could be intensely persuasive.

“We have two weeks before we go. This doesn’t have to all get settled today,” I told them.

“Two weeks?!” Kelly stood up from her seat. “You make it sound like that’s a long time.”

“In magnet-for-trouble time, it is,” Morgana pointed out. “We can settle things, but I fear the two of us are sidelined for this one, Furball.” She rubbed at her stomach. “If either of us lose our magic in the middle of battle…” She trailed off, letting everybody fill in the gap.

Sabrina stood and bowed to everyone. “I’m sorry for the trouble. If it is too much, I can hold off.”

“Sit down,” Scarlett barked. “He’s clearly already decided it’s going to happen, and he wouldn’t prioritize it if it weren’t important. I don’t know the details, but we can talk about it at the next Society Meeting.”

The succubus bowed her head. “Thank you.”

“You’ll bring two dragons,” Polydora announced. There was absolutely no room for argument in her tone. “We’ll figure out the best ones for you.” Her eyes went to Larisa.

I nodded, following her train of thought. Ice magic would be helpful in Hell. Fire and death magic probably were far less impressive.

“Enough of this.” Tyrande clapped her hands. “We just finished one big problem, and we have big, happy news! Can we take a few days to relax before we dive back into problem solving mode again?”

“Agreed,” Summer chimed in.

“Three-day ban on Hell preparations,” Scarlett set the rule. “The ladies at this table can move mountains if we want. We can prepare later.”

I speared more of the steak as a nymph walked around with a platter of it. The plate in the middle was being drained of steak quickly. That’s what happened when a bunch of dragons sat around a table.

***

Jadelyn was in her gold robe again and clapped twice as the lights grew brighter. Tyrande and her nymph were taking care of her mate that night.

“We begin another session of the Golden Plushy Society,” she announced. The lights were just bright enough to barely make out the ladies in the chamber. “First off, wonderful job getting our mate to work on his magic.”

She glanced around at the several dozen ladies present. She felt the power behind Scarlett’s prior words. It was true. The group sitting around together could make nearly anything happen.All around the circle were ladies with enough power and prestige that a man would be lucky to have one, but their mate used up all his luck, stealing all their hearts.

Maybe that’s why he got in so much trouble.

Summer raised her hand. “I assume the ban on talking about Hell is lifted here?”

“Correct,” Scarlett agreed. “It needs to be a main point of topic for today. Sabrina, care to enlighten us?”

Sabrina threw back her golden hood, taking a deep breath.

Jadelyn was still getting used to seeing Sabrina as a succubus rather than the sweater wearing nerd. There was a slight edge about her in the shift.

“I’m no longer able to suppress my succubus nature, and it will take over, pushing away my sense of individuality. I’ll become just a tool of lust if I don’t go back to become a higher order demon.” She bowed her head, clearly embarrassed.

Summer nodded along. “I was confused. You were too nice to be a higher order demon, but you weren’t like the other mindless bimbos I’ve met before.”

Her words made Sabrina wince. “I was, once.”

Summer’s smile became kinder. “Well, we won’t let that happen again. Zach is becoming more powerful than even he realizes. If he goes to Hell with you, we need to prepare him.”

“Should we talk about this?” Ikta asked Summer, sharing a look that held a hidden meaning.

The fae queens looked to Maeve who cast back her own hood. “I think it’s time the Golden Plushy Society understands what Zach is to us.”

Jadelyn knew that something had been brewing between the fae queens, but she hadn’t bothered trying to dig into it. She assumed they were all aligned on keeping him safe.

She frowned, somewhere in all the chaos, she’d grown used to even Ikta. The idea of Ikta joining the harem didn’t bother her as much as it once did. “Ikta. Will this harm my husband?”

“No, but it will put even more pressure on his shoulders,” she admitted, appearing surprised at the direct question from Jadelyn. Ikta glanced at the other two fae queens and nodded. “We’ve combed back through the false prophecies, and they all indicate that your mate is at the center of a change for Faerie.” She glanced at Summer, seeming uncertain how to break the news.

The Summer Queen picked up the explanation. “We think he’s going to act as a sort of magical keystone for Faerie. The Wild, Winter, and Summer lands have always been kept stable by conflict and tension between them. It isn’t clear exactly how, but he might offer us a way to cease our wars.”

Jadelyn took a breath, letting the news sink in. “That’s a lot of responsibility you’d be putting on his shoulders.”

She glanced around the room at all of the nymphs, remembering how The Dreamer had pushed for him to seek balance among the fae. She’d wondered how the different leaders had been able to stand being around each other while with Zach. But now it was making sense. They yearned for an end to the fighting.

It was like a business that was tired of the same old problem year after year. When a solution finally came to light, they put their best resources on it. That meant the best of their nymphs and their queens.

“What do you need from him?” Jadelyn asked.

The three fae queens looked at each other before Maeve spoke. “We want all three of us in his harem, and for him to take in each of our magics. I’m guessing you had him take Aurora’s magic already?” Maeve couldn’t quite meet Summer’s eyes.

“It was not how I had hoped for it to happen. I was planning to serve up some nobles on a platter.” She shook her head. “But it’s done. Some good came from it, and we can only move forward. Her sacrifice will be for the good of our people.”

It seemed cold, but Jadelyn could see the cracks behind Summer’s mask. The woman was destroyed by the death of her daughter and barely holding it together. But this was giving the death some purpose.

“So, he needs Winter magic?” Jadelyn asked. “Do we need him to…” She hesitated to say it aloud. There were winter fae in the room.

“I believe my mother is aware. She’s well versed in the prophecies. I don’t know what she’s going to do.” Maeve frowned and rubbed at the ring on her finger. “Beyond that, we’ve created a small piece of Faerie for him. That had all our aspects. He’s taken to it very easily.” She looked at the other two.

“Neither of us could possibly hold a fragment that had all three,” Ikta echoed the concern in Maeve’s gesture. “So, we are hopeful. If eventually he holds a fae court, it could bind the three together and remove the wars, forever.”

“What does that have to do with his trip to Hell?” Sabrina asked.

Summer frowned. “I am risking all of Faerie by supporting the risk. But I’ve come to understand that we sisters stand together. And we all love a man who will walk towards his own destruction if that’s what it takes to save us.”

“You just might get your gold cloak soon,” Kelly laughed.

“That’s the hope.” Summer smiled at her. “I might have started with ulterior motives, but I’m very much interested in the Dragon King.”

Jadelyn nodded along and looked at Ikta. “That means you need a gold cloak too.”

Ikta perked up. “That’s okay with you?”

“I’m not about to ask for your help with my skincare regimen, but yes. Please consider the rift between us healed.” Jadelyn nodded at the Spider Queen.She understood that she didn’t think like her, but that was okay. They were both working towards the same goals now.

“Thank you.” Ikta curtsied, splaying out her spider limbs to keep her balanced. “I’ll not disappoint you or the rest of the Golden Plushy Society.”

That left one last thing.

Jadelyn glanced at Nyske. “You will put the Golden Plushy Society tracking on Zach’s bracer. After this last event, we can’t risk not knowing where he is when things happen.”

The nymph swallowed but nodded. “If you’d all help me? He should know before we do it, and he won’t say no if we all come together.”