004: Undercovers

[Ona]

The lights are dim and the air is sweet with the scents of our lovemaking. Everything is quiet and calm. Our children are off living their own lives, especially our daughter, Ursa, who enjoys the privilege of being the crown princess maybe a bit too much. 

Even Carnelia is finally resting. It took fighting 15 different celestial dragons, and learning their powers and their forms before she was finally exhausted enough to enter a sleep that isn’t haunted by nightmares of her mate alive and yet dead inside. 

I feel almost guilty, lying in Daax’s arms. But we have lived so much of our lives apart, that I cherish every moment of connection that we have. Who knows when the universe might drive us apart again?

And tonight may be our last night for some time to come that we can be so free with one another--especially if my plan is going to work. After tonight, he will be hiding in plain sight as one of the royal guards.

I gently brush his blond curls away from the jagged edge of his scar, all that remains of the eye that Segundus removed during his experiments. It took weeks of relearning how to be with one another before he was ready to let me see all of him, to feel all of him--especially the parts that he saw as damaged. 

He was so afraid he’d never be able to pleasure me again. 

If Segundus wasn’t already dead, I’d kill that bastard again, and again, and again. 

“Are you sure?” his head rests on my belly as his hand reaches lower, absently petting me.

“I am certain,” my eyes water as I tell him once again. “I am carrying another clutch, Daax. Three little lives. The healers confirmed it this afternoon,” I continue to stroke his hair as I add, “At least two of them are celestial dragons. I’m hoping they are sun dragons like their father.”

He kisses my mound as he begins to trace my midsection with his lips, making a lazy trail back to my chest then my collarbone, and finally my waiting lips. Both sets of lips open for him as he enters me both above and below. I moan his name as we join one another. 

“Ona,” he sighs as he releases his seed, his body growing slack as it rests next to mine. “You are a miracle.” 

I recede my wings so that he can wrap us both up in his as he spoons me, his hands cradling my still-flat abdomen. I won’t start showing for several weeks yet. But now that he knows they are there, he begins humming to them, his joy vibrating through his chest as he holds us all close. 

He didn’t even know about Orion and Ursa before he was taken. I didn’t know about them either until I returned to the royal court and found myself sick with more than just heartbreak. When I realized the truth, I hid myself away on Vatra. Once I had laid my two eggs, my mother helped me secret them away to the celestial kingdom where others nested with them and hatched them and trained them to be little dragons. 

Neither Daax nor I were able to take joy in watching them grow. 

“This time will be different,” I swear to him, pulling his arms more tightly around me.  I want to stay like this forever, held in his arms and sure of his love. 

But unfortunately, we have a dangerous and vital mission to plan. We need to bring my brother back from whatever nightmare he is currently living and into the safety of the Celestial Kingdom. 

“And yet this time you are also asking me to let you put yourself in danger,” a sharpness creeps into his voice. He is rarely angry, and even now, his anger is more pain than fury, and yet I can hear the frustration in his words as he asks. “How can you tell me this news and then expect me to pretend to not be your husband, to protect my niece instead of watching over you? How can you ask this of me, Ona?”

“I am asking this of you because I trust you more than anyone in the universe,” I confess as I choke back a sob. I don't want to let him know how frightened I am. If I show him, he won't let me rescue Primus. "I trust you more than I trust myself. You have always been my voice of reason, Daax, even when you were not by my side, I'd hear your voice in my head giving me advice. If there was anyone I could have guarding my back and my best interests, it is you, Daax. You know that."

"That doesn't change the fact that you are carrying our children," he argues. "Nor does it change the fact that you are asking me to pretend not to be your mate and husband while you put yourself in danger." He shakes his head, growing more and more upset. "You are not just putting yourself at risk this time, My Queen, you are putting them at risk as well. Not to mention the whole kingdom when they use this betrayal as an excuse to execute both you and Carnelia and..."

"Stop," I place a single finger on his lips. "Yes, I am carrying a clutch, but I am still several months away from needing to nest. We should be able to complete this operation before I go broody. There is no real risk to either myself or our babies and…”

“Do not try to fool me, Ona.” Daax pulls me in tighter, trying to contain me in his arms. “You are putting yourself in a dangerous situation like you always do. You love your little brother and you adore his mate. You would do anything to keep them safe. You are constantly sacrificing yourself for others, Ona." He kisses the back of my neck. “Damn it, drakaina, when are you going to put yourself first?”

When the sun stops spinning and the stars stop glowing. "I am thinking of my future, Daax. That’s why I need to get Primus back. Without him leading Luxandra, we may all be in danger. Because I'm thinking of my family and my future, I am bringing you and Orion. If anyone can make sure that all of us make it home safely, it is you two."

"Besides,” I sit up, pulling my long hair back so that he can see the glowing embers of my flame-red eyes. “Eleanora is no match for me and Carnelia. She has no idea what she is inviting into her castle.”

“But…” he tries to speak but I interrupt his thoughts with my kisses. “Ona…I…”

“Shhhh, My Love,” I coo. “She won’t find out. She won’t know a thing.”

“But what if she does,” Daax holds me away from him, forcing me to look into his eyes as he asks. “What if she figures out that Orion and I are lying, that we aren’t really servants for the royal infants? We don’t look like servants, Ona, we look like warriors. Orion practically glows with the power of a future king. How do you expect us to…”

“We’ll find a way,” I smile, bearing my fangs. “And if she finds out, we’ll break the hell out of there and burn it all down around us.”

His expression softens as he returns my smile. “How did I get such a devious and violent mate?”

“You kidnapped me, remember?”

He chuckles as he rolls me back onto my back. “The best worst decision I ever made.”