Chapter 4: The Decision

The golden queen begins her flight,

Her wings ablaze with brilliant light.

Through clouds and storms, the dragons race,

To win their queen's eternal grace.

Ryuki

‘Our queen is very insightful,’ Bynjym says.

‘Which one? We have two now, and what did she say?’ I ask, watching as Skylar opens her eyes and smiles.

“I did it! I healed myself. I mean, Cyryl helped me harness the power, but I feel so much better!” she says, leaping up and into my arms.

I catch her easily, then rumble a purr that isn’t exactly up to Bynjym’s standards, but it will do for a human.

“How is it that I had you for three straight days, but I already want you again,” I murmur against her ear.

She pulls back and bites her lower lip, blushing a pretty shade of pink that makes her even more beautiful to me.

“Well, one could argue that you are a queen’s rider,” she says coyly.

The joke is so unexpected that I throw my head back and laugh, really laugh for the first time in a very long time.

When I pull myself together and look at her again, she’s smiling at me.

“I love you, Skylar – truly, deeply, madly, and crazily.”

I watch surprise and something else flicker across her face.

‘Pleasure and pride,’ Bynjym says.

“I love you, too, Ryuki.”

She leans in and I kiss her, softly this time, taking more time than I should to show her just how much I love her.

‘My rider is still hungry, Ryuki,’ Queen Cyryl says in my mind.

Instantly, I pull away from the kiss.

“Sorry, Queen Cyryl. I’m as easily distracted by my queen as my dragon is by his. Let’s get your rider fed.”

I get her settled as Bynjym begins slicing the food Ymyl brought us.

‘So, what was it that our queen was being insightful about?’ I ask him.

‘Skylar recognized how proud I am to have mated with Cyryl, knowing she will be mine forever now.’

I snort.

“What?” Skylar asks as Bynjym hands her two strips of meat.

She begins devouring them with the ferocity of a dragon. Thankfully, he has a slice for me too, since I also feel like my stomach is eating itself.

“Bynjym thinks you’re insightful because you recognized how proud he is to have flown Queen Cyryl. As if that’s surprising.”

“Well, I understand it from a mating standpoint, but it feels like it’s more than that,” she says.

“It is,” I say as Bynjym gives her two more slices of cooked meat before giving me another one.

“You and Queen Cyryl mean everything to us. We fell in love with both of you long before Bynjym flew Cyryl. All he did was cement what we both already wanted – you and Cyryl to be ours forever.”

She looks at me, then Bynjym, then Cyryl.

‘Yes, it was more than just a mating flight,’ Queen Cyryl says, including me in her conversation with Skylar. ‘The thunder recognized that whoever caught me in my first flight would be my mate for life.’

Bynjym begins crooning at his mate.

‘Thankfully, the dragon we wanted to fly me was strong enough and clever enough to catch me,’ Cyryl croons back at her mate.

‘I will always catch you, my mate.’

“Uh, before the two of you start whatever you’re about to start, could you maybe strip off a bit more meat, Bynjym?” I ask.

‘I can flirt with my mate and still feed her rider and mine,’ he rumbles, tossing me another strip of meat before gently handing more to Skylar.

To his credit, Bynjym doesn’t stop until both Skylar and I are full.

‘I’m not sure how many times I have to remind you that I am a silver dragon, not a green, Ryuki,’ he says sarcastically.

Skylar snorts. “What did you say to him?”

“I didn’t say it, I thought it. He could have ignored it, but he chose to be snarky with me, which is pretty standard for Bynjym. I was thankful that he fed us until we were full rather than going to cuddle with his mate which I know is what he’d rather be doing.”

‘Of course I would. She’s growing my dragon babies as we speak.”

Cyryl begins clucking and humming happily.

“So, what happens next? I’m assuming Cyryl has to find a nest before she’s too heavy to fly, right?” Skylar asks.

‘Yes. I’ll need to start searching tomorrow. I only have a few days considering how ‘thorough’ Bynjym was,” she says, making Bynjym hum proudly.

“My nest must be perfect for my eggs,’ Cyryl says seriously. “It will take time to find the right spot to lay them.”

‘I have some places I can take you, My Queen. You can decide if they are good enough for your nest. If not, I’ll keep searching until you are satisfied,’ Bynjym says.

I look at my dragon remembering our problem.

He turns his head to look at me. ‘You need to tell her.’

“Tell me what?” she asks, looking from Bynjym to me.

“We need to talk,” I say.

“Yeah, I gathered that. What’s the problem?”

“Skylar, we had sex for three days,” I say.

“Yeah, I know. My body was aching when I woke up.”

“And now, we have to find Queen Cyryl a nest to lay her eggs before she can no longer fly,” I say slowly, hoping she’ll catch on.

“Yeah, I got that too. What’s the problem, Ryuki?”

“Skylar …” I begin.

‘I’m not the only one who is pregnant, Skylar,’ Queen Cyryl says.

I watch as the color drains from Skylar’s face.

 “Bynjym is willing to fly you if Queen Cyryl will allow you onto his back, but …”

“But?” she asks, her voice soft.

“Three days, Skylar. Queen Cyryl is right. You are most likely already pregnant. I mean, it’s early enough that if Bynjym flew you high enough and hard enough it could unsettle our child from your womb …”

I stop when her hands fly to her stomach.

“Our child?” she asks.

I drop to my knees beside her and place my hands over hers.

“Yes. Our child.”

She stares at our hands, then looks up at me.

“What do you think?”

I always want to be honest with my mate. So, I tell her the truth.

“I think it will be hard. I don’t know of anyone who has raised a child in the wild. We know we have a war coming and it will be hard enough without you being pregnant or us trying to care for a newborn. But I also know that I’ve never wanted a child with someone like I want one with you. If you want our child, we’ll make it work. I’ll find a way to make sure our child never wants for anything,” I say.

‘WE will make sure all of our children want for nothing,’ Bynjym says.

She stares at her hands for a long time, then frowns.

“As much as I would love to have your child, Ryuki, and one day I promise I will, I don’t think now is the time. You’re right, we have a war coming. That is no place for a newborn. Cyryl and I have to be strong for our thunder. We have to lead this war against my father, Kenneth, and the other royals. I can’t be a hinderance to the thunder because I’m pregnant. Cyryl may only have to sit on her nest for a couple of months, but I would just be starting to show by then. I’d have seven more months and between now and then, I need to practice keeping my seat and learning to harness the thunder’s power. We have no idea what either of those things would do to our child, Ryuki. I’d rather make sure our baby doesn’t develop now than worry about losing our child once it started to grow inside me. Do you understand?” she asks, as if terrified that I’ll be angry with her.

I take her face in my hands. “Yes, I understand, Skylar, and I think you’re right. One day, when this war is over, I want to see your belly growing large with my child. But now is not that time. We have years to have a child. We don’t need to rush into it.”

“Thank you for understanding,” she says, closing her eyes and pressing her face against my hand.

“What’s to understand? You made very valid points.”

“Being a royal, a princess, my ‘job’ was to produce an heir. It’s yet another reason that I’m glad I chose Cyryl, you, and the thunder.”

I lean forward and kiss her slowly, letting the kiss linger and showing her that I mean what I said.

“You are more than a baby-maker to me, Skylar. You are my life partner. You are my dragon’s mate’s rider. You are my queen. No matter what happens, we’re in this together.”

“I love you, Ryuki.”

“And I love you.”

‘Now that we all know we love each other, I should probably take my rider on this rigorous flight before I’m unable to do it,’ Cyryl says drolly.

I look at Bynjym who looks at his mate.

‘I’m not sure you can do it now, My Queen. Your eggs have already started to grow and will weigh you down.’

She gives him a haughty, arrogant look.

‘You are not the only powerful dragon in this thunder, Bynjym. I am a queen. I assure you, I am strong enough to fly my rider.’

He clucks reassuringly at her.

‘I know very well how powerful my queen is, but I also know that you are carrying more eggs than any of our recent queens and I made sure to inseminate every one of them. Your belly has already become more rounded in the two days we’ve been mating, my love. I do not question your strength, only your willingness to take a day to help your rider when you could be using that time to find a nest, and I am more than happy to fly Skylar and make sure her egg doesn’t grow,’ Bynjym says diplomatically.

“He’s right, Cyryl,” Skylar says, walking over to her dragon and rubbing her face. “Plus, I really need to go to the lake. I want to bathe before we get settled in your nest.”

Cyryl sighs, but I can feel her relenting.

“I will fly you to the lake,” she grumbles, looking at Bynjym as if he might argue with her.

Rather than argue, he watches her, waiting for her verdict.

She sighs, then turns her attention back to Skylar.

‘Bynjym can take you on a flight while we’re at the lake. Then, we’ll go in search of a nest.’

“This is temporary, my dragon, and it will be worth it when you lay a golden egg. You will always be my dragon, and I will always be your rider.”

‘Gee, it must be nice to have a dragon who is possessive of you. I wouldn’t know what that feels like,’ I say to Bynjym, watching Cyryl and Skylar together.

‘No one else would want you,’ Bynjym says sarcastically, but I can hear the teasing in his tone.

‘Perhaps I should go talk to Thyyd. He might …’

When Bynjym growls and lowers his head to look at me, I grin.

“Much better, my dragon.”

‘Let’s go, before I decide to dump you off my back,’ he growls.

‘As if you could. I’m much too strong for that now. That’s why I’m your rider,’ I say proudly.

‘Indeed, it is.’