“Whoa.” Jed’s eyes grow wide, and a mixture of fear and awe emanates from his body.

“Meet my dragon,” I say with a flourish.

The reserved and even quieter boy than I remembered sloughs off a bit of his shell.

His eyes dart from me to She-Dragon, and his mouth parts without sound. I can’t help the broad grin crossing my face.

Jed walks up to She-Dragon, no hesitation in his steps. She turns enormous eyes on him and blinks, as if surprised to see someone with me, even though I told her I’d be bringing someone back. The feathers on top of her head stand on end like a cockatoo, showing her interest in my brother. I’ve begun to learn her expressions, and this one, with her ears perked and neck slightly arched, definitely indicates surprised interest.

She snorts softly, her eyes narrowing at me.

She says she expected someone bigger. Maybe even a prisoner, Cynic interprets.

Great. She expects the worse of me.

No. She just knows you too well.

I roll my eyes, She-Dragon trilling aloud and laughter echoing in my mind.

Jed places his hand on She-Dragon’s nose as she snakes it down so he can reach her, her eyes softening and a low tremble in her chest vibrating the ground.

She exhales, her warm breath washes over him and the first grin I’ve seen since the fight days ago spreads across his face.

“Hey t-there,” Jed says, his voice warm.

She-Dragon trills back, and something coming over the bond makes me think I might’ve just been replaced as the favorite. And I don’t care a bit.

Jed’s smile grows as she sets a wing on the ground, and he looks back to me without the fear that has been in his eyes since he learned of my past. Instead, they sparkle in excitement. “C-can I? Really?”

I nod, my heart soaring at the joy on my little brother’s face.

Without a word, Jed scrambles up the wing, finding the spot at the base of her neck with ease. He sits there as if he were a born dragon rider. She snakes her head around to snort in his face, and he laughs, the joy in the sound causing hope to come into my heart. If he can still laugh, there is hope that he will be ok.

He’s tougher than he looks, idiot. He will be fine.

“Take care of him,” I admonish the dragon, a little bit of overprotective brother leaking past my heart and into my words.

She knocks me over with her wing as she glides past for the clearing where she can take off. I roll as I land, coming back up in time to see Jed whoop as She-Dragon brings her wings down with a mighty snap, lifting them into the air.

I need to get that boy his own dragon before he entirely steals mine.

~~~

The green of the plateau set inside a ring of mountains looks strange from above. There is white, sparkling beauty in an oval frame that abruptly ends in the valley teeming with green summer life. She-Dragon bungles a loud cry as she circles in the air above, and Were stream from the hidden village in the trees beside the snaking river to wave their hands and cheer as if I were some conquering hero.

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Jed huddles in front of me, bundled up with all the blankets and extra furs I had in my pack. I gave him my cloak and coat, the cold air much nippier to a human than to one of my kind. But… even I cannot feel my nose or ears, and my toes tingle even in the boots with warm wool socks. There is just something about being this high in the air streaking across the sky that brings a chill, even if the beauty around steals one's breath just as much as the cold wind.

She-Dragon beneath us is the only reason we aren’t frozen popsicles. She is warm almost to the point of fire-like heat, especially if you push up her scales and are able to get to the underneath fuzz that reminds me of downy black feathers.

I can tell the moment we pass into the warmth of the below terrain. One moment we’re caught in below freezing temperatures… and then we just aren’t.

Sweat beads at my brow and my nose and ears tingle as blood rushes back into the frozen appendages.

Jed peeks his mussed blond head above his cocoon of blankets and cloaks, his eyes widening as he takes in the greenery and people beneath us.

“What is th-this p-p-p-place?”

“It’s a safe haven.”

He begins shoving off blankets, eventually revealing the same tattered tunic I found him in. I was not expecting him when I did, and I’m only thankful I took the time to purchase extra furs for the return journey.

I almost froze on the way to the capitol, not realizing the rigors of traveling via open air currents. At times, She-Dragon would find currents low to the ground, other times circling until she found a current in the right direction. I was thankful for her sense of direction, as my wolven senses were in a tailspin way out of their zone. I'm made for land... not free-flowing air and winds of power.

She-Dragon lands lightly in the clearing right in front of the entrance to her cave systems. She trills softly as we get off, Jed whooping as he slides down her wing. I follow slower, a smile on my lips.

The Were wait around the edges, watching.

Barry races from a corner, barreling into his brother and knocking them both into She-Dragon's wing. I swear I see a soft smile on her face as she eases her wing up so the boys are back on their feet before turning and entering her cavern system. I hear shrieks from inside as She-Dragon greets her dragonlings with soft trills.

Barry still holds tightly to his older brother, his shoulders shaking and his entire body trembling. Jed holds still, just letting his brother get it out.

The little guy eventually pulls back, his dimple showing when a broad grin shines through his wet cheeks.

“I knew Roland would get you. I knew it.”

Jed glances at me, something in his eyes I can’t read. But what emanates from him I can scent on the air is a mixture of the unconditional love and the fear he’s been battling since the shock of who I am became apparent.

He smiles tentatively, still wary, but it’s a start. “Kino wouldn’t g-give up on us, Bar. Never. And h-he won’t give up on M-Ma, either.”

My heart beats as if I’d just won a major battle, and Jed’s smile grows at something he sees on my face. “He’s t-the best brother a boy c-c-could ever have.”

The wetness in my eyes grows until I blink and one tear trails down my cheek.

I wipe it with my thumb.

“That’s a tear. You cry when you are either very happy or very sad. Which are you, kino?”

I smile at Barry, reaching out to squeeze both of their shoulders. “Happy, little kinkos. More happy than the all the worlds can hold.”

I pull back, looking them both in the eye. “And I will never give up.”

“W-We know.”

Barry nods enthusiastically. “When can I ride your dragon, kino? Jed got to ride all the way from the capital! Why can’t I?”

I chuckle, ruffling his hair. “Patience, little kinko. I think tomorrow we will pay a visit to your pa and see if we can’t help him with Whitecastle.”

They look at each other, then back at me. They grin, slow and menacing, and I look warily from one to the other. “What are you two thinking?”

“Oh, n-n-nothing," Jed says, knowing I can smell the lie and not caring one wit.

I narrow my eyes, but Essie barrels into me before I can further question the two. I stagger, looking down at the little girl’s bright eyes and gap-toothed grin.

Zephora sighs as she jogs over. “Forgive me, your highness. I couldn’t stop her.”

I pick her up and set her on my shoulders, and she squeals in happiness.

From the corner of my eye, I see Jed mouth ‘your highness?’ to Barry, who shrugs and mouths ‘later’.

Great.

You have created two little monsters who are just like you. How does it feel?

Shut up.

His chuckle gives me a headache.