It didn’t take long for Tafel and the phoenixes to arrive at their mother’s nest. It resembled a beehive more than a pigeon’s nest with dozens of trees stacked against each other in a spiral pattern, leaving a hollowed out center with hundreds of entrances. “Mom!” Emile shouted from one of the tunnel-like entrances at the base of the nest. The phoenixes huddled around Tafel, holding their breaths.

“Are you nervous?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you wanted to see her.”

“No,” one of the phoenixes said. “We just like huddling. You didn’t realize that yet?”

“I mean, I did, but…” Tafel shook her head. “Never mind.”

“Mom!” Emile shouted again, dragging out the word this time. “Mommy! Ma! Momma!”

Flames roared out of the nest, causing Tafel’s hair to fly parallel to the ground from the gust of hot air blowing against her. She squinted and shielded her face with her arms while the phoenixes hid behind her legs. “You’re the fire resistant ones,” she muttered to the baby birds, but they acted like they hadn’t heard her.

The phoenix matriarch soared out of the nest, heading towards the sky. She looked down and screeched before diving towards Tafel, landing in front of her while folding her wings. “You’re back,” she said, arching her neck to count the phoenixes behind the demon. “All of you. And uninjured. That’s good.”

“I’m sorry it took so long to come back to check on you,” Tafel said, a wry smile appearing on her lips. “They wanted to explore the outside world more and wouldn’t let me return.”

“That’s not true!”

“Not true at all!”

“We wanted to come back to see you, but she wouldn’t let us.”

“It’s her fault.”

“We love you, Momma. Why would we want to stay away from you?”

Tafel’s mouth fell open at the baby phoenixes blatant betrayal. “Y-you guys!” she said and glanced at the matriarch, who was glaring at her. “I’m being bullied by your children. I swear I wanted to come back before they did.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“If you’re going to blame us, we’re going to blame you!”

The phoenixes nodded in agreement, separating from Tafel while moving closer to their mother. Emile looked at the phoenixes before turning his gaze onto Tafel. He shrugged. “Sorry,” he said and hopped over to his brothers’ and sisters’ sides. “I missed you, Mom.”

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The phoenix matriarch sighed and patted Tafel’s drooping head with her wing. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I believe you. I know these brats are troublemakers through and through.”

Tafel exhaled. “I’m glad,” she said. “I’m also glad you managed to stay safe. What happened?”

“About that…,” the phoenix matriarch said, her expression turning odd. She rubbed her beak a few times with her wing while staring at Tafel. “Why didn’t you tell me your husband was a dragon?”

Tafel blinked. “Huh?” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Don’t tell me you met him….”

The matriarch nodded. “He’s very strong,” she said. “Very, very strong.” She paused and tilted her head. “But weak to alcohol.”

“You fought him?” Tafel asked. She bit her lower lip. “And drank with him? Can you explain things clearly, please?”

“The ice dragon I encountered that could use gravity magic,” the matriarch said and narrowed her eyes at Tafel, “turned out to be your husband.”

“But how?” Tafel asked, furrowing her brow. “He can’t turn into a dragon.”

The matriarch stared at Tafel. She fidgeted underneath the phoenix’s gaze, but the matriarch maintained her silence.

“He can turn into a dragon…?” Tafel asked in a small voice.

The matriarch nodded.

Tafel sighed. “Goddammit.”

“So you didn’t know,” the matriarch said with a nod. “Well, he told me to leave you a message for when you returned.” She blinked at Tafel, who was crouching and holding her horns. “Are you ready to hear it or do you need a moment?”

“A moment, please,” Tafel said and closed her eyes. She inhaled through her nose and exhaled out her mouth, causing Emile’s feathers to ruffle. Tafel opened her eyes and stood up with a nod. “I’m ready now.”

“Vur told me to tell you to go to the dwarven capital. He’ll be waiting for you there with Auntie,” the matriarch said. “I assume you know who Auntie is because he didn’t give me a name.”

“Yeah, I do,” Tafel said and nodded. “But what is he doing in the dwarven capital?”

“He’s the dwarf king,” the matriarch said. “Why wouldn’t he be in the dwarven capital?”

“He’s the what king?” Tafel asked, eyes widening.

“Dwarf. Dwarf king. Ruler of the dwarves.”

“How!?” Tafel shouted. “I separated from him two months ago and he’s suddenly a fully grown dragon who’s ruling over the dwarves? What the heck!? I know I told him to make a name for himself if we ever separated, but this…” She chewed her lower lip and stared at the ground. A second later, her eyes narrowed as she raised her head. “You said there was a holy dragon with him when he first attacked you. Was it a male or female?”

The matriarch chuckled. “She was a female,” she said. “And she had some interesting things to say. Like how Vur was her future mate and she was going to fight you for him.”

The expression on Tafel’s face disappeared. “What the fu—”

“What!?” Emile asked. “Tafel has to fight a dragon?” He blinked a few times before staring at Tafel. “Good luck, baby sis. If I had any friends, I’d set you up with them for after your inevitable break up, but I don’t. Sorry.”

“I’m going to cry,” Tafel said as she crouched and buried her face in her hands. “I have to fend off a dragon?”

“Don’t forget that you’re a phoenix now,” the matriarch said, patting Tafel’s back with her wing. “Maybe you’d win if Vur lent you his fire elemental. She’s close to being an elemental ruler.”

Tafel raised her head, a dark expression on her face. “His what?”

The phoenix matriarch tilted her head to the side and rubbed it with her wing. “How do you know so little about your own husband?” she asked. “He’s an elementalist with two top tier elementals bound to him.”

Tafel sighed. “But you managed to beat him in a fight, right? That means there’s still hope for me since I have your imprint.”

“Oh dear,” the matriarch said and sighed. “Today is just not your day.”