Chapter Twenty-Four

Elio

I tucked Fred in under a thick blanket on the sofa. These things took time. I slept for two days after eating my memory. Sure, he probably wasn't as tired as I was because he recently slept almost forty freaking years, but I did my best to be patient. Mostly, I just wanted him to know without a doubt that we were mates. We were true-mates the same way everyone became true-mates. We chose each other.

Tritus returned to the service desk, and I paced the tiny cavern in front of the sofa where he slept. I knew what he was seeing or at least how my brain processed it. I was warned by the guide that fed me that living brains processed things differently and some of the details would probably be fuzzy. Fred would've gotten the same treatment and speech if only he hadn't scarfed up the candy. If he would've told me he was that damn hungry, I would've asked Tritus to bring out a snack before the memory candy.

I paced until my feet hurt and my knees tingled numb. Then I stretched out on my belly on the cavern floor and thought about what Fred might be seeing. I wondered if he were still in the memory or if he was asleep now. Turning my face, I pressed my cheek against my arm and watched him sleep. We hadn't known each other for a full week yet, but everything had changed. Everything hung on this memory and on if he believed that it was a memory. Being so far from him made me ache. I crawled across the floor and pressed my cheek just over his heart. It beat in a gentle rhythm that I guessed meant he was probably asleep now. That wasn't close enough either. Despite our exchanging of the claiming vows, it still seemed I couldn't get close enough to him. I climbed onto the sofa and stretched out on top of him with my head resting over his star. I traced the outline of it through his shirt and his arm wrapped around me. I tensed, afraid I'd woken him, but he was still asleep. I bit my lip to hold back a happy sigh. That had to be a good sign, right? Even in his sleep, he moved toward me. He wanted me as close as I wanted him. I let my thoughts carry me away and I slept for a while until my growling belly woke me.

I kissed Fred on the cheek. He was still out cold. I tiptoed back into the cavern with the reception desk to ask for a snack and to find out how long I'd been out cold with him. Tritus still sat behind the desk. So I couldn't have slept that long.

"Did you have a good rest?" he asked, looking up from whatever he was playing with on his phone.

"How long was I out?"

"Just over two days or should I say nights?" he grinned.

"Shit," I rubbed my eyes. "That man knows how to sleep."

"Memories like that take a lot out of a dragon," Tritus nodded. "There're leftovers in the kitchen, if you're hungry."

"Thanks," I said and almost turned away. "How long do you think Fred will sleep for?"

"There's no way of knowing that," Tritus flashed me a sad smile. "Though, if I had to make a guess at anything, I'd say the memory filled in the gaps of what he needed. He's growled every time someone got too close to the sofa. Even asleep like he is, he's protective over you. It's adorable."

Tritus stood up and motioned toward the cavern path that led to the Star Room's kitchen. I followed him down the side path smiling to myself. This day was so long in the making. So long that I started it as a person with totally different memories than I have now. The warm fuzzy feelings tickling me all over made it easy to understand why our flight still touched upon ancestor worship or work. Technically, that life – the dragon I was who set up all of this was now nothing more than a memory and ancestor, but all his work both during his life and the time between him and me got me to this place where I was so happy I wanted to roar it from the mountain tops – even if they didn't have names.

"Tell me about the guys on the ship," Tritus said, sliding a half-full pan of cow and noodle casserole into the oven.

"What about them? Shit! I need to let them know---"

"The guides have been in contact to let them know you and your mate are safe. I think they assume that you're having another little matingmoon and we did not correct them," Tritus said.

"What do you want to know about them?"

"I don't know," Tritus shrugged more friend than guide in that moment.

"There's Teddy. He's Fred and Lotus's son. Then there's Sunny. He's an orange dragon like me and the son of the Moonscale leaders. They sent him as a diplomat but no one official feels like they need to talk to him. He's also the youngest of the crew. Then the doctor – Izora – you'd like him. He's a hoot. After Fred tried to bake me, he tied him up to the bed and dumped ice on him. Didn't even think twice about it. Then, Castor. He's everyone's boss because it's his ship. He's an omega like we are. Then there's Casimir but I don't know much about him. He's Castor's cousin and second in command. Wait? Are you looking for a boyfriend?" The question was mostly teasing, but I got how everyone on world might be tempted by the newcomers.

"Not exactly," Tritus shook his head. "Only they all have stars now. That's what we discovered when we called to inform them that you two were fine. I spoke mostly to the doctor because he was curious. That means all of them have true- mates somewhere on the three worlds. Well, maybe not Teddy. We can't be sure about him because he's a Starscale by blood because of Lotus's past lives and Fred being one now assured he'd was one of us."

"Have you seen any of them? Have they ruled you out as one of their mates?" I asked, leaning forward.

My stomach growled at the aroma of the cow and noodle casserole wafted through the kitchen cavern.

"No," Tritus shook his head. "Once the stars were undeniable, Castor called all his dragons except for Fred back to the ship. He seemed to fear they'd be mobbed or something."

"Well, he's an omega like us and if Earthside is anything like it used to be…" I let my words trail off.

As a guide Tritus knew better than anyone the history of our Earthside past. The guides had to study history continuously to refresh their memories and gain new understanding of how everything was connected.

"I don't think it's as bad now that the human governments are gone. Well, maybe. I don't know," Tritus admitted as the oven timer chimed.

"It depends on where you are," Fred yawned in the doorway and my heart leapt into my throat.

"I'll just snag the cow and noodle casserole out of the oven and be out of your way," Tritus said, a grin pulling at his lips.

Fred smelled hungry and in need of one of those sugar poisoned coffees, but he didn't smell like a dragon who was about to set me on fire because he still thought I was a liar.

"Cow and noodle? You mean beef and noodle?" Fred blinked.

"Beef?" Tritus blinked.

"It's what they call cow meat on Earthside," I smiled, happy that our claiming vows filled me in on that much. "They made up names for some of the animals they eat."

"How'd you get cows?" Fred blinked.

"We stole them," Tritus said. "Well, our ancestors stole them from Earthside. We used to fly back and forth all the time stealing things we needed. It was great. Well, the stories are great anyway. Some life evolved here on the engineered world, but most of it we stole. Not all from Earthside, but from wherever we could get them. We're dragons. We know how to survive."

"Thanks for heating up dinner, Tritus," I said, eager for Fred's history lesson to be over so that we could be alone.

"Anytime," Tritus winked at me. "Take your time. This time of night it's usually just me. So, don't rush on my account."

"Thanks again," Fred said and clapped him on the shoulder as he walked by him to leave the kitchen.

I stood up and kissed Fred on the cheek before crossing the cavern to grab some plates from the cabinets. He sat down at the table, glancing around the kitchen for the coffee maker.

"I'll put some on," I laughed. "They probably have some sugar. I'm sure someone here has to like being poisoned with their coffee."

"Sugar is in everything," Fred laughed, rubbing his eyes and yawning again.

"Not here, mate," I shook my head. "We have it, but we don't use a cake's worth in our coffee. We'll have to start stealing sugar from other worlds."

"That's really why you want the gateways, huh?" he teased.

"Yep. I need to form a raiding party and steal you sugar."

"Or you could come over here and give me some."

He laughed. He knew it was cheesy before it ever left his mouth. Still it hit right somehow. I crossed the cavern and he scooted his chair back from the table and patted his lap for me to sit on. I straddle his legs and pressed my forehead against his. It was the first time we were alone together and both awake and neither of us calling the other a liar. Fred pushed a stray blonde lock behind my ear.

"I don't think I have the words to talk about it," Fred said.

"It's okay. We don't have to. Seeing was enough. It was enough, right?" I asked, hating that I had to double-check even now.

"It was," he nodded and pulled away to kiss my forehead.

"I get why it's so hard to believe. Even here having two true-mates isn't that common. Though, I think it might become more common. Maybe. I don't know."

"Poly people have always existed," he nodded. "I wasn't mad because Lotus went and fell in love with you, you know that right."

"You were mad because you thought I was an evil witch who bespelled you to be in love with me," I laughed, but it was the truth.

"I did."

"Did? In the past tense, right?" I teased him.

"Yeah," Fred nodded and captured my lips in a soft, quick kiss.

"You need coffee," I laughed. "I think I'm getting secondhand caffeine withdrawal over our link."

"That's the price of being my mate," he teased and slid his hands down to squeeze my ass. "And you need to eat. You're ravenous. It's like you've never taken a real nap before."

"Well, I don't see any reason to sleep so many days away."

"I hope you never do," he said and stole another kiss before I slid off his lap.