Chapter 4

E irwyn shifted on her chair, her ass going numb again. Nothing felt right, nothing tasted good, and she was cranky as hell. She hadn't even felt like smiling and sending Scarlet on her way yesterday morning.

She finished her letter to the Confederation representative still in Glathen. She shook the paper to dry the ink, then slipped it into the envelope and sealed it with her wax stamp.

Helga knocked and poked her head around the door. "Have a minute?"

Eirwyn leaned against the pillow behind her and nodded as she arched her back. "Of course."

Helga turned and backed her way through the door, pushing it open with her hip. "I think what I eat influences the taste of the tea. I drank a lot of peppermint yesterday. Can you taste peppermint in this newest batch of leaves?"

She laid a tray on the desk, and Eirwyn nodded as a stab of pain shot through her back. Thankfully Helga was too distracted pouring to pay attention.

She added two lumps of sugar and a dab of milk to the cup just the way Eirwyn liked it. Helga had been her lady's maid since she was a young girl. Some days, Eirwyn had driven her mad with all her wild ways, but Helga had stayed and even tried to protect her from her brother, Gastone, when she could.

Eirwyn took the warm cup and sipped. The flavors swirled on her tongue, and she closed her eyes and sighed.

"Ah yes, I can taste the peppermint! It's wonderful, Helga."

Helga beamed, her round face shifting as the skin around her eyes crinkled. "Thank you, your highness. I'll go cut more and package it up directly, if you like it."

"Oh yes, please do. Can you find Leopol and send him in too?"

Helga nodded and bobbed a curtsy, leaving the tray on the desk for Eirwyn to pour more later.

She looked out the window of her sitting room. It was tall enough to see over the top of the helrose hedge. Two giant eagles flew to the north, swooping and playing with each other.

She rubbed her stomach and winced at another stab of pain. Since the false pains had started, Knox and everyone else had informed her she couldn't fly anymore until the egg was delivered. Flying had been one of the best benefits of mating with Knox. It was everything she'd imagined it would be.

"That's the first thing I'm going to do when you're out of here, little one," Eirwyn sighed as she rubbed her stomach.

"Pardon me, your highness? You wished to see me?"

Eirwyn turned to see Leopol strolling into the room, his incorporeal form shimmering in the bright light from the open windows. The breeze blew her black hair into her face, and she pushed it aside.

"Have you done any research on what Scarlet reported? With the monsters in Busparia?"

Leopol nodded and held up one of the two books in his hands. She had no idea how he could interact with objects.

"Yes, actually, but we need more details to narrow down what type of monsters might be terrorizing your people."

She frowned. Were the Buspartans her people? Or were her people now simply those in the Feral Forest? She wasn't sure anymore. The lines had been blurred these past six months.

She pulled out another piece of paper and said, "I can send a message to the dwarves to see if they've made progress on reverse engineering my brother's spy mirrors. Gods knows there were enough on every street corner. If they can tap into the frequency and see what's going on in Busparia, we might see what monsters are there."

He nodded and held up the other book. "Another thing, your highness. I had the last five years of almanacs delivered a few weeks ago, and I think the winter is dragging on too long."

Eirwyn winced as this stab of pain shot up her spine, not staying low in her back like it'd been all day. Leopol took her reaction as dismay at his words, and he continued.

"Yes, I know. It's very concerning. The question is, could it be tied to the monsters somehow? There are several winter type monsters that spread cold, ice, even blizzards."

Eirwyn hissed a breath as the stab of pain began to pass, but Leopol just continued.

"Blizzards are more the norm in the mountains, but perhaps we should warn the mountain town? If you're sending a message to the dwarves, could your messenger continue north to the town mayor?"

Eirwyn nodded and wiped her sweating brow. Why was she so hot? She needed to move. She pushed herself up with the help of the arms of the chair and gritted her teeth.

She leaned on the desk and breathed deeply. "I think that's a great idea. Can you fetch Lailant and Knox please, while I write these letters?"

Leopol snapped his heels together and bowed slightly. "Right away, your highness."

He turned on his heel and walked through the door to the hallway, but Eirwyn didn't watch. Instead, her whole body froze as a trickle of something slid down her legs.

Well, thank the gods she'd sent for Knox. She bit her lip and thought through all the things she still needed to get done before the dragonling arrived.

Then she was a flurry of activity. First, she scrawled the two messages. She'd just signed her name when Knox strode through the door.

She rushed to shove the letters into the envelopes, but another stab of pain snaked around her back to her stomach, like a hand squeezing her insides. The wax seal stamp fell to the floor as she gasped, her hands slamming down onto the table.

The light in the room shimmered as her magic flared.

"Eirwyn!" Knox shouted, running the few feet to her side. "Are you alright? Is it the babe?"

She nodded through gritted teeth. "He's coming."

Knox's stomach was a knot of anxiety as he helped Eirwyn change out of her under clothes. She leaned on the side of the bed, her hips swaying from side to side as she moaned.

He rushed to the bell pull and then to the door anyway. He shouted down the hall to a maid halfway down the stairs, "Fetch Lailant now!"

He didn't stop to see if she obeyed. Instead, he was back beside Eirwyn, helping her into the bed. She sighed when she laid back on the towering pillows and closed her eyes.

"Are you—are you napping?" His whisper was barely heard over the thunder of footsteps outside the door.

"No," Eirwyn said, her nostrils flaring and her lips pursing. "I'm breathing through the pain, Knox."

Her body relaxed as she sighed and finally opened her eyes. She pointed a shaky hand toward her sitting room door.

"There's two letters on my desk that need to go out today, one for the Confederation in Vidrland and the other to the dwarves."

Knox shook his head, taking her hand in his as his green, noxious gas sunk to the floor. He was breathing too heavily, his heart racing at all the terror filled thoughts that flashed through him.

"It can wait. We'll send them with news of our babe's arrival," he said, squeezing her hand.

Eirwyn's eyes flashed, and she opened her mouth to argue. But Helga, Hobbs, and Leopol threw open the door and piled into the room.

"Is it time?"

"I've sent for Lailant."

"What do you need?"

Knox pushed the sweaty hair from his mate's forehead and barked orders.

Eirwyn squeezed his hand, and he took a breath. He looked down to see her smiling, her eyes twinkling.

"Relax, I'm fine and so is the babe."

"But you could—"

"But I won't," she said, her jaw firming and her eyes narrowing. "Just because I'm having the first dragonling in hundreds of years doesn't mean everything comes to a stop. You still have a job to do. Send my messages. See if the eagle rider has had any more success taming the things, because we'll need the way clear for visitors when spring comes."

She hissed and squeezed his hand again, her eyes closing as her body stiffened. This time, she moaned, and the sound sent terror through him.

Lailant pushed through the door, her gnarled hand gripping a walking cane tightly. Her pale purple dress was faded, but the white apron was clean aside from berry stains on the hem.

Gray braided hair, wrinkles giving evidence of her advanced age, and yet her eyes were clear and focused. She took in the scene in a blink, then pushed him aside.

"The queen is right. Go downstairs and take care of things while I take care of her. I'll call you if you're needed."

Knox protested, but then found himself on the other side of the door as it closed in his face. He blinked and paced in front of it, his jaw stiffening as he heard Eirwyn moan once more.

Green gas filled the hallway, and he waved a hand to disperse it. He turned on his heel, his tail whipping around and hitting the wall. He paid it no heed, as Leopol came up the stairs followed by Hobbs and a towering pile of fresh linens.

"I'll take it," Knox said, reaching for the stack, needing an excuse to go inside the room. He pushed open the door, but the sight of Eirwyn's creamy thighs covered in blood made him swoon.

Hobbs took the stack and stepped inside. Lailant looked over and pointed her bony finger, her eyes flashing. "Get out, I said."

The door slammed in his face at the force of her words. Knox blinked. Had Lailant shut it with her magic? He didn't think healers had that ability.

Leopol's icy hand on his shoulder made him look over. "Come, Knox. Let's go downstairs. Time to hurry and wait, eh?"

Knox ran a hand over his neck and tilted it, cracking it several times as they walked to the stairs. "Tell me that's normal," he pleaded.

Leopol nodded as they went down. "Absolutely. Your father wasn't even allowed in the manor. He was absolutely feral when you were born."

"Really?" Knox asked as they went to the library, his father's former office and now his own.

"Oh yes. He snapped at the servants so much and threw magic wildly. It was the most out of control I'd ever seen him."

Leopol grew quiet as he thought of his previous life. Hundreds of years has passed, but Knox could only imagine how lonely and sad his friend was now.

He was more of an uncle, his father's cousin, but he'd become so much more. He was a fount of knowledge, knew every inch of the library and castle, and taught Knox new things every day. Leopol had helped him learn how to lead the new Feral Forest kingdom in a way that would've made his father proud.

Leopol was his one link to the dragons of the past, to his heritage. Knox poured a hefty drink of liquor and downed it in one gulp. The smooth burn of fire down his throat brought him back to the conversation. He burped a green puff of smoke and wiped the back of his mouth with a hand.

"What happened then?" Knox asked.

Leopol turned, his eyes focusing once more as he smiled. "Oh, the druids threw him from the castle. Told him to come back when he saw the light in your mother's window."

Knox put down the decanter. His stomach twisted. "That's it. The druid. Grandma should be here."

Leopol stroked his chin. "You could fly and get her. You're fast, so you can return before the delivery progresses too much. She's hours to go yet."

Tingles raced along his arms, and he strode to the door. "I hate not being able to know instantly if there's an emergency. Someday, there will be a way to communicate right away if she needs me."

Leopol's hand slapped his back. "But not today, my friend. Today you must trust nature and us to keep her safe."

"Your highness," Hobbs called from the stairs. Knox turned, his brows rising as Hobbs moved faster than he had in the past six months living here. He reached the bottom of the stairs and held out a small hand-sized pouch. "Lailant says you need to deliver this to Scarlet."

Knox slid it into his pants pocket, not bothering to see what it was. "How is she? Eirwyn? The babe?"

Hobbs smiled, but it was strained and tight. "Just fine, your highness. Lailant said all is going as she expected."

Knox ran a hand over the back of his neck. "That could be good or bad. Alright, if she asks for me, tell her where I've gone?" Knox asked, glancing up the stairs as a moan echoed through the halls.

Leopol and Hobbs both nodded as Knox threw open the front door. "Watch out for the eagles on your way out," Leopol said.

Knox scoffed as he strode into the bright but weak winter sunshine. "I rather hope they give me an excuse to tear them apart. I feel savage."

Leopol followed him down the stairs, his eyes sad as Knox shifted into dragon form. "It's the helplessness. I know exactly how you feel, Knox, but fetch the druid and be safe."

Knox nodded his big green head and spread his wings. His legs tensed as he launched into the air. A few tense moments always sent adrenaline through him. It was a struggle to make it over the helrose hedge.

He circled the castle, spying the small cluster of cottages about a half-mile south. Well outside the eagle's breeding grounds to the north, it was their third settlement in six months. Their numbers were growing steadily as more and more Buspartans sought refuge in the Feral Forest.

He shook his head at the irony of it and turned south-west toward Grandma's cottage.