30. Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Garrick

" W oohoooooooo!" Tan screamed as I tilted my wings to make a wide turn in the air. He laughed, and my mouth opened up into the dragon version of a smile.

It had taken some digging, but we'd found an old saddle that fit around my giant form, so there was no chance that Tan would fall off me. Not that I wouldn't catch him if he did, but this was much safer. It let me relax with the wind under my wings and my viramore on my back, petting the scales of my neck.

Every time I shifted, he was constantly touching me, petting me, and giving me kisses, and I loved it. I loved how he didn't shy away from my dragon form at all. Most people were terrified of me since I was so big, but not my viramore. He hadn't hesitated a bit.

"That's because you're just a big, sweet ball of softness. I mean, have you pet these scales? They're silky smooth, and I'm obsessed." Tan's voice in my head made me smile even wider. "You're just a big softy."

"I'm a fierce dragon."

"Yeah, a fierce dragon that rolled on his back and showed me his belly after two-point-five seconds of petting you."

"I don't know what you're talking about. None of that happened."

"Okay, Mr. Flapjack Firebelly, whatever you say."

I sighed. "Just… don't tell anyone else."

He laughed out loud and bent down to hug me. "Your secret's safe with me."

I rumbled at him, and by the way he chuckled, I knew he could feel it.

After doing my daily circle around the city—something I'd decided was needed to keep a better eye on my citizens and something I enjoyed immensely—I flew to one of my favorite spots that was just outside the city. There was an area with a few caves that I used to visit before my curse, and I wanted to show Tan.

I found a spot to land where I wouldn't squish any trees, lowered myself to my belly, and let Tan slide off me. He worked on getting the saddle off, and once that was gone, I shifted back to my bipedal form.

I would've liked to grab Tan and have a little naked fun, but it was absolutely freezing out, even for a dragon. So I quickly changed into the clothes I'd thrown in the saddle bag, then grabbed our cooler in one hand, put Tan's hand in the other, let him grab the blankets, and led him up a small hill.

Once we reached the topmost cave, I took a deep breath to ensure there weren't any wild animals inside—there wasn't—found the wire I'd laid yesterday, and I flicked the switch.

A strand of fairy lights lit the space up, and I turned to Tan with a smile, taking one of the blankets from him.

As I laid it out, Tan asked, "You hung fairy lights in here?"

"I did it yesterday while you were at work."

"This is so sweet."

I shrugged, then pulled him down onto the blanket with me and used the other two blankets to wrap us up together. It was freezing, but my body heat should keep him warm enough.

After I got him to sit between my legs with his back rested against my chest, I asked, "How was your day yesterday? You got home so late we didn't get to talk."

He'd officially moved in with me a few weeks ago, but we didn't sell his house. We were thinking about keeping it so we'd have a place to go if we wanted to get away from the tower for a few nights. Plus, he said it was a good place for some of the Ellwoods to stay if they wanted to come for a longer visit. They were a huge family and Remi's house wasn't even close to big enough to house them all.

"It was fine. We just had an issue with some wiring because there was a herd of fairies living in the attic that our client didn't know about. The little shits were eating through the wires. I have no idea how they didn't get electrocuted."

I blinked at that. "What did you do?"

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Remi and I went in and caught the little jerks. That's why I was late. It took us hours to catch them all, and we had to make sure we got every single one or we would've been back in a couple months with the same problem." They did breed a lot.

"What did you do with the fairies?"

"There's a sanctuary two towns over that let us drop them off there, thank the Mother."

"Oh, well, that's good." I kissed the side of his head. "Have you ever had to catch fairies before?"

He chuckled. "It, unfortunately, comes up more often than you'd think when installing security systems. I'm not usually on site anymore, but when Remi first started the company, we installed everything ourselves. So yes, more times than I care to remember. Anyway, what about you? How was your day yesterday?"

I shrugged. "Well, I thought I had a good story to tell you, but I don't think I can beat catching a whole herd of fairies and taking them to a sanctuary."

He snorted and patted my leg. "No, I want to hear."

Tan settled into me further as I told him about my day, and my soul relaxed and rejuvenated at the same time. We'd been apart for less than a day, but I'd missed him. Viramores weren't meant to be apart.

"The trials start next week," Tan said a little while later.

I hummed. "I'll be glad to have it over with."

"Me too."

All of the witches and dragons that attacked us and tried to infiltrate the tower would be tried, and when they were found guilty, they'd be thrown into prison for a long time—including Sylra. Good riddance.

I hadn't laid eyes on Sylra since they took her away from the roof, and I planned to never see that horrible, evil dragon ever again. But at least Oakley would have the option to visit their mother if they ever decided to.

Oak had helped me reach out to what was left of Sylra's clan—which was made up of both dragons and blood witches apparently—and we were in negotiations for peace. Their new leader seemed intent on bringing peace to her people, but I wasn't about to trust a single person in that clan.

Even Oakley wanted nothing to do with them. Although they thought she was sincere, but again, we weren't taking any chances, not until they proved they truly wanted peace.

We ate the picnic lunch we'd made, and after we cleaned up, I held my hands out to Tan. "Are you ready, little pretty?"

He took a deep breath, placed his hands in mine, and nodded. "Ready."

Over the last month, my relationship with Sedoba had become more solid, more… present, sort of how it used to be before I'd gone into a deep depression after losing Oakley and ignoring everyone and everything around me. Sedoba was happier with me.

Could also be because I was actively fixing things in my territory, and the land could feel the peace spreading between our people.

So when I reached for Sedoba, it didn't hesitate to come forward. We were just at the end of the active period where I could share my connection with someone. Tan and I didn't want to wait another five years to do this.

In my head, I said to both Sedoba and Tan, "Sedoba, Tan is my viramore." It already knew that, but I needed to remind it. "His rightful place is by my side. Will you accept him as my consort? Accept him as a second ruler?"

I could feel the land reach out to Tan through me, through our bond. Tan gasped when it touched him, and then a slow smile spread over his face. I sat there quietly, watching my viramore while he communicated with Sedoba. I couldn't hear it, but I sensed the peace coming from him, so I was content to sit back and wait.

Tan would be a natural at communicating with the land since he was used to communicating with Orangelica, who also didn't speak to him with words. I wouldn't be surprised if he was better at it than I was.

After about two minutes, Tan said out loud, "Yes, I promise to help keep you, Garrick, and our people safe."

Magic surged around us, powerful, old, and forceful. It felt like I was hit in the gut with a log, and it wasn't even aimed at me. Tan gasped as it hit him in the chest.

I winced and scowled at the land. "Hey, take it easy." Sedoba sort of fluttered, and I knew it was apologizing. It felt… excited. It really liked Tan. A lot.

I didn't blame it. I liked him a lot too.

Tan took a deep breath and shrugged. "I'm okay. Wow, that was a lot of magic all at once." He shook his shoulders out but didn't release my hands. "Holy shit. I can feel… everything. Woah." He closed his eyes. "Holy shit, I can feel where the tower is, where the end of our territory is. This is… crazy. And a lot. Shit, I think I'm gonna love it."

That made me chuckle, and because I couldn't help myself, I released his hands and pulled him into my lap, capturing his mouth with mine. He draped his arms over my shoulders and sank into me.

We kissed for a long time, and when we broke away, he smiled widely and rested his forehead against mine. "Hi."

I smiled. "Hi, little pretty."

He puffed out a small laugh and pecked my lips. "You just made me a ruler of your territory."

"I sure did."

"I can't believe you did that."

"Why? You're going to be amazing at it."

He grimaced. "I'm not sure about that, but I do like helping you when I can."

I nudged his nose with mine. "Nothing has to change. You've been doing more than your fair share already, sweetheart." And he had.

He was still working with Remi, but he was only going into that office a couple days a week. The rest of the time, he'd be at the tower with me. We were making him a permanent office right next door to mine so he could easily attend meetings and help with things for Sedoba.

Tan nodded. "Okay, I just… I don't want to screw anything up."

I couldn't help but laugh and plant another peck on his worried lips. "Baby, I already messed up more than should be allowed, to be frank. There's no way you could do anything as bad as I already did. You've helped me turn that around. You care about people, and when it comes down to it, that's the most important thing. You're already doing a better job than I did for the last twenty-five years. Sedoba is lucky to have you."

He sucked in a breath. "You… really believe all of that."

"Of course I do. It's true."

His lips twitched up into a small smile. "I love you."

"I love you too." I kissed him again. "Please don't worry, little pretty. Everything's going to be great."

He ran his fingers through my hair and smiled at me. "Yeah, I really think it is."

With Tan by my side, I had no doubt.

I wasn't sure he realized how much he'd done for me and our home. He'd saved me, in more ways than one, and he'd saved the people of Sedoba too.

He lifted a brow at me. "If you keep looking at me like that, I won't be responsible for my actions."

I snorted. "Bring it on, little pretty."

He laughed and went for my shirt, making me laugh along with him.