Chapter Three

Casimir

I almost flew straight back to the Medwin 2 and my cousin. Except, he’d never let me live it down that I walked away from the Star Room after catching a whiff of Tritus. Instead of landing anywhere, I flew in spiraling loops over the forests and towns. I flew in circles until my throat burnt from thirst and my wings needed a break. I flew until it was time to make up my mind on whether or not I was going to the ball.

The fucking ball.

I was going to a fucking ball.

Back on Earthside I avoided it all like the fucking plague. The hem and the haw of it. The pomp and the ‘let them eat pastries of it.’ Now, I was going to a fucking ball where at least one man wanted to crack into my thoughts. Hell, Castor barely got to do that and he was there. He was right there and right then and right --- Anyway, he was there.

Echoes of breaking bone circled my thoughts and I cringed. I didn’t have fingers in dragon form. I had claws and talons and they could grip and break but my human hands felt the phantom of the bones breaking between my fingers. I stopped all the damn hovering and flew again. Moving was one of the few things that helped.

Eventually, my dragon receded back into his inner sanctum and pushed me back out into the driver’s seat. At least he waited until I was in the topside nest back at Iz’s place. I opened the trapdoor and flowed down Nycto’s ridiculous slide. They were off in their resting room which meant it was Waj that greeted me. The dotter eyed me suspiciously as I stomped off to get ready for the ball.

Inside the cavern, he tugged on my pants leg until I turned to him. He held up one of those palm-sized bottles of water. Squatting down, I gave his head the sort of little scritch he liked and took the water. I smelled dehydrated but had forgotten about my burning throat.

“This is gonna be a shit show, Waj” I muttered before drinking the water. “A real shit show.”

He cocked his head to the side and plopped down on his hindquarters as if waiting for me to explain exactly what shit had hit what fan. When I didn’t say anything else he scurried off and returned a second later with a purple Starscale apple.

“Thanks, buddy,” I took it from him. “You know what I’d kill for?”

He scrunched up his nose as if wondering why I’d kill for food when the cave was full of it.

“A pizza. Not one of these here but a real Earthside pizza so full of salt, sugar, and all the stuff they said was bad for us. I’m a bloody fucking dragon. I can handle some bad stuff. Or tacos. Real fucking tacos. Or I don’t know, enough chips and salsa to burn down a city block.”

Waj followed me into the bathroom and stood in the doorway as I undressed. Normally, he’d be with Iz, Nycto, and the baby but today it appeared he was babysitting me.

“Are they making another egg?” I asked him.

But he wasn’t telling if they were. When I turned on the shower and stepped in, he stood at the edge where the water splashed him. On Earthside, they’d have dubbed him an emotional support dotter. Well, maybe. On Earthside, the scientists would probably want to study him since they’d never seen anything like him before.

“Not that I would let them,” I reassured him in case he, unlike my mate, could pick up my stray thoughts.

What a bloody day it turned out to be. Ren. Hean. Tritus now.

Tritus.

His name circled my thoughts now that I was alone.

Well, mostly alone.

Waj counted as a person but wasn’t always a judgmental ass like people tended to be.

Tritus.

His name circled my brain again despite or maybe because of the warm water raining down on me.

“Probably thinks I’m crazy,” I told the dotter.

Waj cupped his hands and caught a bit of water in his paw-fingers and dumped it on his head.

“Are you telling me I need to wash my hair or my brain?” I managed a chuckle.

Then it was Tritus back in my thoughts. His face burnt itself into my memory. His scent played all over me. Had he followed me home? No. Of course, he hadn’t. I’d have heard him come down the slide. Izora would’ve given me a head’s up that we had a guest. Tritus was at work. I mean, unless he already took new mate leave.

Shit.

New mate leave.

If he didn’t think I was crazy, he was planning his life out. Our lives out! Stupid bloody star. The color of Ren and the heartbreak of Tritus. I couldn’t give my omega what he wanted and undoubtedly he’d want what every mate does – to be all knowing about their partner. To understand all the nooks and crannies. At the very least he’d want to exchange the claiming vows and I couldn’t give him that either.

“You know, if that damn ship wasn’t docked, I’d steal it right now, Waj. I’d steal it and live out there somewhere. Save us both the trouble.”

I glanced down. Waj had wondered off sometime while I was thinking about Tritus.

“Get it together,” my dragon growled. “One way or another we have to get it together. Nothing’s changed. We don’t speak about it. We don’t think about it. We live on. We move on. If he’s really fated to us, he’ll get it. If not, well, he’ll get it or he’ll have to move on. Not moving on looks like Ren. Not moving on looks like Hean. Not moving on isn’t an option for us.”